Happy Holidays!!!

We wish you and your family a very happy holiday season!!!

Adventures with Advent Calendars

Most German-speaking countries have an important holiday tradition of using Advent calendars. And seeing all the different Advents is one of the best parts about being in Switzerland during the holidays. An advent calendar is a calendar used to count down the days until Christmas. In my family, we've always had advent calendars and it's been a nice way to ring in the holiday spirit.

In Switzerland, we've seen beautiful advent candles. These are arrangments - usually with greenery, etc. that boast four candles - one for each Sunday prior to Christmas. Here are some beautiful examples - a picture I took of the florist display down the road from us...


When we were in Vienna a month and a half ago, the city was starting to decorate for the holidays. They turned the entire Rathaus (government building) into an Advent calendar! Each window was a day of the Advent calendar.



Even businesses get in on the Advent fun! One of the large grocery chains in Switzerland was giving out Advent calendar coupon savings at the beginning of the month of December. Each day you could save on a particular product...with the savings getting bigger and bigger the closer to Christmas you get.



Last year, I made an Advent Calendar for Brady. It has a little container that can be taken off the calendar every day. Brady is really into it this year. Each day contains a 2 CHF chocolate coin. This is a fun tradition that I couldn't wait to share with Brady. I love seeing how excited Brady is each day when he gets to open the little container and he eats his "choclat"!

A New Look for the Coyle Connection

Just in time for the New Year, we are going to implement a new look for "The Coyle Connection". My friend, Amy, has a really neat banner on the top of her blog and after doing some research, I found a really cool set of files that you can purchase to spruce up your blog. (Hey I scrapbook while not in cyber-space, so I figured it was time to add some scrapbooking elements to this site.) We are going to utilize Brian's (my brother) graphic design skills while we are home over the holidays to get things rolling. So, please check back often and certainly after the holidays to see how the new blog looks. :)

Deutsch für Frauen (German for Women)

For those of you who might not be aware, I took 4 years of German back in High School. I was also planning on minoring in German in college, but was unable to fit in the required classes along with my engineering courses. Although the German spoken in Switzerland is very different than high German, it has been a goal of mine to brush off those German skills with the hope of being fluent by the time we get back to the US. During early summer, I learned of a set of German courses offered by the City of Zürich that are specifically for women. The classes are accompanied with a spot for your child in the Kinderkrippe (day care). Because I had taken German in the past, I had to be assessed for my current level. Needless to say, I was nervous. However, my assessor thought I was probably at a decent level and put me in the 2nd of 3 courses. Unfortunately, that was back in September. We waited for about 2 months for them to have a spot open up in the Kinderkrippe.

I started in mid-November. My classes are twice a week for 2.5 hours. I drop Brady off at the Kinderkrippe that is specially manned for the "Deutsch für Frauen" attendees and then walk to the class a few minutes away. So far, so good. My grammar is still pretty much intact (or is quickly coming back to me) from high school. I can still write pretty well, but my vocabulary and speaking ability are sorely lacking. But I'm having fun with the classes and getting back into the swing of things. At least it's making me feel more confident about speaking German when I go shopping, etc.

The only downside has been that Brady is suffering from a major bout of separation anxiety. However, his crying is starting to subside a bit, and I've been told that he plays happily oncer I'm out of site. I think he's been "acting" just a bit! :)

It's interesting taking a class that isn't for credit. The homework is optional, the tests are optional. It's weird. But, I'm still a nerd at heart...I do it all. I figure if I want to be fluent...it's going to take some work. Even with homework being optional, I did have to give a 10-minute presentation during class last week. That was a bit nerve-wracking, but I survived. It's also been interesting to hear German spoke by non-German or non-English native speakers. When I learned German in high school, all my peers were native English speakers. My classmates are now Japanese, Portuguese, Brazilian, Sri Lankian, and Tunisian. And I don't think in thepast, that I ever had a class completely conducted in German. That's all that's spoken in my class...and even my book (where grammar is explained) is all in German. It definitely has made for some interesting times! My goal for the new year is to get involved with some German speaking groups outside of class to help my speaking skills.

Running Circles Around Others

Brady has been a regular walker for about a month and a half now (about the time when the last blog postings were actually written...coincidence, hmmmmmm?!?!?!) He's been so cute. He does still have his unsteady moments, but he's pretty much got it down pat. Here are his latest exploits:

My Top Ten Zürich Favorites

As I mentioned in the Pet Peeves post (sorry it was so long!), there are tons of things that we LOVE about living in Zürich. I think we've tried to showcase some of our fun experiences in our blog. But in order to provide some balance to my Pet Peeves post, here are our Top Ten Favorite Things about Zürich!

10. Flowers

Flowers are a very big part of life here. There are tons of florists and many city outskirts offer "Selbstschneiden Blumen" (Flowers that you can cut yourself). Flowers are a frequent gift when you visit people. Many people have fresh flowers all the time in their homes. And they take pride in their window boxes of flowers as well. I have loved being able to buy fresh flowers at the markets. Here are some samples of the flowers I've had over the last few months:

9. Markets

Many European cities boast weekly markets. These are held in the town center and offer a wide variety of fresh products, like meats, cheeses, vegetables & fruits, and flowers. I LOVE markets! We have one at Bürkliplatz that is fantastic. It is held Tuesday and Friday mornings until 11:00AM. You can get the freshest stuff there for usually less than you would pay in the grocery stores. Plus, the atmosphere is wonderful. Strolling down the aisles, and looking at the wares is great. I just love knowing that you can get stuff fresh and can support local farmers. This is definitely a custom I will take back with me to the US.

