you say hello, i say goodbye...

I have been here for over 6 weeks and I am still saying "Gruezi" for goodbye instead of hello. It just sounds like one should say it at the end of an exchange as well as at the beginning. Kind of like Aloha.

By the way, for those of you who plan on visiting, what you should say is not as easy as danke shon (thank you) auf wiedersehen (goodbye), either. This is Switzerland, not Germany so Swiss German is the language to speak, which is not a written language, and sounds like a melange of German, Italian, French and ubi-dubi (10 points for all who get this reference...).

Gruezi is Swiss German (pronounced "grewt-zi") and is what most people here say for 'hello'. It is much easier than what is said for goodbye and thank you. (Goodbye is a bastardized version of the French "adieu" - sounds like 'ah-day'). Just when I thought I had it, it changed. It pretty much is a combination/variation of 4-6 things that change(s) given the time of day, the mood of the clerk, your mood, the section of town and the lunar phase (not literally, but may as well be as far as I'm concerned...)

It sometimes seems like the Japanese custom where one person bows then the other bows and it just keeps going. I have asked Mark to translate a few times after particularly lengthly goodbye/thank yous. It goes something like this: thanks / thank you / thank you very much / your welcome / no problem / goodbye / have a nice evening/day/afternoon / thank you for telling me to have a nice evening/day/afternoon / you are welcome / and you are welcome / come again / thank you / goodbye / goodbye / bye / bye ....

Really ... it's overwhelming and exhausting so I have decided to smile and nod wherever I go and no one will know if I am deaf / mute / don't speak the language / don't feel like talking / feel superior and/or hate everyone and am just trying to make it though the day without crying ...

I really need to sign up for those German classes ... soon

the French love George Clooney

I was about to do some recycling and came upon the pizza box from our last lunch in France... I had forgotten that we discussed this: George Clooney is the guy making the pizza - really.

Anushka tells me that the French are obsessed with him and he is on all sorts of things like this -

Check it out ...

14.5 hours together in a small rental car and still married

Mark and I decided to visit our friends, Anushka and Fred, in France over the Easter holiday weekend. Mark (and what seemed like the entire country) had both Friday and Monday off so we decided to rent a car and go on this road trip which we calculated should take about 8 hours.

About 2 hours into the trip, we got stuck in horrible gridlock. We did not know whether to attribute it to holiday traffic or an accident, but regardless, it was bad. Less than 10km (about 6 miles) in 4 hours ... Needless to say, it was frustrating. But we were amazingly calm, patient and kind to one another. Wow. I don't know whether to attribute it to my mad ipod DJ-ing skills or the fact that I had the (lucky) foresight to download a few podcasts before we left, (This American Life, Fresh Air, German language lessons, BBC comedy and Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me - yes, I am square) but my darling husband and I laughed through almost all of it.

The driving conditions were pretty awful as we had precipitation of one sort or another the entire way but Mark actually wanted to keep driving through it all so I remained navigator, silly song maker-upper and doler-outer of snacks and Mark held fast at 10 and 2.

France was fabulous. Anushka and Fred live in Laurens, about an hour north/west of the coast at Montpelier. They have terrific little house in a village that looks as though it has not changed in a century. There is a butcher, a baker and tiny grocer in the village and that is about it. Fresh croissants every morning - (this is where I'm sure I found the 10lbs I gained on my honeymoon. I ate chocolate croissants everyday ... no self-control.) fresh chicken and vegetables at night and cheese, wine, bread, fruit and naps during the day. Lovely.

We went antique shopping in Pezenas on Saturday and found a few peices we may purchase for the new apt. (things are cheaper than in Switzerland and you can actually find non-Ikea style items made with real wood!) Now we just need to find a way to get everything to us...

On the way back after shopping and lunch, we stopped at Anushka's tiny masse, the stone house she bought when she first arrived back in France from Portsmouth, NH about 8 years ago. She lived there for 9 months alone, no water, hot or cold, no electricity and no toilet. She says it was the best time of her life. She is amazing. I would be so afraid of the dark and quiet I wouldn't last more than a night.

The rest of our relaxing time was much of the same - sleeping, eating, laughing, drinking, walking, Mark and I practicing our (limited) French and Fred practicing his English and watching their new dog, Altier, a rescued Spanish greyhound, chase Fred as he taunted her with a teddybear. Ahh ... France.

