The Cat Net Has Been Compromised

The saga of the cat net continues. Just to recap, we have a cat, Monkey, and we live on the first floor here in Zurich. Unfortunately, windows in Zurich do not have insect screens and so if we were to open our windows to let some fresh air in, Monkey would jump out. (We also do not have air conditioning...thereby creating the need to open windows.) We bought a thing called a Cat Net, but Monkey proceeded to bite through that (it was plastic) and escaped. Luckily his courage is mainly "all talk", because I found him outside cowering by the side of our building. He had a whole bunch of little blooms in his hair from the bush outside our apartment building.

After that initial escape, we got a new Cat Net that was made of some kind of twine. It took some time, but Monkey also chomped through that one and escaped. (Again, cowering by the side of the building.) So, last weekend, we ventured out to the suburbs of Zurich to a place called Jumbo. Jumbo is pretty much like Home Depot. We bought an insect screen that we (a.k.a Bill) installed in the living room and our room. (It has to be customizable for large windows.) So far, so good. The added bonus aside from keeping Monkey in the apartment, is that we are keeping bugs OUT of the apartment. Below is a picture of our new insect screens.

The funny thing is that this was our original thought of how to solve the problem in the first place. We went to the Coop Bau and Hobby in another suburb (which is like a scaled down Home Depot), but couldn't find insect screens. I guess it took going to Jumbo to get the job done.

This has been a bit of a Zurich drama...but luckily no cats have been harmed in the many escapes.

Neuschwanstein Visit

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I've been very behind on providing updates. So, I'm going to attempt to catch up this afternoon while Brady naps.

The first weekend that Mrs. Coyle was here visiting, we made a trip to Southern Germany to visit Neuschwanstein. This is probably the most famous castle in Germany and even served as the model for the Walt Disney castle. The construction of this castle was started in 1869 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and is located near the town of Hohenschwangau about 2 hours southwest of Munich. King Ludwig II was very taken with Richard Wagner's music and so many rooms of the castle are modeled after Wagner's operas.

The castle is up on a mountain and you must park at the base of the mountain and then either walk up to the castle or take a horse carriage ride. With Brady, we opted for the horse carriage. We arrived at the parking lot around noon and ate lunch at a nearby restaurant. For all those foodies, here's what we had:

• Rebecca: Gulasch Suppe; Salat (soup and salad)
• Bill: Bratwurst mit Sauerkraut
• Mrs. Coyle: Schinken und Kase Sandwich (ham and cheese)
• Brady: Oatmeal, yogurt and banana (his usual breakfast)

The food was excellent and actually moderately priced for being a restaurant strategically located near a large tourist attraction.

I had purchased tour tickets online ahead of time - so after picking up our tickets at the base of the mountain, we enjoyed our carriage ride up to the castle. Even though it was June, the castle was remarkably uncrowded the day we went. To get in the castle, you have to buy a ticket for a guided tour. The tour itself was a bit lackluster, but we really enjoyed seeing the inside of the castle. Here is a link to the Neuschwanstein website, so you can get a look at the inside of the castle. (No photos were allowed during our tour.)

http://www.neuschwanstein.com/english/index.htm

After the tour, we drove back home to Zurich. It was a long day - but well worth it. I think we all had a great time. The only downer was that we got pulled over in Austria on our way home and had to pay a fine for not having an Austrian Autobahn Permit. We didn't know we needed one and frankly didn't know we were going to be driving through Austria until we crossed into Austria. We paid the fine and learned our lesson for next time!

It's not a purse...it's European!

Brady has given us new meaning for that famous Seinfeld quote. He LOVES purses. He loves their straps, buckles, zippers, etc. This is the purse of our friend, Julie. He set his eyes on it and wouldn't let go until it was time for bed. It's not my bag, baby!!!

Where in the World...is Bill Coyle (Funf)

First off, for those of you who know some German, my "funf" in the title is missing an umlaut...but I don't know how to do those in this Blogger tool.

Bill actually got back from his final destination in his crazy month-long travels last week, but I just am now getting around to posting. His last trip was to:

Barcelona, Spain

The good thing is that he got back last Wednesday before the semi-finales for the Euro 2008 were played. And even better that he was no where near Spain today, the day after Spain won the Euro 2008. The first time they've won in 44 years. They are partying it up in Spain.

For now, Bill's travels will be in and around Switzerland with the exception of a trip to London in mid-July that Brady and I are accompanying him on! :)

Brady's Repertoire of Tricks

Starting with Brady's birthday party, when he meets new people, he goes through his list of tricks. First he starts with a wave, then usually claps, and then plays peek-a-boo in a flirtatious manner. (Note these tricks are usually reserved for women.) He waved at a man pushing his daughter on the swings the other day at the playground, and the man commented that his wave was like a "royal wave". The funny thing is that Brady won't wave at me. If I come into a room and wave, he claps at me. I'll take that as his super-excited-to-see-his-mother wave.

The newest tricks in his repertoire are cuddles (which I love) and more detailed mimicking. Brady now mimics dog noises, train noises and certain words with multiple syllables (like "Stinky" or "Done" or "Thank you" or "Uh oh"). These come out sounding like "Stin Uh" or "Duh" for example, but they are so cute. But the best is the cuddling. If we are sitting and reading a book or just sitting around, Brady will occasionally sit back and give me a hug/cuddle. It's the cutest thing in the world, and at a time when he's pretty much on the go, it's very much appreciated.

Our Lavish Wine Cellar

Here in Switzerland (as well as other European countries), you get a storage cage in the basement of your apartment building for storing things like bikes, Christmas decorations, etc. However, many folks also store wine in their cages because these basements are under ground and usually are an optimal temperature for wine storage. Well, I wanted to show you all our ample wine cellar...I figured you would all be very impressed with our collection and think we've definitely gone the European way.

Well, actually that is our neighbor's storage cage...our wine cellar actually looks like this:

Wine rack at Ikea: $5.99

Wine Collection: $30.00

Feeling completely inadequate compared to your neighbors: Priceless

Where in the World Is...Bill Coyle (Vier)

Okay, okay...so I'm a bit behind on the blog entries. Bill is already back from the last of his worldly adventures. But, in keeping with the Carmen Sandiego theme, on June 16-18th, Bill was in Cairo, Egypt!

As with most work travel, Bill did not get to enjoy his visit to Cairo. He did not see the pyramids. The only "sightseeing" he was able to do was a dinner cruise on the Nile River...but since it was pitch black outside, he couldn't really see anything. However, he's the first Coyle that I know of that's ever been anywhere near the Nile River.

Happy 1st Birthday, Brady!!!!

Bill and I can't believe that it's been 1 full year since our "little" guy was born. It seems like yesterday.

While Grandma Coyle was in Zurich visiting, we held a small birthday party for Brady this past Sunday. He had a blast eating cupcakes, opening gifts and playing with some small partygoers. It was fun to share our celebration with others.


We can't believe how much Brady has grown over the last year and we've had a great time watching him develop into a funny, loveable, smart little kid. Thanks for making our last year so joyous, Brady!!! Happy Birthday! We can't wait to see how you grow in the next year! We love you!!!!


Here is a slideshow of some of our favorite memories over the last year!