Here is an interesting article I found on markets and how it is really part of a way of life in Europe.

http://www.laughinglemon.ch/publications/hz0905.htm

8. Environmental Consciousness

Europeans tend to be very environmentally conscious. Unlike the US, it really is hard to find fruits/vegetables in the store that aren't in season locally. This is because they want to reduce the costs and pollution associated with shipping food from warmer climates where something might be in season. We laughed a lot this summer at all the stands selling strawberries and asparagus, but now you can't find these things. You get them while they are in season.

I read somewhere that Zürich recycles over 90% of their PET bottles!!! Recycling here is pretty neat. PET bottles (for soda/milk) are recycled at the grocery stores (along with old batteries, water filters) Glass and aluminum/steel cans are recycled at centers that are located in many neighborhoods. You take your stuff to the center and put it in it's designated place.

Paper and cardboard are put in neat piles and wrapped in twine. These piles are put on your curb every 2 weeks for the city to pick up. And as I mentioned in my previous post, most product packaging is designed so that it creates a minimum of landfill.

As for garbage (items that can't be recycled), most towns make you buy special bags that are used for garbage. This essentially taxes those who create a lot of garbage. Below is a photo of the trash bags we buy. These are 2.50 CHF (about $2.00 each) and hold about 35 liters of garbage. We typically go through about 2 of these a week.

7. A Place for Everything and Everything In It's Place

Whether due to the fact that space is a premium here in Europe (and especially European cities), or due to the Swiss efficiency, the mantra here really is "A Place for Everything and Everything in It's Place". This one is hard to explain and really can only be experienced. Offices (even governmental offices) are super organized. Offices boast little cubby holes where everything is neatly placed. Garbage cans are thoughtfully placed around the whole city. The apartments, although small, have thoughtfully made use of the space they have. (For example, our kitchen has a built-in spice cabinet that makes use of the wasted space above the cook top.) I just really love this and feel I need to learn this attribute myself. I consider myself relatively organized, but feel I have too much clutter. When I look at offices here, or even in some apartments, I feel that this mantra has made the small spaces Zürichers have much bigger. And this leads to the efficiency for which the Swiss are famous.

6. Grocery Shopping

I know I did a lot of complaining about grocery shopping in my previous post, but in general, daily grocery shopping has provided an opportunity for a different way of cooking. Our meat tastes so much better when it's used right when you buy it. (I have to admit that I froze a lot of meat, esp. chicken, in the US and thawed it when I wanted to use it.) When you find something interesting on sale, it's fun to incorporate it into your cooking. We have had more varied meals as a result of daily shopping. It's also fun to realize what items are truly in season and celebrate the harvest of such item. I find we don't get into as much of a food rut as I was prone to in the US. So, although it's a pain to shop so much, I have had fun learning to truly plan meals instead of throwing things together.

5. Healthy Lifestyle

Living in a city/country that offers a great public transportation system (see #3 below) and a relatively mild climate, has provided us the opportunity to ditch the car and walk. We walk all over and it's great! Bill and I both feel healthier and more in shape than we did in the US. Being outside so much really makes you appreciate the weather. (And why better weather forecasts would be a nice thing.) I think that when I drove everywhere in the States, oftentimes I didn't even notice the weather because it didn't prove to be much of an issue. I would just quickly hop into the car, etc. All in all, this has been a very nice side-benefit of living in Zürich.

4. Festivals

The Swiss really know how to throw a party! :) There seems to be some kind of festival on any given weekend. Christmastime is full of fests/markets. (More in my next posts.) We've had fun partaking of these festivals and enjoying local fares/traditions.

3. Food

We have really enjoyed the food here in Zürich. The fresh breads/baked goods are phenomenal. And I love the dairy products. The milk and butter have fat contents that are a bit higher than those in US dairy products. (wonderful) The Swiss love their ice cream too. Mmmmm....good. I guess it's a good thing we are walking everywhere to work off this food!

2. Just do it!

Along the lines of #3, I have really enjoyed the simpler ways of cooking/eating. Real butter is used in everything here. There was even a recent ad campaign suggesting you were uncool if you didn't eat real butter. And french fries are still fried in animal fat! We love the french fries here...and I think they taste the better for being fried in animal fat. I know these things are very un-PC to say, but I like that taste hasn't been compromised for the diet community. And the folks here are remarkably thin. I think it's all the walking that allows them to eat whatever they want!

1. Public Transportation

The public transportation system here in Zürich is phenomenal (outside of the kid-friendly factor). I really enjoy the ease of use/understanding of the system. And it goes everywhere! And it's frequent! The only downside is that is stops relatively early in the late-evening/early morning. (1:00 AM) I have to admit that the main point of comparison I have is the Chicago public transporation system. While that system was good in the center of city and very good if you were a commuter to/from the city...it wasn't good for connecting suburbs. I have not found any issues getting anywhere within the city/suburb areas of Zürich. I really wish the US could find better ways to implement public transportation. It really is a better way to live.

My Top Ten Zürich Pet Peeves

Having lived here in Zürich for 8 months now, some things that we originally thought were "quaint" have now become annoyances. As a form of outlet, I will list my top 10 Zürich Pet Peeves to hopefully get them off my chest and move on. However, because there are also many great things about living in Europe, in the spirit of keeping things balanced, I will also list my top 10 Favorite Things about Zürich (see next post).

10. Weather Reports/GPS Satellites

It seems there is some kind of bubble over Switzerland that does not allow the satellites over Europe to bounce their beams into the country. If there are actual weather radars in use for Switzerland, they are horrible. On any given day, I can check three online weather webpages and get 3 completely different reports. For a few weeks, during the summer, 50% chance of precipitation was listed every single day. (At least the meteorologists can claim they are equally correct.) It's a running joke in the ex-pat community that you have no idea what the weather will be like.

