Paying Bills the Swiss Way

Paying bills in Switzerland is a little different than the United States. First off, the Swiss don't use checks. This surprises a lot of Americans who use checks to pay bills and truthfully, it is kind of a pain in the butt. I still use my American bank account to pay student loans and storage fees in the US and I have to do a wire transfer to send money to that account.

There are some nice things about the system here though. For example, when one receives a bill, the company sends a slip of paper that has the account number, amount, and address of the receiver. It is standardized (and red!) and to pay, you just have to walk down to the post office, hand them the money (or use a bank card), and the post office transfers the money.

In the US, the mere mention of the post office would send shivers down my spine. This is Switzerland though and the post (pronounced: poscht) is much more efficient.

Another benefit: the post office also runs a sort-of bank so you can do all your banking business while paying bills. The only drawback is the post only deals with Swiss Francs and Euros. Oh well, it can't be perfect.

Missing My Neti Pot

I left my neti pot in Dallas. *sniff sniff* Love that thing.

It took me a while to get used to draining water through my nasal passage but once I did, I found that I love it when I am congested. Dallas has a lot of allergens in the air so I needed it once a month or so. Zurich, not so much but the winter means congestion, right?

The Home Stretch

Also known as the last month before birth. The baby is just getting bigger and bigger and not surprisingly, so am I. With my daughter, the last month was somewhat painful as all the indignities of childbirth are being practiced. Bounce is behaving somewhat the same, down to the fact he keeps his hand by his face.

I am so ready to be done. Well, not really. The crib we will probably never use is still in a box. Our mattress is on the floor because we don't have a bed frame yet. We don't have a dresser and since we live in Europe, land of no closets, all of our clothes are still in bags/suitcases.

Still, it would be nice to not be pregnant anymore. Then I could bend over and pick stuff off the floor.

We will be getting a bed frame soon, as soon as the people who are giving us one gets back from holiday. Ditto on the dresser. We just need to wait. Not my best skill.

Happy Boxing Day!

Or in Switzerland, St. Stephen's Day. This is a holiday in Zurich canton and therefore everything is closed. That is fine with me although I ran out of sparkling apple juice and want some more. Maybe I'll run to the store in the train station and pick some up. The train station grocery stores are always open. :)

Magic Tree House - Not a Good Bedtime Story

The kid was gifted the first four Magic Tree House Books because I thought they would make a good introduction to chapter books. The good news? She loves them! The bad news? She couldn't fall asleep because she was busy asking a billion questions about dinosaurs.

One concept she had problem grasping is that dinosaurs do not reanimate at the museum and eat people. I explained that they were just skeletons and not complete dinosaurs but she doesn't yet have the permanence to understand that death is forever.

Another thing. We are atheists so we have told her about evolution but we never related any sort of story that sounds like Adam and Eve. Well. She asked who the first person was if dinos all died before people existed. That one was a bit tougher. In her mind, the first person must have been a baby without a mommy - but where did the mommy go? Good question.

Like I said, good stories, just not good bedtime ones.

No Chimney for Santa

There aren't a lot of chimneys in Switzerland for Santa to slide down. So instead, Santa breaks in through the window like a good thief. At least that is my takeaway from all the windows in Zurich that have Santa hanging outside a window on a rope with presents on his back.

We're back!

We just moved and the internet that I ordered over 3 weeks ago is finally available. There is one lost cable modem wandering around Switzerland somewhere, maybe even in the post. Who knows. Now I just need to get wireless and all will be good.

Zurich Tip of the Day

The McDonalds next to bahnhof Stadelhofen has free wifi if you bring a laptop. There are 2 coin operated computer terminals if you didn't.

Edited to add: Be sure and bring a mobile phone that can receive SMS texts. McDonalds requires you register (for free) with a mobile phone.

Moving, moving, moving

Tomorrow S is starting kindy at her new kindergarten. I didn't find this out until a couple of days ago but her teacher does not speak English at all. Oh boy. There is a little girl who S knows through daddy at her school that does speak English so that is good but I am still a little nervous.

Why are we moving already? We sublet an apartment for 3 months in Zurich proper through a relocation place. I didn't want to sublet for any longer than that because the relocation place charges an increasing percentage depending on the duration of the lease. What I didn't count on was how much this pregnancy would kick my ass. So I didn't have enough time to settle in, let alone get to know the city, before finding a place. The husband's colleague recommended the burb he lives in and it almost seems perfect. We will see, I guess.