After sleeping in on Sunday, we wished one another a Happy Easter, dunked our croissants in some fabulous coffee and headed out to their 'country house', about 20 minutes away. We had been here when we visited during our honeymoon about 2.5 years ago and it was just as great as we'd remembered. They have 2 horses that live out there and Fred and Nushka have spent just about every weekend for the past year creating new corrals and fencing for them. With no proper pile driver or post hole digger, they surely had their work cut out for them as the soil is not so much that as red clay. Very beautiful and unique looking, but tough to dig into.

They just got approval to expand this stone house and will begin work on it soon. They will rent their place in the village and live out in the country full-time. It's really a great site. Inside there is a fireplace and a loft, just perfect for a weekend getaway and soon, a life-long getaway!

The land around the house is red clay and there is strata everwhere that makes it look like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon. We joked about making a movie with Barbie Dolls and GI Joe's - but it really would be a cool location to film somthing in miniature - the trees are tiny replicas of life-sized trees, the stones could be boulders and the small depth variations, huge canyons and cliffs. If only Anushka and I were more sci-fi types ... (we met on a movie set over 10 years ago and she is working in the documentary realm now)

Determined to break the land speed record for travel between Laurens and Zurich, we got a good night sleep on Sunday, slept in again, ate a hearty brunch and hit the road, this time with me in the driver's seat.

I must admit that I was slightly worried that the mood might be different with me at the helm. Both of us would rather drive than be driven, he often prefers silence to music or talk radio and we have set into place that the driver chooses the 'entertainment', and I know we were both a bit anxious that history would repeat itself...

It did, but only in as much as the weather being terrible and challenging once again. (Snow, rain, ice, rain, snow, sunshine, rain, etc...) Even with 2 pit stops and nasty weather (and a pretty crappy car) we made it home in just over 8 hours - and we were still smiling and laughing. A true test of a partnership - we passed!

workshop week at the American Women's Club of ZH

Last week I got to go to camp. Sort of. I took classes at the American Women's Club of Zurich (AWCZ) as part of their workshop week, which takes place once a year. It was more fun than I expected and not only did I learn much, I met some people I look forward to getting to know and who knows... maybe even becoming friends ....

I took Art History - v. difficult to understand the woman who taught it at first - v. thick German Swiss accent. I was late (shocking, I know) and a bit concerned when I first arrived that I'd be sitting through 2 1/2 hours of only listening to her speak. But to my delight, we soon switched to viewing slides of various works of art and discussing "What is art?".

I then limped home and created tremendous blisters doing so, as I had unwisely chosen a cute but never-before-worn pair of shoes. Thank goodness my next class, that afternoon, was to be Spiritual Bellydancing and shoes were not required.

Bellydancing class was v. fun yet somewhat embarrassing at first. The teacher was great - much more into having us feel the music and doing what came naturally than giving specific instructions and techniques. This tactic is good for me I think, but also v. challenging, as anyone who knows me knows that I like direction and to know what is expected of me. I want to know the right way of doing things... (easier to break the rules when one knows what they are.)

The teacher brought in skirts and scarves and jingly hip-waist-y things for us all to wear. Not having much of a waist, the skirt she chose for me was (not surprisingly) a bit snug. It seems she thought I was a bit smaller than I looked and gave the adjustable waist skirts to the larger women in the group.

So there I was with my muffin top shakin it like I was alone in my room at 12 and pretenting to be Olivia Newton John in Grease when I look out the window to see a handful of men outside the neighboring building on a smoke break staring at us - their eyes obviously glued to our large studio window. At this point I shimmied my way to the other end of the room where the table with a pitcher of water and glasses was located, poured myself a glass, drank it and planted myself at that end of the room for (almost) the rest of the class.

In the last exercise she had us blindfold ourselves - so that we were not self conscious - and put on the really rockin' belly dancing music. The best part? She maneuvered us individually around the room so we would not bump into one another or walls/windows/poles, etc.. and guess where I was placed? Yup. Right back in front of the window. When I took the blindfold off, the same idiots were standing there, still smoking, still gawking. So I took a bow, of course.


Took 2 art classes - Mosaics and Charcoal drawing. Both lots of fun. I have done a little work with mosaics before just playing around on my own and found this class atmosphere great.


