Annual Friends Reunion

Today we are having our annual friends get together. We usually get together at a local resturant & bar for a couple of hours and sit around and chat and have a few beers. People come and go as they please. It is a nice time and convinient way to get to see everyone. This year we haven't gotten too much response so I don't know what the turn out will be.

For the first time this year we moved the meeting to the late afternoon instead of the evening. Now that more and more of our friends have kids we figured it would be simpler to do a late afternoon event in case people wanted to drop by with their kids.

As always I know there are a few people I would have liked to have invited but I don't have their e-mail addresses or contact information with me. It is tough to keep everything in one spot with all of the different communication tools we have today.

This year for the first time in addition to sending out e-mails to friends for which I had e-mails I also posted an "Event" and a couple of "Notes" on facebook. I did get some comments and feedback but overall the facebook responses were limited. I guess I'll have to wait and see this afternoon how the turn out is. Some times additional people that I didn't directly invite show up through word of mouth. It is those friends that I really enjoy seeing because I didn't expect them in the first place.

These yearly get togethers are usually a little strange at first in that alot of my friends know more about me that I do about them because of my blog. While it is easy for them to ask about something I did sometimes it takes be a little longer to warm up the conversation for me because I haven't been as in touch with them for a while. But in the end, catching up is exactly what these gatherings are for and thats what we'll do.

The 'Whale' a the Porsche Museum outside of Stuttgart

When I was younger I had a unhealthy fascination with Porsche automobiles. I don't know if it was the snob appeal, the speed, or the pure engineering that inspired it. I would like to think it was the idea of the high tech engineering since that was the discipline I choose to study in college.

For the longest time I used to spend hours in my basement as a kid meticulously constructing and painting small models of the Porsche classics. The 356, the 304, the 935, the 959, and the classic 911.

So when we were in Stuttgart for the Christmas markets I couldn't help but make a trip to my personal mecca and visit the Porsche production facility and museum just outside of Stuttgart in Zuffenhausen.

Porsche is in the processes of opening a new, huge museum that was supposed to be open in 2007. Unfortunately it is still in progress. So, we only got to visit the previous, and much smaller museum that only houses about 15 vehicles.

Of course the vehicles that are on display are all the most amazing models. All the ones that I have at home, just in 1:16 scale.

For the enthusiast the museum was great. The new larger museum is set to open January 31st 2009. So not to much longer to wait. Guess I'll have to schedule another trip to Stuttgart next year for the Christmas markets.

Watch For Falling Glass

Sign in Esslinger, Germany

The world has come to a sad state when we have to post signs asking people not to through glass bottles on the heads of others. That was my first thought when I saw this sign posted in Esslinger, Germany where we spent some time visiting a Christmas market this weekend.

What kind of behavior would warrant posting such a sign. Secondly, how often must this have been a real problem before the community requested, or the authorities decided that such a sign was necessary.

It is obviously a problem of epic proportions in Esslinger because even the man who is the target of the apparent bottle attack is depicted with one arm. He must have lost the other the last time he walked along the wall.

I was also thinking what would it be like to be the graphic designer responsible for designing this sign. Your boss comes in and says, "Hey, I have someone asking to make a sign to stop people from throwing bottles on people, can you put something together for me?"

As much as it is funny, it really is a bit sad.

Stuttgart Christmas Market

We spent a long weekend in Stuttgart, Germany this weekend to take in the Christmas market. It was an impressive event. Much larger than I had imagined. It was a great trip to kick off the Christmas season and get into the spirit.

Most of the time was spent shopping, eating, and drinking glühwein. More about that later.

Snow and a Christmas Tree

It has been snowing all weekend. Saturday it was bit too warm for the snow to stick other than on a few roof tops although Sunday morning when we woke up everything was dusted in a few centimeters of snow. Most of the snow melted by about lunch time on Sunday but then again this evening it really started to come down.

On Saturday we were thinking about what we should do for a Christmas tree this year. We are going back home to the U.S. a little earlier than we normally do. So we decided to head over to the local home/hardware store, Jumbo, to look at some artificial trees. We had the intention of getting an artificial tree and putting it up this weekend so we could enjoy it before we went home.

Once we got to the Jumbo we realized that they already had real Christmas trees. We looked at the artificial trees and then took a look at the real ones. We discussed the real versus fake tree in the store for a few minutes. I think we both knew that a fake tree would be more suitable. We wouldn't have to rush to take it down before we left. But in the end, neither my wife nor I are really fake tree people. We decided to get the real one, and we'll just have to pull it down the evening before we leave.

So, we spent Saturday evening putting up a Christmas tree. It is the first time I have ever had a Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving. The tree looks good. I haven't had time to setup the tripod for the annual picture. Maybe sometime this week I'll have some time to take a photograph and post it.

