Spot the Cranes

Switzerland is sold to tourists as a country of phenomenal beauty: Snow-covered mountains, lakes of all sizes and depths, waterfalls, bell-ringing cows in lusciously green and hilly fields, the best chocolate in the world and I could go on. If you purchase a calendar of this neutral country in the middle of Europe (without being in the EU), each month will confirm this image and so will all ad campaigns.

What is NOT as well-known about the Swiss landscape is the fact that cranes, diggers, roadwork, building sites etc. are as common a sight here as mountains. I kid you not as the pictures below show. These were taken from our balcony the other when we had a clear sky which made the mountains in the background particularly visible (second picture).

I should probably have added pictures from other parts of Switzerland in order to prove this (very interesting and not at all random!) point, but I usually end up focusing on the mountains, waterfalls, lakes etc. instead - and trying to avoid the criss crossing of cranes. 

Crane City

Check out the mountains in the back - still take my breath away!

Watch out for my next post, which might include a picture of a Grittibänz.

Lots of love,

Karen x

Cooking Update...

A miracle has happened in the Rosinger-household: Over the past three weeks, I have been found in the kitchen juggling with pots and pans, mixing ingredients, stirring and whirring, and finally serving up something edible! Unfortunately, our of sheer amazement of this change in my character, I haven't taken any pictures of the food that has been created, but I have witnesses, Paul and Stefan, who have both been there to support me all the way.

The most fantastic thing about this transformation is the fact that I'm enjoying my time in the kitchen and haven't had any meltdowns. I've even added ingredients not mentioned in a recipe, substituted where I didn't like the original one, and NOT always measured everything to the exact gram / cup / oz. I even changed the measurements in one recipe from 8 to 2 people! (Okay, I know loads of online recipes have a function set up that does this automatically for you, but this was a dish from an old fashioned paper cook book so I had to do the calculations on a serviette with an HB pencil and an abacus.)

Suddenly, all the hours spent watching MasterChef, Great British Bake-Off, Nigella, Jamie, Noddy etc. are paying off and I've found myself venturing into the vegetable and fruit section and looking for other items than the usual basic ones as well as scrutinising shelves holding spices and sauces, and even stopping in front of the fridges holding fresh meat and wondering, what one could do with this and that. 

During Stefan's and my morning walk today, I decided to set myself a cooking challenge for next year, starting in December in order for it not to look like a New Year's resolution: Every month I have to create a minimum of four new dishes from various recipes of my choice. There will be no restrictions apart from every dish being one I haven't made before. A dish can be a cake, soup, sophisticated or ordinary dinner, bread etc. I will attempt to take a picture of each creation, even the ones that didn't work out. (Emphasis on the word 'attempt'...)

Below is a list of what I got up to on the food front in November:

Cottage Pie, Chicken and Leek Pie (twice!), Lemon Cheese Cake, and a couple of concoctions involving ready-made puff pastry and cheese.

Once again thanks to those of you who sent me recipes - they'll come in handy over the next year!

Please feel free to send me more...

Lots of love,

Karen x

Stefan Kissing Petra and Kinderkrippe News

Today I caught Stefan kissing Petra (short for 'Petra the Snake') and managed to take the picture below as well as put a stop to things going any further:

I must say I'm impressed with his technique when it comes to locking lips, though I hope he'll also add a more tender and less sucking way of kissing to his repertoire in the future. Obviously, as a mother, I'm not looking forward to him kissing anyone on a more serious level when that time comes. 

One of my colleagues has apparently stuck a picture of Stefan on my monitor at work, which I think is absolutely lovely! (Thanks, Jess!) I've confirmed that I'll be coming back in January working three days a week and we've found a Kinderkrippe (combined kindergarden and nursery) for Stefan and he'll start in January as well - which is rather convenient. The name of the Kinderkrippe is 'Sonnenhaus' (sun house) and it's a ten minutes' walk from  here so pretty close. The manager is from Brazil and speaks Portuguese and Swiss German, two languages which neither Paul nor I master completely, or at all'ly. But she spoke slowly when we had our tour of the facilities and the confirmation letter we received was all in High-German and covered everything (I thought - rightly) that we'd discussed, hence the language barrier is luckily quite low here. I know some of her staff speak English so we'll be fine. Stefan met the person who'll be in charge of the smallest people (under 18 months) and because he smiled at her and didn't start screaming hysterically, I felt confident that we've made the right choice. (Ideally, I would like to have seen a couple of hours' CCTV footage of a normal day in the Krippe, to make absolutely sure the staff are on their toes at all times - particularly since we don't know anyone around here who can recommend a place to us. And I also think Stefan should have preferential treatment.)

Stefan is now officially Danish. His passport arrived earlier this week, so we can now cross the Swiss borders with him. His first trip abroad is likely to go to Austria, where Paul has some friends who have invited us over to visit them.

