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...