Lots of chatty women from early 30s to 70s. I sat next to one woman who grew up in Brookline, MA and just moved in September to ZH from Manhattan and another, from San Francisco who had just moved to ZH a few months ago from Park Slope, Brooklyn - v. close to where I had lived in Brooklyn. She is pregnant and almost exactly one year younger than I. Her husband is an environmental scientist. We had a great talk after the class and pretty much decided to be friends. (This sounds silly, I know but our conversation kind of went that way. We both had limited expectations of the week of classes and merely hoped that we would find just one woman we liked enough to perhaps hang out with.)

I had not finished my mirror when the class ended so I needed to take some tiles home with me and go buy some tile cutters and glue. I guess my design was more detailed and the peices smaller than most others in the class - that's why it took longer ... (it was not because I was talking too much ... I know what you're thinking...) Charcoal drawing was fun too. I am by no means an artist, but I love to do artistic things. I'd say I'm more crafy, though I hate that term and the fact that it's so overused and trendy right now ... anyway. This is my 'peice'. Bidding starts at 100 CHF. I take PayPal and cash only.
Moroccan cooking class was yummy. We got to drink wine while cooking, always a good thing and I learned about degerming garlic. I had no idea. Why did no one ever tell me about this before? Apparently the germ in garlic and even onions is the bit that causes some people's bellies (mine) to hurt. I was so thrilled to find this out and am on a mission to see if it holds 100% true. I'll keep you posted.

We made Moroccan Lamb Tagine, Couscous, Eggplant parcels, and Baklava. I was not sure I would like all of it as it was very black olive, nut and coriander heavy - all of which I'm not usually that fond of - but wow - all together and in this menu - amazing. If you come to visit us, this will surely be one of the meals you'll get!

I think I may join the American Women's Club of Zurich after experiencing this week. A good time all around and I met a handful of women I think I might just have to tea in our new place!

the search is over!!

We have an apartment. We don't have the keys yet, but we have signed on the dotted line and paid the man. What a relief.

This is just inside our front door. Great molding and etched glass, high ceilings and hardwood floors. More photos to follow as we move in and begin to make it ours.

Now I'm off to rest my weary bones and aching neck. It's nearly 2am here and tomorrow I shall be one year older ... Beware the Ides of March! (thank you for all the cards, notes, flowers and packages I've received already - I'm one lucky broad...xx)

look what I found!

Mark went away to the UK on business for a few days the end of last week so I took the opportunity to check out some new neighborhoods and shops. While trying in vain to find a second-hand shop I'd read about on line, I came upon a little shopping center not too far from our apt. that we'd never been to.

I was meandering around the grocery/garden/home/etc.. store and walked smack into a sporting goods section that was quite large. I saw bikes and cycling gear, skiis and snow boards, tennis racquets and ... as I rounded a corner ... swimsuits!

My heart started beating faster as I walked toward the women's suits and there, smack in front of me was this...

I couldn't believe my luck. Not only was there a bubble cap, as I had been wanting but they had a black one! And a good, affordable pair of swim goggles as well. Unfortunately, the swimsuit selection was somewhat lacking, so for now I will continue to don my polkadot swimdress number, but it will be complimented nicely by my new accoutrement.


Now all I need is some spray paint for the pool-side cameras...

the Lucy-like fiasco ...

Ah ... swimming. So peaceful, so good for you, so, so ... so I'm pretty much banned from the pool at the gym at Mark's company.

It all started so innocently and with such good intentions. I decided that I would get back into swimming laps in addition to my new-found, almost-daily cardio routines at the gym.

I have been looking for a swimming store in ZH, as I knew I would need a swim cap and goggles and likely a more appropriate suit. (The one I have would go nicely with the above pictured swim caps - black and white polkadot number with a skirt. V. Esther Williams. I love it.)

After striking out at stores, I hit the internet. I have found a subtle 'bubble cap' version with a chin strap that I fancy. Problem is I can only find it in the US and finding places that will ship here is not that easy ... so until I figure that out, I will slick my hair back and try not to be too conspicuous...

I was not successful at this two nights ago at said pool. I walked out to the pool deck area, dropped my towel and started to descend the wide stairway, which is on the long side of the lap pool. (This is where I wish I could insert a diagram - it would be so helpful - I know it's possible, I just can't draw at all and it would prove more confusing than just my verbose description.)