Evening With David Sedaris

On Monday night we had tickets to see readings by David Sedaris. Sedaris is known as a regular contributor to the WBEZ Chicago radio show This American Life. His humor is really fanstastic and his delivery when he reads his essays is unmatched. If you haven't read or listened to any of his work I highly recomend that you do.

Sedaris read a great story unpublished story on Monday, i belive it was titled 'Innocents Abroad'. The essay was themed around that fact that even when you are speaking english abroad local languages or accents slip into you conversations. 'Paris' becomes 'Paireeee' or 'Street' becomes 'Strasse'. It isn't so weird when you are talking to a non-native english speaker, but as soon as you find another American and you start doing this is just becomes a little wierd.

Sedaris had submitted the essay to This American Life but the producers didn't accept it. He talked about it a bit, and said that they were completely wrong, none of the producers had lived abroad and probably would never relate to or understand the essay. I can understand his point, at times when you talking to others that haven't lived over seas, you try explaining something, a quirk in living, and strange tradition that you have to follow, whatever. Some just don't get it. And probably never will unless they decide at some point to live outside their boarders and outside of their comfort zone.

The roars in the club after the reading by Sedaris illustrated the fact that that the essay was right on the mark. Many of us in Switzerland had shared similar experiences to Sedaris who currently resides in France. Although we may never see this yet unpublished work in writing because of the difficulting of the nuances of pronunciation that make it such a great spoken piece I do hope that he will record it at some point for an audio collection.

Sleep, The Expat Trends

From talking with others living abroad there always seems to be a shortage of sleep going around. I think a lot of it has to do with dealing with all of the cultural overhead you are faced with on a daily basis. Things just tire you out.

To combat this perpetual lack of sleep is the challenge. What do you do?

My latest attack was to buy a new pillow. I decided to try one of those crazy shaped space pillows. I had seen them before for something around 80 USD and couldn't come around to paying that much for a pillow. However, on a recent trip to Ikea I noticed they were selling some knock-offs for 30 USD. Seemed like an invitation to give it a try.

I settled on getting the Mjuk.

When you open the package the pillow comes with instructions that tells you it will take some time to get used to the pillow. It isn't something that is immediately comfortable. That is the truth. The first night I made it about 3 hours, then my neck hurt causing me to switch to my old pillow. The next night I decided to try it again. The second night was much better. I made it through the entire evening and felt well rested in the morning.

I continued using the pillow for the remainder of the week and I did feel that the pillow gave a good bit of support that is not there with my goose down pillow. At the end of the week I was sleeping comfortably on the new pillow. Then my wife wanted to give it a try for a week.

See slept on it for a week and just gave it back to me last night. You would have thought I would have been used to it, but no, my neck was a bit sore again last night. I expect tonight I'll be fine if it is anything like the first time around. I think I'll need a couple of more weeks on the new pillow before I decide it if is any better than a standard pillow.

Am I A Beer Snob?

One of Many Recently Sampled German Beers

So last week to celebrate the US election I bought a round of MGDs for some friends at work. I thought the imported American beer would be a fine way to celebrate the first tangible signal of the passing of the Bush era. Although the celebration in itself was good, the beer was terrible. This leads me to the question.....

Have I become a beer snob?

I remember when I was living the US and I was a genuine Miller man. Miller Light actually. Loved it. Much better than Bud. Yeah, I would really reach out once in a while and have a Michelob, or a Pabst Blue Ribbon if I was really feeling wild but I never understood all those Heineken types.

Why the heck would someone pay a couple of bucks more for that stuff from Europe. Beer is beer.

After moving to Europe I discovered the beer section at some of the big stores in Germany. Aisle upon aisle of half liter bottles in neatly stacked plastic crates. One can roam the halls and pick up a case, or if you so choose a single bottle from any case. And that is how it all began.

I took to the habit of grabbing a bottle here, and a bottle there. Always taking one bottle of something that I knew I liked, and a few others because the bottles looked pretty, or had funny names, or were from a region I had not heard of. This habit lead me on a path to try many different styles of beer over the last two years.

With all that experimentation I have found my preferred bouquet. I prefer beers in the Hefewiezen (Wheat Beer) style. Something like a Schneiderweiss or a Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier.

There is a bit of an art to pouring a good Weiss beer. There is a Spanish woman at a local tapas bar in in Baden that pours quite possibly the best weiss beer this side of the Rhine. It his difficult to explain the process but lets just say she puts every once of her concentration and effort into ensuring that you get the optimal pour if you so desire. When she serves you she asks you if you would liketo pour it, or if you would rather have her pour it for you. Only a fool would pass up the opportunity to have this seasoned veteran who has undoubtedly served hundreds of thousands of beers in her lifetime not pour you the most perfect, tall, cool, glass of weiss beer you have ever tasted. I found a fitting website that illustrates the practice. The best part about the site is it has pictures, and of course, the guy doing the pouring is wearing Lederhosen. (Note to those less informed, the part about rolling the bottle between your hands is key.)