Similarly, every time we drive somewhere and bring out the GPS for our car, it takes about 20 minutes to "warm up", as I call it. Basically, the Garmin unit takes about 20 minutes to locate the satellites that we will use. In most cases, we aren't really driving for more than 20 minutes to our destination, so it's basically made our GPS obsolete for short drives. Arghhhhhhhhh.

9. Things start really early (construction, maintenance, etc.)

The Swiss are very efficient people and like to get an early start to the day. I used to be a morning person, but ever since Brady has joined us, I just can't seem to regain my "morning person" qualities. As a result, both Brady and I have been awakened at 6:30 AM as a construction crew gathered outside our apartment to prepare for some road work they were going to do. Unfortunately for us, this include jack-hammering a significant chunk of road just outside our apartment. They got their equipment in place, tools out and ready to go...and literally at 1 minute past 8:00 AM...they started jack-hammering. YIKES!

I've also had some embarrassing moments where I've answered the door in my pajamas to the Post man (delivering many packaging while I'm in my PJs), our building superintendant, and the Siemens clothes dryer repair guy. The building super and Siemens Repair Man both arrived before 8:30 AM (and well early of their stated appointment times) and the Post man consistently comes before 9:3o AM. It's not that I'm not awake by then. As all of you who have/had young children know, you get up relatively early. But even though Brady is usually fed and dressed by 8:30 AM, I have not usually had the luxury of getting dressed by that time! Oh well..the early bird gets the worm!

8. Lines are apparently optional

For such an efficient country, it amazes me how time and time again I will be cut in a line. This happens at the grocery store, public transportation, zoo, you name it. It's not like I don't look like I'm in line...it's just that people just don't abide by lines.

While at the Children's Zoo a few weeks ago, I watched in dismay while children remained on the ponies time after time (they paid each time) while there was a HUGE line. I guess they figured since they had waited once, and since they were paying for each ride, that they could just stay on. It was MADDENING - especially when you have a 15 month old who was facing melt-down mode.

Apparently this is why there are ticket machines at the Post Office and Cell Phone service stores to cut down on customer rage. I originally thought these machines were just another mark of Swiss efficiency...but in fact I think it's because customers were fighting over who was next in line.

7. Delivery Services that Aren't Very Customer Friendly

In September, I hosted a card-making party for some of my friends. Since there were 8 of us, we decided to order some pizza for lunch. We ordered via phone and were told that it would be about 50 minutes because it was during the lunch-rush. This seemed reasonable, especially since they explained about the lunch-rush. Our pizza took almost 2 hours!!!! We called 2 additional times to ask where they were. The first time they said they would be there in 5 minutes....30 minutes later, they said they would be there in 5 minutes. UGH! They did feel bad for our delay and knocked a whole 3 CHF off our order. (Whoopie!) This seems to be a norm here in Zürich.

The other thing about this delivery service is that any restaurant that delivers is also VERY expensive. But I guess that's probably because ALL restaurants in Zürich are expensive to begin with! We have become experts at making homemade pizzas...all in order to avoid the expense and hassel of ordering delivery pizza.

6. Sticker Shock

Things here in Switzerland are VERY expensive. (See prior posts for some our experiences with sticker-shock.) As Bill and I have tried to make sense of why, we've come up with a few plausible reasons.

- Self-reliance: Out of interest, I've read a bit about Switzerland's part in World War II. Being a land-locked country, surrounded by Germany, German-occupied France and Austria, and German-ally, Italy, Switzerland was faced with a big problem during WWII. Switzerland is a very small country (smaller in area than the state of West Virginia), and does not have a lot of natural resources. As a result, Switzerland relied heavily upon Germany for many goods/raw materials. Germany was by-far the country's largest trading partner. It is my hypothesis that due to this reliance on a nation at war for products, Switzerland determined, from that point forward, that it should no longer be reliant on other nations. It amazes me that for such a small nation with only 7.6 million people, how many Swiss-produced products you can buy. The problem with Swiss-market-only companies is that they don't have scale to produce at a reasonable cost and don't have incentive to make products that meet the standards of a world-wide consumer base. The result is high-cost/medium-quality goods.

-Duopolies: I don't know why, but there are many duopolies here in Switzerland. As defined byWikipedia: "A true duopoly is a specific type of oligopoly where only two producers exist in one market. In reality, this definition is generally used where only two firms have dominant control over a market." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duopoly)

Some examples:

--Cablecom & Swisscom Cable/Phone Providers : These companies remind me of the phone companies in the US before deregulation. They both provide horrible service. I can't even count how many people I know who have had to get at least 2 cable boxes replaced because their cable was not working. I've had several friends who have had their phone service cut off (due to a technical glitch) for long periods of time. And we have experienced horrible cable internet service where it cuts off for several hours at a time, frequently. UGH! Customer service lines are only open 16 hours a day. If you have a problem after 10 pm, forget it.

--Migros & Coop Grocery Stores: These two really do control the groceries here in Switzerland. There are a few other scattered stores, but these are really the ones who set the prices. This seems to limit product selection and cost-comparison is nil.

--Credit Suisse and UBS Banks: There are plenty of ofther Swiss banks, but these are it if you want a mainline checking account. And they don't go out of their way to grant ex-pats credit cards/ or credit cards with usable limits.

Most stores in Switzerland do not offer web-options where you can price compare online. This lack of an internet shopping outlet has created yet another way for prices to remain high in Switzerland.

5. Not Kid-Friendly

I do know that most large cities across the world are NOT kid-friendly. I can't even imagine trying to push a baby stroller around in New York City, but we have tried this in Paris and London. Most public transportation does not easily facilitate baby strollers. However, I've only ever been a visitor to these cities and for the short time that we were there, we made other accomodoations. However, when you live in a city and rely mainly on public transportation, it is frustrating that the trams/trains don't allow for easy navigation with a stroller. Most trams here in Zürich require 2 steps up and are bordered by a grab-bar. Fellow tram riders are usually VERY helpful when Brady and I ride the trams. However, it is a drag to have to ask for help all the time. We've taken to walking a lot and only using trams when absolutely necessary (which is at least once a day, generally.)

