Checking In, Looking Back At the Blog

Today I checked some of my usual blog metrics to see how many visitors I receive to my site. (God that sounds so terribly IT of me) When I first started the blog I would be lucky to get 5 to 10 hits a day. Using the tools I use I could tell that most of the visits were coming from close friends back home.

As time has gone on I have seen the readership of the blog expand. First to about 15 readers a day, then 20 and so on. In the past 2 days I have been getting more than 60 visitors a day. Knowing full well that I don't even have 60 friends that I've sent the link to it seems apparent that my blog must be reaching people well beyond my small circle of friends.

Thinking on this topic a little further I started to think about why I started this blog originally. I started if for a couple of reasons:

• A way to share what I am doing with friends and family
  
• A way to document my personal experiences for myself
• A way to make available my experiences to others interested in moving to Switzerland

The first two points, are easy, if I post, I achieve the goal. The last point is a little tougher. How do you measure if others find your site useful and informative with regards to understanding the challenges of moving to a foreign country?

I would like to think that the fact that my readership seems to be so high lately it must be useful. Or at least entertaining. I also attributed the recent spike to a fact that my blog was picked up by Swissinfo.ch recently. Swissinfo.ch is an English language website with information about Switzerland. They host a blog called write on about living in Switzerland and they have been kind enough to post a link to my site in their sidebar.

I did not ask Swissinfo.ch to post a link. They must have just come across my site and found it a useful reference for others considering a move to the country. I find that a bit flattering

So for those of you reading the blog looking for clues about moving to, and living in Switzerland please have a look around, enjoy my posts, and hopefully you'll learn something from the archives. For those friends and family that have been consistently reading to keep up to date with the things I am doing thanks as well.

And, as a final thought, if you are stopping by to do a bit of reading about a potential move or for any other reason post a comment, I would really enjoying knowing why you've decided to stop by. Feel free to post a comment if you have a second.

Ass is High

This weekend we had a dinner guest. On Sunday night our neighbor stopped by for an impromptu dinner. Before we left for the Christmas holiday we were discussing with her, her love of the local casino. I had told her that I had recently played in a 'poker tournament' as a work sponsored event and she told me she would love to learn to play. We agreed that after we got back we would arrange a poker evening.

Well it just so happened that this past Sunday was a good day for it. Knowing I would have to give the lesson in German I did some homework before and found a few websites with Texas Holdme' rules in German. I printed out the rules to assist with vocabulary and away we went.

Somehow, I managed to teach her the rules in German. It took about 45 minutes to get through the basic rules with examples but then we were playing. Since they seem to play in Switzerland using alot of English words I taught her the English phrases 'Fold', 'Call", and 'Raise.' She was really getting into by the end of the night. It was great fun to see her pile of chips growing as the night was continuing.

She told us she was going to the Casino with a friend today. I asked her if she would try poker. She said not yet. I told her she might at least try the 'machines' now that she knows how the basic hands work.

I did find some of the vocabulary a little Amusing. Let me run through a few

Cards

• Ass = Ace
• König = King
• Damen = Queen
• Bube = Jack

Hands

• Strasse (street) = Straight
• Drilling = Three of a kind

Weekend For Biking

Farmland near Lengnau

This weekend was unseasonably warm here. While Friday was a little warmer than usually, Saturday and Sunday were unbelievable. I even found myself cleaning off the patio furniture so we could sit outside and enjoy the balcony.

On Saturday I spent and hour and a half cleaning the planters on on the balcony. I made a little progress but there is still a long way to go. Sunday we enjoyed lunch on the balcony. I was actually sitting comfortably in the short sleeve shirt and jeans. It was really pleasant.

Since the weather was so great it was also the perfect opportunity to get the the first outdoor bike rides of the season. On Friday evening I started with a ride up to Baldegg. The ride to Baldegg has a good ascent, this early in the season I wasn't sure I could make it all the way up the hill, but with a little persistence I made the climb. After reaching the top I spent another 30 minutes enjoying the forest trails, and then the very fast 10 minute descent back to town.

