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!!