A Leisurely Saturday Afternoon

Yesterday Gina and I, along with some of our lab mates, decided to explore the flea market at Burkliplatz, which lies at the beginning of the North end of Lake Zurich. We had a great time. We arrived at the market a little before noon and wandered through the different stalls, looking at all sorts of interesting bric-a-brac. The most interesting thing about what was being sold, at least to me, was that little of could be easily purchased in the United States. Unlike the flea markets at home, none of what was being sold appeared to be broken Walmart product. The place was overflowing with antiques, old hand tools, and unique, handmade toys. As we walked through the stalls we were encouraged to examine, try on, turn on, and open everything from nikon cameras to some sweet looking daggers- the weaponry was extra intriguing because I'm in the middle of game of thrones. Thanks Steve. Gina gently restrained me from trying to wear a WWII Japanese dive helmet- mint condition- and then one of our co-workers told us about a chocolate shop down the way.

So with Gina, who is much more interested in chocolate than historic artifacts these days leading the way, we wove a path through the labrynth of old town and into a place straight out of Willy Wanka's chocolate factory. This place had a lot of sweets. We each found a sample to try and then made our escape, trying not to get squished by truffle crazed tourists along the way.

And then we found the giant chess boards. And like many things here they are on top of a castle. It was like being at Hogwarts and the park in Searching for Bobby Fischer at the same time. It was fantastic.There were three humongous boards, two of which were being played on by really old German (In think) guys who were all yelling at one another, but the third was open... And so Ariani, a PhD student in our lab and I began a game. For a period of time it was perfect; closely contested, marked by advances and retreats, attacks and counter attacks, feints, fakes, thrusts and parries. As the game wore on I slowly and inexorably began to march down the board, designing a final brilliant stratagem to end the matter. But then the girls watching declared they were hot and bored so we had to leave.

Today has been a lot of fun as well. It is our one year anniversary and we enjoyed spending it together. We went for a long walk in the forest in the morning and enjoyed a slow afternoon reading, cooking, and skyping with family. Tomorrow work begins again but we had a great weekend and hope you guys did as well.

Engil and Gina

Refreshments

On the way to the giant chess boards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a really big chess set

me feigning concern

pretty good view

this thing confused us

First Days in Zurich

Greetings!

All of you know that Gina and I recently moved to Zurich, Switzerland so that she can pursue a PhD. in Agronomy at ETH Zurich, a technical university of some renown. Because a move of this sort, particularly when our little Sofia is expected to arrive soon, will doubtless be full of challenges and adventure, we decided it might be fun to share the experience with friends and family.

On May 14th we boarded a plane at San Francisco airport and flew some 5,000 miles across the globe to begin a new page of our lives together. Our family left California with 196 lbs of luggage, the memories of some wonderful farewells from some very special people, and Monkey Doo Doo. It's a long flight to Zurich and my headphones for some reason didn't allow me to listen to the in flight entertainment, so I mostly just sat there and thought about what we were doing. It's no small thing to leave your home, your family, your jobs. It can be scary and intimidating and often incites second guessing and hesitation. But I've traveled enough to understand that these are inevitable feelings. And as I sat and watched Gina destroy Sudoku puzzle after Sudoku puzzle I couldn't help but be reminded that we make a great team.

We've been in Zurich for three weeks now. It has been a busy time. The list of to dos never seems to end. Our first full day in the city we had to find the cantonal registration office to get residence permits. Luckily for us, our landlady went with us, which was an immense help because most of the government workers here don't speak English. Saina and her family have been really kind to us. She was at the airport waiting for us to arrive and drove us back to her home, she has invited us to eat at her table, shown us around the city, and looked out for us when we had to interact with health insurance salesmen. Without her help our transition to Zurich would have been much more difficult.

Housing has been a major headache. Competition for affordably priced apartments is fierce and many owners dislike renting to non Swiss. Yesterday however we did sign a contract for a nice apartment only a few blocks from the lake and we are excited to move into a place of our own.

The city itself is amazing. It is nestled around Lake Zurich, which lies at the bottom of a wide valley that is surrounded by wooded hills. The Alps, a massive line of snow capped peaks dominate the Southern horizon and can be seen from anywhere in the city. I can't wait to visit. The public transport is excellent and so far I haven't had a difficult time reaching any point in the city.

Then there are the parks. The city is dotted with large swathes of forest that are crisscrossed with well maintained gravel roads, benches, fountains, fire pits, and exercise stations. Gina and I have been going on daily walks in a tract behind our house that is simply beautiful. Below are a few pictures of our first few weeks in Zurich.

The view outside our apartment

Same view closer up

Gina on our nightly walks

A sheep