Thanksgiving and The Christmas Spirit... Swiss Style of Course!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Over here it was business as usual... except for us Americans. We wanted to have a real Thanksgiving (or as much as possible), so last week I was on the hunt for all the ingredients for an authentic dinner. And it was not an easy task.

The menu included:

• Salad
• Turkey (breast, not a whole turkey... as a whole [ONLY 7 lbs.] turkey cost 50 CHF?!?!)
• Mashed Potatoes
  
• Corn (DUH!)
• Homemade Stuffing (Yes, I actually made it from a loaf of bread not a box)
• Asparagus
  
• and Homemade Apple Pie (Again, yes, FROM SCRATCH... dough and all!)

This feast required a trip to five, repeat FIVE, different stores over a two day period. Apparently the Swiss did not want to make it easy for us to celebrate the Pilgrims coming to America. While I cooked all day, CJ had to work. Another pitfall of celebrating a purely American holiday. This was our first real holiday since getting married... weird, I know... It was sad to be away from all the people we love. But, I was really dreading having to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner by my self. Let's be honest, I'm not a super cook to begin with, and I was cut loose on the holiday that most revolves around food! But, when it was all finished, it was DELICIOUS... if I do say so myself. And I do. Here are some pictures of how everything turned out:

Me with the meal!

The pie sitting by the window to cool... straight out of a Mickey Mouse cartoon.

While it was hard for us to be away on Thanksgiving, Friday, for me, was worse! I LOVE BLACK FRIDAY with a passion that few understand!!! There is nothing like the thrill of being out before dawn to begin the Christmas shopping season. Now, as I get older, I hate fighting crowds to shop or fighting for merchandise or the chance to try something on... but Black Friday is different. It's sacred. There is an energy in the air that is INFECTIOUS! There is no time too early to start standing in line! Unfortunately, this year, I didn't go out to buy anything. I did have plans though, with some of the significant others from CJ's work. So, even though I wasn't out bargain hunting, I still had a great day and met some really great people!

Funny side note... on Friday I brought home a chocolate bar from my event. CJ (the same guy who didn't eat chocolate for 10 years) is now in the habit of having a little chocolate after practically every meal. I told him he could have some of my (king size) candy bar. Well, when he opened it, there was melted chocolate inside, which then dripped out everywhere... This is the mess that ensued...

Never one to waste food, he ended up eating the WHOLE candy bar!

Saturday was a beautiful day! The weather finally decided to cooperate, and CJ was able to drag me out for a morning run by the lake. It really was a picture perfect fall day! Afterward, we went out in search of some Christmas decorations. We bought a tree, lights, and some ornaments. I do think the Christmas decorations are going to be a bit sparse though, since we will only have them for the next couple years. I am still debating about getting a few poinsettias... but am worried that they will all be dead when we get back from Rome... anyhow...

Later we headed out to see a couple of the Christmas Markets on Saturday. WOW, do they know how to decorate here! It was all so beautiful. The thing that struck me as being different from home is that EVERYTHING here is decorated. We have beautiful decorations back home, but they are usually confined to the downtown square or bigger public places. Here, it seems like every side street was lit up. I am going to post a TON of pictures (consider yourself warned), because everything looked just awesome!!!

Me with the Singing Christmas Tree in the background... drinking some spiced wine of course! :)

Quick view of one of the Markets (I love the stars hanging in the trees!)

More beautiful decorations and trees!!

I especially LOVE the side streets... they look so magical!

Every department store was even decorated. This was a jewelry store. CJ obviously loved it, and I said this was the only way (covered in crystals) that I would ever allow a deer head in our house!

Here is the Singing Christmas Tree with real live singers! And they even sang carols in English!!

Here is the main tree at the big Christmas Market... decorated ONLY in Swarovski crystals!! Oooooh.... Ahhhhhh....

The whole city was lit up and wonderful.

Imagine our surprise when we were walking around the city and saw a display combining two of our favorite things!!! Hahahaha...

Some final pictures of the city!

It was great to be able to wander up and down the decorated streets, sipping some spiced wine! Or, in out case...

Juice boxes with wine!! Good find CJ!!

After wandering around Old Town we made our way to our first Swiss movie... NEW MOON! I cannot tell you how excited I was to see this movie! And it did NOT disappoint! Even CJ had to admit it held his attention. And I think what I loved most, well, besides Edward, was how closely it followed the book. Since I LOVED the books series, I wanted nothing more than to see exactly that (and not a lot of made up, extra crap) come to life. Good work New Moon!! I would love to talk about it over and over with anyone who will listen, but the movie itself was quite an experience. A few interesting things... 1. The movie cost us 38.00 CHF! No joke. EXPENSIVE! 2. There is assigned seating. 3. The movie theater had a full blown bar right before you went in... which brings me to... 4. Intermission. Honestly. I can't make this stuff up. The movie was just over 2 hours, and they had an intermission! 5. Also, the most comfortable leather seats I have ever sat in (but for the price it should come with a massage)... even the arm rest was padded!