If we stayed where we are now, we'd have to buy a car because it takes upwards of 30-40 minutes by bus to get anywhere. The place we are moving to is remote but there are a couple of grocery stores, a post office and bakery within 5 minutes walking.

Hopefully internet will be turned on soon so I can post pics of the Christmas parade we went to tonight.

El Maiz - Mexican Grocery in Zurich

I heard the place to go for Mexican food supplies is El Maiz, near Hauptbahnof so today that was my errand. It is pretty close to HB so I took the 31 bus and then walked to El Maiz on Josefstrasse.

The prices were a little expensive but this is Switzerland and to be expected. Still, I only bought white, distilled vinegar because I needed some for cleaning and I haven't seen it elsewhere. A small bottle was 3,50 CHF.

Other stuff you can find at El Maiz:

* A large variety of Mexican beer
* A larger variety of tequila
* Canned jalapeño peppers - many different kinds
* Fresh jalapeño peppers, tomatillos
* Many different brands of hot sauce, including Dave's Insanity Sauce for 14,40 CHF
* Wood tortilla press
* Piñatas, large ones

It is worth a stop if you are near the main Zurich train station.

A Gray Day by Bahnof Stadelhofen

In front of the smaller train station, Bahnof Stadelhofen, there is a bike area (not covered), a fountain, some benches, a small outdoor cafe and some other stuff. We were taking the S-Bahn to the burbs for some shopping and I stopped to get a pic of the fountain.

Megna's Swiss German lesson for the day: The S in Stadelhofen is pronounced more like sch than esse. Maybe that is true in German too, I dunno. I just go by what the announcer says on the train.

McDonalds - Now With Fossils

The pregnant lady was hungry so we stopped by the McDonalds in Uster to pick up a quick bite before heading back to Zurich. The stairs up to the second floor had a display case containing a variety of dinosaur stuff and amongst that was a fossilized Apatosaurus skull.

The plaque states a bunch of stuff in German including the origins of the fossil - Como Bluff, Wyoming. I guess dinosaur fossils are cheap.

Storing Bikes at the Train Stations

Bikes are everywhere around Zurich and most of them are never locked up. So what does one do with their bicycle if they are taking the train, either the local S-bahn or the longer international trains? Leave them at the train station of course! The train stations all generally have covered bike racks where bicyclists can park and take the trains solo. The bike parking pictured above is at Uster bahnof, a 10 minute S-bahn ride from Zurich HB (hauptbahnof).

Each train also has a small area where bicyclists can board with their bikes if they choose.

Zurich is really a bike-friendly area!

Bonding Over Chaos

S had some problems making friends with the kids in the neighborhood because they speak Swiss German and she speaks English. A couple of days ago, we heard a couple of the neighbor girls outside our door giggling uncontrollably so I suggested S go out to see what they were doing.

Obviously, they were dropping stuffed animals in a bag from our floor over the railing to the basement floor. S decided to take out a couple of her stuffed animals and join in the fun. The girls seemed to have a ton of fun and spent a couple of hours running up and down the stairs.

Kid is Asleep and I'm Exhausted

Such is the mommy life I guess but why can't I have some time to myself when I am not falling over from tiredness? I'd really like a weekend to myself. I'm sure in hour 2 of weekend to myself, I'd be bored and wondering when I will see kid + dad again. :)

Saturday is Tour Day AND Laundry Day

Just how will that work?

On Saturday the whole clan will trek to the local, public hospital to tour the birth center and decide whether Baby Bounce will be born there. The tour and information lecture is given by one of the midwives. Hopefully I can at least ask questions in English.

The compulsory basic health insurance, as required by the Swiss government, pays for birth at a public hospital, birth center or homebirth with two midwives. A search for homebirth midwives in the area led to a bunch of nothing so public hospital or birth center it is. I could pay to go to a private hospital or for perks at the public hospital but I am cheap so that isn't likely to happen.

Interesting fact for the day. The term for midwife in French is sage femme, or wise woman if directly translated.

