T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
Before the burning of the Sechseläuten Böögg yesterday afternoon, Zurich’s 26 guilds put on an elaborate parade which wound its way around downtown for hours and hours. The parade primarily consisted of older men dressed up in period dress marching, riding horses, or being carried on various horse-drawn carriages. Women aren’t allowed to be members … Read more
It took about 10-and-a-half minutes for his head to explode. According to the witches who figure these things out, that’s a good sign for summer. It probably doesn’t count, though, since the whole thing was done with an ersatz Böögg (who was protected by a large security force of both men and dogs before the … Read more
Europe is full of Ridiculous English. In advertisements, in shop windows, and especially on clothing, it’s easy to find in almost any country on the continent. In Milan, my husband and I would laugh ourselves silly over the things we’d see on people’s chests or in stores, from a sparkly women’s shirt bearing the thought-provoking … Read more
I was shocked to learn about the Sechseläuten Böögg’s disappearance yesterday upon my return to Zurich. I leave for a week and miss all kinds of excitement here! Before I get into this story, I should provide a little background to those of you who are sitting there scratching your heads wondering what the hell … Read more
Did you miss me? I’ve been traveling through eastern Germany for the past week. It was a fabulous time, although I sure am glad to be back home recovering on my very own couch. Having lived there for over three years, I have a particular affinity for the former GDR (aka East Germany). I am … Read more
Apparently I am not the only one who is so amused by the signs on the Zurich trams. The free newspaper 20 Minuten reported last week that a vandal (endowed with a particularly large sense of humor) has been gluing new captions under the pictograms. Only two were quoted in the article, but I’ll be … Read more
Once again, Zurich has topped the world-wide quality of living survey, reminding me yet again that any move after this one will just be a step backwards. Maybe the high ranking has something to do with the free chocolate bunnies? Too bad we also have the seventh-highest cost of living.
Are you one of the millions of people who fly just for the privilege of squishing your body into a tiny and inappropriate space for hours on end? And have you often wondered where you could get that seatback-in-the-upright-and-locked-position feeling without having to actually leave your hometown? Me, too! That’s why I dragged a friend … Read more
Today my husband played hooky from work and we ran off to Davos to squeeze in one last ski day before the season ends. The snow was remarkably good for this time of year [note: this observation is based on my limited knowledge of April ski conditions, given that I’ve been skiing in April none times … Read more
This is the first painting I have completed in over 10 years. I think this one is done, too. They both look a lot better in person.