Harbaughs do the Alps

How could we not have done this sooner?! Amazing.

We took a series of trains and trams (not the Zurich kind of trams - the ones that hang from wires and are suspended over giant gorges, etc...) on Saturday and arrived in Murren mid-afternoon.

We skipped the last leg of the train ride and opted to hike the last bit, which took about an hour and a half. It was really glorious - just what you'd expect to see when hiking in the Alps.

And the weather was gorgeous - we couldn't have asked for better.

We checked into our great little hotel with fabulous views, drank some wine on the balcony and marveled at the Eiger and Jungfrau.

Sunday morning after a swell breakfast at the hotel, Mark and I left our traveling companions, Shannon, Dave and baby Niko and headed to the v. top of the Schilthorn, famous for being featured in the James Bond Film 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'

We watched paragliders take off and float and circle above the clouds. We even discussed the fact that we might someday be persuaded to try it (tandem with an experienced sort, of course).

The views are unbelievable. Looking down the mountain I could imagine it covered with (more) snow and told Mark that now would be a good time to note where the rocks were, so that when we come back this winter to ski, we can be prepared ...

After a few 'mouth agape with wonder' hours, we headed back down. (We missed 2 trams and were cranky for about 5 minutes but then I pulled out a little notebook and we wrote down a list of more adventures we want to go on and that kept us quiet for the duration...)

We met back up with Shannon, Dave and Niko at the deck on our hotel for a little lunch before our trip back to Zurich.

We cannot wait to go back and can't believe it took us this long to go. Thank you to Shannon for planning this fabulous trip and for officially and in a big way, introducing us to the Alps!

Oh, and this is my favorite sign of the weekend and one which, to anyone who knows me, could prove extra funny. They actually are warning you, at the top of this steep, steep mountain (an ALP, for god sakes) not to wear stilettos. I love it. (For those who care, I was wearing running sneakers and am getting hiking boots just like Shannon's as soon as we can find them ...)

more broken glass

I was woken up suddenly last night at 4am by the sound of a giant crash and breaking glass. As I was alone, I got up, wandered sleepy-eyed around the apartment until I came upon this mess in the kitchen...

Funny that I didn't even think for a second that it would have been a window or that I would have been in danger. Ahh, Zurich. I immediately felt for my upstairs neighbors, who must have heard the racket, but were thankful that they did not come downstairs inquiring.

In my quest to make the apartment more homey, I have been on a 'hanging things' kick. I have been wanting to do this since we arrived, as I brought a good amount of things to hang on the walls from the US, but it just has not been a priority and I hadn't wanted to hang things all on my own - meaning that I wanted to consult and consider my husband's feelings and creative input too - such a nice wife, I know.

Also - it was not a priority for him and he was a bit concerned with not making a mess of the plaster walls - which I understand and also understand that he is a planner - but this was taking too long for me and I - the 'run and gunner' had been patiently waiting for months ...

So I hung some stuff while he was away on business - things we had already discussed and agreed to the placement of, etc... I was careful - even using a measuring tape to make sure things were spaced evenly and a level to make sure they were straight ... that is a lot for me! I got the right kind of hooks and made a go of it.

I was v. pleased with my accomplishments and looking forward to showing M when he returned from the UK.

I wasn't concerned about the sturdiness of any of the items - I had even used a stud finder (insert giggle, here) to make sure I the heavier things were secure when hung.

I had hung this fabulous poster I got when I was in the Soviet Union in 1989. When I was home in NH, I spent more $ than I should have on getting framed nicely. Mark and I both love it and love travel and old political posters, but were unsure where it would really 'go' in this apartment. We agreed there was this big, blank wall in the kitchen that would work well, so that is where I hung it. And that is from where it took a dive at 4 am.

I couldn't deal with cleaning it up at that God-forsaken hour so I returned to bed knowing I'd be facing the mess in the morning. As you can imagine, morning came, I walked to the kitchen and found the scene, much to my horror, as I had (of course) forgotten all about it ... great.

But there we two good things about it: (well, one good and one cool). 1. Mark was away and did not need to deal with it at all, which may have made him a bit cranky and 2. This piece of glass got stuck into one of the cabinets by the force of the fall - like a pencil that gets driven through a tree during a tornado ... cool.

broken glass

I witnessed my first tram accident yesterday. And I was on the tram. It really was no big deal (easy for me to say as I was not in the car or driving the tram...) no one was hurt, but it was still a tiny bit exciting.

