Street Parade....Extra Pix

After sitting and people watching for awhile, I couldn't help to wonder what possesses people to leave the house in the risque undergarments....or less? Even though people don't have such hang ups with nudity here, really, do you want pictures of you posted all over the internet?

So, I asked hubby,"HOW do people leave their house like this? HOW?" He just smiled and replied, "With absolute confidence!"

Zurich Street Parade 2011

The Swiss are a very respectable, intense, proper, somewhat uptight bunch of rule makers and rule followers. Perhaps that is why I love to see them behaving badly.....

I was planning a lovely hiking trip for the coming weekend when I brought my boys for their haircuts (30 chf each which includes a glass of soda and 2 pieces of chocolate, of course). The young, hip hairstylist asked if I was going to Street Parade this weekend. "Nein," but "was ist dat?" I replied, not likely impressing her with my Deunglish (Deutsch English). She conveyed that it was a "very cool techno music party." Hmmm...did she really think I could be cool enough to attend a techno music party?! What is techno music anyway? Why do they call it Street Parade if its a party?

That evening, hubby came home and told me that the Street Parade was the buzz all around the office. We've got to go to Street Parade. Then, I was in the throes of research...what is Street Parade? Is it a family event? NEIN....I learned thru experienced friends that this is not a family event....not for my family anyway.

Someone emailed me pix of a previous Street Parade. She described it as Zurich's Greenwich Village Halloween, Tailgate, New Orleans' Mardi Gras, NYs Puerto Rican Day Parade, and Gay Pride Parade fused into one day. We also learned that Boy George would be the "host" and acting as DJ for the event.

With our curiosity piqued, hubby and I ventured on our own....

How do I describe the debauchery that we witnessed? Since we arrived in the afternoon, it started out as just interesting...harmless largely.

The entire city was basically shut down for this Street Parade. There were no trams running, no cars in the city, loads of police a top buildings, people drinking tons of beer and just dropping them on the street regardless of whether they were bottles or cans, masses of people in costumes ....or less....meandering, strutting their stuff, proud to be zany. It was amazingly fun. Hubby and I did feel a bit old...we were definitely flies on the wall, observers, NOT participants.

We strolled thru the streets with Techno Music BOOMING from many different stages set up every 5 blocks or so. There were DJs, Dancers on stage, and we were enjoying the hilarious, interesting people watching. There were tooo many interesting people everywhere I turned that I couldnt even keep on top of it with my picture taking. Above is a strand of wheelchair bound reverlers. They had their wheelchairs decorated and smoke blowing out from their wheels. They had their own float with music blasting. It was very cool.

As we continued deep into the Parade/Festival, things were kickin up a notch. The costumes were become more interesting....risque. We sensed we were getting closer to the Master of Ceremonies...Boy George.

Sure enough, there he was. I have about 20 pix of him, but these 2 show him filming the crowd (see, even he was impressed, or amazed like us), and the advertisement of him and his posse.

Yup, the costumes got more interesting. ...oh and here's a glimpse of Boy George's VIP stage;s dancer...and her pole. Obviously, this was not for Boy George's benefit....

At one point, we stopped at a tent like the one shown above for a coke (5 chf). I noticed the Trojka sign, and also the same name on a box that was displayed. Naively, I asked "Was ist dat?" and the man serving my coke would not answer me....clearly ignoring me despite the fact that there were no other patrons at the moment. I immediately just chalked it off as the usual wanton customer service....then as I looked closely at the box I could see the letters " Trojka kondo_" ( I will let you figure it out) and was mortified! No wonder he wouldn't answer me - he was as embarassed as me!

On to the curb where sat, the only sober people at the fest, and just admired the revelers. Above, you see a man wearing a grand cape made of neckties...super cool. When he see him from the front you also see his rugged looking chest harness....interesting ornamentation. Oops - I think I used up my picture allowance. Perhaps I will have to add another post about the remaining - creative and shocking.