I diverge briefly to speak fo Lederhosen. What a disappointing word once you learn German. I thought it would have some kind of great transaltion, like 'little funny pants that fat old beer drinking men wear on Tuesdays at Octoberfest.' Instead it just translates to 'leather pants' What a let down.

So after my continued sampling of some of those God awful 'European Beers' that I once despised I now begin to understand those guys. The beers here are a hell of a lot better than MGD, Coors, and I hate to say it, Old Style (sorry Mom). Ah, I fear it has happened, I have been transformed into a bit of a beer snob.

Three Days of Sun And The Alps

We have had three days of what I would call sun. That has been a pleasant surprise for this time of year. By now it is usually the case that 'the cloud' has landed and we don't see the blue sky again until about March in our valley.

Not the case this weekend. While it wasn't full sun, there were plenty of breaks in the clouds and some sun light made it through to our town. The clouds were also just high enough so we had a terrific view to the alps from the trail we hike near Baldegg. It is a view we get only a couple of times a year, so when you do see it, it is something worth a short pause for reflection.

Getting up this morning it looks like another great day. I just hope the clear skies hold. At this time of year I need all the sun I can get. The longer we continue the good weather now, the less impact the cabin fever will have in February and March as I really start to get depressed by the grayness of things.

Digital Photo Event In Baden

A few weekends ago I had noticed a sign for a digital photography event coming up at a local conference center in Baden. The conference hall is small, and I couldn't imagine what kind of event it would be but I made a mental note that I wanted to stop by and see it when the day arrived.

Last Saturday the appointed hour came. I almost forgot about it but after a morning run to Waldshut for a little shopping we headed over to the Trafo hall to take in the Digital photography show. It ended up being sponsored by a local school (I believe an art school or something) and the hall had three distinct things going on. A photography exhibit and contest, a senimar area, and a few vendor booths.

When we arrived a swiss outdoor photographer was giving a slide show and talking about taking outdoor pictures of rock climbing. Although the pictures were good, the presentation was a bit hard to follow because it was all in Swiss German. After about 10 minutes of listening and watching slides I just couldn't take it. Without understanding the commentary it was a little boring.

I saw a co-worker there as well. He had stopped in to get hte sensor in his Camera cleaned. Canon had a booth there and was offering free sensor cleaning if you brought your camera in. I probably should have brought mine but I just didn't feel like lugging it around.

Some of the photos in the exhibit were good, others were a bit of a strech to be in a juried show but regardless I like to see such shows because they always give me some new ideas and inspiration.

As my friends know. I have a think for bikes. I've got three. One for road biking, one for mountain biking, and one for commuting to work. That may seem excessive but because I don't have a car and the network of bike paths in Switzerland is so great I feel I can justify it.

I was out a few weekends back and spotted this guy on a classic bike. I believe these were built in the late 1800's. I'd love to try one out some day if I ever get the chance.

The 25 Hour Day

The 25 Hour Gas Station

Thank God we had an extra hour to sleep last night. I needed it after a late night last night at the Kunsthaus (Art Museum) in Zurich. Last night we went to event at the Art Museum that a friend was DJ-ing at. It was an evening event call the night of illumination and had a couple of special activities for the occasion.

While I think the idea of keeping the Museum open for an evening is a good idea I thought the special events were a bit lame. In one area of the museum they turned off the main lighting and you went through the exhibits with flashlights. As a guest you literally had to point your flashlight at the painting to see what it was. It was cool for about the first 60 seconds, and after the feeling of snooping around the museum like a thief wore off it just got old.

The event lasted until midnight and we just missed the 12:06 train from mainstation so we had to wait around for another hour to catch the next train at 1:06 AM. I didn't get home and in to bed until about 1:45 so it was a late night that made Sunday even tougher.

The good thing about Sunday was that we did get an extra hour for sleep since we set the clocks back. The funny thing was during the day on Sunday we took a trip to Bremgarten for a festival and we walked past a gas station with a type-o on the sign proclaming it was open 25 hours a day (25 h). This was the only day of the year when that could even be remotely considered true so I just had to take a quick snapshot.

Schloss Hallwyl

Schloss Hallwyl

Swiss culture dictates that things must be celebrated with a fest. One needs not have a monumental reason to celebrate something. As long as you have a piece a paper and a pen, it seems you can draw up a little sign plaster it somewhere and people will come to celebrate something with you.

A few weeks back there were a series of chestnut and apple festivals. We had wanted to attend one of the chestnut festivals but most of them were in the Italian region of the country and were a little far for a day trip. Instead we opted for an apple festival at Schloss Hallwyl about an hour by train from Baden.