My Swiss OB Appointment

Today was my first Swiss OB appointment and it went swimmingly. Well, except I had the H1N1 vaccine and now my arm feels like I was stabbed in the arm. There was some debate as to getting the Swine Flu vaccine but pregnant friends of friends and pregnant online friends who came down with Swine Flu had a terrible time with it. I can't risk ending up in the hospital right now so I got the vaccine. Today was the first day my OB had the vaccine and I was the first patient to get it. Does that make me special?

The OB didn't receive my previous medical records in time so she wanted to do an ultrasound. Since I've been having bad feelings about this pregnancy, I consented and that is how I hurt my uterus. At least the first time. I am somewhat sensitive to ultrasounds and dopplers and my body aches afterward. Add that to running to catch the bus and I feel like I was hit by a truck.

S and I went to Starbucks and played Uno for an hour after my appointment and lunch. That was the highlight of the day.

The Fetus is a Nightowl

Why is it that around 1 AM every night, baby Bounce, rocks around the uterus? During the day he is quite a mellow guy but soon after midnight he lives it up. Maybe he isn't a human fetus but is really a gremlin.

Oh, and the nickname Bounce is courtesy of his big sister.

Updates on the Kid

She can add small, positive integers in English and German although Daddy taught her hoch deutch instead of Swiss German. She also says: Frau [teacher] me te haufa. (can you help me?) Don't ask me how to spell it because I have no idea.

It's official! My kid knows more Swiss German than I do.

At school, they have small, wooden looms and she is learning to weave. Her teacher said that she is a quick learner and some teacher code for kind of geeky. w00t! I have a geeky kid, who would have thought?

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary but we couldn't celebrate because it was laundry day. So instead we are all going out to dinner tonight. Chinese food. It had better be good.

While the spouse spent literally all day doing laundry, I went shopping. I took a total of 4 buses, 2 trams, and 2 trains to get to the big shopping area in Dietlikon. While I was there, I picked up an IKEA catalog and a Hello Kitty razor scooter for S. I also bought a new point and shoot camera for me! Now that I have an easily portable camera, I will be taking lots and lots of photos!

Shopping tip: Media Markt is a good place to go for electronics. If it plugs in or runs off battery, they have an American-sized selection.

Also in Dietlikon are some outlet stores. There was a Globus outlet that reduced prices from eye popping to reasonable-by-Zurich-standards.

I am now pregnant enough that walking and shopping is painful so I headed home before looking for a sweatshirt. Maybe I'll get one online.

Reverse Trick or Treating

Hallowe'en is S's absolute favorite holiday and not because of the candy. Last year she dressed up as a cat and paraded around Dallas hearing repeatedly how cute she was. Unfortunately Zurich does not celebrate Hallowe'en as we do in the United States so we had to improvise.

S and I made orange rice krispy treats and used cookie cutters to make them into shapes. No Halloween shapes here, we used heart, duck, swan, and mushroom cookie cutters. Not particularly scary but fun none the less. Then we went door to door in our apartment building with S and the neighbor girl in their fairy costumes and handed out rice krispy treats. We explained ToTing and chatted with the neighbors.

The girls loved it and I felt a little better about S missing her favorite American holiday.

First Week of Kindergarten Down

and many more to go.

S started at the Swiss, public kindy last Tuesday and she loves it! The students all speak Swiss German, which S does not speak, but she seems open to learning it and is excited to make friends. On Thursday, the class had gymnastics at a center away from the school. The kids all walked to the center with the teacher, participated in gym, and walked back to the school to sing songs until it was time to go home. The next day S had a bit of a fever and leg pain so she stayed at home.

The kindergarten is so different than the kindys in the United States. There aren't any academics. The school is outfitted with a bunch of Waldorf-esque toys to encourage imagination and the teachers have a very independence-minded attitude. It almost borders on a Montessori attitude.

Before the first day, the teacher and I had a chat about S starting school and she encouraged me to prepare S for walking to school by herself. Well, without an adult but with other kids that live in the building. She is only 4.5 years old!

All the kids in school are given large, orange reflective sashes to wear to and from school so drivers will see them and S has been dutifully wearing hers. As soon as I can, I'll get a pic.