Trams have tracks. They cannot veer from them. Cars can go on the tracks but also on the road. A car was cutting in between 2 trams going opposite directions and got clipped by one then the other - the tram I was riding on was the second and our poor driver didn't know what hit him - quite literally ... I felt the brakes slam on and heard that fabulous screeching noise then saw a little silver car pop out on my side of the tram with a broken out back window.

Everyone came pouring out of the trams to get a look. Many people just kept walking down the hill as though they had seen this kind of thing a million times. I didn't know whether to stay on the tram and wait or to walk - but since it was not raining and I felt like a nice walk, I got out.

I met up with the rest of the former tram passengers at the next stop down the hill and we didn't have to wait for long. Our old tram driver was only a delayed a few moments and picked us all up again. I got back into my former seat and got a little smirk from the teen-aged kid sitting opposite me. He'd obviously experienced this kind of thing before ...

I guess there were no police reports to fill out - or at least none for our driver. I did notice as I looked back up the hill that the other driver and tram were still at the scene of the accident and the kids in the car that had been hit were all just lurking around as well. (I did manage to snap a few shots as I walked down the hill and got a few snarls from the kids who were in the car and not feeling too good about themselves and certainly did not appreciate an obnoxious American taking photos of their misfortune on her cell phone. But I was subtle - I made it look like I was dialing a number - the sound the phone makes when taking a photo gave me away though ... got to figure out how to turn that off ...)

Now I have something else to be paranoid about when driving in Zurich - not only the hidden speed trap boxes but now the trams that jump out and smash you ... yikes ...

i have a ne-ew bi-ike, i have a ne-ew bi-ike

Yes, this is my new (to me) bike. And yes, it is in my living room. (Don't tell Mark - I'll move it to the basement before he comes home on Friday, promise ... it's just really hea-vy ...)

I found it on one of the ex-pat sites I frequent called the English Forum. I have been looking for a bike for months now, as Mark and I were unable to bring ours to Zurich because our shed in Concord was frozen shut when the movers came ... total bummer too, as I just just had my bike tuned up and it was perfect for me - and a pretty shade of green too! -

Anyway, I've been looking at second hand bikes as new ones over here - like pretty much everything - are v. expensive. Turns out second hand bikes ain't cheap either ... but I was on a mission and scoured the sites I've found that occasionally have used items for sale and viola! I found one ... but I had to act quickly.

I had to take a bus then a tram to go see the bike and in the end, Mark was able to meet me there which made me feel better - though any price negotiation was pretty much out as he was looking swanky and 'money' in his fab suit, tie and new overcoat, (not to mention his v. handsome new haircut I convinced him to get in Bellagio last week).

We checked the bike out, I rode it, in one gear, for about 20 feet and proclaimed that it was great. (I know ... such a tough customer). We had not brought the entire amount of cash with us, which was fine as I gave them a deposit and said I'd come back this a.m. to pick it up, pay the balance and ride it home.

Fast forward to this morning. Mark is leaves for the UK for a few days, and I get up and don my 'biking' duds (yoga pants, sneakers, t-shirt and thin Patagonia pullover), put my wallet, a rain hat, the book I am currently reading and an apple in my backpack and head back to the other side of town to pick up my new, red bike!

I arrived at the apartment complex and was met with a veritable daycare of toddlers running around in front of the door where I needed to press the buzzer to let the husband of Elen know I was there to claim my bike.

It's cold here right now, about 10 Celsius (don't ask my what that is exactly in Fahrenheit, but I assure you, it's too cold for kids to be running around in no coat) so I got to see lots of red and runny noses while I waited for the dude to answer the door.

We found out last night that he had just arrived from Ukraine about a month ago and was studying German at home while his wife was in school. He brought the bike up from the basement, placing it in front of me with a toothy grin. I pulled out my wallet, gave him the cash owed, waved and began to walk my bike towards the forest, where I had planned to ride all the way to our apartment.

I hopped on the bike about 100 yards past the apartment complex, downshifted (do you say that in bike speak?) and the whole mechanism on the back wheel dropped to a different location and the chain would no longer move. At all. "Great," I uttered. But still remained calm, despite the pit in my stomach I had regarding this new situation.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I am not keen on confrontation and don't like knocking on stranger's doors, or buzzing their buzzers, I don't like bothering people and frankly, much of the time, I don't like talking to people. I am the classic introverted extrovert. Go figure that one out ... (and be sure to call when you figure out what it means...)