The festival was small, about 10 to 15 booths selling various organic produce and apple products. There was also a small outdoor cafe setup. Picnic benches if you will with several people serving various grilled items, baked goods, and one of my favorites, Aplener Macaroni (Swiss Mountain Macaroni). I found a recipe here, have not tried this one so can't recommend it but you'll at least have an idea of the ingredients. It is usually served with a side of apple sauce.

The Hallwyl Castle (Schloss) was one of the best preserved castles I have seen in Switzerland. It was really something to see and included the story book moat, and drawbridge. There is a small fee to enter the castle, 12 Francs for adults, itself but I believe you can wander through the courtyard for free. For the kids with your admission the kids can wear a knight costume.

We didn't have time to enter the castle itself but just wandered through the courtyard admiring the vendors.

About a 10 minute hike from the castle is a beatiful lake with trails around the preimeter. We spent an additonal 45 minutes walking along the lake as well. It was really a great place to spend an afternoon and take in the sights. I would highly recommend it for a weekend day trip.

Hiking Along the Aare River

Bench along the Aare River

The leaves are absolutely spectacular this time of year in Switzerland. It is one of my favorite times of the year. I have been surprised by the weather lately. The clear blue skies on the weekends have been a pleasant blessing. I expect the winter 'cloud' that last from end of October to March to move in any day now and linger over the city for the next couple of months.

But until then it is time to enjoy the outdoors while we can. We took the train one stop to a small town called Brugg and walked from Brugg to Schinznach Bad. The hike took about an hour and a half and was a pleasant, flat trail through the woods. The trail and surrounding scenery reminded me a lot of the landscape in the forest preserves in the area where I grew up around Chicago.

There weren't too many people along the trail which was a surprise given that the weather was so great to be outdoors.

In Schinznach Bad, I looked for a couple resturants recommended by a co-worker. I found the Resturant Zum Bahnhof but I couldn't seem to find White Diamonds. Guess I'll have to check for that one next time I am there.

The Gardner Visits

Our gardener visited this weekend to tend to our terrace. It was time for a final cleaning before the winter sets in. At least that is they way I'd like to think of it.

This past week our neighbor was cleaning her terrace. Both of our terraces share what appears to be a common gutter if you will. The gutter collects rain from both balconies and directs it to two downspouts. Of course both downspouts are on our side of the terrace.

This gutter is very similar to a house gutter except for the fact that there is a heavy metal grate over the top. And just like a gutter on a house it gets clogged with leaves. So while our neighbor was cleaning her balcony this past week a wad of wet leaves got stuck in our downspout and in her own words it was a catastrophe.

I was not her on Friday when she knocked on our door, informed my wife of the problem, and then showed herself through our apartment to inspect our decidedly atrocious balcony. After she had a closer look she informed my wife that she would be back on Saturday to show us how to clean.

So like clock work on Saturday morning around 10:00 the doorbell rang and there she was, buckets, brooms, saw, shovels, and knee high rubber boots. As I really do like my neighbor, I let her in and changed into some work clothes and we rolled up our sleeves for some work. We both started at separate ends of the balcony meeting somewhere in the middle. Of course I had not cleaned sufficient, so our neighbor had to double check, and reclean everything that I had done.

Knowing I could never quite match the proper degree of Swiss cleanliness I gave up and just stood around holding a broom, looking busy while she continued. That is when I notice her boots. The boots she was wearing looked like Grey trooper boots. On closer inspection I noticed the emblem on the side had a star and over it it said 'California Highway Patrol.' Oh, my God, my neighbor is a Ponch fan!

After two hours of work she was finished and began to pack up. I asked if she was familar with CHiPs but she had no clue what I was talking about. Either that, or my German was a bit off after two hours of heavy use.

So the balcony is clean, no more catastrophes, and we owe are beloved neighbor a raclette dinner as a thank you.

Walk in the Woods Today

This afternoon we took a walk along the river. The leaves are at their peak now and it was a nice warm afternoon. Indian summer at its best. We walked for about an hour or hour and a half to the next town on the train line and then jumped on the train for a short ride back home.

Tomorrow we are going to try to make it to some kind a apple festival that my wife spotted in a local magazine. It should be about an hour train ride. If the weather is as good as today I expect we'll have a nice time.

Not much else to write about today.

Grapes Are Ready

Grapes Just Before Picking

This past Sunday we took a 2 hour stroll through the vineyards not far from our apartment. It is getting colder, but the day was sunny so it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. There were a lot of people out, walking the paths, just enjoying the day. The calm afternoon gave me a bit of time to reflect on the past week, and what came to my mind was a lunch I had with a colleague that just moved here from the US.

We had been e-mailing for several months before his move and I was sharing some thoughts and ideas with him to help answer some of his questions and prepare him for the big move. This week, I finally had a chance to meet him for lunch after he had been here for about 2 weeks.