On Sunday my wife and I took a leisurely ride through a few of the smaller towns up the valley. Erendingen and Lengau were in the travel plans. The farmland in that area was amazing at this time of year. I couldn't believe how green things were despite the fact that is is still February.

Some of the farm fields were freshly plowed while other were full of thick green grass. This surely doesn't seem normal. I would venture a guess this area is really being effected by global warming. Who would have every thought I would live 45 minutes from the Alps by train and I would only see snow in my village on 2 days over the past 2 winters.

What I Don't LIke about Paris

1. Car Sickness

Every time I go to Paris I get motion sickness. The darn cab drivers are crazy. The stop and go traffic. The tunnels along the highway from CDG airport into the city collect huge clouds of smog. Between the smog and the jerkin' around in the taxi I always feel like I'm gonna puke by the time I get to the office

2. Customs a the Airport

The French are very ascetic but not always practical. Every airport I have been to in the world, except CDG, makes you check in first, then go through customs. Not the case at the older CDG terminal. And every time I go through that terminal I forget. I end up spending 15 minutes looking for the ticket counter before I realize that the ticket counters are hidden behind the fancy customs booths. After all, you don't want to have to look at those visually unpleasing desks when you arrive.

3. Taxi Fares

French taxis are strange. If you arrange a taxi to pick you up at the office they will arrive when summoned, however they start the meter as soon as they arrive at the curb regardless of if you are there or not. Last time I asked for a cab for 4:30, we got to the curb at 4:30, there was the cab with the meter running and there was already a 7 Euro charge. I don't get it. I talked to a French friend of mine and he told me if you call a cab to get home from a bar as an example, the cab that is dispatched will start the meter from the last place it was, not from the time in picks you up. Now I call that the ultimate convenience fee.

I better not complain to loud, otherwise the next time I head to Paris the taxis, and the airlines will strike!

Big Day Yesterday, Birthday's Ending in 0

Yesterday was a big day for me. A birthday. Not any birthday but one that ended in a zero. I don't feel too much different. Although maybe now that I have a different numeral in the 10's place holder I deserve more respect :).

I got several well wishes from around the globe yesterday which made it a pleasant day. I always enjoy birthday well wishes, even if it is a just a line or two in an e-mail. It is nice to see people take the time to remember your day. So to those that sent me a note, or card, or e-mail, Thanks.

For dinner we went to the local Indian restaurant and I got Punjab style lamb curry. It was Okay, not the best I've had. There are definitely other things on the menu I enjoy better. However, dessert was fantastic. My wife prepared a pan of American brownies, Duncan Hines mix sent by my favorite Aunt in Pennsylvania. The wonderfully moist, sweet, and extra chocolaty treat would blow the socks off of that Sacher Tort in Vienna any day.

Hmmmm, I think I might head over to that pan of brownies right now.

Skiing in Flumserberg

Flumserberg Ski Trail in the Swiss Alps

We took a day trip today for some skiing in the alps. We visited a ski resort called Flumserberg which is about an hour and a half by train from Baden. The nice thing about Flumserberg is that the ski lift is about 50 feet from the train station. Many people just wear their ski gear from home. Helmets, skis, and ski boots included.

I was a little out of practice since this was the first time I have skied since last season. As a result I spent most of the day on the smaller hills. By the end of the day I was more confident and took a little bit longer run down a middle difficulty trail.

I didn't take my camera because I didn't want to crash and break it. I did have my camera phone with me so I snapped a few pictures. The image above was taken during my final run of the day. This particular section was right by a restaurant and there were lots and lots of people so you had to be a little careful.

My wife is not a big fan of downhill skiing so she rented cross country skis. There was a nice well groomed cross country ski trail right next to the beginner hills, about a 15 minute hike from the bottom of the main lift and right next to the bottom of one of the tow ropes. It worked out great for us because I could take the down hill runs, my wife could do laps on the mile cross country loop and we could meet up at the bottom of the tow rope line every couple of hours.

I am already feeling sore from the skiing. I am afraid about how I am going to feel tomorrow morning. I am sure it is going to be really tough to get up tomorrow.

