Moving to Kilchberg

24 February 2008,

We had another eventful couple of weeks in Switzerland.

Teri and Tara returned from the US with lots of good stuff, including Coco. Duchess could not make the trip as Delta (@$$#*?$) gave us the wrong information and would not let her on the plane. Jeremy was quite helpful to Teri by driving the girls and the dogs hither and yon in Kansas. Thanks Jer.

Duchess in the end got a week at the doggie resort and spa. The good news is that she is scheduled to come over in the next week.

While they were gone, I spent the time trucking our clothes and other items from our old temporary digs in Hottinger to our new flat in Kilchberg. This was slow going as the bus stop is down (and up!) the hill (all hills here) from the new flat. Knees the size of watermelons today.

The first picture is of the Kilchberg Kirch which I think is in the center of town. Not certain as the town is very small. We are only 10 minutes by bus from the center of Zurich and our work. School on the other hand is about 2o minutes by train. We've committed to a school closer to our side of the lake. Tara is excited since her best friend is transferring there as well.

We had lunch yesterday in one of the restaurants here in Kilchberg. So did the Coco. Dogs are welcome in the restaurants, buses, trains, and most shops. The waiter brought out a bowl of water for her while we ate.

We got delivery on our beds a few days after we moved in. What a relief. Man (at least this one) is not meant to sleep on the floor. I do have rather good posture however. On order are our table and chairs, as well as our sofa. Tara helped us select our sofa. Red to fit with her new color schemes of orange and reds! Next we'll need to get our schrunks. These are substitutes for closets in Switzerland as no apartment or house has built ins.

We are still thoroughly enjoying ourselves here. Lot's to see and do. The folks dressed like clowns below are not our next door neighbors. On second thought, perhaps they are. These folks were celebrating carnival, chasing away the evil spirits of winter. Seems like it worked as we have had nothing but sun and warm temperatures (50's) since then!

Sundays (like today) are solely for rest. Nothing is open, no stores and many restaurants are closed all day. Buses, trams and trains run infrequently. While this makes one cram a lot in on Saturdays, it is a custom (and law) that we have grown to love.

Many things left to explore. Haven't ventured out of the Zurich Canton except on business. Many folks here going on skiing trips, snowshoeing, hiking, etc.

We'll keep you posted on our adventures here. Bob