The pool has 3 lanes and on the same side the stairs are on, there is an attached jaccuzzi/whirlpool. It's kind of like an ear, the way it is attached and open to the pool/head.

I decided that I might need to sit in the tub for a few moments before I began my laps. And what's a whirlpool without the whirl? There was a green button flush to the lip of the pool at the connection of the 'lobe' and the 'head' and I pushed it. It was the logical thing to do, I thought. One usually needs to push a button to make the bubbles go, right?

Well, before I could blink, water began pouring out of a giant fawcet about 3' above my head into the pool. This was not what I wanted nor expected to happen. I pushed the button again to make it stop. Makes sense, right? Wrong. Apparently in Switzerland things stop when they are good and ready and you cannot change that.

Another green button pushed and about 20 under water jets located all around the large pool began roaring and making the surface of the water look like a bubbling cauldron. I was nervously laughing as tanned, bald man in his 60's walked by the wall of glass that was opposite me, which everyone heading to either the men's or women's locker room must walk past. Busted, I thought. Damn.

At this point, I noticed a 3rd green button. Thank goodness. This will surely stop everything, no one will ever know what an imbecile I am and I can do my laps as though nothing ever happened. Right. 3rd button was the trifecta. Not only did the jets all around the tub start, they blew so hard it spouted into the air. And that's not all - every other spout, jet, spigot and blow hole went to the next level as if to taunt me. If I wasn't laughing nervously already, this would have been a good time to start.

Two more men saw me right then. I probably looked like a reject from a Busby Berkeley film. I waited until they passed and skulked out of the pool looking for a kill switch. The I saw it: a red button just like the green ones - only red. If green means go then red most certainly means STOP. Perfectly logical conclusion. I looked around to make sure I was still alone and pushed the red button. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Exasperated and now slightly nervous, I grabbed my towel and ran into the ladies locker room.
I stood there a minute not knowing what to do. Really not knowing. I felt like I was 6. Do I go to the front desk and try to explain to them what I had done? Did they speak/understand English? If I did that, did I have to get changed or could I go up in my towel so that I could get back and do my laps once the problem had been fixed? It's not like the front desk at a regular gym. They don't have that there. This is like the front desk security guy in a uniform in the lobby of a large office building. No one would expect or want to see a dripping American in a polkadot swimdress whining about some bubbles in the pool. There was no one else in the locker room or I would (maybe) have tried to ask for help and play up the 'new-to-ZH-stupid American-routine'. I wanted to disappear. Mortified. Embarrassed. Amused. Alone. I was Lucy and desperately needed Ethel.

I decided I should go (hide out?) into the sauna. After about 2 minutes of struggling to breathe in the dry heat, I got out and began pacing and weighing my options again, all the while hearing the pool roaring loudly on the other side of the door. It was still going. I headed back into the sauna to lie down and think. Maybe I would just bake away the humiliation I was feeling. Suddenly, a loud knock.

I sat up with a jolt, tighened my towel around me and poked my head out the door of the sauna. I saw a woman struggling to put on a bra (I have never understood why women hook them in the front at their waist then spin the clasp side to their backs, shimmy them up to the right place and slip their arms through the straps. Isn't it just easier to put it on the right way in the first place?) and then suddenly a man popped his head in from the pool entrance asking, in broken English, if everyone was okay. "Is no one dead?" He said. He looked right at me. My heart was racing.

"The push. The red. Emergency. Some person push emergency. No one dead?" He knew. He was looking right at me, waiting for me to cop to it. And I would have, too if I thought that he would understand. But I knew it would be in vain. He knew that I knew that he knew and vice versa. I just wanted to get out of there. But he wanted to keep asking about the red button. He pointed to the one in the locker room near where I was standing. I looked for help from the 'bra woman' but she was gone. I played dumb and was trying to tell him that I did not push that one as I pointed to the one near me.

Finally he fully opened the door behind him, revealing the pool, now placid with only a single, tanned, bald head bobbing up and down one of the lanes. The guard now said, "The button. The red one. Emergency," while pointing right at the one I did push. I looked puzzled at him as he pointed and then these words came out of my mouth. "Oh, that red button. I don't know, but there was someone out there a little while ago..." I shrugged, forced a little smile and turned away, covering my mouth at what I had just done. He left, closing the door behind him.

