Dear family and friends,
While August was the coldest and wettest Switzerland has had in 50 years, September was warm and sunny with just a little rain. We took the chance on a nice Sunday to climb the small mountain close to Zurich called Uetliburg. It overlooks Zurichsee (Lake Zurich) and has a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and countryside from the top. After climbing nearly straight up to get to the top, we chose a different route to get down the mountain and somehow it took us three times as long to get down. We ended up on the other side of the mountain! Nonetheless, the trails are very beautiful, lined with trees and made for a scenic albeit long trip to the bottom.
Our next athletic adventure was a bike ride; we took a train from Zurich to Schauffhausen with our bikes and from there started the ride. Our friend Sara organizes these day trips about once per month and this one took us along the Rhein River. We stopped at the Rhein Falls for a look, it is the longest waterfall in Central Europe. From there, we biked through villages, countryside, along the river and near lakes until we reached our destination Eglisau. All was well on the ride until we reached the hills, which reminded us how physically fit the Swiss are compared to us. We have improved since our first ride, but we have a long way to go before we can keep up with them.
One Friday Chris was talking with the CFO of her company, and he asked her plans for the weekend. She said she was making cupcakes for a church “potluck.” Being from Germany, he asked what a “potluck” was since he had never heard of such a thing before. She explained it was a social gathering where everyone brings food to share and he inquired further, how can you be sure you won’t end up with only desserts? I guess that is why it is called a “potluck!” He then went on give his opinion of desserts in the US. The Europeans and Swiss especially, are very proud of their chocolates, and because of this he’s not too fond of cakes that we make in the U.S. However, he recalled a dessert he had had in the U.S. that he liked, and he specifically remembered “they have this in Greenwich, CT.” He described the dessert as being flat and brown, with chunks of chocolates on top,” Chris guessed a bar or brownie, but “no, it wasn’t that.” He said they are always round. She said, it’s a cookie, but he wasn’t convinced that’s what he had been thinking of. So he said they always have these chunks of chocolate on top too. Finally, she knew he was describing a Chocolate Chip Cookie, of course…who wouldn’t love them!!
It has been one year since we first visited Zurich, and we are happy to report we are feeling settled here and are enjoying everything Europe has to offer. There are challenges in our work and everyday life as we are little limited in our German and Swiss-German language communications, but that is coming along alright too. We hope you are able to visit us, and when you do we’ll take you to along on our adventures and show you what it is really like here. We miss you all! Schön wochende!
In case you don't have the address for our blog in your My Favorites yet, the address is: http://nelsonsinzurich.blogspot.com/. And, we have a U.S. phone number, 917.673.2151 and would love to hear from you.
Love,
Steve & Chris
While August was the coldest and wettest Switzerland has had in 50 years, September was warm and sunny with just a little rain. We took the chance on a nice Sunday to climb the small mountain close to Zurich called Uetliburg. It overlooks Zurichsee (Lake Zurich) and has a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains and countryside from the top. After climbing nearly straight up to get to the top, we chose a different route to get down the mountain and somehow it took us three times as long to get down. We ended up on the other side of the mountain! Nonetheless, the trails are very beautiful, lined with trees and made for a scenic albeit long trip to the bottom.
Our next athletic adventure was a bike ride; we took a train from Zurich to Schauffhausen with our bikes and from there started the ride. Our friend Sara organizes these day trips about once per month and this one took us along the Rhein River. We stopped at the Rhein Falls for a look, it is the longest waterfall in Central Europe. From there, we biked through villages, countryside, along the river and near lakes until we reached our destination Eglisau. All was well on the ride until we reached the hills, which reminded us how physically fit the Swiss are compared to us. We have improved since our first ride, but we have a long way to go before we can keep up with them.
One Friday Chris was talking with the CFO of her company, and he asked her plans for the weekend. She said she was making cupcakes for a church “potluck.” Being from Germany, he asked what a “potluck” was since he had never heard of such a thing before. She explained it was a social gathering where everyone brings food to share and he inquired further, how can you be sure you won’t end up with only desserts? I guess that is why it is called a “potluck!” He then went on give his opinion of desserts in the US. The Europeans and Swiss especially, are very proud of their chocolates, and because of this he’s not too fond of cakes that we make in the U.S. However, he recalled a dessert he had had in the U.S. that he liked, and he specifically remembered “they have this in Greenwich, CT.” He described the dessert as being flat and brown, with chunks of chocolates on top,” Chris guessed a bar or brownie, but “no, it wasn’t that.” He said they are always round. She said, it’s a cookie, but he wasn’t convinced that’s what he had been thinking of. So he said they always have these chunks of chocolate on top too. Finally, she knew he was describing a Chocolate Chip Cookie, of course…who wouldn’t love them!!
It has been one year since we first visited Zurich, and we are happy to report we are feeling settled here and are enjoying everything Europe has to offer. There are challenges in our work and everyday life as we are little limited in our German and Swiss-German language communications, but that is coming along alright too. We hope you are able to visit us, and when you do we’ll take you to along on our adventures and show you what it is really like here. We miss you all! Schön wochende!
In case you don't have the address for our blog in your My Favorites yet, the address is: http://nelsonsinzurich.blogspot.com/. And, we have a U.S. phone number, 917.673.2151 and would love to hear from you.
Love,
Steve & Chris