Compared to spacious US restaurant layouts, most restaurants here in Europe are very small and compact, again not lending themselves to a stroller or a cranky/loud baby. And many stores/restaurants have steps to go into them. Most of the time when I'm with Brady in his stroller, I feel like a bull in a china shop and feel like we're about to knock everything off the shelves.

Most of the department stores in Zürich offer elevators and escalators for moving between floors. However, the escalators generally have signs posted on them discouraging the use of strollers on them. This means, we are usually stuck using the elevators. However, I can't tell you how many times we've had to wait for perfectly able-bodied people to use the elevator who were too lazy to use the escaltors. This drives me insane. I have no choice but to use the elevators, why can't these folks (especially when there is a long elevator line) use the escalator? Similarly on the trams, there is only one spot that can accomodate strollers - usually in the back of the tram. Even when there are plenty of seats, people will stand in this open space and will frequently NOT move when I come on board with a stroller. So, Brady and I are forced to squoosh up into a space clearly not meant for a stroller. Throw mean a bone, people. It's hard enough to get around with a stroller as it is, you don't need to make it even harder!

4. Personal space

I know that Americans generally are said to require a large amount of "personal space" compared to people from other countries. I definitely agree and feel that my personal space has been violated many times while living in Zürich. To begin with, I'm not a city person, because of the personal space issue - I always feel like everyone is closing in when in a city. Public transportation requires one to squoosh together to accomodate more travellers. The stores and restaurants are small, again everyone squooshes together to shop/eat. Parking spaces are super small and basically don't give you any wiggle room. (Another reason I don't drive too often.) This is something I just need to get over and realize that my "personal space expectation" is way too large for living in a European city.

3. Grocery Shopping

Most people here in Zürich go grocery shopping very frequently. I generally go shopping every other day, if not every day. And it's not because I really enjoy grocery shopping. Most items are sold without preservatives. People buy bread daily because it doesn't last very long without preservatives. Also, products are packaged in very small containers here. We go through cereal like crazy...not because we are eating more than we did in the US, but because the boxes are tiny. They definitely don't abide by the Costco culture here. And even if I could buy larger packages of stuff, I wouldn't have a place for it. Our kitchen is tiny. The fridge is about half the size of a normal-sized US fridge. And the freezer space is non-existent. I have room to house 2 ice cube trays, a container of ice cream and a few leftovers. That's it. So as a result of all of the above, I end up grocery shopping a lot. Generally, this is not an issue, and I actually like it (see next posting about the positives of living in Zürich), but if you are busy, in a rush, or couldn't get out of the house for some reason, grocery shopping every day is an annoyance! I also walk to the grocery store. (We rarely use the car.) And as a result, I am limited to what I can carry home. This also creates the need for multiple shopping trips during a week.

The other issue about grocery shopping here is that the stores are incredibly small. When you have a stroller, you are constantly knocking into things and having to squoosh through small aisles. To make matters worse, grocery stores here are constantly restocking. I haven't found a time yet where the stores are not restocking. This means there are big metal cages full of new packages of stuff filling many aisles. This makes an already small aisle, impossible to navigate. And it seems the grocery store employees don't understand that they are in the way of the customeres. It makes grocery shopping a bit like a crazy obstical course.

2. Product Packaging

Not only is product packaging much smaller than in the US (see above Pet Peeve), but it is built to be as environmentally-friendly as possible. This is a good thing. (See Zürich positives post) However, sometimes I do wish the packaging was more robust. I've had yogurt spills on the floor due to burst containers, I've had carrots fly across the room because the bag split, I've had containers pop in my backpack on the walk home from the grocery store. I've had detergent powder and milk spill all over, because the packaging didn't have a proper spout. I guess I should just accept these "minor" inconveniences since this packaging provides less landfill than other packaging, but I miss the fun US packaging that would survive anything! Just think about how many US products are "new and improved" just simply based on a new type of packaging!

1. SMOKING

This is a huge pet peeve. New Jersey eliminated smoking in restaurants some time ago, so it was a huge surprise when we moved here to find smoking is allowed in restaurants. You don't notice how nice it is NOT to smell smoke during a dining experience until you are once again subjected to it. Supposedly the country of Switzerland has 34% smokers, but I think they all work and reside in Zürich. Smokers are everywhere. And alarmingly, there are a lot of young smokers. I've also seen many moms smoking right in front of their small children! Restaurants do offer non-smoking sections, but often people smoke there anyway and nothing is said to them. In other restaurants, the smoke from the smoking section wafts easily over to the non-smoking section, making the partition worthless. The good thing is that some parts of Switzerland have already voted for and implemented smoking bans in restaurants and bars. (i.e. Geneva and the Ticino Kanton) Zürich just voted for a similar ban this past fall, but it won't be fully implemented until 2010...probably right before we head back to the US.

Never a Dull Moment

Hello, everyone! It's been almost a month and a half since my last blog post. I don't really have any good excuse, except that it's been a very busy month and a half. Every weekend we've had travels or plans, and our spare time has been non-existent. Because I'm not in the mood to work on Christmas wrapping/packing/cards, I decided to put my evening free time to good use and get caught up on the blog. So without further ado...

