Well the holiday season is over and it will soon be time to go back to work, but Sofia had a fantastic first Christmas. Gina's Dad and brother flew into Zurich a few week and a half ago to help us celebrate and we've had a great time since they've been here.

Like every morning, Sofia woke up on Christmas in the early morning and immediately began to make lots of noise, letting us all know it was time to get up and see what Santy brought. And for a while she was very excited to help tear open her gifts, of which she received quite a few. After a time however she got bored and then tired so she went and took a nap while the rest of us finished the job.

Look what Santy brought!

 

After we finished opening our gifts and eating breakfast Gina cooked up a storm for the Christmas party we attended that night at Johan's. She made an apple pie, tiramisu, macaroni and cheese, and roasted fennel, butternut squash, carrots, and sugar snap peas. Adding that to the delicious roast, rice, brussels sprouts, and snacks, we definitely feasted like kings!

We had to cut the evening at Johan's short because we had rented a car to travel to Italy the following morning and didn't feel that a trip over the Alps would be much fun if we were all hungover. Early on the 26th I went to the Zurich airport to pickup our Volkswagon golf but was told a mistake had been made and because the rental agency no longer had any Golfs they had upgraded us to an all wheel drive Audi. It turned out this was really lucky for two reasons: First the weather was awful the entire trip and the all wheel drive came in handy as we pushed through the snow and ice of the Alps; second the upgrade included a built-in GPS unit that gave us perfect directions in a comforting British accent.

I'm ready to go now...

For the brief moments when the weather opened up and we could see more than 30 feet in front of us, this was one of the most stunning road trips I have ever taken. The road up through the pass wound its way through steep, snow covered peaks and deep glacial lakes half hidden by fog. To negotiate the terrain, the Swiss literally cut the road into the sides of cliffs and tunneled through whole mountains. It was one of the most impressive trips I've ever taken.

Once we made it through to the Italian side the going became easier until we reached Lake Maggiore. At that point we ignored the British woman and left the highway, taking a side road built right on the lake. Immediately it became clear that we were no longer in a country with the best transportation infrastructure in the world. Heavy rain had caused numerous rock and mudslides along the length of this portion of the trip and the resulting bottlenecks hindered our progress to Arona. We finally made it safe and sound however, despite the weather and irate Italian drivers.

The morning after our arrival the Garland's relatives picked us up and took us to their home for lunch. They were wonderful hosts. We went to three separate homes to visit different family members and at every one we enjoyed food and drink. Although effective communication was difficult everyone still seemed to enjoy the visit.

Italy was a beautiful country and Gina and I will definitely be taking a trip back. After driving back to Zurich the rest of Frank and Frankie's stay was pretty low key. Really all we did was eat, drink, and play board games. Although one afternoon Frankie and I did make the hike to the top of Eutliberg, which proved to be unusually difficult because the path was covered in a sheet of ice. The view from the top of the hill was worth it though.

Christmas market

Since I know everyone just wants to see pictures of Sofia I'll keep this brief. This past weekend the three of us went to visit our friends Ben and Charlotte, who live just outside Zurich in a little town called Bremgarten. Interestingly enough Bremgarten recently made the American news for banning asylum seekers from using the municipal pool...

Whatever the political situation may be they certainly host a pleasant Christmas market. We arrived around noon and found Ben and Charlotte working at their friends booth, selling handmade winter apparel. After making plans to head over to their apartment later in the afternoon we wandered around Bremgarten's old town, basking in holiday revelry. For lunch we were able to find the community bingo hall and sat down to a hearty- and inexpensive- meal of pasta.

After getting our fill we again found our friends and walked back to their apartment, where they provided coffee and tiramusu. After a great afternoon and evening of sitting around discussing the upcoming world cup we decided to head home and caught the train back to Zurich.

Santy wears yellow in the Alps

Elves or Sauron's wringwraiths? I'm still not sure.

Turkey Day

Well yesterday Gina, Sofia and I were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and coworkers. It wasn't quite the same without having family around but it was nice nonetheless. Our friends Charlotte and Ben organized the entire shindig and rented a cabin (waldhutte) in the woods near their town. Gina offered to help with the cooking so we got up pretty early yesterday and boarded a train to Bremgarten with two friends from work.

