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.