Friday, January 30, 2009

No pictures for this blog

It seems to be so. According to the women I have met from other countries, American women have the reputation for being very modest.. I never thought much about it. It always seemed to me that most American women are comfortable with nudity. (At least at the gyms and spas I use in the States)

My first time using the steam room at the fitness center we belong to in Switzerland changed my mind.

It is just one big nude fest in the ladies locker room.
No matter the age woman do not wear towels or makeup dresses like Barbara from my gym in Danville while putting on their makeup or blow drying their hair. Towels or flipflops are not allowed in the steam rooms. ( A rule I learned after being yelled at in German for bringing one in... something to do with sanitation.) The only time I see some one with clothes on is when they are putting them on to leave or taking them off to shower.

I was told by my South African friend that two workmen walked into the steam room to fix a mechanical problem while she was in it. (both her and her friend were completely naked)
I can only imagine what would happen if two workmen came into the ladies locker room in Danville to fix the shower while someone was showering.

According to Bruce women clean the men's locker room all the time whether men are dressed or undressed.

For me I see it as a learning experience. I am learning to shed my towel and modesty faster than I am learning to speak German.
No one is looking and no one seems to care.

Sunday, January 25, 2009


This has nothing to do with Switzerland but I couldn't resist posting this picture of Alexandra and Justyn at the UW/UCLA Game. UW won.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

We asked several people to take our pictures in Zurich. Most obliged and even gave us options.

This woman asked us if we wanted it taken the long way or short way, shoes or no shoes, and which direction we wanted it taken. We are very happy with the outcome.





This man was in a hurry but he still took a couple of shots to make sure we were happy with the results.








This waiter thought it would look best if I took the picture.




I can't remember who took this picture.
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Alexandra's Swan Song


Auf Wiedersehen Alexandra









I am going to miss Alexandra.










Lucerne

Alexandra and I spend the day in Lucerne. Overcast but you can see the Alps in the background.


Alexandra wants to see Bruce's office.
For all our friends who thought he wanted to retire Look how happy he looks.





Before our server took this photo she made sure the table was clean and that the pillows were fluffed. She ended up cutting off our heads.
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Saturday, January 17, 2009


Alexandra's blog posting stated that I was looking for George Clooney. Silly girl, I wasn't looking for myself... Out of the goodness of my heart I was looking for all my friends so that when you actually come and visit George and I will be old friends and we can hang out with him at his Lake Como home.



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Where's George?








Today, Saturday, the 17th, was our third outing in Switzerland/Italy. Although we did not actually cross the Italian border, it was clear that there was a heavy Italian influence in the city of Lugano. The train ride was about 2 ½ hours but we entertained ourselves by playing cards, naming the 50 states and 44 presidents, and playing Charades. My mom was not very good. I was surprised considering all the practice she has had at the grocery store. Lake Lugano is one of three lakes in Southern Switzerland that border Italy. Lake Como, the third lake, was made famous by the one and only George Clooney, something my mom reminded us of on an hourly basis throughout the day. Our mission for the day was to find George. We failed but we still had a good time enjoying the beauty that is Lugano. My dad was very impressed with some of the old churches that dated back to the 13th century. My mom and I enjoyed the hot chocolate and interesting fashions. It seems like fur is the thing to be wearing this season. We ate pizza at one of the ten million pizzerias along the lake. We were also pleasantly surprised when our 7 dollar hot cocoa came with cookies for free!. My dad was not as happy and mumbled, “nothing is free, Cheryl” as he paid the 18.50 swiss franks. If you get a chance to visit my parents I would definitely make Lugano one of your main attractions. It’s worth the 2 ½ hour train ride and maybe you’ll get lucky and spot George hanging around one of the local pizzerias.

Mom and Dad become official Swiss Yodelers



Like the views from the Swiss Alps, there really are no words to describe my parents' yodeling abilities. I had no idea how talented they were. If the video actually uploads, then you'll be in for a real surprise (A MUST WATCH JUSTYN).


January 16th On Friday my parents planned for us to go to Mount Titlus, a peak in the Swiss Alps that’s accessible by a rotating gondola. We boarded the train from Zug in the morning and took a 1 ½ hour train ride to the base town, Englesberg (again, I’m not sure if that’s the correct spelling but hopefully I didn’t butcher it too much). The town was a ski haven for Europeans and we felt a bit out of place without any equipment, and by “out of place” I mean we felt like tourists. It was a beautiful town nestled between the Swiss Alps: picturesque from every angle. We ended up taking three different gondolas up to the top. It’s hard to explain the views that we saw and I feel like words would not do them justice so instead I’ll just post a few pictures.




I will also attempt to post a special rendition of Swiss Alp Yodeling. Hopefully it will work! We explored the top of the mountain, hiked up to the top, and took a flyer across to the other side. The coolest part of the day was the ice cavern that we were able to explore. The Swiss had somehow made a cavern in the adjacent glacier and on top of that feat, they installed light installations throughout the tunnels. It was “breath taking” as my mom would say.
We finished our trip to Mount Titlus by stopping at Europe’s highest bar and having a nice cold beer(my dad insisted). Another beautiful day in Switzerland. :-)