Planning

With our 25% milestone behind us, hubby and I discussed our travel goals. If it wasn't clear to you, hubby is here, primarily, to accomplish a challenging work opportunity, and secondarily, to have a great travel adventure. The opportunities are boundless. Every day I learn about new travel opportunities....Thailand pedicures where the fish nibble the dead skin off your feet, kayaking thru the Croatian islands, Agriturismo in Italy (staying at a farmhouse...think Tuscany!), storybook Prague, Munich for Oktoberfest, Switzerland - glacier express, a helicopter ride over Zermatt (the Matterhorn), Schlaf und Straw (sleeping in the Straw on a Swiss Farm), safari in Botswana, swim with the penguins in South Africa, cycling thru the Netherlands, indoor skiing and sand safari in Dubai. The opportunities are mindboggling. My wish list is ever-growing. How can we do it all in 27 months?

How? By hours and hours of researching, networking, and planning. Trip planning is one of my critical functions for our family. In the US, we traveled a bit. I could easily do the trip planning myself, and had a Disney Travel Agent for our Disney trips and used Costco for our cruises. It was all fairly simple. Here in Switz, I have done all of the planning myself.....don't be impressed...all the expats do their own planning (except for Safari). They/We are such a well travelled bunch, and ruggedly independent explorers that we all seem so driven to do it on our own. Also, we do have the benefit of swapping information and tips about "how to do" a trip, that its almost easier to do it yourself than explain it to a German speaking travel agent. Oftentimes at our gatherings/coffee/hike, travel conversations dominate: "Where are you going for October break?" "What did you think of your Spring Break trip to ... the Maldives?" "How did you do the Croatian Kayaking trip?" "Where can I get bike trail maps for the Netherlands?" When someone reveals something very interesting, several women pull out their Iphones and create Notes with the info. Its very cool.

Finding time to do such extensive research is often difficult. 2 weeks ago I injured my foot when I landed on a tennis ball in my new tennis class and twisted my ankle. It was sore and quite swollen since and I have had to avoid much activity. I was so bummed to be virtually couch bound for a week - its quite dull and difficult for me to sit still for long periods of time. However, it was a blessing in disguise. It forced me to accomplish quite a bit of research for our upcoming trips.

I currently have a couple trips in the hopper. We have an overnight weekend trip to Europapark in Germany. This is the largest amusement park in Europe, about 2 hrs away from here. The park is arranged in a variety of lands (think Disney: TomorrowLand, FantasyLand, etc). Europapark's lands are based on Europe (Italy, Switzerland, Germany, etc) We will be staying on the property....which was virtually sold out...so we are staying in a lovely Log Cabin in the Campgrounds ( the TeePees and Covered Wagons were also sold out....seriously.)

Next we will have a day trip to Kerns to see a Cattle Descent Festival. In early summer, the cows are brought into the hills and mountains (?possibly to stay cooler?), and in early fall, they descend back to their grazing farms. The farmers decorate the cattle with flowers and bells and make a parade of them, and enjoy a festival with food, cheeses, wines, yodeling, and I suspect, all things cow. I am still hoping we will make it to Mount Pilatus this fall for a day trip as well.

In October, we have our 11 day cruise of the Western Mediterranean. We will fly to Barcelona Spain, and sail to Monte Carlo, Monaco (where we will pop over to Nice on the French Riviera and spend an afternoon on the beach- just a 30 min train ride away according to my research), Livorno/Florence & Pisa for a whirlwind day, Rome & the Vatican in 9 hours with a private tour guide/driver, and the same for Naples/Pompeii & Amalfi Coast, Sicily Italy (J & the kids deserve a beach day after 2 rigorous touring days), Palma de Mallorca (mostly beach day, some sightseeing), Marceille, France (we will visit a medieval town in Provence), then Barcelona for 2 days.

I am contemplating taking my daughter on a super surprise Mother/Daughter weekend in later October, but will not discuss it for fear of jinxing it! I'd also hope to do a quick overnight trip with hubby to Oktoberfest.....is there any way we can add another weekend to Oktober this year?

Then, in Nov, hubby & I have a work-related trip to California. I am heartsick leaving my babies here, but I know they will be in good hands, and we will be fine. I am hoping to visit some cousins in CA, and friends. At the end of November, Europe's traditional Christmas markets begin. I have only heard of the magic of these festivals and I can not wait to see them for myself. We are planning to visit a couple in Switzerland, as well as Strassbourg France.