After arriving at Charlotte's apartment we all packed into her van and took a short drive into the forest above her village. The conditions were awful- deep fog, relentless drizzle, and sodden cold. After a relatively short drive we finally burst out of dense forest into a small clearing and saw the hut. After unloading the car we went in and immediately built a huge fire. What a difference.... All of a sudden the weather ceased to be quite so malevolent and everyone began to enjoy preparing for the party. Before long everyone else began to trickle in, a mix of ETH coworkers and neighborhood friends.

I spent last Saturday searching for that irreplaceable Thanksgiving item: the American football. And after countless phone calls and hours spent explaining that what I was looking for wasn't round and white, I finally found one tucked away in the basement of a sporting goods store in Zurich, Switzerland. Right before pulling out the sacred object in front of our party I envisioned the reaction I would get once everyone realized what I had brought to the party. Applause of course, admiration and excitement clearly, youthful enthusiasm perhaps; I got none of those. A few confused stares and what even felt like a little scorn was really all I got for bringing the most important necessity of Thanksgiving. Don't worry though, there was another American with me and together we took our beer and our pigskin out into the gloomy damp and proceeded to maintain our sacred tradition. And then something special happened. Two of the kids who had come along for turkey came out and wanted to play. Before long there were eight of us and except for one kid getting hit in the nose with the ball everyone had a fantastic time.

After that we ate. I don't speak German and I don't speak Czech, both of which were prevalent at the dinner table yesterday. To tell the truth I have a hard time even telling them apart, something that is apparently quite offensive. But I did recognize the way the new Czech dads looked at their babies, I did understand when thanks was being said when a big pile of turkey was put on someone's plate, and I did realize that everyone was having fun. Laughter and happiness sound the same everywhere. 

It was a great day. After dinner came dessert. Gina's apple pie was the biggest hit of the night. And then we cleaned. Except for one big bag of trash that spilled  that went smoothly and we headed back home to Zurich with full bellies and new friends. 

der waldhutte

Betsy entertaining Sofia

Stop it with the flash already

World class dirt experts

Juhwan knows what he's doing

Gina realizing Sofia just crapped her pants again

Sofia

Well my folks have gone home. Although it was hard to see them leave getting to visit these past few weeks was a lot of fun.

The highlight of their trip was undoubtedly our visit to Rigi mountain, a peak located about an hour south of Zurich which serves as a gateway of sorts up into the Alps. To get there we left Zurich early on a Saturday- I think two weeks ago- and began the trip to Arth-Goldau, a little village that lies at the base of the mountain. Because we arrived late to the station and boarded a car not designed for things like strollers my Dad and I were forced to pick Sofia and her stroller up and carry it past a train car full of annoyed Swiss. I think we only hit two or three in the head with Sofia's wheels so all in all it could've been a lot worse. Once we got the stroller to the bike storage area all the seats were taken so Gina and I ended up sitting in the cargo bay with Sofia which actually was kind of cool except for the fact that I couldn't see out the windows.

Upon arriving to Arth-Goldau we killed a little time waiting for our mountain cog train to take us up the mountain by wandering through the village. After an hour of sightseeing our train, one of the first of its kind in Switzerland choo chooed up to the station and we began the trip up to the top of Rigi. As we reached the summit the entire range opened up before us, disappearing into the distance both east and west of us. It's impossible to adequately describe how impressive this range really is. Standing up at the top of Rigi you can't help but stand in awe as you try your best to etch as much of this unbelievable vista into your memory as you can. We didn't stay too long but we enjoyed a some food and a beer at the top, simply enjoying each others company and the place we had come to visit.

Since my folks left we haven't done too much.We did find childcare, which in Zurich can almost be considered miraculous. Not only did we find a safe place to take Sofia when Gina goes back to work but it's primarily Spanish speaking, which is awesome. Plus everyone working there is from the Americas- Mexico, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Cuba etc. so she won't end up speaking with that weird lispy thing that happens on the Iberian peninsula. We also have almost got Sofia registered with our canton and sent in the papers to get her American citizenship so we are catching up with required paperwork.

That's all I have for now.

waiting for the cog train

At the top of Rigi

 

Dried apricots

Los abuelos han llegado

Today my Mom and Dad flew in from Texas. It's great to see them. Watching them walk out of customs and into Switzerland served as a reminder of how far we are from family and how much I miss being closer to home.

