Merry X-mas!

Merry X-mas!

allergic reaction to shrimp!

Buddy's favorite Christmas present.

Schnee!

Merry Christmas!!!  Frohe Weihnachten!!!

We finally got "Schnee" (pronounced like shneh) in time for Christmas!

Buddy LOVES to run in the snow!!!

 I also like to play in the snow.  It brings me back to my childhood in PA.

Typical Swiss scene

fresh air

woke up to this amazing view at sunrise this morning!

something about the view to the mountains that helps me keep things in perspective... not to get too wrapped up in the little things.

christmas is coming, still waiting for snow!

Bahnhofstrasse, looking towards the train station



The christmas market "Christkindlimarkt" in the Zurich main station





All those Swarovski crystals hanging from that tree, but just out of reach!





Mmmm.... Crêpes!



The Credit Suisse building

Augustinergasse

a walk to the coop



Last Sunday I took some pictures on a walk to the nearest open grocery store in our neighborhood of Höngg.  It is called "Coop" and is the main grocery store chain in Switzerland.



The sky was the usual grey for this time of year, but the fall colors in the vinyards add some nice color.



and the grass somehow stays green year-round.



There are miles and miles of footpaths winding all through Höngg.  The neighborhood is on a hillside and most of them are very steep.

This is in the center of Höngg, called Meierhofplatz.

Another view of Meierhofplatz, from the tram stop.  It's about a 5 minute ride from here to our apartment.  The center of Zürich is a 15 minute ride in the other direction.

buddy the beagle-mischling

our dog BUDDY is loving life in Switzerland... the green grass, fresh air, plenty of walking trails and clear-water creeks.  he rides trains, buses, trams, cable cars, ski lifts, cog-wheel railways and boats.  he comes along with us to restaurants in the city and has even been on wine tours in Tuscany.


but he has yet to conquer escalators.  in the meantime, we walk up a lot of steps.



...out of breath after a long climb
(up from the last cable car station, 30 feet back, haha!)





...doggy heaven.



...mountaineering



from the summer snow at Mount Titlis...



to the leaning tower of pisa!
everyone who visits Pisa has to get this shot before they can leave
(I know... hilarious & ridiculous!) 

do's and don'ts on Zürich public transportation

after a year of german studies I have managed to decipher the warning sign posted in zürich trains, trams and buses.  getting caught disobeying these rules could cost you 1000 swiss francs!

from left to right:

- do smoke, but do not blow your smoke cloud on your neighbor's head
- no bananas in your pockets, because it doesn't make sense

- any guitar playing must be accompanied by singing

- saw the back off of your own seat before your assisting your neighbor with their seat

- keep rollerblades off the floor of the train while seated

Flumserberg

this past weekend we went hiking in Flumserberg, located about a 1.5 hr drive east from Zürich along the border with Lichtenstein and Austria.  we picked up some nice alp cheese and the some amazing butter... as good or better than "Floralp" which I thought couldn't be beat!

while it was foggy in Zürich, it was warm and sunny in Flumserberg.  we hope to be able to go back here for some skiing in the winter!

life in zurich and around switzerland

thanks for visiting the blog!  i hope you enjoy learning more about switzerland, a beautiful place where all signs and labels are written in four different languages that i don't speak (yet)