Our holiday break plans are in their conception phase....just a dream so far. I will save that for another post.

Even when we lived in the US, hubby and I have always been big travelers...even just day trips. Since I left my family home at 18 , I've never been a native of anywhere. I've always felt like a visitor. The lovely aspect of that is that I was always seeing things for the first time. Everything was new and waiting to be explored. Although we lived in MD for 10 years, and Il for 8, we always were exploring on the weekends - festivals, little museums, parks, and other attractions. We are doing the same thing here, its just that we have a completely different canvas. Look around your current home with the eyes of a visitor, explore, and discover something new! What are your travel dreams?

Reflections...and ramblings....at the 25% Milestone

Yesterday marked our 9th month in Switzerland. Its hard to believe that equates to being 25% of the way thru our 3year commitment! Hubby and I reflected on this at 6am over a cup of coffee. I must admit, realizing this milestone made me a bit sad. I am so amazed at how much each of us has learned, grown, stretched ourselves, seen, digested, and accomplished in 9 months. It has already been an amazing experience - mainly from the adjustment to living in Europe and to the travels.

Hubby and I discussed the adjustment. It has been incredible to leave a beautiful life we lived in Il - full of friends, great schools, loving family, stability, great job of hubby's. It truly was a charmed highly happy personal and work life and required a big leap of faith to think we could recapture the happiness we felt in our daily life in IL. We left all the security, and leapt without a safety net, quickly weaving a net based on our faith....faith in God, faith in ourselves, faith in each other, faith in mankind.

We still dearly miss our American life, but living away has opened our eyes to a new perspective on the bigger American picture and we do see a couple facets of the larger American life that give rise to much conern. I did not watch the news in the US and each day I am filled with sadness.....the crazy weather systems have reaked havoc on our country, the unemployment statistics with the dismal outlook, the pooor soldiers dying in the warfronts, and the selfish, greedy, self-centered politicians whose priorities are clearly personal power rather than consensus and mutual success just disgusts me.

The thing that frightens me the most when I look back on America is the lack of personal safety. Personal crimes are rampant, a daily event in every city. Each week there seems to be a woman or child missing, and when found, it is with unimaginable....indescribable ....results. This just doesn't happen in Europe...Why does it happen in America?

I recently read a book called The Hunger Games. It tells a story about life in North America in the future, where selected teenage citizens are forced to barbaric survival fighting for the entertainment (and intimidation) of the masses. The irony is that the story set in the future, where you would expect mankind to have progressed in civility, yet the concept of fighting to the death is so barbaric - and is more reminiscent of ancient times...how the Romans forced their prisoner Gladiators to fight for entertainment. I couldn't help but look at America - we have made so many amazing accomplishments and evolution in our 240 year history, in creating a world leader from barren land. In such a relatively short time we have surpassed the world in terms of our global power...we are progressive, ingeniously clever, industrious, productive, multi-tasking, hard-working, mobile, fun-seeking, live full lives, freedom and developed so much convenience.....it is truly the land of opportunity. Yet, I have so much trouble understanding how the land of opportunity and aggressive progressiveness has such terrible crime.

The crime makes me so sad. I see that in some ways, America is so progressive and in other ways it is soooo backwards. Is it rooted in our puritanical heritage? Does our society inhibit people who are a bit quirky to the point of driving them to psychosis? Or do we just not tend to the people who need help? Is the country so big that these people fall below the radar? Is our life so busy that we overlook potential dangerous people? Is our country so big that it is unwieldy and impossible to manage? Is our industrious capitalist society too lassez faire? Are we so much more preoccupied with financial accomplishments than justice? Caring for the needy? Personal gain over greater good?

Here in Europe I see how slow life is....sometimes it is irritatingly slow for this NewYork girl, but I can understand now that greater good that comes of it. People DO NOT walk around with food in hand, and a coffee in the other, but rather sit and linger when the eat and drink. Stress levels are low, and life is very easy. peaceful, and enjoyable. They tend to live in the moment, rather than rushing to the next. Customer service is lacking here - there's simply no need to rush, and be eager to please. They are not big multi-taskers, as there's a mentality of do one thing at a time, and do it right. With it comes a great quality of life.

