Blurry Picture Day

We met some friends near Zurich Stadelhofen to have coffee. We were a little early and our friends were a little late so the girl and I spent about an hour taking blurry pictures. It was near dusk and the flash was off so either we jumped up and down or moved the object quickly to create different images. It was a ton of fun and I think we learned a little about photography. Here are some of our pics.

The S18 at Stadelhofen.

My own, personal perpetual motion machine.

The big gray thing on the right is the fountain outside Stadelhofen bahnhof. The girl took this last one in a burst of inspiration.

Zurich to Frankfurt by Train: the Technicalities

Last week, the husband was in Frankfort for work and I took the kids up to meet him and look around Frankfurt. That is in Germany, just in case you forgot. :) I will post about the trip but I am too tired to do more than post the technical details of how to get there by train.

To go by train, start at Zurich's hauptbahnhof and take one of the trains to Basel SBB. We took the TGV whose end destination was Paris and then disembarked in Basel at the main station. From there, we took an ICE (Germany's high speed line) to Frankfurt. The total trip was 4 hours - 1 hour to get to Basel and 3 to travel from Basel to Frankfurt.

A few details. We didn't reserve seats - big mistake. On the way to Frankfurt, it wasn't an issue. I was a little confused about where we could sit so I asked a guy who was checking tickets and he said that in Switzerland you could sit anywhere. Fine, dandy, fantastic.

The ride to Basel was in the middle of the day on Friday and the train wasn't crowded. We sat at a table and played Uno. The ride from Basel to Frankfurt started getting crowded but not uncomfortably so. On the way back was a different matter. The train from Frankfurt to Basel was packed. There were people sitting on the floor. We didn't reserve seats but we found enough for 3 people with baby riding in arms. But then someone had reserved S's seat. That made her cry but we found her another one. An hour or so later someone had reserved mine but that person saw me with the baby and let me sit there for one stop. Pity seat, but I'll take it. We did sit for the entire ride but I think the three of us sat in a total of 7 different seats.

Lesson learned: if it is a busy time, spend the 5 CHF and reserve a seat.

To find out about long distance trains within Switzerland or its neighboring countries, visit SBB.ch. I conveniently linked to the English portion of the site. :)

The Farmer's Market at Hauptbahnhof

Today the kids and I went to Zurich's Hauptbahnhof (Zurich's main train station) to check out the weekly farmer's market and see what was in season.

For those in the Zurich area, the farmer's market is upstairs in the huge hall every Wednesday. 

The girl, who has never voluntarily consumed a grape in her life, begged for me to buy grapes. I didn't think there was a chance of a snowball in a hot place that she would eat them but I bought them anyway. She ate a significant number of them. Win!

I also picked up some Swiss chard, an eggplant for baba ganoush, some orange carrots, purple carrots and REAL CHEDDAR CHEESE. Yes, I am yelling, that is how exciting cheddar is.

Before I move on to the cheddar, I must tell you about the brilliance of the farmer's market. The produce vendors really know how to get kids to eat new things. S doesn't eat carrots. She just doesn't. At one organic stand, the woman asked S if she wanted a carrot to eat. She seemed dubious but took it anyway and ate it. Then the woman asked her if she wanted a purple carrot! Yes, she did. So I bought both. We'll see if I can recreate the magic at home.

Now for the cheddar. Switzerland has a lot of cheese but not a lot of cheddar. I miss American cheddar - specifically Tillamook. That is unavailable here but at the farmer's market, the British Cheese Centre has a stall and sells real cheddar.

Movenpick Swiss Ice Cream

Movenpick opened a new store near the lake and Bellevue tram stop. Yay! They have pretty much the best ice cream in Zurich, with Swiss Chocolate being my favorite flavor. Swiss Chocolate is a solid chocolate ice cream with ribbons of actual Swiss chocolate throughout. *yum* We picked up cones and headed to the lake to walk along the path and look at the water.

Spring Day Just Outside Zurich

It is a nice spring day here today so I went for a walk and took some photos of the countryside and mountains. These are fields of wheat and rapeseed crops.

Baby must. be. held. now. mommy.

gah

Before you feel too sorry for him, he was in the wrap for a few hours during the walk.

Waiting for the S-Bahn

Some company (radio station?) was giving away roses, orange juice, champagne, and tote bags at the train station today to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Flower girl played with her rose as we were waiting on the platform. All and all it was a nice day.