What the hell was I thinking? Why did I say that? Why did I have to lie? I felt sick. Why didn't I just say giggling, "Yes. Me press red button. Try to stop big bubbles. So sorry"?

I stripped my suit off, feeling sick, put it in the quik-dry machine and got dressed, quickly and shakily texting Mark, who was in a spinning class and was expecting to meet me afterwards. "i've mbarrased the family but dont worry i'm okay just dont talkk to the guards on the way out i'm going home now".

I grabbed my still-damp suit, shoved it in my bag and left the empty locker room. As I walked down the hall past the wall of glass, I kept my head down, careful to avoid any and all eye contact.

I needed an escape plan, as I had to walk past the security desk on my way out. I knew he would be there, waiting. I would pull my hat down low over my eyes and pretend to be on the phone so that if he tried to talk to me, I could point at the phone and do that rolling of the eyes thing that people do as if to say, 'sorry, I'm on the phone with someone I can't stand, but I cant hang up either - what are you going to do?!' That would work.

Pushing the call button for the elevator it hit me: There are video monitors of the pool behind the secutiy desk. Three views. I noticed them the first day I had to sign in as a visitor when I met Mark for lunch. damndamndamn.

The elevator door opened and I followed my plan. Hat down. No eye contact. Fake phone call. The automatic doors opened to let me out of the building and I was free. But I just couldn't help looking back at the security desk out of the corner of my eye. There he was, looking right at me. He looked down to where the monitors sat, and back to me, then, just as I walked out of his sight, he flashed a huge 'gotcha' smile.

Needless to say, I haven't been back since. Maybe when I get that new swimsuit and cap...

the apt. search continues ...

We hope to hear from one if not all 3 of the apartments we have seen in the last week that we both like, can afford (relatively) can see ourselves living in and feel we have a good chance at getting (who knows?)

The 1st is a cool 3rd floor walk up in the young, hip area of Schmeide Weidekon. This is the one I previously wrote briefly about where the present tenant used to live in Manhattan and I 'worked' that connection ... hard. We even went back and dropped off our letter of reference which includes statements from Mark's company that we haven't racked up any debt here (yet - and thank goodness they don't check our mail in the US...) that he has a secure job, and is a good boy, etc...

I like this apt. b/c it is still in the city proper, we could walk to downtown -though taking the tram for 5 minutes would be faster - there are stores and bars and people right downstairs and the vibe is edgy and cool. It would be Williamsburg if it were in NYC. Of course I always said I could never live in Williamsburg b/c I was sooo not cool enough, but maybe here ....

Apt. 2 is another we found on line. It caught my eye because it had a huge yard and v. cool layout. It is in an area called Hongg. It took a while to get there by tram and it was just about all uphill. The place is nestled into the side of a hill so that however you chose to get to it, you need to either walk up about 50 steep steps or walk down about 40 shallow and steep steps. Not knowing we had an option, we ended up huffing and puffing our way up the stairs from the street below. From the yard and the huge windows in the place, you have an amazing view of the city. It is just up from the river that feeds into the lake and there are bike paths and all sorts of recreation areas very near by.

I think one of the reasons I liked this place so much is that I really loved how the guy who lives there now decorated/designed it. V. my taste. Antiques with modern peices, lots of tactile, artistic, small objects and adornments. Not too cluttery or busy. Calm and comfortable with an edge. There is a sleeping loft, 2 bathrooms, a small office/guest room, another bedroom and the cutest little kitchen with a mini banquette. But the outdoor space is what makes the house fabulous. There is a yard as big as the house behind it on the hill and on the flat of the hill above the house is another little, tiny 'house'. Kind of like a shed/lean to/open-air porch kind of place. There is a kitchen with running water and a fridge for stocking all the necessities for the types of festivities that could/would occur there. The present owner has a small table with mismatched chairs and a hammock in the space. Against the frame that makes the back wall of the 'room' he has 2 large framed peices of art - it's a really enticing area. I just wanted to jump into the hammock with a cocktail in my hand and look out onto the city while listening to Edith Pfiaf.