I admire the sense of community - not that I am really part of the Swiss community, but rather the expat community. Nonetheless, the Swiss stay VERYCLOSE to their friends and family. They are a very private closeknit people, keeping to themselves, and very loyal. Americans are such a jovial friendly lot. Once we meet someone, we readily use the term "friend." The Swiss use a greater variety of terms for others: acquaintance, colleague, neighbor....reserving the term "friend" for a longterm friend or confidant. They are also big tattlers and have no problem telling anyone who is stepping out of line that they are wrong and to get back in line. I think this intrusive oversight keeps things orderly. Swiss people respect rules so much, that culturally, they do not fight back. When they break a rule, they know it when they are called on it, and generally fall back in line without protest. They are a conscientious lot, and generally acknowledge that the greater good outweighs personal gain.

The Europeans are not nearly as modest and inhibited as the Americans. In the warm months, I see some sort of nudity daily- at the Badis (swimming areas). Women go topless without concern, women wear bikinis regardless of body shape. Children (up to perhaps the age of 10) change clothes in public without worrying about "someone seeing them." Zurich, like many European cities, has a legal red-light district where consenting can do what they wish, and also has a "needle park," where users can acquire free clean needles and dispose of them safely. These are very socially progressive policies and I must say that although I personally benefit from none of them, I can see the wisdom and wonder what effect they have on the low crime rates, lack of personal crimes, and personal health.

So sorry for the SocioEconomic ramblings of a woman 25% thru a 3 year adventure, but I had to share with you my mental wanderings....

Ok - so back on topic. The 25% milestone also made generated a twinge of panic - Oh my, there's still so much we have yet to see and experience....I'd better get travel planning....and that is my next project....and blog.

BonJovi+ Toboggans,+Ancient Roman Ruins+Legoland+ Neuschwanstein = Summer in Switz

hi all, So sorry for the hiatus...again.

Summer is now coming to an end and I have so much to share about our summer. I last posted about our fantastic trip back to the US. Since then, we have been keeping very busy hosting visitors, traveling, returning to school and all the responsibilities that come with that, and trip planning.

Two days after we arrived home in July, we were visited by some friends from IL. The eldest daughter was completing a 2 week teen tour of Europe, ending in Switzerland. My friend and her younger daughter came to Zurich to pick up the older daughter, spend 2 nights with us, before they all headed to The Netherlands to visit with their former exchange student and his family. The weather had taken an uncharacteristic turn - it was very cold and rainy during their visit. This however worked out well for us. We all were recovering from jetlag hangovers, and really enjoyed the down time, with the opportunity to chat and laugh; there weren't many lulls in the conversation as we had so much to catch up on. The kids enjoyed hanging out together, too. We greatly enjoyed their company. On one of the days, we went into Zurich and visited the Swiss National Museum, basically Swiss History Museum. It was wonderful, like a micro Smithsonian, filled with artifacts from their interesting history, photo exhibits of the best news photos of the years, quintessential Swiss items (watches, cowbells, chocolate history etc), and period clothing. It was very enjoyable.

Also during this visit, my friend stayed with the kids for an evening, while Jason and I, along with 2 friends, went to the Bon Jovi concert. It was a great evening. The concert was held in an outside soccer stadium. The evening was perfect, the skies had cleared, the weather was mild, and the atmosphere so festive. Now that we are "north of 40" and remember our big concert days 20+ yrs ago when performers wouldn't begin until 9pm for a 7pm concert, we were concerned that the concert would end around midnight and be too tired to enjoy. So, we loaded up on our vitamins, and braced ourselves. We were pleasantly surprised when Bon Jovi started at 7:30 - I guess he too feels the effects of being in your 40s. We loved hearing all the familiar tunes and he put on a great show.

