Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to us! It's been one year exactly since Ben and I got hitched, and man have there been a few changes since then. Ben finished his Master's, we moved to Zurich, I started a PhD program, and we're now 31 weeks pregnant. I'd say that's quite a bit for a year. But I'd say, considering all these crazy changes, we're doing just fine and enjoying the latest leg of the adventure.

Wildflowers by our house.

On the housing front there has been some good news. The apartment we were hoping to get (which was actually any apartment at this point) got back to us, and it looks like it's ours! We're meeting with the landlord and the current tenant this coming Friday for "The Handover." Apparently it's a big deal in Switzerland, and I'm not quite sure what it entails. All I know is that we're getting the keys to a place that's at least somewhat bigger than our current cozy closet, so I'm beyond excited to set up shop over there. I can't post pictures yet, since there are none, but I will as soon as we get settled in. From what I remember of our brief visit, there is a small bedroom and bathroom, a nice living room, but unfortunately not really a kitchen. You can tell the building wasn't originally intended to be used as an apartment building, so the kitchen looks a bit misplaced. Right now it consists of a mini-fridge, a small sink, and two old hotplates. Apparently the landlord bought a mini-oven for the apartment, but it doesn't fit in the kitchen, so it's hidden somewhere within the apartment. I actually don't remember seeing it when we looked at the place, but I'm sure it's there somewhere.

Flea market by new apartment.

Giant clock.

Yesterday we and a few people from the lab went to a flea market close to where our new apartment is. There were hundreds of stalls, even more people, and more junk, I mean treasures, than I have ever seen in one place in my life. They really know how to do their flea markets here. They set up shop every Saturday from 6 in the morning to after 4 at night, and the place is hoping the whole time. It was fun to walk through and see everyone's wares, but I don't think I'll need a 200 CHF tea cup or a full suit of armor any time soon. But hey, if I ever do, I'll know exactly where to go. 

Narrow streets and lots of flags.

After we perused all the stalls, we decided to walk around the Old Town area of Zurich, which then turns into Down Town, and finally the train station. Of course, that's not what they call it here, but the words are too big for me to spell right now. After a stop at the chocolate shop where we loaded up on plenty of chocolatey delectables, we walked around the old, narrow streets, to a park where they have life-sized chess boards. Ben's eyes got huge, he dropped all of his belongings, including the camera, and ran as fast as he could to watch the old men gathered around the closest board. I think that was the happiest day of Ben's life. He of course insisted on playing, and Ariani, another of Johan's PhD students, was too polite to decline Ben's demand for a chess match, so the game begun. Now, I think it's funny that during the walk through the partially shaded flea market Ben complained about the sun and heat the whole time, but yet he stood squarely in the sun for over an hour while they played that game without even a peep. That guy.  

Ben in heaven.

View along the river.

Sundays in Zurich

Well, it's been about three weeks since we've arrived in Zurich, and we're just now getting around to letting the world know what we've been up to. And let me just say, Sunday is a good time for writing in Zurich, since the city literally shuts down. You are forced to stay at home and relax. No shopping, no gym, no eating (at least not in restaurants); nothing. Heaven forbid you try to do laundry or mow the lawn, you will have a visit from the underworked Zurich police. We found out the hard way when we first arrived, as I'll describe in a bit.

But first, let's start at the beginning. The flight from San Francisco to Zurich, with a short layover in New York, went surprisingly well. We of course didn't sleep, but I wasn't counting on that anyway. at 27 weeks pregnant, I wore the world's tightest anti-embolism stockings, as prescribed by my doctor, and tried my absolute hardest to drink water constantly. Just these two tasks along made it impossible to sleep. The tights dug into my legs and itched underneath my maternity jeans, while the constant need to pee had me up every hour walking back and forth down the aisle, battling the little old ladies for a spot in the bathroom line. But all in all, it must have worked because I survived the 14+ hour flight without a blood clot or early labor, or whatever else the stockings and water were supposed to prevent. Ben seemed pretty content with his new nerdy fantasy book, reading over 400 pages on the flight alone.

After the plane landed, we searched the airport for our temporary landlady of our sublet studio apartment, although now we think of her more as our host mom since she has been the absolute most helpful person in Zurich since we've arrived. And as it turned out, all the cab drivers were on strike the day we arrived, so it was unbelievably lucky that she offered to pick us up in her nice, clean SUV that day. I don't know what we would have done without her. In any case, she was there, with a pregnant belly mirroring my own (we actually are due on the same day), smiling and cheery and ready to take us "home." Here is a picture of us on a walk through the neighborhood.



Home for the past three weeks has consisted of a 200 square foot studio apartment at the top floor of our landlady's house. It's a little cramped and we're definitely itching to move on, but we can't say enough how happy we are to have it. The family that lives downstairs consists of the Finnish wife and landlady, the German husband, and two adorable boys, 5 and 3, with the third boy on the way. There is also a Finnish au pair that helps with the kids, and a German Master's student who supposedly lives in the basement. I've never seen him, but I'm sure he exists. Here is Ben on our IKEA bed (note, this is also 68% of our living space).

That first day, well even the first week or so, is a bit of a blur. We registered at our local canton office, and after a fat 400 CHF bill are now registered as temporary or annual residents of Zurich, Switzerland. We walked the 20 minutes to the lab to say hi to everyone and figure out where I would be working for the next 3 to 4 years. We tried to get a cell phone only to discover that we needed our official residence permit, not just the temporary paper version. So as of now I'm still holding out for a good phone plan, phoneless, while Ben has a pay as you go phone, which doesn't require the residence permit. If they don't arrive soon I might cave in and go for the pay as you go phone. We'll see. We also signed up for health insurance, which I'm sure Ben will discuss in one of his blogs- let's just say that he wasn't too thrilled with our insurance salesman. We opened up a bank account. We also got a monthly transit pass, and have spent time enjoying the joys of organized public transportation. I already know I'm going to be sad when I come back from the states and have to battle with traffic again. Jumping on a tram, bus, boat, or train is just so much easier and makes so much sense. We have also been looking for permanent housing. I'll have to write more about that on a different day- it'll take too much out of me to try to explain it now.

In addition to all those "fun" activities, I started work a few days after we landed, and have been trying to stamp out a PhD research plan. Even after weeks of reading, brainstorming, and dreaming, I'm afraid I'm still far away from anything presentable, but I'm sure I'll get there soon. Ben was able to get a job in Johan's lab, which as it turns out was absolutely necessary for survival in this ridiculously expensive city, so he's been coming to work with me everyday. It's like the good ole days in Davis, except that no one speaks our language, a small cup of nasty coffee is $5, and we have no idea what we're doing here. But I'm hopeful that we'll figure that out soon enough.

And oh yeah, we found a doctor at the University Hospital, who will help us with the pregnancy. She speaks English, is very nice, smart, and professional. But I kid you not, her name is Dr. Quack. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine my child would be delivered by a Dr. Quack. But oh well, when in Rome, I guess?

OK, it's time for a lunch break, I am pregnant you know. I'll have to continue this tale in the next few days. And I'll be sure to add more pictures- this place is beautiful! Here is the view from our bathroom window:

But more later, food now.