What was so interesting about the lunch was listening to him talk about all the things that frustrated him or annoyed him about the culture. Things like all the rules, the fact that there are no ceiling lights in apartments when you move in, the fact that the housing market is a difficult thing to manage if you don't have connections, that fact that something that used to cost 2 dollars in the US, now costs 6 or 7 dollars because you are in Switzerland.

I heard a little bit of myself in those comments. Some of the same things I blogged about when I first got here. And to some degree it makes sense. Another American, with the same cultural background, complaining about the same things. And the cycle repeats.

Those same things, that used to drive me nuts now don't bother me. I have just become accustomed to them. At one point, I almost wanted to stop my colleague to tell him he shouldn't complain, that is how it is. But I thought to myself, no, that is part of the adjustment. Talking about and learning to accept the differences. That is the key to adapting to the culture and it just takes a bit of time.

Monet's Garden at Giverny

Water Garden at Giverny

After a long week in Paris for business I had decided to stay the weekend to play a bit of a tourist. Since I have spent a good amount of time in the City center with my wife, she decided that she wanted to take a day trip to Giverny. Giverny is a small town in the country that can be reached by a 45 minute train ride followed by either a short bus trip, or a 3 km bike ride. It is the home to Claude Monet's Garden, most notably his water garden.

I suprised by the size of the gardens. I was also surprised at the fact that much of the garden was still in bloom this late in the season. I had orginally thought it would not be a good time to visit but I was wrong.

The house and accomanying gardens were so large it left me thinking how on earth could an artist aford such a place. After a little reading I learned that he orgininally just rented the place and later purchased the house and gardens after he had become famous and was successful in selling his work.

In later September there were a lot of visitors and a tour bus or two, but I have to believe it was less of a crowd than you might see in peak season. At this time of year the main gardens by the house are still full of color, but the water gardens are not in bloom. The color there was a bit dull, but it was still a beautiful sight to see and I could really imagine how an artist could be so inspired by such a garden in peak season.

As a side trip from Paris I would recommend the trip if you have a day to spend. Transportation to and from Giverny was easy, and there were plenty of things to wander around and enjoy. If you are the type that likes little shops and touristy places Giverny might not be the spot for you. Aside from the Gardens there are only a few other little gift shops, and mostly small hotels and resturants where you can find a nice outdoor table to enjoy a meal and a view of the French countryside. If you enjoy to take a stroll and just take in the scenery it is a perfect place.

My Vote Is Cast For President

This week we received our ballots for the US Presidential election. It was the first time I ever received a ballot in an e-mail. Convenient but also a bit of a farce.

The instructions were strange. After printing you have three documents, an instruction sheet, a ballot, and a piece of paper that has a decree about the authenticity of the vote. You fill in the ballot, and then 'wrap' the other piece of paper around your ballot. You are to sign the outside wrapper and tape it closed for 'security' reasons. According to the instructions if your ballot is not sealed inside the pathetic self made envelop you vote won't be counted. Then you place this whole hodgepodge into another envelope for mailing.

I would like to see the overseas voters be allowed to vote via the internet, but I fear that such a dream is still light years away. As I was one of the first generations to grow up with computers I figure we'll be voting over the internet when my generation has the political clout in Washington. And that is probably 15-20 years away.

For now my ballot is on its way, no time to change it now. For the rest of you out there if you are overseas make sure to get your ballot in the mail soon. Ballots have to be received by 4th November. For those back at home make an effort to get to the polls. This election is important and there is no excuse not to vote if you are a registered voter.

F11 to restore Your Dell PC

After combing the web for the last couple of days looking for a solution to my ailing PC problems I found a solution. And so far it seems to be working. Until a few days ago I was not aware that newer PC's often times have what is called a 'hidden partition' or 'restore partition' that contains information that can be used to fully restore your PC to the same state as when you purchased it. Here is a link to the dell site on the topic.

After a little reading, and a lot of moving of my data to external hard drives I restarted my Dell and tried the little Control + F11 trick that was recommended. The computer immediately began to rebuild itself, and in about an hour I had a fresh, brand new PC, the same as it was when I bought it.

It has been running well over night, no crashes, and now I am in the process of reinstalling all the software that I lost. It will take a lot of time to get things back the way I like them, but I will survive.

Best of all, it saves me from having to deal with the issue of trying to find a PC with an English language operating system. Which after some research really wouldn't have been too difficult.

I did take a look at the Dell Switzerland website to price a couple of PCs. The only downside to the site was that my only language choices were German and French. I went through the customization process and was able to select a English Operating System, so if I was really in a jam I would have been fine. I also then logged into the US dell site to compare prices. They weren't as far off as I had thought. While I would have paid 1200 USD for the PC in Switzerland, I would have paid about 1100 USD from the US dell site.

At one point I was even considering buying a PC in the US, having it shipped to a friend that will be moving here shortly, and then having him bring it over with his things in his move. But, my little investigation proves something that people have already been telling me. Electronics in general are not too far off the American prices in Switzerland.