The Poop Button

Switzerland has the. best. thing. ever. Well, the best thing a four year old can ask for. The poop button. The toilets have 2 different flush buttons, one low flow button for pee and a tidal wave for poop. Introduce that to a small kid from the states with our pathetically pedestrian 1 handle toilet and wallah, instant fun!

Crappy mood

I am in a bad, bad mood and the kid's reluctance to cooperate isn't helping. The end.

Being Pregnant + Living in Zurich =

Being hungry all the time.

Portions are small, protein is expensive, and stores are closed on Sundays.

Mommy - I see SMOKE!!!

was how I woke up this morning. S was in the kitchen screaming, Mommy, Daddy get up - I see SMOKE! I jump up, run to the kitchen and sure enough, there was smoke coming from the neighbor's chimney. Is it possible that my child has never seen smoke rising from a chimney before?

I went back to bed and let Daddy dole out the corn flakes.

Last Veloboersen of the Year

Hope I got that right. It should translate to mean bike market (used bike sale). Anyway, we went there to look at used bikes. Not much for the kiddo because she really needs a 16" AND training wheels. She cried. Excessively.

The place was packed when we got there at 9:20 and we left with nothing. But we do have a better idea of what kind of used bike to find there and we did see many bikes in the SFr 100-200 range. Nothing to write home about but they'd get you around Zurich.

IKEA - Zurich

Our adventure for today was to the IKEA in the suburbs of Zurich. The IKEA website is somewhat confusing so let me just tell you how to get there.

Go to Zurich Bahnhof Stadelhofen and take the S12 toward Winterthur. The first stop is Stettbach and this is where you want to get off. Next take the 787 bus from upstairs and since Stettbach is the last stop on the line, you can't get on the wrong bus. :) Take this to Industriestrasse and you will see the trademark IKEA blue & yellow. Get off and walk in the front door!

I have to say, this is the messiest IKEA I have ever seen. Usually IKEA makes me want to go home and organize but this one had empty shelves that were hanging incorrectly and the atmosphere was generally unSwiss. heh

More about IKEA later, the kid is demanding attention.

Boating around Zurich Lake

Since everything is closed on Sunday, we decided to take a mini boat trip around Zurich Lake. There is a short-ish trip that just goes in a big circle and takes 1.5 hours. The trip is called "Kleine Rundfahrten" and is part of the Zurich public transportation network. That means, with a zone 10 pass, you only need to purchase either a zone 40 or zone 50 pass (depending on direction) for around SFr 4 per adult.

Just because it is public transit doesn't mean beer, wine and food isn't available. The prices are a bit steep but if a glass of white wine is what you need, it is available. :) They also have sparkling apple juice for the pregnant Americans and kids.

I forgot to mention, you can buy zone 40/50 tickets on the boat if you have a zone 10 pass and there is a ticket window at the departure point, Burkliplatz, for complete tickets.

Details (in German) are available at zsg.ch.

Stay in English Blogger!

Seemingly randomly, Blogger tries to switch the language to German.

Why Blogger, why?

I am assuming they go off the IP address and decide since I am in the Swiss German speaking part of Switzerland, I should speak German. Well, I guess I should but I've only been here a coupe of weeks. Gimme a break, will ya?

The flea market at Burkliplatz (Zurich)

Just back from the Saturday flea market at Burkliplatz, in search of English language books. I read on the interwebz that fiction was generally available at the flea market for a few SFr each so I thought it was worth a try. So glad I left the kid at home because I never would have found anything with her being all over the place.

My haul? Four books that I probably wouldn't have bought otherwise for a grand total of SFr 3. I bought:

Agatha Christie: At Bertram's Hotel
The Nanny Diaries

The other books were too awful to buy. There were two books about people being persecuted by oppressive governments, one trashy romance novel and something that was so worthless, it has completely slipped my mind.

Maybe I came too late and all the English books were snapped up by early birds at 6 AM.

Still no camera. :(

Review: McDonalds at Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich, Switzerland

S and I went shoe shopping at lunch time, a magical time in a 4 year old's life. Get them food for fear of a meltdown. She has been rather fussy about eating lately so I thought, hey, let's check out McDonalds.

We went to the McDonalds near the main train station, Bahnhofstrasse. Walk in and the menu looks different and a little difficult to decipher. S decided on a nugget Happy Meal, which, according to the menu, was SFr 6.90. (The exchange rate, after fees is about 1 to 1) o_O OK. I bought a grilled chicken snack wrap meal with a Coca Cola and fries and the total came to SFr 20.20. Hmm. Pretty expensive meal.