Brady Vocabulary - Part 3

Brady continues to amaze us with his growing usage of actual words...it's so cute. He has also started using some of the sounds/phrases in the songs we've learned in Music Together classes. I think it has to be one of the cutest sounds in the world to hear a baby "singing". So, without further ado, here is the update to his word list:

Real Word Brady's Version
Arm - Ahm (imagine Schwartenegger saying this word and that's how Brady sounds)
Bowl - Bowl
More - Mo (and this word includes the usage of a baby sign for "more")
Boo - Boo (also usually used with "Pee a boo")
Sticky - Dicky (used to describe Brady after eating his first Halloween candy)
Turtle - Durtle

And the most impressive Brady word yet:
Helicopter - Eeriechickachicka

All of you reading this probably think I'm making up Brady's version of "helicopter" and think I'm imagining things, but he has repeatedly used this "word" when we hear the helicopters flying over the apartment. We hear them a lot because we live very close to a hospital with a helipad. He even said this today when I hadn't noticed the incoming helicopter...so he's definitely got the context down.

He's also using "Mama" and "Daddy" consistently now, although occasionally he calls me "Daddy" and Bill "Mama". We've decided not to take any offense. We still think his favorite word is "Elmo". He uses this with relish many times a day and has even mistakenly called things that are red, "Elmo". Good work consumer marketers at Sesame Street.

Brady is now singing "Din Dan Doooooooonnnnng" when he hears the church bells (which ring every quarter hour here in the city limits). We learned the song Frere Jacques during our past music classes and I would sing it to him a lot. Of course in that song, there's frequent repetition of "Ding Dang Dong". Brady sings his version quite a bit. His favorite song remains "Tiny Tim" which is more of a rhyme that deals with a frog, a bathtub, and burps. At the end of the song, you say, "And he burped last night from a bubble in his throat....BURP!!!!!...Excuse me!!!" After singing that together (usually during bathtime), he will make a burping sound and say "Moome". It's very cute. It's nice to know he's actually absorbing our music classes and singing time - even if he saves his own singing for me at home!

Walk Like a Man...Video!

We've had several requests for video of Brady walking...so here you go. I've posted one funny video of a "walking attempt" (watch Brady's reaction when I ask him if he's going to walk) and then some video of this afternoon. Hope you enjoy!

By the way...more fun blog updates soon, including:

• Photos of Brady in his Halloween costume
• More Brady vocabulary updates
• Our Lucerne weekend
• and what everyone has been waiting for...Rebecca's Top Ten Zurich Pet Peeves!!!!

One Small Step for Brady, One Giant Leap for Mom and Dad's Hearts!

Profound words...and now they apply to our little guy!!!! Last weekend, while playing in his room, Brady took several rounds of unassisted steps walking between Mom and Dad. That was the first time he has let go of furniture/mom/dad/etc. to take steps. He was so proud of himself and so cute. We've been practicing with him every day since and he goes farther and farther distances, but has to yet take off running!

I unfortunately did not get any shots of him walking (both parents were needed to make sure Brady didn't fall while practicing his walks), but I did take several shots following the milestone!!!

I like to think that it was his "Hokie Gear" that helped inspire Brady to take his first steps. :)

And they call it "Puppy Love"

One of the unique things about Switzerland, is how much the Swiss love their dogs. You haven't experienced Swiss dining until you've dined across the aisle from a family who have their dog with them. You haven't really shopped, until you've seen a shopping cart at Ikea being pushed with a dog sitting in it! There are even dog rates for the trams (streetcars) and trains. I'm really not making these things up. Dogs are very well-behaved here and are treated much like children/parts of the family in Swiss life. It is completely acceptable to bring dogs into restaurants/stores. Bill even saw a dog at his client the other day!!!!

It is impressive how dogs are kept in mind even when infrastructure is built here. Many of the parks/green areas in towns across Switzerland have the below special dog trashcans posted:


These boxes have small bags attached to the side that you can use to collect your dog's, ummmmm, droppings. Then you deposit the bag into this "doggie" trashcan.



Fountains in Zürich have special plumbing that create a small pool of water for dogs to quench their thirst. (See below - this fountain is very close to our apartment and I laugh every time I see it.)



Some fountains have even played host to dogs looking to cool down during hot summer days!

It's pretty funny! I think the only thing that beats the dog-sightings we've had, is the pet rat we saw sitting on a teenagers shoulder in an elevator of a department store in downtown Zürich! (Yes...for real!)

Brady's Expanding Vocabulary - Part 2

I realized immediately after posting the first vocabulary list, that I had forgotten some very important words that Brady already knows:

Real Word - Brady's Version
Note: You will find a lot of examples of consumer marketing at work

Stinky - Stinkuuh
Elmo - Elmo
Chicken - Chi chin
Nice - Nie
Excuse Me - Moome
Baby - Baby (Sometimes used for yogurt...the yogurt we gave him in the US is "Yo Baby" which has pictures of babies on it.)

The funny thing about Brady's use of "Excuse Me", is that he says it when other people sneeze, cough, burp, hiccup, etc. However, he doesn't seem to know to use it when he does these things!

New Words/Phrases:

Arm - Ahm
"Here You Go" - "Erego" (all in one)
Cheerios - Eerio
Grandma - Mamoo (hot off the presses...this was used on both Grandmas yesterday!!!)
Boo boo - Injury (or in mom's case - moles)

Brady pointed at a mole I have on my arm and for some reason I told him it was a "boo boo". He then proceeded to point out about 5 other moles I have on my arm and neck that I didn't even realize I had and exclaimed proudly, "boo boo!" Maybe he's going to be a dermatologist when he grows up.

And Brady seems to be using Mama and Dada more now...although I'm still not convinced he's talking about either me or Bill!

Scrap Pink - Scrapping for a Good Cause

I ran across an article in one of my scrapbooking magazines several months ago about Scrap Pink. This is an event sponsored by Scrapbooks etc. and Susan G. Komen for the Cure to help raise funds for education and research about causes, treatment, and the search for a cure for breast cancer. Usually this is hosted by a scrapbook store, but I thought this would be a great opportunity for some of my friends and me to get together and have a fun day of crafting!