Mom talks to Swiss Soldiers


January 15th The first real day that we went out was Thursday. My dad took the day off so we could travel by train to Einseheidn ( I don’t know the actual name of the town but it sounds something like that). My parents have been there before and my mom has blogged about it so I wont waste your time. The main difference between the two visits was the weather. When we went on Thursday we had a magnificent view of the Abby and surrounding city. We were lucky enough to see the elusive einsheidn horse, born and breed in only one location in the entire world. Following our little excursion through the church we stopped in Rapporsville. As we got off the train it was around 5:00 pm, dusk-ish. We were given detailed directions on how to get to the castle, a main attraction in Rapporsville. We left the train station and immediately ran into a group of Swiss Soldiers. My mom was so excited that something interesting was happening while we were visiting. She later found out (after accosting one of the swiss soldiers) that the ceremony was not a ceremony but a recruitment of some sort. She was disappointed :(. We returned to our directions to the castle and realized that they made little sense. It didn’t take my dad long to figure out that the castle was literally right above us. It was very beautiful and I think we were lucky to see it at dusk when there were close to zero people wondering around. We ended our night with a dinner out at an awesome Tapas restaurant. My dad got to use his Venezuelan Spanish which did not translate at all. In the end my mom’s miming skills proved to be more efficient. A great first day overall. :)



Guest Blogger




Gretzie,
Unfortunately, Cheryl will not be blogging today. Instead, I will be replacing her as the guest blogger for the next few posts. I have a few fun videos that I think you might find mildly entertaining, especially you, Justyn. I might even be able to provide a more accurate depiction of Bruce and Cheryl in Zug because of my unbiased nature towards the two of them ;) ;). And if all else fails I’m sure I can make you laugh a bit with some of the interesting things both Bruce and Cheryl have done in the last few days. So before I begin, I must also add that if you are planning to visit my parents in Switzerland, you are in for a real treat. They know the area quite well and are exceptional hosts, plus they pay for everything (this might be a special circumstance considering I am a blood relative but feel free to try your luck). If you know my parents at all, then I’m sure you know that no matter where you are, you’ll have a great time.

Wednesday, January 14th I had planned to arrive in Switzerland fresh faced and ready to go, however I must have miscalculated my body’s ability to readjust to the time difference. I ended up sleeping the majority of the first day while my dad went to work. My mom took me to the local grocery store mid afternoon and showed me the incredible miming skills she has acquired over the past few weeks. We found “corn flakes” with ease and “salad” without a problem. I was also impressed with my mom’s ability to navigate the town considering her poor directional skills that I remember her possessing in California. Perhaps it’s Switzerland or maybe my mom has actually adapted better than I thought? For dinner my mom cooked (another surprise) and it was delicious. I think it’s very easy for them to stay fit with the type of food they’ve been eating and the amount of walking that’s required of them in a town like Zug. Both pluses. We went to bed at a reasonable hour after having a glass of red wine. Supposedly the French wine here is cheap compared to what we are use to paying in California. I’m far from a wine connoisseur so I can’t say whether or not the wine is better, but my parents seem to think so.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Minor Differences

Some differences between living in Zug and living in the Bay Area. (Not that one is better) We love the Bay Area and always will.

*Instead of a Starbucks on every corner there is a Bakery on every corner.
*The Swiss cheese is incredible and we have yet to find any with holes in it.
*We miss Wine country but are enjoying the very affordable and great tasting Italian, French, and yes even Swiss wines.
*Kitchens are tiny but well organized.
*No walk in closets, in fact no closets at all.
*Bottled water not necessary. Tap water is amazing.
*Never leave home without some sort of sack in your purse. Stopping off at the grocery store is a daily occurrence.
*Driving is optional.
*In lieu of all the cheese and bread there does not seem to be many overweight people.
(Probably all the walking & smoking)
*Thirty percent of the population smokes.

Communication

January 4, 2009 Grocery store part 4

Couldn’t find any non stick cooking spray at the grocery store today. The clerk spoke very little English and lets just say I haven’t picked up a great deal of German in the month we have been living here. In my defense I start lessons on the 27th of January.
What I have been getting very good at is playing charades with grocery store clerks.
My first attempt was trying to act out egg whites. (Big Failure) However my acting abilities worked great with today’s store clerk. She was so excited when she picked up the bottle of cooking oil spray and realized that she guessed correctly. I now have cooking spray, black olives, an oven mitt, a cutting board and a new friend in the grocery store.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

More pictures of the apartment


I have nothing to add to the title of this blog.
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It came in through the living room window



Our beloved sofa has been saved. No operation needed!
I also thought I would share a picture of our yard.


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Sunday, January 4, 2009

Not too Bad
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Sofa Saga and A Pot to Piss In

Happy New Years!
Bruce and I spent New Years Eve unpacking and setting up our apartment.

We were so happy when our California King Size bed fit through all the narrow doors.
We were very unhappy when our oversized sofa did not.
Bruce and I debated whether to bring our bed to Switzerland but never considered that our sofa might be a problem.
Now our sofa needs major surgery. The legs need to be amputated and reattached with screws. Our Swiss landlord Mr. Kummer is on the job. He is building a ten foot high scaffold and has his friend lined up to perform the leg surgery on January 5 at 5:00 P.M.
Information will be provided at a later date as to where to send donations to the
Save the Sanderfords Sofa Foundation.

We rented this apartment in spite of it only having one & half baths. I wanted 2. Bruce could care less. Being the considerate host that I am I feel that our guests need their own pot to piss in. Bruce could care less. What we soon discovered is our 1.5 bath home in reality is a one bath home divided into two rooms (both without electrical outlets) located next to one another. No toilet in the bath with the shower/ No shower in the bath with the toilet. (The toilet being in the coldest part of the house.)
This is important information for you to read since you might want to consider the situation when making plans to visit.

With all that we still find this home charming.
Did I mention we have a beer garden?