S decided she wanted to sit on the second floor, so upstairs we went and the only seating we saw was at a communal table with a few teenagers. They didn't seem annoyed that a mom and 4 year old sat with them but I don't speak German, so what do I know?

The nugget Happy Meal was about what you'd expect - 4 nuggets, fries and an apple juice box. The snack wrap meal. Well. The snack wrap was bigger than the ones in the US and they used real produce. The lettuce was actually a spring mix with arugula and the tomato tasted like tomato. (I am allergic to tomatoes and forgot to ask for no tomatoes. Oops)

I also got a free commemorative Coca Cola glass - made with real glass, not plastic.

To get into the bathroom, you needed a code. There was 1 code for both the men's and the women's room but only the mens room opened with the code. Most of the women left but I couldn't leave with a child that had to pee. Nope, bad idea. So we used the men's room when it was empty and boy was this guy surprised when he walked in and S was washing her hands. I probably broke some Swiss law right there. Oh well, when a small kid has to pee, you take them. Period.

Why I Wanted My Camera Today

S and I were walking around town and we stopped to get a pastry.

First of all, poppy streusel is gross. Second, and perhaps most important, there were hornets (BEES!) eating the icing off the iced pastries. And I do mean more than one. Maybe 10? They had landed and were sitting there sucking the icing off the pastries. I pointed it out to S and the other customers just chuckled. It is like I am in a foreign country or something.

*panic* LOL

My Camera is Broken

:( And it is only a week old. I'd exchange it for a working one but I am 5000 miles away from where I bought it. Contacted Nikon in the US to see about getting it fixed and they were very, um American, about it. So I called the Swiss version of Nikon, found someone who spoke English and they said - eh send it in. Will do tomorrow.

Prepaid Cell Phones in Switzerland

Yesterday I bought S a gelato cone and walked into a cellphone store to buy a prepaid. In Switzerland, one cannot get a contract phone without a residence permit and those take about a month to process once you register (see last post).

For just under SFr 30 (about $30), I got a prepaid phone, SIM card and SFr 10 credits. The phone is just a cheapie Nokia but it will suffice until we can get a residence permit and a contract. The husband is bitter that he can't get a phone with internet yet but he'll live.

Oh, and I had to show my passport to get a prepaid so be prepared.

Registering with the Polizei

Yes, that does say registering with the police, which is mandatory in Switzerland. We were unsuccessful today but we got a list of documents to bring back to our local polizei station to register and receive our permanent visas/permits. Sounds a little crazy to this American, but hey, who am I to judge?

To register, we need to present all of us (including the kid) and:

1. Our passports
2. Our rental agreement
3. Employment agreement
4. Some random paper from the immigration office that husband's employer has
5. S's birth cert to make sure we didn't steal her
6. Our marriage license
7. One passport photo per person (available for SFr 8 from the train station)

Note: I already provided 5 & 6 to the immigration office but they need it again.

We have to, by law, register within 14 days of arriving in Switzerland.

This whole process took 1/2 a day because the Swiss consulate told us to go somewhere else and it was on the other side of the city. Frankly, I was glad to leave the first office building because the entrance was glass and there were no less than 10 bullet holes through the glass. o_O

Made it to Zurich

w00t! We made it to Switzerland a couple of days ago. The last few days have been crazy with all the grocery shopping and other random things you need to do post-moving.

Random Swiss facts:

eggs don't have to be refrigerated
no working on Sundays
refrigerators are usually called dorm-size in the US
you need to register with the police within 14 days of arrival
meat is super expensive
there are frozen Denny's fries in the supermarket

It's a boy!!!

We went for the 20 week sonogram today and saw boy parts! Baby Bounce is really going to be a baby brother. S insists that he will only be allowed to wear blue and white because the other colors (orange, green, pink, etc.) are all girl colors. I don't think it is a coincidence that she hates blue and white.

Poor girlie isn't getting her little sister. :(

Dear McDonalds

You are striking out with me.