So given the above, I was v. proud of myself for 1/2 dragging 1/2 carrying my newly acquired bike back to Mr. Ukraine to show him what had happened. Mind you, he speaks no German. I speak no German. He speaks no English. I speak no Ukrainian. Already my anxiety was rising, but I tried to think of how my mother would handle it and I felt better (my mother can talk to anyone, even in languages she does not know - she is not afraid of confrontation, or anyone or anything ... my mother is pretty much amazing - so I tried to channel her).

I buzzed again and he came down the stairs smiling. I tried to (loudly and slowly, as we all know makes those who do not understand our language understand) speak and point and draw pictures in the air about what had happened. I can say 'one' in many languages so I tried that, as that is the gear I went into when it all fell apart - literally.

Somehow we managed to communicate and he went upstairs to get some little Allen wrench-like tools which kind of helped. I was relieved that he was so helpful and not laughing at me saying in his language, "sucker" and slamming the door in my face.

He fiddled. I held the bike steady and we both, hmmm'd and ummmm'd and exchanged looks when something obviously worked (or made it worse).

Suddenly my new friend asked, "you talk Spanish?" I said, "Si" and before I could say, "un poco or un poquito", he started sounding like that little Mexican mouse-guy on Bugs Bunny, explaining the situation as he saw it and so happy that we could now communicate. I was pleased when I remembered, from my high school Spanish class that "mas despacio, por favor" means,' more slowly, please'. And I said that to him, though it did not help. I followed and got every 10th word or so and was now really missing our previous, guttural and charade-like communication method.

Eventually, we got it to a place where I was confident the bike would make it and we exchanged our "Adios" and I was (wobbily) off.

My adventure home was not too terribly exciting save for the fact that I rode about 1 mile and walked my new bike up giant hills for about 2.5 miles. Awesome. A great workout to be sure. And going down the hill toward our place at the v. end of the ride was heavenly. (I think I may not be breaking correctly - I feel like I should be downshifting somehow .. maybe? Any advice is welcome)

Now I just need to find a bike for Mark...

2 fun(ny) things I found in Zurich

Yesterday I met my friend, Shannon and her new son, Niko for a walk around her neighborhood, which is pretty much across the v. top of the lake from us. Well, sort of.

Shannon is a hoot and totally relaxed, cool mom - we had a blast with Niko, who was born on July 22nd (I hope that's right?...) He's a v. hip kid already and was ready to get strapped on to mom's front for our little walk up to the forest and the farm.

I was v. eager to check out this farm - and it did not disappoint. There are little lockers - a la Greyhound bus terminal - only see through, where they have different bunches of apples of varying types and amounts that you pop money into and the door opens and viola! - fresh Zurich farm apples that you'll feel someone left just for you. (I told Shannon, who does not know just how zany I am - yet - that what would really be cool would be to go up there at night and liberate all the apples and replace them with like doll heads or yarn or chopsticks* or even trays of lasagna ... I could tell by her trouble-making grin that she would be on board if I ever decided to go through with mission "replace-the-apples-in-the-bus/airport-lockers-with-various-and-sundry-wacky-stuff-by-cover-of-night"). Right on.

Almost cooler than the lockers was the giant vat of apple juice that came out via a tap-like device. It took me back to those autumn days in NH at college (UNH) when I used to fill up other people's plastic red cups with cheap keg beer from the Ice House. (Oh, I did not drink in college - until I was 21 - no, really - I didn't ... I was (am) a v. good girl.)

The stuff that comes out of the giant vat is the most fabulous tasting stuff. Not like apple juice really at all - I can only have about one sip of typical apple juice but this stuff ... wow - I can see why Shannon said she was able to substitute this and a few other like drinks for beer while she was pregnant ... It's not quite as 'hard' as cider either - the thing I can most equate it to is Cider Jack, alcoholic cider - but not quite as bitey ... Anyway - this is all pretty useless unless you live here or will be visiting me in the next few weeks as you really do need to taste it.

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*Speaking of chopsticks - I just wanted to share this lovely photo I took at BrockiLand. They are actually selling chopsticks - not used, I don't think, but certainly not new out of a sealed box - I mean these are the same chopsticks that you keep in your kitchen junk drawer for years along with random menus, toothpicks, mints, elastic bands, game pieces, twine, business cards of unknown or not remembered people, samples of products you got in the mail and just can't throw away because they were free and your favorite fortunes from those Chinese dinners.