The folks flew in around noon today and the first thing I was told was to take them home so that they could visit Sofia. And so we did. We got home and everyone got acquainted. It was awesome. After that basically worked to keep everyone awake until bedtime, which we succeeded in doing. First we went for a walk to the lake and the views of the Alps were the best I've seen since living here. We just had a lot of rain followed by some cold dry air and the mountains looked amazing. They are already covered in snow and the urge to get a closer look is becoming unbearable.

From the lake we meandered into the park and from there came back and decided to play a game of scrabble, which I lost. After that we enjoyed a delicious dinner that Gina cooked. That's pretty much everything about today.

Home Sweet Home

Well, everyone is back home from the hospital and doing well. Sofia is doing great. She is growing by the day- PJs are already becoming too small- and she is growing more and more aware of the big new world she is now living in. This isn't to say life isn't without it's challenges anymore. Gina and I don't sleep a whole lot because Sofia prefers to nap during the day and contemplate whatever it is babies think about at night. This is my first extended experience operating on limited rest and it really sucks. Then of course there are issues surrounding waste management; Sofia poops a lot. Most of the time this is easily managed but sometimes she decides to make a successful diaper change difficult. The first few times both semi digested milk and stool were flowing freely I froze up, feeling completely overwhelmed with the quantity of fluids that had to be dealt with. But as with all things practice results in improvement, and due to Gina's well thought out baby changing preparations we are well equipped.

Really the most challenging aspect of having Sofia home is the attention she demands. Even when not feverishly changing soiled clothing, walking back and forth through the apartment at 3 am in a vain attempt to convince her to sleep, or feeding her, she still wants our time. Holding her, singing to her, talking to her, reading to her, rocking her, walking her... it all takes time. And the days fly by. Gina and I are attempting to complete a grant proposal to engage in a collaborative research project in Malawi by November. Needless to say Sofia has added to the challenge of meeting this deadline.

As tiring and demanding as Sofia is proving to be, she is also miraculous. Seeing her content, happy, full, observant- it all makes me happy. Seeing Gina holding our child, feeding her, talking to her, playing with her, are all wonderful to behold. So what else have we been up to since leaving Triemlispital??

A couple weeks ago Marisa came through town on her way to Africa and we decided to take a paddle steamer to the end of Lake Zurich. So we loaded up our stroller, wrapped Sofia up, and boarded the Stadt Zurich, in service since 1909. Off we went, heading south to Rapperswil, an old Catholic enclave famed for its rose gardens and bad ass castle. After two hours or so we began exploring this amazing little town. We began by eating lunch in one of Rapperswil's rose gardens, enjoying a quiet lunch in the sun. From there we hiked up the hill to the castle, an enormous structure built at the top of the city. This was my first castle experience and it was pretty sweet. What a shame firearms rendered them obsolete... All in all we had a fun, relaxed outing. Sofia did really well; she seems to fuss a lot less when in motion.

For the the past two weeks Diane and Steve have been visiting and they proved to be a huge help. The little sleep Gina and I have been able to get since bringing Sofia home was mostly due to their help. Although we didn't do much traveling we did enjoy lots of relaxed evenings just enjoying each others company. Gina surprised us with a scrabble set and we spent a few nights doing what all scrabble players spend most of their time doing do- arguing about the legitimacy of two, three and four letter words. All in all it was great to see family, and we already miss them.

All aboard: Gina and Marisa and Sofia departing to Rapperswil

Lunch in the rose garden

rebar's pretty effective at stripping velvet

makes reading game of thrones so much better

marisa seems to know what she's doing here

view between merlons

I'm learning who this is...

a walk in the woods

Sunday afternoon

It looks like I will get to go home Tuesday afternoon, but unfortunately Sofie's numbers dipped again slightly last night, so we have to reset the clock to another three days. That would mean she can go home Wednesday morning at the earliest. She's healthy, happy, and wonderful, though, so we're thankful for beyond belief for that. We spend all day every day with her in the neo natal clinic, just hanging out and taking it easy. Now all we can do is keep our fingers crossed that she can join us at home as soon as possible. Think good thoughts for us!

I am Sofie, hear me roar!

Changing baby clothes. Ben looks like he's performing surgery every time it's his turn, making sure not to miss a single button!

Sofie's reaction to Dad's clothing choice for the day. I don't think she's digging the outfit.

Check out my beautiful blue eyes!