This has been an extremely busy couple of weeks with moving so on the way back from our millionth errand, I ran through the drive-thru to feed my girl child. I ordered her a Happy Meal and the woman taking my order asked me if I wanted the girl toy or the boy toy. I requested the doll and the woman reiterated, so the girl toy? Um, no, I want the doll. We went back and forth until my daughter said she'd rather have the car. OH, so you want the boy toy. *shakes head*

Why don't you spend a minute to think of what message you are sending our kids? There is nothing wrong with a girl wanting a truck or a boy wanting a doll. Your language implies that my girl child's desire for a car was gender inappropriate. Not cool.

Exchanging Currency and Buying Travellers Checks - Oh My!

Before we head out to Switzerland, I would like to get some Swiss currency and travelers checks. When I was at Chase bank depositing a check, I asked the teller about obtaining currency and travelers checks. Hmm. I don't think people do that very often from the look on her face. I asked about fees (none) and exchange rates (check website) but she didn't seem to know very much about how to do those things. She also didn't mention whether or not I had to call ahead for the currency.

Some people might not know that Switzerland is not part of the EU and does not use Euros. The currency in Switzerland is Swiss Francs, abbreviated SFr in English. Somehow I doubt that SFr are commonly held in Texas banks.

The Right Thing at the Wrong Time

We are doing it! We are moving to Switzerland!

My visa has finally been approved, the plane tickets have been purchased and we are leaving for Switzerland. First we have to pack though. Isn't that the worst?

After talking about it a great deal, we decided to sell as much as we possibly could. Like most Americans, we have been holding on to too much stuff as we travel around and really, it is just weighing us down. We have boxes and boxes and more boxes of books. Or did, two trips to the used bookstore ago.

Tonight I went to the used bookstore near me with a few boxes of books. This is a rather large bookstore with a lot of staff and I was told there would be an hour wait to receive my offer. Walking around the store I could see why... There were more people selling books than buying. o_0

In the end, I was offered $11 for around 75 pounds of printed material but it was worth it because now I have 75 less pounds to haul around.

We have a moving date!

We are leaving for Switzerland on August 28th. This gives me exactly a month to sell most everything and move the rest to storage. Yikes.

I am going to miss everyone here but I'm also excited for this new adventure. If we make it there in one piece, that is.

The good news and the bad news

We just received word that our visas have gone through! *do a little dance*

There is a housing office that takes care of temporary housing for people coming from overseas. There are only a few apartments though, so they advise you contact them well before hand. Husband sent them email months ago but they were dragging their feet, waiting for the visas. Now that we have visas taken care of, the housing office got back to us and you guessed it... They don't have anything available. So we are stuck looking at temporary studios for around $2000.

*sigh* Now I know why people don't move overseas.

Where was I?

Hmm. Long time no post. What's been up?

Well, S is getting a sibling. A younger one at that.

We are moving to Switzerland! Land of cheese, chocolate and cold weather. Can't wait. To prepare S for snow, I ordered a Warren Miller movie from Netflix. She wasn't impressed.

Green Baby Bargains

This website I recently started stalking, Green Baby Bargains, offers one baby bargain at a time for a low, low price. I could have sworn I saw bamboo cloth diapers on there but I didn't get them in time.

Did I mention I'm pregnant? w00t! And we are moving to Europe? Yeah, I've been a little busy. lol

We are done with nighttime (cloth) diapers!

I made a deal with S a week ago. If she went for one week with dry diapers in the morning she could get out of the cloth and into regular undies. She excitedly added a star to the calendar every morning and 7 days later, the week was full of stars. So tonight she gets regular undies under her pjs.

Here's to hoping I don't have laundry to do tomorrow.

Happy Birthday S!

My baby girl turned 4 last month. Things have been craxy around here with the husband finishing his PhD dissertation and me doing things like making Hello Kitty graham crackers for the girl's school.

Let's catch up. Yesterday S got her first bike from Craigslist. The ad said it was a Care Bears bike but it turned out to be a My Little Pony bike (her fave!) so she has been going around saying she loves mistakes.

Did I forget to mention we are moving to Switzerland?

I've been reading up on the subject because all I know about Switzerland is chocolate and cheese. Well, the husband (when he was just the boyfriend lol) and I went to Basel for 1 day.

OK, my last batch of Hello Kitty graham crackers are out of the oven and it is almost 2 am. Gotta go to bed.