So to all those Mac lovers out there, my PC is just as easy to fix as your Mac, I just have to remember Crtl + F11.

Fighting with the PC, What Do I Do?

I've been fighting with my PC lately. About 3 weeks ago it starting going BSOD on me quite regularly. Now it will run for about an hour and a half before in goes south.

As a result I have had to put my technical hat on, trying to use various system tools to find the problem. The problem with BSOD is that most of the time the best fix is to rebuild the machine from scratch. Enter an interesting problem. When Dell ships there machines they no longer ship installation CDs. You have to explicitly contact them and ask them for the CDs while your computer is under warranty. Of course I didn't do that at the time because I didn't need the CDs but now that I do and the computer is out of warranty it has been a bit diffult and frustrating to try to get the CDs.

Which has lead me to look at another option. Should I just through in the towel and buy a new PC? The problem with that is of course the language of the operating system. I haven't spent a lot of time looking into it but I would imagine most computers in this area come preloaded with German, maybe French. I know that the more recent version of windows ask you a few questions about timezone settings and things the first time you turn on the PC but I don't every recall being asked about language.

So I might have to look for an online option to see if I can order something loaded with a American English operating system. If I can find something I'll have to way the cost of the PC versus the cost of my time to continue to battle the blue demon. I have a feeling the new PC may win.

Returning Home (To Baden)

The last week I have been traveling on business. It was a bit of a long trip considering I am not a fan of business travel. The trip was prolonged by the fact that I decided to take advantage of a 4 day event in Paris and stay for a weekend. My wife had decided to join me in Paris Friday evening.

The weekend in Paris was beautiful, the weather was unbelievable for this time of year. Sunny and in the 70's (lower 20's for those on Celsius). Just a really great weekend to find a plaza, some grass to sit on, and hang out people watching.

This trip I feel like the dog poop issue was really under control. I remember a few times walking down the street when my mind was wandering and all of a sudden realizing I better snap back to attention and turn on my poop radar, but miraculously I didn't have a problem. I wonder if the city has been on a campaign to clean things up. With the poop issue apparently resolved
my only grip about Paris is that wherever you go it seems to smell like urine.

But after all that 6 nights away from home is a long time. Hotel rooms, business dinners, late nights working on presentations for the next day, it takes its toll. On the way home on the high speed train (TGV) some women got on at Strasbourg and began speaking to be in German asking about the seats. I didn't panic, I understood what they asked, and replied correctly. It was a strange experience. The reason being after a week of being surrounded by French, I was actually pleased, and somewhat relaxed to hear German. I never thought German could be so calming to the soul.

And for one of the first times, when I got off the train returning to Baden I had a sense of arriving home. Surely, not the same sense of the word when you arrive at your childhood home, but it was one of the first times I felt relaxed to arrive in Baden.

I was looking forward to jumping into my own bed, making my own dinner from that should surely include some form of Cheese, Pork, and potatoes, and getting back into the routine.

Magazines, German Will Have To Do

Lately I have felt a need to catch up on the digital photography market. I haven't had a chance to really read any magazines lately and sometimes I just prefer to page through a magazine as opposed to clicking around online.

On Saturday we went to the local kiosk, similar to a news stand, to look through the titles. The Kiosk in the Baden train station has a fairly large English language magazine section carrying titles like Self, GQ, Vanity Fair, and National Geographic to name a few but unfortunately they don't carry any photography titles.

I was disappointed at first but then thought to myself, why the heck have I been taking German lessons?! I walked over the the photography sections, found about 20 titles and picked up a few to skim them so see if I could read them. Aside from a few words here and there I actually found I could follow the articles quite well. So, I chose one, walked over to the register and made the purchase.

I've been paging through the magazine and reading bits and pieces here and there. It is a challenge but the topics are things I am interested in, and it is another way to get a little German practice in. Lets see how far this goes.

There Is A Bug Going Around

My wife was sick last weekend, and I think it is finally catching up to me. Around lunch time today I felt the first twinge of the flu coming on. That slightly warm, sore muscle, with a scratchy throat feeling.

As I was just finishing dinner this evening it really started to hit me. I'm just about ready to get into bed and try to fight this off before it gets any worse.

I'm supposed to do some traveling for work next week. I'll be gone most of the week and I don't want to be feeling under the weather if I can avoid it. When I start to get sick I usually tend to get into be and stay there. Even if I feel only a little sick. I find that if I just get plenty of rest at the start of a cold, I usually recover pretty quickly.

So with that, Its 9:00, usually too early to really turn in, but tonight I'm going to jump into bed, practice a little German grammar which will surely make me tired, and hopefully I'll feel better in the morning.