I'll leave you with a 'selfie' of Stefan and me taken in a lift. 

Lots of love,

Karen x

Stefan! (Warning, this post will contain images of a baby as well as words like 'breast', 'labour' and 'nappies')

Since my last post, I have had a baby and am now officially a mum. Paul and I are parents and Stefan has become the number one priority in our lives.

Labour:

Stefan decided to break my waters around 3am on Saturday 30 June but must have got cold feet, as he didn't turn up until 1.58am on Wednesday 3 July. I was at that point on my second epidural because the first one only seemed to work on one side. In my hospital papers it says that my labour took 1 day and 22 hours. My pregnancy was a walk in the park; giving birth wasn't... But hey, it all went well in the end and Stefan's a very energetic bundle of joy and cuteness! 

Feet like drumsticks 

Some of the things I have learnt over the past ten weeks:

Your life can get back to the way it was pre-motherhood IN YOUR DREAMS.

Eating lunch is mostly done standing up in the kitchen in front of the fridge and often consists of what's easy to grab and doesn't have to be prepared. Basically, something that can be eaten between interruptions.

Having an understanding and incredibly helpful husband is a true gift!

Having discussions about the contents of your baby's nappies becomes as natural as talking about the weather.

Breastfeeding is not easy: I would suggest that it's taught at school so one has some knowledge about what to expect before being thrown into it at one's most exhausted end.

One smile from your newborn magically erases all insecurities, frustrations, exhaustion etc. and gives you the strength to continue this exciting ride that's called parenthood.

Hey!

Lots of love,

Karen x

Preparing for Parenthood

Any minute now, my contractions could begin or my water break It's a rather surreal situation to be in but one that women are in all the time, every day all over the world and have been since the beginning of time. Paul's referring to my practise contractions as 'Stefan packing and getting ready', which I think is a very humorous way of looking at it. I just hope he doesn't have too much stuff to pack or needs to do lots of hoovering! 

To those of you who don't know already, we've decided to name him Stefan after Paul's late paternal granddad. The name is pretty common here in Switzerland and well-known in both Romania and Denmark. He won't have a middle-name. We've had to sign up with a paediatrician already, and even though he isn't born yet, he already has an appointment booked for his four weeks' examination. (Should he arrive sooner than his due date, which is 15 July, I need to reschedule the appointment.) 

Are we ready? Materially, yes (though I"m sure we've forgotten to buy some essentials, but Paul should have some time on his hands between visits to the hospital to purchase what we didn't know we needed...), but mentally? I don't think it's possible to prepare for this event on an intellectual level - to some degree, yes, but not as much as when it comes to buying a cot, a changing table, pram, clothes etc. I can't picture the feeling of unconditional love that 'they say' will rush through us, once Stefan has been born, nor imagine what it will be like to have to function on no / not much sleep for the foreseeable future. But everybody I know who've been through this adventure seems to have kept their sanity, so I expect the same will happen to us. 

I'm now on maternity leave and try to get as much rest as possible. I'm fully aware of the fact that it's not possible to 'bank sleep', but these weeks of waiting I want to make sure I'm as relaxed and rested as I can be. Physically, I'm still in pretty good shape, no major aches or pains apart from what can be expected when one's natural equilibrium is being challenged. Paul calls me 'Balena' which is Romanian for 'whale'. I'm sure he means it in a loving way. 

Last Saturday we picked up the bed and changing table, we'd ordered a month ago. We've gone a little bit Stokke mad as, after having done a lot of research in the jungle that is baby equipment websites and magazines, we came to the conclusion that their products offered what we were looking for regarding functionality, quality and design. Paul spent some happy hours (well, it didn't actually take him that long) putting the bed and changing table together (should he ever want to change career, he really ought to set up a business which offers putting together flat-pack furniture...), and I spent some happy minutes snapping a few pictures of him in action:

The two separate bits can later be used as chairs, apparently. Check out the sexy gym-ball in the background - this is my chair of choice at the moment. I still haven't fallen off but think it's just a matter of time...

Paul makes this look so easy. He didn't even need my help. (Because I'm well-known for my abilities when it comes to following instructions that include screws.)

Here's the finished bed in the bedroom adorned with Danish Kaj (frog) & Andrea (parrot), the French giraffe Sophia and English Whoozit; on loan from the sofa in the living room, the cushion Owen the Owl:

Below, the changing table:

The two bags on the floor are my packed hospital bags! If I get very flustered, I might take the Ikea lamp with me by mistake, I've just realised. Perhaps I should move it???