Karlskirche, Vienna

Karlskirche, Vienna

Karlskirche is one of the most prominent buildings in Vienna. It was completed in 1737. It was a gift as a sort of remembrance to of the great plague in Europe. Its domes and minarets make it a very unique design.

I remember thinking when I was standing in front of the Church how could I capture the history of the plague in an image. The sky at the time was really overcast and I was worried I wouldn't get a very good picture.

Well tonight I finally figured out how to capture that spirit. I darkened the clouds above the dome to create a sense of gloom. This is a little technique know as 'burning' that made it into the digital world based on an old darkroom technique.

In short, the longer you expose photographic paper to light the darker the image gets. By 'burning' in the top of the photo with photoshop elements you can create the same effect used by some of the darkroom masters like Adams and Stieglitz.

Camel Ice

Camel at Brookfield Zoo, near Chicago

This is not a particularly great picture. It was a snapshot I took when I was in the States over Christmas. I remember thinking it was very strange to see a Camel standing in a pile of snow.

Training Update

Time to post an update on my guilt diet and my training. First off it has been cold here. This means I have not been doing any outdoor biking as of yet. However, I have been doing my hiking outings on the weekends and I have managed to maintain a weight training routine on a semi regular basis.

I have been lifting weights about 3 times a week since I got back from the US. I think we are just about hitting the one month mark and I have seen a visible change. For my cardio workouts aside from the weekend hikes, I have been getting on the indoor stationary bike 1 to 2 times a week. In most weeks this means I am exercising 4 to 5 days a week in some form.

I was feeling bad about my guilt diet lately because on a few days when the stress was getting to me I slipped a little but in all honesty when I got on the scale this morning I had lost 4 pounds since I started my training.

There is still a long road ahead and I have to keep committed.

Creative Cooking

Tonight I was winging it in the kitchen. My wife and I agreed to make some turkey. We had a couple of pieces of turkey schnitzel that we bought in Germany during a late night shopping run last weekend. By late night I mean 10:00. Unlike Switzerland the grocery stores on the border in Germany are open until 10:00 pm. I think they do this just to draw the shopping deprived Swiss. I can tell you it works. Every time we are in Waldshut it seems I recognize someone from Baden.

Meat prices are sometimes half as much over the boarder so we made special shopping trip last Friday to stock up.

Anyway, out came the turkey and the creativity this evening. I made some sort of flour, majorum, lemon pepper mix. The next bowl had an egg and a little sherry. The final bowl had about a cup of crush corn flakes. I went from left to right breading the turkey and then pan fried it in a little butter.

No recipe, I just made it up. It was pretty good, tasted close to fried chicken. I think next time I should try the same concoction on chicken breasts and bump up the pepper and maybe add something spicy like crushed red pepper.

World Press Photo Contest

I found a link to the world press photo contest today. I always like to look at what other photographers are doing. It gives me ideas. Thoughts on how I might compose an image if I am ever in a similar situation. I don't think of it as copying someone elses work. I see it as learning from the past. If someone else is successful with a certain composition, or depth of field it is usually not easy to reproduce the effect in one simple shot.

When I see a good image that I want to emulate it usually takes a lot of practice and persistence until I can get similar result.

As an example you may rember some of my recent photos of the Baden fasnacht celebration. In that case I was trying to emulate something I had seen. In all honesty I liked what I got, but it wasn't the final product I was hoping for. I'll have to go out again and try the same technique to see if I can get better results next time.

Speaking of results, I was also monitoring my online photo sales closely lately. For those that don't know I sell some of my work on a stock photo website. I am very close to hitting the 600 images sold mark. I think I'll hit the mark by the end of next week if sales hold up as they have been in the last month or two.

Don't get the impression that I'm quiting my day job. It is more of a fun past time to keep me using my camera more than anything else.

Royal Palace in Vienna

Entrance to the Royal Palace in Vienna

While in Vienna we stopped at the Royal Palace between concerts. It was a break between seeing the Vienna Boys Choir in the morning and seeing a symphony concert at the Musikverin in the evening.