Who buys these? (Let's hope only a kindergarten teacher for craft projects...) I'm planning a trip back this week and will check to see if they are still there. Now I wish I'd hooked up some sort of 'nannycam' to see who bought them - drat. Next time.

another movie recommendation

Go see / rent /buy this movie!

Young@Heart is one of the best documentaries I've seen in a while and just what the doctor ordered for 2 women who are fast approaching 'a certain age' and feeling old and still asking, "What shall I be when I grow up?".

I took my new friend, Karen to see this last night for her birthday and we both laughed out loud throughout the entire film, sometimes singing along with the fabulous seniors and even being shhhsed by a patron behind us.

Do yourself a favor and make seeing this a priority. I would even suggest purchasing the DVD - I know that this is one film I would watch over and over again.

Here is a teaser of one of their videos (not in the movie) ... fantastic!

no more vacations, please!

I jest, of course ... but truly, we've been on the go for what seems like months now and I am v. happy to be 'home'.

In the v. near future - as soon as I do about 12 loads of laundry, unpack, return extra pillows, suitcases, etc.. to the storage in the basement and figure out why Mark's Barbour coat is moldy ... grr ..., go through the mail, return emails, call my mom, vacuum, sign up for German lessons next week, make 2 doctor appointments, pay bills, file old bills, put the guest room back in order, diagnose my ipod problems, iron my husbands shirts, pick up his suits from the laundry, return curtain rods to Ikea, take the new chandeliers we got in Bellagio to the lighting place to get cleaned up and then installed - all without a car - look for a job, hang paintings, mirrors, etc.. on the wall, take old clothes and books to the Brockihaus, go grocery shopping, figure out what to do for M's birthday and our 3rd anniversary!, have a phone date with Juli, finish redesigning this blog, upload and edit photos from the trips, loose 20 lbs, get a bike, sell our house in NH, invite the neighbors over for cocktails and take a shower - I will write all about our time with Mark's fabulous parents, Diane and Steve and our time with them in Zurich, Basel, Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein and Italy. Promise.

I'm off to start on the list ... I remain, the v.v.v. appreciative, spoiled Swiss girl.

reasons to love SF

I visited two of my v. favorite people in San Francisco while I was in the states: Jeanne and Iris Hoffman.

Jeanne is a friend from Camden, Maine and Iris is her mom. They live together in SF now where Jeanne is a nurse practitioner and Iris is a nanny. As usual, I had a fabulous time staying with them and catching up.

Jeanne and I played tennis (she won) and while she was at work one day, even hired her tennis coach to give me a private lesson (he won) - Thank you, Jeanne!

After my lesson, I decided to walk through Golden Gate Park, as I had several hours before meeting Jeanne for dinner.
I was amused by this sign, though I know the reasons for having it are far from amusing. But still, not something I've ever come across before.

I also took a ride on the merry-go-round (carousel) by myself. I used to always go on the carousel in Central Park whenever I walked or ran by. I know I got some strange looks from kids and parents as I was neither, but I always love(d) it and had never checked this one out. Not bad.

I asked the kid next to me (red jacket, below) to take my photo and this is what he said to me: "Um, no. Um... I'm here with my teacher and, umm ... well, if my parents were here..." Okay, kid. I appreciate your heeding your parents' warning about strangers and all, but it's not like I offered you candy or asked you to get into my van or anything ... but truly, it was a bit odd and I really wanted a pix of me on the ostrich, but I do think it's kind of cute that a kid today would worry about such a thing. Good job mom and dad! (Though I guess I do look kind of scary here ....)

I also hit the famed Amoeba Music on my way back to the apartment. It's a pretty amazing place and if you haven't ever been there - I highly suggest it. I purchased a few used CDs (New Order, Billy Bragg, The Specials and an old Everything But the Girl for posterity). I was tempted to buy a poster or 12 also - the ones they have of the Grateful Dead are amazing and I know more than a few people who would have been v. happy if I had been a good friend and snagged one for them ... sorry ... maybe next time, guys.

Though it was a quick trip to this, one of the few cities in which I feel I could really live and love it, it was terrific and I can't wait to visit my sister in crime, Roxy (Jeanne) and my future agent/manager/nanny (Iris) again soon.