Random Windows

Buying a Used Bike in Zurich

People in Switzerland love their bikes! Where we live there are several bike trails closed to cars for bike riding and bike racks are available at the train station, grocery stores, and well, just about everywhere. Unbelievably to this American, most Swiss people do not use bike locks.  Instead they just park their bikes and come back (sometimes months later) to find them still there. Usually.

I am all about bike safety. Unfortunately, babies cannot ride safely in bike trailers or bike seats until they are 1 year old. I was told the bumpiness can mimic shaken baby syndrome to their little brains so sadly I will sit out this biking season but we can still get one bike for me and the husband to share.

Like everything in Zurich, bikes are pretty pricey. We looked at buying a new bike for the big girl but I balked at spending 250 CHF for a 16" bike for a 4 year old. Instead we found a used one from a friend. Now we just need to find a cheaper used one for the grownups.

Veloboerse - Or used bike sale. There are used bike sales held each Saturday during spring, summer, and fall. We have been to a couple to get the feel for these. Couple of hints. Come early because the best bikes go quickly. Bring your photo ID so you can test ride a bike. Bring cash.

EnglishForum - This message board has a classified section where people periodically sell used bikes. You can also post an ISO (In Search Of) message. There is also a good post on English forum about biking in Switzerland that has info pertaining to buying used.

Used Bike Stores - There are many stores in Zurich that sell used bikes. I saw a few near the Brockenhaus close to Zurich HB.

Since there is a veloboerse in Zurich next weekend, I think we will try that. Now I just have to get up early enough to arrive by 9 am.

Tidbits by Hiltl - Yummy Vegetarian Food in Zurich

Tonight (or rather last night since it is just after midnight) we stopped by Tidbits on our way home from meeting friends. I've been wanting to try Hiltl, a 111 year old vegetarian restaurant in Zurich city since I heard about it but so far it hasn't happened. Tidbits is a more casual version of the fancy pants parent restaurant and somewhat kid friendly. They have a tiny kid area for toddlers but it was occupied when we got there so we sat European-style at a communal table.

Baby E was asleep in the Storch wrap so I took my big girl to the buffet and put the food she pointed at on her plate. Now, I really like buffets for S because she will try stuff that she won't try at home. I'm not sure why kiwi is all of a sudden palatable when cut up by someone else but usually she will carry it over to eating at home later so I don't complain too much. The bigger issue is that buffets usually have terrible food. I just don't like it.

This buffet wasn't like the usual buffets though. It did have the usual, numerous salad and fresh fruit options. There were also some Indian-inspired foods and a token American option - jalapeno popper - like the ones found at bars all across America. S had rice, salad, and pineapple which are her usual standbys but she also ate kiwi and snap peas. Well, not together. I tried a little of just about everything but my favorites were the curry quinoa with cranberries, Moroccan bulgar, and the dal. Everything was pretty good except for the hummus. I am not sure what they did to the hummus but, just no.

Once you 'load' up your plate you take it to the counter to be weighed. The buffet is by the 100 grams which is not a lot of food. S's plate came to about 300 grams. I forgot how much it cost but it was about 3-4 CHF per 100 grams.

I'm glad I tried it and now I really want the Hiltl cookbook. Both because I collect cookbooks and because I really enjoyed the food. The cookbook is 60 CHF though and that is a little steep for the budget right now. Oh well.

I almost forgot to mention that Baby E got to eat too but he only gets breastmilk and that was free.

Baby E - Hold Me!

The last few weeks have been simultaneously very busy and not busy the way a household with a new baby generally is. I forgot how time consuming newborns are. Every couple of hours E needs to be fed and he has some reflux so after that I hold him upright so he doesn't spit up all of the milk. He does eat less often at night than S did but he makes up for it in the evening time when he nurses all the time.

We still like going out and about. Yesterday we went to a Fasnacht celebration for kids in a nearby village and S had a blast. I put E in the Moby wrap I bought from Peppermint when I was in Texas. Let me tell you, he loves that thing! I put him in and he sleeps for a good couple of hours. Wraps can be kind of intimidating but I found a video on Youtube on how to tie the wrap and after a couple of tries, I got it down.

Let me tell you, I have somewhere around 7 baby carriers (none of them are Baby Bjorns) and I bought a stroller when E was 2 weeks. There is a reason I spent more on all my baby carriers than on my stroller even though Zurich is the land of expensive Bugaboos, and that is because baby carriers get more use IME. Baby E has been in his stroller twice and he screamed his head off both times. Put him in the wrap or ring sling and I have a quiet, sleeping baby. It is like magic.

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?

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.

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!

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.

Being Pregnant + Living in Zurich =

Being hungry all the time.

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

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.