Having been to several palaces in other European cities I didn't expect much. Maybe some rooms, decorated to the period with a few signs to read and a basic walking tour. What I actually got was one of the better palace experiences I've had thus far.

What made it great was the way they had used an audio guide to take you through the story of the palace. The audio guide looks like a cell phone and lets you punch in numbers and designated way-points and you can listen to a 1 to 3 minute tale about what you are looking at.

What was different about this audio guide is that instead of trying to cram in 500 years of history through the tour they focused on the last two occupants Franz Joseph and Queen Elisabeth. Seeing the palace through their eyes and their daily life made a big difference in holding my attention. I really enjoyed the tour.

One additional comment for travelers. Trying brining a set of headphones if you are going to visit a place that has audio guides. Many times the audio guides have a headphone jack. Your arm can get quite tired holding the guide next to your ear for more than an hour and a half. This was the first time I happened to have a set of headphones on me while taking the tour and it made a huge difference.

301: Exercising in Collared Shirts

I have reached another milestone in the history of the Twissted Swisster blog. I just passed blog post 300. This marks my 301st blog post.

So back on topic, exercising in collared shirts. I've noticed a trend in Baden, people exercising in collared shirts. I find this a bit strange. Guys running down the streets is shorts and what I would call a 'polo shirt' in the US. I'm used to seeing people in the US wearing such clothing to work for Gods sake!

With the huge market for sports clothing by Nike, and particularly Addidas here in Europe the local jogger in the LL Bean pullover looks a bit out of place, but I guess may this fashion statement has something to do with the Europen acceptance of both Rugby and Soccer (Football for the locals). In such sports it is completely acceptable to be running around in a collared shirt.

I still have a strong collection of the latest high tech, sweat wicking, super cooling, ultra light workout gear. So don't spend too much time watching for me running down the street with my freebie logoed polo shirt from some software vendor. I'm going to save those for when I get back to the US where I can wear them in the office and not at the track.

More Tulips, from Vienna

Tulips at a Market in Vienna

I posted a week ago about tulips. I had another chance to take more tulip pictures while in Vienna. This time we were walking through a street market. There were plenty of vendors although there only seemed to be about 6 types of things being sold

1. Dried Fruits
2. Kebabs
3. Flowers
4. Cheese
5. Fruits & Veggies
6. Anti-pasta (olives etc. soaking in oil)
   

If you weren't selling one of these items there was really no place for you at the market.

Architecture of Vienna - Art Nouveau

Jugenstil (similar to Art Nouveau) Building in Vienna

I really enjoy the lines in Art Nouveau architecture. There is something very pleasing about the smooth arching lines, and simplistic geometry. During our travels we've seen some good examples of the style, particularly in Prague.

It turns out that Vienna also had some great examples of the Jugenstil style (close relative to art nouveau ) architectural style. In particular there was a man named Otto Wagner that did a lot of the work in Vienna.


Wagner did one particularly famous building in Karlsplatz, the city train station (Stadtbahn Station). The picture on the left is an architectural detail shot of some of the decorative metal work on the Stadtbahn Station building that caught my eye.

I think what I also like about the style is the subdued colors. Although they aren't really that bright, it seems that the artists and architects always seem to incorporate a wide range of colors in their works that somehow seem to work well together.

Back to My Kinda Toilet

We just got back from a long weekend trip to Vienna. My wife had booked some really cheap tickets months ago and the weekend had finally arrived. We went from Friday to Monday to make the most of it.

We had been to Austria before for a visit to Salzburg. That too was a nice trip. However, when we arrived in Vienna, the memories of their strange toilets came rushing back. Lets just say they somehow remind me of chamber pots. Yes they flush, and yes they look like a normal 'American' toilet but there is something about them that I can't stand. I'll spare the details and leave it at that.

So aside from that the trip was fairly nice despite the cold weather. We saw a bit of the opera, made a visit to the Musikverein, the home of the Vienna philharmonic, and saw the Vienna boys choir. I'll post a few pictures and tell some more stories when I have time. Now its off to bed since I have to do some traveling for work tomorrow.