Sking in the Alps, Zurich Airport, Apenzeller Villages All At Swissminiatur

Waiting for a Train At the Swissminiatur Museum

When we were in Ticino last weekend we made a stop at the Swissminiatur museum. Swissminiatur is an outside exhibit of small models of the most famous buildings in Switzerland built at a 1:25 scale. The park also includes over 3500 meters (2.1 miles) of model railroad track.

I had not known quite what to expect when my wife announced she wanted to visit the park. I told a Swiss co-worker from work before we left that we were going to visit and he explained that a visit to Swissminiatur was a right of passage for Swiss children. It is a popular school field trip destination for those in the region.


With that in mind I was expecting something that was aimed towards children. In that sense the park was targeted towards a younger audience with train rides, bumperboats, and a few other activites for children. However, the models did manage to capture my attention and were interesting to see first hand.

As a photographer the park was a great opportunity to practice my skills. Depending on the angles and distances from the models I was able to get some facinating images that in some cases look almost as good as the real thing.

Exhibits featured boats cruising on miniature lakes, working trains that stopped at varios stations throughout the park and even several functioning model cable cars. There was even a model of a popular highway rest stop overpass in our region of Switzerland with a working 4 lane highway of cars passing underneath.

The park was opened in 1959 and the care takers are in a constant cycle of reparing and updating their models. Despite the revitalization efforts some models are clearly in better shape than others. We spent about an hour and a half wondering the grounds and getting lunch.

If you are in the area I would consider it worth a visit. It is good fun for both kids and adults and you'll go home with some great snap shots as well.

Where is the Compassion in Swiss Culture

I am continually reminded in daily life in Switzerland that the Swiss do not have the same sense of compassion, courtesy or respect for other people. There words and actions sometimes strike me as being self-centered and egotistical. Everything seems to be done for the benefit for oneself without a consideration for the greater good.

Go ahead, smoke, and blow it right in my face, please, I beg of you.

That would be fine, just run your shopping carts, and bikes into me and don't bother saying excuse me.

And yes, every seat in this train car is clearly reserved for you even thought there are 20 people standing in the aisle and your friends aren't getting on for another 4 stops.

I had an experience this past weekend where a gentlemen was being what I would consider so absolutely rude that I confronted him in German. I told him he was being discourteous. He acted like he did nothing wrong and I passed him and went on my way to find another seat in the train. My comment must have gotten the better of him because after a minute or two he changed his behavior.

So one small victory in building a bit of compassion and respect in Switzerland.

Playing Tour Guide

Cows on Rigi

I have had family in town since last friday. They are staying with us all this week. So, I have taken some vacation time to to play tour guide.

We took a day trip yesterday to one of my favorite mountain trains, Rigibahn. It is an hour boat ride from Luzern. It was an all day trip tomorrow we were out from about 9:00 in the morning and didn't return home until about 9:30 at night.

Today is a quiet day for us. We'll do some small shopping, and probably stop at the spa this afternoon. We have day train passes lined up for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. They cost 38 CHF for a day pass that is good for all of Switzerland. We need to rest up for alot of traveling in the comming days.

Flower Picking With Our Nachbarin

Gladiolas in a Flower Field

The Swiss like flowers. Flowers are everywhere. The weekend market, the kiosk, I've even seen them in vending machines. The best place to buy truly fresh flowers it to drive around in the country until you find one of the many farmers with a flower field.

Farmers will set up a small table, with a price list, cash box, and usually a couple of old butter knives, sharpened to a razors edge on a cutting wheel. These little stands are not manned, and everything is done based on the honor system. Take a knife, cut some flowers, drop a few coins in the cash box and on your way you go.

Earlier this week, we had an evening with our neighbor and she invited us to join her on Saturday morning to go to a few of her favorite places to pick flowers. We jumped at the chance as it is always fun to see what the locals are up too. We spent a few hours driving between two fields and a couple of grocery stores, just running typical weekend errands in truly Swiss style. In on the fields we got caught in a rain storm. Although we got wet our spirits surely didn't.

I hope we'll get to go again with our neighbor, it is truly a treat to follow her around and just be a quiet observer in her daily routine. It is a fantastic way to get inside the culture.

American Food Binge

This weekend was a good weekend for an American food binge. I've got family coming in a few short weeks and I am sure they will have there suitcases loaded with all of the things I love. Knowing that, I had the green light to break into the emergency cupboard this past weekend.

I started off my Saturday with a wonderful bowl of Cherrios cereal. Then my wife had the great idea to bake a pan of Duncan Hines Brownies, Mmmmmm.

I had recently seen some 'American' brownie mix in the store here. A typical red, white and blue box. I didn't pick up the box, but I would assume the back was probably covered with cowboys, motorcycles and American flags. I'll have to get a box and try it but if it is like other Swiss backed goods I take a bet that it is probably a bit dry.

It was truly a flavorful weekend.