All in all, one of the best nights I have had here so far! And a wonderful weekend overall. Sunday we put up the tree and listened to some Christmas music... just relaxed. I didn't take any tree pictures, but will eventually. We have CJ's work Christmas party this weekend, and so I will get back with even more pictures soon!! Love and miss you all!

All Kinds of Things...

Hello again everyone! I know it has been a couple weeks since I have written, and have been reminded of that over and over by CJ. But, for a while there wasn't a lot to tell...

As you all saw from the last post, we moved into our new apartment and started settling in. Two weekends ago we stayed close to home. Overall, the weather here has been kind of disappointing. We have been hearing stories of nearly 70 degree weather in Ohio (and I for one am going to pretend that you have all conspired to lie to us so that we would be jealous... it worked), but have not been so lucky here. Here it has been between mid-40s and (maybe) 60 and usually rainy.

I am progressing in my German lessons, but to be honest I am not too fond of German. It doesn't sound very pretty (more like you're constantly clearing your throat). But, I am starting to recognize some words when out and about, so maybe it will be helpful after all.

Last Friday CJ and I went to the U.S. Consulate in Zurich so that I could be sworn in as a new lawyer. Well, it was very under-whelming! Not only was one of the office ladies a real b!*$# (seriously, I think I could see her horns sprouting out of her hair - although the other woman was MUCH nicer), it was difficult to have to do something so special in such a mundane way. Oh well. I tried to remind myself that the important thing is that I passed and can now look forward to being a licensed attorney! And surreptitiously, I got a wonderful surprise in the mail from Mary the same day... a program from the actual ceremony in Columbus so that I could see my name listed! Thank you again Mare!

On Saturday we decided to spend what was supposed to be a (finally) beautiful day in Geneva. Even though it is A LOT like Zurich, I like Geneva. Mostly, and selfishly, because it is French speaking, and so I almost knew what was going on! We walked around the city for a bit exploring all the gorgeous buildings... but once again the weather let us down. Weather.com (those liars!) told us it was going to be 64 and sunny. Shockingly, it was 47 (burrrrr) and overcast with a great deal of fog. In those conditions (and having dressed for warmer weather) we didn't last long. CJ did manage to take some great pictures of the city before we left:





Cathedral of St-Pierre...



And the inside...

15th-century choir stalls

Rohan Chapel

Chapel of the Maccabees

A couple more shots of Geneva:

Although Geneva was kind of a bust, we weren't ready to go home quite yet. We stopped at the store to grab a bottle of wine and a snack (for me of course) and boarded the train for Bern. Even though Bern is the capital of Switzerland, it isn't all that big. But, like all of Europe, it has some beautiful buildings, and had much better weather:


CJ and a beautiful view!

Some parting shots...



Finally, it was time to go home... We quickly stopped at the store for another bottle of wine for the train ride home, and another snack (for me of course), and we were on our way! Besides how beautiful everything is here (or maybe still including it), one of my favorite things has to be all the WINES!! I love wine! And I especially love passing the time on the train with our own bottle! :)

The rest of the weekend we spend relaxing around home and in Oerlikon. Other things worth mentioning:

• We booked our Christmas present... we are going to ROME right before the holiday!!! SOOOOO EXCITED!!! We are really looking forward to this trip, and having a week to explore such a wonderful city together!

• We also decided when we will be coming home to Ohio. We will probably be flying in on about July 2nd and staying for two weeks! Mark your calendars everyone!! :)

• I am also SO excited to finally be seeing NEW MOON this Friday!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhh I love Edward Cullen! And I love CJ for agreeing to see it with me!
  

• This Saturday we are going to head out and find some Christmas decorations. Nothing extravagant, but I'm starting to get in the spirit. Also, Christmas Markets will also be open this weekend, so we are going to check those out. There are four Markets in Zurich alone, and so it should be a great way to get into the spirit - See How Awesome Here!!

• Our building has finished fixing up on our storage space, so we can FINALLY get rid of the last of the boxes milling around our hallway. YEAH!

• Lastly, don't forget to check out the rest of our pictures HERE!
  

And with that, you are all caught up on what we have been doing! We hope you all have a
Happy Thanksgiving...
Eat lots of turkey for us!!

The MOVE and more!!!

So moving day has finally come and gone! I know you have all been wondering what our new place looks like, so I will try and make sure this post is heavy on the pictures... But first, check out the area!