The big downer about this place is the distance from the city. It is still in the city proper, but would take Mark about 1/2 hour door to door on the tram or bus to get to work and there is not much of a town or area closeby. The house comes with a garage which we would not need, as we have no car, but I did use the opportunity to remind Mark that living in a place like this would be a great reason (for me) to have a spiffy Vespa ...

The 3rd apartment we just looked at yesterday. Mark found it in the newspaper, so there were no photos like many of the places we have found on-line. I find photos v. helpful, esp. since I can't read all the details which are in German. I think that many of the thousands of people who are looking at apartments are just using the internet and have neglected using the old standby of the daily newspaper as a resource. I say this because when we went to see this place, we were the only ones there and the only ones scheduled to see it - not like the 25-60 people that have been at the other places we've visited. Talk about overwhelming ...

This apartment is in the Zuriberg area of the city. The guy who showed it to us called it 'The Gold Coast', which we had heard before but thought that was reserved for the area closer to the lake on the same side, but I'm sure he knows more than we do in this regard. This is a v. classy area filled with villas and single-family homes that are just to-die-for. A totally different vibe from each of the other places we've recently seen and liked. Tree-lined streets, just up the hill from the University of Zurich and the Hospital. Apparently many doctors and lawyers live here so now all I have to do is pop down the hill, get my MD and we'll fit right in.

The apartment is on the 1st floor, which is not ideal in my eyes, unless you are getting the benefit of some outdoor space/garden in lieu of the balconies that most upper floors in these types of houses have. But this place makes up for that in many ways: Very high ceilings, dining room and living room with beautiful decorative molding on ceilings. Nice large entry way, perfect for the round, pedestal table I've always wanted in an entry way. 3 bedrooms, a tiny little summer porch/room off the master bedroom with lovely mosaic tiled floor. Great privacy screens in the windows. Beautiful hardwood floors throughout. All just been renovated. I could tell that this was M.'s favorite from the moment he walked in. V. civilized, and v. affordable for this neighborhood and the size of the apt.

If we were able to get this apt., it would be much easier to rationalize taking many trips and maybe even entertaining the idea of the aforementioned Vespa for a certain chick I know... but we'll see. How much easier it would be if we were just offered one of the three and our minds would be made up for us, but it rarely goes like that, does it? You are dying for just one yes, any yes, and get all nos, even for the lousiest place for which you've applied and then you find 3 that you really like and there is a chance that we could be offered more than one or even all three ... then what do we do?!!!

The owner, an elderly woman, lives directly above this apartment. This makes me a bit ill-at- ease, as I really like lisening to music at a number higher than 2... But, as I said to M. on the bus ride home, maybe she's deaf. Not that I would wish that on anyone, but the agent said she was old and hearing is something that goes with age, so...

So there we are. Be sure to check back next week and hopefully we will have news and you will feel like you know just where we are from the 'fabulous' descriptions above.

recap::
#1 - 2nd highest in price, about $500 higher than #3 - available April 1 // washer&dryer in apt. // 2 bathrooms // cool neighborhood w/shops nearby // easy commute for M.

#2 - most expensive. $1k more than #3 // available April 1 // washer&dryer in bldg. // 2 bathrooms // huge yard // great view // garage // most interesting/fun space // tough commute for M. // few shops nearby

#3 - cheapest // available immed. // washer&dryer 3 flights up in attic of home, but easy to install and we have the room in the kitchen to have our own // only 1 bathroom, but huge tub and brand new everything // small back terrace - shared // huge, high ceilings // pretty easy commute for M. // not many shops nearby // v. residential

thoughts::
number 1 is the place you want in your 20s/30s and you feel and/or are young and hip :: number 2 is the place to have when you have a slew of friends that will come over every weekend and party and enjoy the yard and space - kids and pets running around ::
number 3 is the place for formal dinner parties with 40-somethings, drinking much wine and rationalizing buying expensive peices of furniture for ::

more thoughts ::
1. Beastie Boys // The Clash // Bjork // Cake // Liz Phair // New Order // Bowie // X // The Ramones
2. Elvis Costello // Billy Bragg // English Beat // Bob Marley // Jeff Buckley // Talking Heads // Johnny Cash
3. This American Life // Dinah Washington // Buena Vista Social Club // Stevie Wonder // Nouvelle Vague