Tennis Club

Its been about 3 weeks since I first joined the tennis club in the next town over. I am happy to report that I've been going twice a week since we joined. At the price we are paying for the rest of the season I think I have already made my money back if you would compare it to paying the hourly non-member rental rate at some courts in the area.

I am feeling more confident in my ground strokes, and my overhead smash is coming back. I think in the next two to three weeks I'll have my serve back to some degree. Time will tell.

There is an interesting system for reserving courts at the club. They don't take reservations ahead of time. You just show up and put your member card on this big board indicating you would like to play. If there is an open court, you would you card on an open court and write the time at which you started playing.

If you come and the courts are full you put your card in a queue and you are allowed to ask people to leave if they have been playing at least 45 minutes.

The system works well, and we have only once had to ask someone for their spot. Asking someone for their spot can be a little difficult when you don't have an official member card. After three weeks we still haven't gotten our official card. When I say official do not be impressed. The clubs idea of an official card is a pink or blue index card, with a printed label with your name and address.

Since we don't have one yet, we just wrote our names on a scrap of paper and put it in the board. For the first time today someone actually asked if I had a card. 'No, I don't have a card, Erika hasn't sent it yet,' I replied in German. It was enough to convince my trusting club member friend who then wished me the best for my day.

5 Lake Ramble, Pizol Switzerland

Schottensee, Pizol Switzerland

I mentioned before that we had been to the Pizol ski area for a little weekend hiking. The hike we took was the 5 lake ramble known to the locals as the 5-Seen Wanderung. The hike was long, hot and packed but the views were unbelievable.

Although my camera bag was heavily loaded with all my gear and made the hike a challenge I am glad I brought everything. Some of the vistas were breathtaking. One of my favorites is a picture I took of the Schottensee. The lake was a sureal shade of blue. And with the peaks of the gray horns in the background the picture almost looks more like a oil painting than a photograph.

The hike took us just about 5 hours to make the loop at a pretty good clip including a 20 minute lunch break. I was definately glad we packed a lunch and plenty of water for the trip.

The peaks and the high altitudes make a polarizing filter a nice tool to take along if you have one. I shot most images with the filter and it really brought out the deep blue skies and water.

All along the hike there were spots where there was still a hint of snow from last winter. The small dirty gray remains looked like they wouldn't last much longer. It was a surpise to see the snow from last season this time of year.

Visual Evidence Proving Why Americans Are Fat

5 Lake Hike at the Pizol Ski Area

On Sunday we took a train 2 hours out to the Pizol ski area to do a hike that my wife was interested in. While I was there I managed to capture some interesting supporting evidence to the American obesity epidemic.

Take a look at all the people in this picture. Yes, what you see are people, lots of people, for miles on end, hiking. And, I can assure you there isn't a McDonalds at the top of the hill.

What is really amazing about this picture is that this was one segment of a 5 hour hike in the mountains. For the entire time we were hiking the trail was more crowded than aisle 5 of Walmart on the morning of the Richmond NASCAR race.

This was not an easy hike either. And there were no parking lots or air conditioned rest stops along the way, so everyone on the trail had truly committed to marching for 5 hours in the blazing summer sun.

Even though it was crowded, everyone was having a good time, and people were generally quiet and respectful of others. I have some amazing pictures from the trip. But I'd rather post another entry after I have a chance to go through the pictures.

Reichstag Dome

Dome At the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany

I was working on some of my photographs this week and came across a picture that I really liked from the dome of the Riechstag. I liked the composition but when viewed in color it just didn't seem to really stand out.

I spent a bit of time to crop it and convert to a high contrast black and white. I think in turned out much better this way.

Just for comparison, below is the original, as shot image.

The Swiss Bush That Bites (Stinging Nettle)

Hiking in Switzerland can be a pain. There is this one bush that seems to reach out and bite you. The plant looks innocent enough. It is a short green leafy thing, that looks like it has little hairs growing on the stalk and leaves. No huge thorns like a berry bush. However, if you happen to brush up against this little sucker you are in for a real treat. After a look on the web I think they might be Stinging Nettles.


I was hiking with my wife today along a road. As an oncoming car approach we both took a step off of the road into the grass. Immediately, I felt a burning on my leg. Then about two seconds later my wife mentioned that he had just be stuck as well. According to Wikipedia these plants hit you with a nice mix of irritants including acetylcholine, histamine, 5-HT and possibly formic acid.

For me it feels as if about 10 bees have bitten me in one spot on my leg. As I understand the reaction can vary from person to person. For me it tends to be pretty strong for about 2 to 3 minutes and then fades. The irritation stays with me for the rest of the day, and usually it comes back intensely if I take a hot shower.

At our party over the weekend a friend mentioned he had a bunch of these little suckers in his backyard. That must be terrible I would imagine.

This is a nice video. Stupid kids, but demonstrates the pain well....