I ended up renting out a room at the American Women's Clubhouse and had 7 women show up. Since most of the attendees ended up not being avid scrapbookers, I had decided to make greeting cards. (Especially since there really isn't a good selection of English greeting cards to be found in Zürich.)

Here is the selection of cards I designed (with serious help from Splitcoast Stampers and the Stampin' Up Idea Book/Catalog) and had the group make. We also made a 2009 calendar with interchangeable months - that can be displayed by hanging with the string or with the magnets that are on the backside.

I created various giveaways for the group as well. I made drink toppers that contained iced tea mix (inspired by toppers my friend Linda made at one of her events last year). I had been wanting to use that idea for a LONG time!!!! I also made small candy boxes for each participant. I handed out a flyer on breast cancer detection as well as a Scrapbooking Supply and Idea sheet. I had so much fun just designing and making these cards and giveaways!

We had a TERRIFIC time sharing a girl's day out. And to top off the fun, we raised $130 to donate to Susan G. Komen organization!!! I can't wait to do this again!

For more information on Scrap Pink, visit: www.scrappink.com

And you think gas prices are high in the US?!?!

Still on the theme of the high cost of things here in Zürich, I thought I would post some thoughts about gas prices. On our trip to La Gruyere last weekend, I took the following photo:

Wow! Less than half the $4 per gallon you see in the US! Whoops ... the above prices are for CHF/liter of gas. LITERS!!!! Since there are nearly 4 liters in a gallon, the price is actually about $6.50 per gallon here in Switzerland (for the lowest octane gas). YIKES!!!

We've been lucky to have lower gas prices in the US versus those in Europe. Even though the US government & states levy high taxes on gas, they are nothing in comparison to the taxes on gas over here. Maybe that's one of the reasons demand has gone up almost every year in the US. (OK...I'm off my political soapbox now.) Good thing we only use the car for small weekend trips! We've only had to fill up about 4-5 times in Zürich since mid-April. I know a lot of folks have seen the below photo, but in the spirit of the gas price discussion, I thought I would post it:

A Day in the Life ... the Coyles dine out in Zürich

This past week was a busy one, and I'm excited to finally have some time to catch up on blogging. More to come on many items...

One of the biggest questions we usually get about our experiences in Zürich is, "How are the costs of things?" Well, I decided to post the details of our food experiences today to give you all an idea of things:

Breakfast:

In the States, we always liked to go out for breakfast on Sunday mornings. We usually went out for bagels at Pennington Bagel, or would get some other breakfast treats at Panera Bread. Nothing extravagant, but good nonetheless.

In our neighborhood in Zürich, everything on Sunday is totally closed. So, imagine how excited I was earlier this week when I saw a new bread place had opened in our square that would be open on Sundays. We figured this would be our version of Panera in Zürich.

We walked over this morning and both Bill and I had a continental breakfast. Mine consisted of orange juice, hot tea, and a basket of assorted breads with butter/jelly. Bill's breakfast had coffee, a soft-boiled egg, and a basket of assorted breads. Although very good and filling, our breakfast grand total came to 35 CHF (which is roughly $31).

Coffee Break:

We met up with a prospective babysitter today at the Starbucks in the center of town. While waiting to meet her, Bill and I both had coffees. Grand total 13 CHF (which is roughly $11).

Lunch:

After meeting the new babysitter (we are excited about our future date nights!), we walked over to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) to grab some groceries. (Neighborhood grocery stores are also closed on Sundays here in Zürich, but the stores in the train stations stay open on Sundays.) After grabbing our groceries, we had a hankering for a good old-fashioned American hamburger...so we visited the Burger King in the train station. Here's the breakdown:

1 chicken nugget kid's meal, 1 double cheeseburger, 1 regular cheeseburger, 2 orders of onion rings, and 2 sodas: grand total 37 CHF (roughly $32).

Grand Total

So, grand total for 2 smallish meals and a coffee break in Zürich: $72

This doesn't even include dinner! From this breakdown, you can see why we don't eat out too often. We've gotten good at making our own picnic lunches for when we go sightseeing, so we don't have to buy lunch out.

Brady's Expanding Vocabulary

Brady still is not walking (and hasn't seemed very adventurous over the last few days as I've tried to get him to take those first few steps on his own.) However, his growing vocabulary has just amazed me. Here is the list of the latest and greatest:

Real Word - Brady's Version
Cat - Maw (his version of Meow)
Bubble - Bubble
Baba - Bottle (or cup or anything holding a drink)
Keys - Key
Hi - Hi (all purpose greeting)
Uh-oh - Uh-oh (used when things drop or move out of eyesight)
Mimi - Anything with buttons (elevator buttons, light switches, etc.)
Cereal - Ereal
Banana - Nana
Blueberry - Boobear
Dog - Woof Woof
No - No-no-no (yes...he repeats it several times...don't know where he got that.)
Cookies - Cookee

Pirate noises and lion roars also make the list of oft repeated "words". We are both a bit depressed that "Mama" and "Dada" don't make it to the list. He has said them before, but I don't think he uses them repeatedly and with context. Boooooo!

More updates as we have them!

Sunday Picnic at Zürich Uetliberg

After having survived a week of chilly/rainy Zürich weather since our return from the States, we decided on a short outing this weekend. We travelled by train 20 minutes from Zürich's main train station to Uetliberg, Switzerland.

Brady enjoys making fish-faces while on the train.

This is a mountain just on the border of Zürich, from which you have amazing views of the city and lake. Although today was a bit overcast, we still had beautiful views once we reached the top of the mountain after about a 20 minute hike.