We were sad to see our friends leave, but knew we all had much to look forward to. A few days later we were blessed by a visit by my Bro in Law, Sis in Law & "the cousins." They visited us to kick-off to their 2 week Trafalgar Family Tour of Europe. We had a great time showing them around Zurich, eating fondue, showing them facets of our life in Switzerland (schools, Badis, riding the trains, ferry etc). They enjoyed seeing our little town and getting an idea of how the Swiss really live. They enjoyed the Wildepark and my SIL sooo enjoyed hearing the cowbells ringing. We showed them around the lovely little city of Zurich. It is always so hard to remember the history of the various landmarks, but I think we showed them the highlights, including a spot that had historical significance to my SILs father. We enjoyed a bit of time at the Zurich flea market, in Carl Weber toy store on the Bahnhofstrasse, visiting the Fraumunster and Grossmunster churches, and a playground. My SIL and I spent a bit of lovely girly time at the Flea Market and then had a good chat at one of my fav places, Schober Cafe (fav shabby chic - where Marie Antoinette would eat if she came to Zurich.) My nephews were eager to see a true European castle, so we visited Kybourg Castle, and then took a boat ride to Richterswil, a lovely castle town at the southern side of Lake Zurich. The Brothers made some deposits at the Swiss Casino, which always seems like such a promising prospect before they go, and a bit of a bummer upon exit. One day we ventured to Flumserberg Mountain (where we had skiied in winter) to zoom down the mountain on the cool tobaggan rides. We enjoyed sharing our Swiss life with them as I think it is impossible to understand the beauty, challenges, fun, and wonder of living in Switzerland without witnessing it firsthand. It was a very full and fun visit and, as sad as we were to see them leave, we all had so much more to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Two days after the family left, we were visited by dear friends from IL. They had already traveled in Europe a bit before, so were familiar with European travel. They had a fantastic itinerary set. My family was in a bit of flux during their visit. My son was leaving for Scout Camp in Germany during their visit and my hubby was driving him to camp leaving me & my daughter car-less for a few days. Our friends were following Rick Steve's Switzerland suggestions and did some day trips from our house, and stayed with us in the evenings. They visited Luzern (where we met up with them), Zurich, and Pilatus Mtn. These friends are amazing, effective, and efficient travelers and my daughter and I joined them for a day trip. On Sunday, we visited Bern where we toured Switzerland's capitol city, swam in the frrrrreeezing Aare River (unforgetable wonderful experience), visited an ancient walled city of Murten (walked the ramparts of the old walls - amazing) and ate a lovely dinner and dessert in a cavernous uber-cool restaurant, then enjoyed sunset gazing at Roman ruins in Avanches. We left at 9am and returned at 11:30 pm. The next day, they left for a 2 night visit to the Jungfrau region.

With my car and younger son back from the drop off at Scout Camp in Germany, two days without plans, I decided it was time for an adventure. I had been looking for a reason to conquer my fear of driving on the German Autobahn, and had wanted to take my Lego loving son and rollercoaster loving daughter to Legoland. I did some quick research, made some reservations, and packed up the kids and set off with them to Legoland Amusement Park in Germany, about 3 hours away. My GPS took me on a wierd route - it required me to take a ferry across Lake Konstanz into Germany - which gave me a bit of a worry, but I had faith in the GPS, rolled with it, and as usual, it all worked out. The kids and I had a wonderful time. The weather was extremely hot, and there were tons of bees, but it didn't deter us from having fun. The rides were quite similar to Legoland California. Our favorite of course, was the pirate wars water ride where you suirt tons of water at other riders. It was great fun. We also loved the miniworld. In Calif, the miniland is based primarily on lego structures of American landmarks - the Brooklyn Bridge, NYC, Mount Rushmore, Washington DC. Here, in Germany, the miniworld structures all depicted various European cities. It was amazing to see Venice recreated in legos, German cities, Switzerland, England....it was incredibly lovely.

We stayed overnight in a quaint traditional guesthouse closeby. We ate a scrumptious breakfast there. During the meal, I reflected on the moment and was filled with gratitude for such a great life, and great kids. We so enjoyed every minute of this summer....and of our time in Europe.

I was also feeling quite proud of myself, having tackled this German adventure single-handedly. When I first moved to Switzerland, it seemed that every single day, I would have to go outside of my comfort zone and accomplish something that seemed a bit intimidating or overwhelming. Once we got settled, things started happening more smoothly, errands and adventures became more routing, and things hadn't been so overwhelming. It had been awhile since I had really tacked something new. Driving in Germany had been something on my TO DREAD list. I was feeling quite empowered and eager to conquer this fear....and had done it.