Oerlikon... our new home!


On moving day, our relocation agent, Daniella (who is awesome) picked us up in a van to take us, and ALL our luggage to the new apartment for the handover. This was humorous in itself, because Daniella was not used to driving a "big" vehicle. CJ seemed very nervous for Daniella's father's brand new BMW! Anyways, when we got here, the apartment was in superb condition... especially since the previous tenants had removed all their clutter! The rental agency inspected everything, and then we were given the new keys. As you will see, everything is brand new! This place was totally remodeled only a year ago!

Then we had to go register in our new Canton. This is basically similar to changing your address... almost. When we got back the movers were already here with our things. FINALLY, after nearly two months, our stuff had arrived!! I was very grateful for the movers, since it was raining pretty hard. They brought everything upstairs, and put everything together. We unpacked a few boxes, and basically directed them where to put everything. It is also worth noting, that on the first move where we don't have all our friends helping, we are on the first floor (only one flight of stairs!)... sorry everyone!

Once they were done unloading, we made a quick trip to the grocery store. Besides the Swiss stores, there is also an Aldi's.... great for cheap beer and wine!! For those of you who don't know, CJ requires beer whenever moving. I require wine always... When we got back, the taxi driver from IKEA had already unloaded all our new stuff up into our hallway. Awesome. Less work for us (meaning CJ). So, then CJ began assembling everything. Also, please don't feel bad for him... he left me back in the States with a LOT of work/moving to do when he came to Switzerland. He owes me... and my mom! :)

Putting the furniture together wasn't actually that bad. Much easier than the last batch of IKEA furniture! I spent the evening putting more of our stuff away, and I spent the next full day organizing all our clothes. Organizing CJ's clothes is always a hassle because not only does he have MORE THAN ME, I always end up having to refold every single article! But, if you know me, you know I get a sick satisfaction from having everything in place! I am unable to rest until all items are in their place, and sadly, I can tell IMMEDIATELY when something isn't. Ask around... this had led to many amusing anecdotes for my friends! Jerks. ;)

Anyways, I am happy to report that the apartment is almost in tip top shape. And ready for GUESTS! The movers came back for a HUGE box that was taking over our living room. This was great, because in Switzerland you cannot just take trash out to the dumpster! You even need to buy special (government approved) Zurich sacks... which are EXPENSIVE!! In the pictures, there are still some boxes... this is because they're currently doing some repairs to our basement storage. Don't worry... they will be gone soon! Things are finally in order enough that my OCD would allow me to post these pictures for you all; so here goes the virtual tour:

This is the entrance... bedroom on right, closet and bathroom are on the left.

View into the apartment from the entrance.

View into the bedroom from the hall. Don't mind the exposed wires hanging from the ceiling (they are in the living room too). The previous tenants must have had overhead lights that they removed. Also, shoes are hiding under every surface! Oops... lots of shoes! And please note that I FINALLY got the nightstand on my side of the bed!! I consider this a victory because, as I have tried to explain over and over to CJ, this only makes sense since I am the one with glasses! Here are a couple more bedroom shots:

Now into the bathroom:

We still need an extra shower curtain, because the shower kind of wraps around.

It's kind of weird how none of the toilets have backs. But, notice how there are two buttons on the back? Two flush settings! Pretty awesome! Also, we think the floor is heated... we just have to figure out how to turn it on. One more:

Overall, an extremely modern bathroom!! Same can be said for the kitchen:

View into kitchen from living room (also dining table).

Stainless appliances (except the cheap ones we bought!), granite counter tops, convection oven, tons of cabinet space, plus all our sweet shower presents!

The dishwasher and fridge are hidden... they look just like the other cabinets!

The view into the living from the kitchen (I took a ton of pics):

We still need to hang some things, especially the pictures!

Lots of new IKEA furniture! Not too bad looking, but not super comfy. Currently, I'm sitting on the beige couch and my bum hurts.

Chair that CJ has wanted for a LONG time! I think this one will be coming home with us!

I love all the light in this apartment!! It's funny though, because I have to open and shut the shutters in the morning and evening... very European!

Pullout couch and desk.

Close up of chair. Last one:

That's all for the apartment pictures. I hope all of you will eventually get to see it in person! :) We got the last of the items that we needed for the apartment this past weekend, and afterwords we headed out to do something fun... for CJ. We went hiking.

We heard of a mountain close by in Uetliberg that had some great trails. That part was true. What was left out was just how STEEP the trails were:

I made CJ pose...

Me towards the top... I swear this trail went on forever!

Poor CJ... I think he ended up pulling me most of the way up. Great views from the top though!!