From this photo, you can see where Lake Zürich starts (in the middle-left of the photo). This is where the Limmat River joins the lake. We live in the general-vicinity just east of the start of the lake. This photo was taking facing east, so look just a little bit over the top of the lake in the photo - and that's our "neighborhood".

Even with the overcast weather, the top was still relatively crowded. And there were even a couple of para-gliders enjoying the day. I cannot believe how close these guys got to us on the top of the mountain. My question is this: how do you get down when you're done?

After surveying the views, we walked a few feet from the top of the mountain and ate a picnic lunch we brought. For those foodies out there, we had salami, two types of cheese (Manchengo and Rahmkӓse), homemade hummus (yes - homemade...how awesome is that!!!), toasted pita bread, and olives. It was spectacular. Below is a picture of the view from our picnic table.

Lastly, after walking back down to the train station, we had about 20 minutes to kill before the next train was due. They had a cute little playground right next to the train station. We enjoyed some teeter-tottering before catching the train back home.





The afternoon was tons of fun...and while I write this, my two boys (Bill and Brady) are taking mid-afternoon naps!

"And go get yourself some cheap sunglasses"

This ZZ Top classic song came to mind after we took this photo during our summer vacation in the US. We bought these baby sunglasses for Brady at Target and although he loved them, he always tried to take them off after only having them on for about 5 seconds. This was actually one moment we caught on camera before he ripped them off again. Mom's sunglasses are relatively "cheap" too, having been purchased at TJ Maxx. :)

We're back!

Hello again everyone! We are now back in Zurich - coming back yesterday to a very rainy/very chilly town. It was a good flight, Brady slept really well and so far the jet lag hasn't been horrible. Knock on wood...Brady should be back on schedule tomorrow.

Our summer was very eventful. We attended 2 weddings and 1 vow renewal ceremony. We went to Nag's Head (our yearly beach event) and we did lots of shopping. It was also a very eventful summer for Brady - full of milestones. He is just about to walk (he stands independently and can walk behind toys), but has yet to make his own steps without the aid of toy or parent. He had his first haircut. And he is now saying a few words and actually knows what they means. (He pointed at a bottle of bubbles today and said, "bubba".) He can say bottle, blueberry, uh-0h consistently and has definitely gotten the knack of "hi". He is really cute. He is also pointing at things and exclaiming when he likes it. (birds, planes and thermostats - actually anything with buttons usually get this treatment) He had a great summer, spending time with his grandparents and other relatives. He is just so cute when he is learning something new. He gets so excited and has such a joy for life and learning.

We will post some photos and new posts soon. But for now, just wanted to let everyone know we were back!!!! Hope you all had a great summer too!

Coyle Connection on Hiatus

Most of the Coyle clan has been on summer vacation in the US for the last few weeks and won't be back in Zurich until Sept. 14th. We will "blog" more upon our return! :)

Hope your summer is going well!

Our First London Trip

Buckingham Palace

Bill and Brady on a Double Decker Bus

Trafalgar Square

Half-way through July, Bill had to visit his company's London office for some training. The training was to be held on a Friday, so we decided to make a weekend of it. Brady and I flew out with Bill early on Friday morning and we stayed through Sunday afternoon.

It was a very quick trip and we will be going back again. All in all, after living in Zurich for 4 months, it was crazy to be in such a HUGE city. We actually agreed that you tend to hear more English spoken in Zurich than we heard in London. But we enjoyed the hustle and bustle during our short trip. We seemed to like the food most of all. When we entered Paddington Station after taking the Heathrow Express from the airport, the first thing we saw was a Krispy Kreme!! Bill and I aren't really donut crazy, but after not having had donuts in a long time (and you can't find decent donuts in Zurich), we loved them! We had Mexican food on Friday night - soooooo good. Saturday we had an English pub lunch which was excellent and was followed by dinner out with our old neighbors from NJ who now live in London. It was great catching up with them and meeting their new son (well, new to us at least.)



We basically did the cheesy touristy thing all day Saturday, but had fun walking around London and taking in the sites.

Watching Good Old Fashioned American TV via Slingbox

Well, after a few months of only have like 5 English speaking TV channels (how much of Donald Trump True Hollywood Story and The Kardashians on "E" can one person take?), we decided we needed some major TV overhauls. Plus, although it's only August, our minds have already started thinking about FOOTBALL season. We would definitely not be getting any games on our Swiss cable. So, after some researching, we decided to go the Slingbox route.

Now, if you were like me and have no idea what a Slingbox is, let me give you a little background. Basically, we re-subscribed to our Direct TV service that we had in NJ. We get a Direct TV box complete with a DVR and it gets installed in some server room somewhere in California. (At the company we bought a Slingbox from.) The Slingbox is a piece of equipment that allows us to "sling"what we want to watch (via a slingbox) to the internet. We access our account and can change the channels (like we would with a remote) and can record things like we would have done with our previous Direct TV box. The company that hosts our box is on the west coast, so the local channels (like NBC, etc.) are on CA time. So, if I wanted to watch an 8pm NBC show live…I would have to watch in on my computer at 5Am our time. Instead…we would just “record” the show and watch it the next day on our computer. This slingbox thing lets us watch whatever we want to watch on our Direct TV box on any computer. We usually take our laptop and project this onto our TV so we can see it bigger. It’s pretty neat. It’s just letting us watch our Direct TV on our computer. Eventually, they are developing a “Sling catcher” that we can then plug right into our wireless router and then we can watch directly on our TV. That’s apparently a few months off. It’s pretty amazing stuff. Here’s a website that explains it further and probably better than I’ve attempted to. http://www.a2btv.com/what_how.php

So, we are definitely technologically advanced, but for Football season and the fall TV season, we are all set. I'm very excited, especially since you can't watch TV shows in Switzerland on NBC.com, etc. They disable the shows on their websites for non-US locations.