So, what had intimidated me so much? Driving on the Autobahn....where there is no speed limit. My hubby had driven up to the Scout Camp in Germany and returned home Monday telling me about the crazy autobahn and how he had driven 110MPH ....yes, my responsible, safe, completely sane, cautious hubby had driven 110mph with our boys in the car. He claimed he HAD to go that fast to keep up in the slow lane. People were passing him very fast....likely 150 mph. Well, knowing he did it, and getting an idea of what to expect, helped me. I knew I could do it....and the car as well. Well, in the slow lane, I drove quite comfortably at 90 mph, with 95 mph being my fastest....likely the slowest driver on the road, but I was comfortable. I was very happy to have done it safely....and it wasn't so bad....it was sort of crazy fun.

On the way home from Legoland, we planned to spend the day at Neuschwanstein Castle. We had planned to come previously with the cousins, but when we realized how far away it was, it didn't make sense to drive 6 hrs roundtrip in a day. However, it was a great stop on the way home from Legoland since it was 90 minutes away and it was, sort of, on the way home.

Neuschwanstein Castle is a magnificant work of art commissioned by King Ludwig II in the late 1800s. King Ludwig was an extravagant spender. He loved the arts and beauty and luxury and spent the country's money supporting such pursuits quite generously. However, his German subjects did not quite appreciate the lavish expenditures as he did. The castle was only partially completed when he was found to be "insane," removed from the throne, and died shortly thereafter by drowning. The Castle became Walt Disney's inspiration for the DisneyWorld/Land Castles. It has 16 completed rooms, and they are all opulent and gorgeous.

I was very glad that we had gotten to visit the Castle. When we arrived at the castle town, there was a massive line to get tickets to tour the castle. I was glad we had made the reservation on line and avoid the wait. The Castle sits on a very high steep peak. We had 60 mins to get up to the Castle, which we thought was plenty of time. We decided to make a quick pitstop which turned out to be not so quick, leaving us only 30 mins to get up to the Castle. Then we realized how far away it was! Yikes - no joke - see the pic. The line for transportation was a 30 min wait. The kids and I decided to walk up the hill (35 min walk) so we decided to hustle and jog up the hill. My daughter was in a panic - she almost hyperventillated. I reassured her to take her time, not to worry. But, worry she did, " what if we miss the tour? What if they won't let us in?" I assured her it would be no problem, we could always come back another time. The poor little things ran up the mountain in 15 mins - people were amazed and made comments to us since it was a very steep hike. My kids are amazing! Look at the picture of K&T giving the thumbs up - you can see the castle on the peak in the right of center - we literally jogged up the hiking path in 15 mins! Sometimes my kids probably wish they had a different mother.....

As soon as we arrived at the car, the rains started. It poured buckets. Our trip home was delayed due to weather and it made me think of my poor sweet son at Scout Camp enduring this weather in just tents. : (

When we finally arrived home, our friends had returned from Jungfrau and Zurich and we enjoyed our last evening together. They are very dear and special friends and we were so happy to have them visit and share our European life with them.

When they left, the kids and I enjoyed a bit of normal Zurich life. We went to the Badi one day to meet up with friends and swim in the gorgeous lake. Then, on Saturday, we drove to Germany again with J and did some shopping where it is less expensive. It proved to be a fruitful adventure. We stocked up on some awesome beef - filet mignon turned out to be delicious. After spending the morning shopping, we went to a Swiss town, Stein am Rhein for lunch and exploration. This is Switzerland's best preserved Midieval town, famous for the beautiful frescoes painted on the buildings. It is gorgeous and quintessential Swiss. Oh...how I love living in Europe!

Then, my older son returned from camp that evening. He had a wonderful and productive time. We had a few more carefree days and before school started. We made the most of reconnecting with the ex-pat friends, hosting bbqs, and enjoying the amazing Lake Zurich resort-life. Its been a wonderful summer. Hope yours was great too! Drop me a note, I'd love to hear about it. xo