All in all, though, we definitely watch a lot less TV than we did in the States and I think that is definitely a good thing. :)

More Blog Updates Soon

I've been a bit of a slacker with the posts recently. I plan to update once packing for our trip back to the US is complete.

Just a few "previews" of what's to be posted soon:

-London Trip
-Slingbox
-US Adventures

Rebecca geht ins Kino! (Rebecca goes to the movies!)

Last night with Brady safely being "babysat" by Bill, I attended my first Ladies Night Out in Zurich. A bunch of women from the Moms N Tots group that I attend met up for dinner and a movie. We ate dinner at Marche - a cafeteria style restaurant that is pretty popular here in Switzerland. Then we headed to the 8:30 PM showing of Mamma Mia!

What a fun night! The movie was hilarious - and I've been humming ABBA tunes all day. The only uncomfortable part of the movie was when Pierce Brosnan broke out in song. It's not that his singing was especially bad - but he looked weird singing. I have to say he lost a little of his mystique.

This was my first time seeing a movie in a foreign country and it was interesting. The movie theater was VERy nice. When you buy tickets for a show, you actually get an assigned seat. I think I actually like that system - very orderly. They actually had an intermission during the movie which was funny. Here in Switzerland, if a movie is originally in English (like Mamma Mia), it is shown in English, but has subtitles. In this case, the movie had both German and French subtitles. It makes seeing the big blockbusters pretty easy for us Americans.

And in true movie theater style, they did serve popcorn. I wasn't expecting that. And they also had beer that you could buy - unlike the popcorn, I was expecting beer to be served. We are in Switzerland after all.

All in all, a good time was had by all - and I think a new tradition has been started!

Brady the Artist

Friday afternoon, after eating a meal and waiting for Daddy to come home for the start to the weekend, Brady and I decided to attempt coloring. I've tried coloring with Brady before and that only led to my constant nagging about not eating the crayons. So, I figured now with Brady being such a mature one-year-old, that it was time to try again. We had given dog coloring sheets out as part of the "doggie bag" giveaways for the kids at his birthday party, so I got a few of those out and started with the Crayola weeble-wobble crayons. (Not sure if this is the real name of these crayons...but they are made for little hands.) He had a blast! I had to help him with hand positioning when he switched colors, but he did really well and gave me a big toothy grin when he realized he was making the colors appear on the dog picture. Dad was a bit disappointed that he didn't stay in the lines, but what can you do? :) The fun ended about 15 minutes later when he kept trying to eat the crayons. I figured we had enough progress for one day.

I've posted a copy of his "artwork" here. This is a St. Bernard...in honor of being in Switzerland. (St. Bernards were named because they were kept by the Monks of the St. Bernard Pass in Switzerland to help rescue stranded travellers in snow.)

Revolutionary War Rematch a la Beer Pong

Being in a foreign country when your nation celebrates its birthday really brings people together!!! Bill's coworkers, Jared and Julie, hosted a July 5th Independence Day celebration at their apartment. We had the customary Independence Day fare of hot dogs, bratwurst, pasta salad, potato chips, etc. Most of us Yankees were wearing some sort of patriotic gear and even the Brits in Bill's office showed up wearing their true colors - while we joked about Red Coats and Tri-Cornered hats.

The party continued and soon many folks with children had left. Brady continued to be in good spirits thanks to a long morning nap and being around tons of women to flirt with. So, Bill, Brady and I stayed on almost to the end of the party at 7 PM. Around 3:00, the men got a little crazy and decided that there need to be a rematch of USA vs. UK and so, the beer pong game was started. I am happy to announce that the US prevailed again and is still independent from England...although at one point Michigan's Upper Peninsula was on the bargaining table. (Note of explanation...Jared and Julie both hail from Michigan.) Bill and Jared (USA's Dream Team) won 2 of 3 rounds - leaving England's team (Mark and Martin) feeling rather deflated.

It was a nice way to spend the 4th - surrounded by friends that hail from both sides of "the pond."

Lugano Trip

The other trip we made while Mrs. Coyle was in town was to the Ticino region of Switzerland. The Ticino region is in the southeastern part of Switzerland and where the folks speak Italian. (Italian is one of the 4 National languages of Switzerland - however, only approximately 10% of the people in Switzerland speak Italian as their native language.) To get to Ticino, you must cross through the Alps. On the way to Ticino, we drove on the Autobahn through the St. Goddhard Tunnel - which is approximately 10 miles long. Basically you are driving under the Alps which is a bit of a weird feeling - especially when you are in a tunnel that long. You leave one side of Switzerland that looks like Germany with cows, green hills/mountains and enter a region that is very Mediterraenean looking. Pretty cool.

Lugano is the largest city in this region and we had booked a room at a very nice hotel...the Hotel Lago di Lugano (http://www.hotellagodilugano.ch/) This was a very child-friendly hotel located right on Lake Lugano. Basically we spent that afternoon lounging - eating lunch, playing in the pool with Brady and enjoying the views from our hotel.The next day we set off for home after taking a tour of Campano, the small town very close to our hotel. We drove home the long way, taking the St. Goddhard Pass - a road that twists and turns over and across the Alps. This road is 16 miles long - instead of the 10 miles of the tunnel, but takes a long time to travel because of it's many switchbacks. However, this was an AMAZING way to experience the Alps. We stopped at a panoramic lookout about halfway up and it felt like we were almost at the top of the world!

A view of the St. Goddhard Pass from high up - look at all those switchbacks.

All in all, it was a great trip - this is definitely a beautiful part of Switzerland and we are looking forward to going again sometime!