The clothes and sleeping bag below are part of the lovely presents, my colleagues gave me for my baby shower a couple of weeks ago:

Before I finish this post, I'd like to thank whomever is in charge of the weather here in Switzerland. I couldn't have wished for a better May and June weather-wise (apart from those three days of 30+ degrees recently). Please continue the good work of keeping the temperatures below 25 degrees...

Lots of love,

Karen x

Beautiful Bern, Boring Embassies, Brown Bears and Baby Equipment

Tuesday this week, Paul and I took a day off so I could go to the Danish Embassy in Bern. Not that I was unable to go there myself, but it's always nice with great company, and neither of us had been to Bern before.

The reason I had to turn up in person at the Embassy was in order to apply for a new passport. As newly married and having taken my husband's (I can almost say and write that without giggling...) name, it seemed only right to have that added to my passport - which means getting a new one. When Stefan turns up, we can go to the Danish Consulate here in Zurich and apply for his passport as he's under 12 years old. (Yes, we want him to be a Danish citizen. He won't get Swiss citizenship from birth, as neither I nor Paul is Swiss.)

I always think of Embassies as being slightly palatial, or at least housed in a cool old building with whitewashed walls and perhaps a guard outside. Hence I was rather disappointed to find that the Danish Embassy in Bern is placed on the second floor in an apartment building, and that the first person to greet me was the cleaner! The reception room did have the obligatory pictures of the Queen and Henrik, (though they could do with being updated), and there were also a couple of magazines promoting tourism in Denmark. My query was dealt with quickly by a very nice lady and I was out of there within 20 minutes.

Paul had been waiting for me outside a cafe and seemed surprised to see me back so soon. His dealings with embassies have always taken quite a while and involved queueing, but I guess this is one of the advantages of coming from a tiny country with few inhabitants...On the way back, we passed an embassy with a guard outside (furnished with a big gun!) as well as some housed in beautiful buildings. I might consider changing citizenship. Though then I might have to queue.

Bern is much more beautiful than I thought. It seems less busy and noisy than Zurich and even though we didn't see that much of the town, I still managed to take some great pictures which I think give a good idea of what the town has to offer views-wise (I'm sure that's a word!):

This could be Italy! But it's not.

An iron bridge over some river. And blue skies!

Another bridge over a river, forgot if it's the same as the one above.
 (I should work as a guide, I know.)

And let's not forget the famous bears of Bern, which we also managed to see. Some cities make do with ducks and swans and flying rats as part of the city ambience, but not Bern, oh no, they've opted to include bears. I even took a couple of videos (shot according to the dogme-rules) - unfortunately I'm unable to upload the best one, so you'll have to make do with the one below and a few pictures instead.

They have it good! Their own pool including two apples!

A barrel and sticks to play with.

Once back, I realised I'd overdone it with regards to walking around, so had to get a new appointment with the chiropractor. I saw him yesterday and he sarcastically asked me if I had more excursions planned over the next couple of weeks. I don't. But it's hard when one is so naturally active to cut down on exercising... ;-)

A couple of weeks ago we went to a baby-equipment store in order to get a few essentials before the event in July. The pictures below show the backseat and boot of our car after we'd finished part one of this exercise. The cot and changing table are on order and should arrive by the end of June. Should Stefan arrive before, we can borrow items from the shop which is good to know!

Stuff.

More stuff and the expectant dad.

Okay, we could perhaps have packed this a bit more cleverly -
it's just still such a novelty to have space in the back!

Thanks to those of you who've provided me with recipes, and especially to Jess for giving me a cooking lesson a couple of weeks ago. I have added a few things to my repertoire and will report on my progress soon.

Lots of love,

Karen x

Cheap Switzerland!

'Cheap' and 'Switzerland' are two words, you rarely see in the same sentence without a ‘not’ hovering around somewhere. One could say this is in fact an example of an oxymoron.

Yes, there are things in Switzerland which are cheaper here than in the UK, please see list below (not exhaustive, I’m sure, but these are the things I’ve come across since July):

1.       Ear plugs

2.       Glasses (if you have ‘normal’ problem-eyes)

4.       Electricity

5.       Travel cards

Ear plugs:

Since university, I’ve been using ear plugs and I guess I’ve become addicted to them. As I don’t feel this is an addiction that has taken over my life, I’m not worried about any side-effects showing up in 10 years’ time. Hence I keep buying new ones on a regular basis. (Having tried various kinds, I’ve come to the conclusion that the ones that work best for me are the yellow foam ones with blunt – not round – edges.) They sell for around £3.50 (=CHF5.88) in the UK for three pairs and in Switzerland I pay around CHF2.99 for three pairs – almost half price!

Glasses:

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased three pairs of prescriptive glasses. As you can see from the pictures below, they are colour variations of the same frame. 

The colours are: Black, brown and red.

The frames were CHF19.50 each and the total per frame with a prescription of r: 3.25 and l: 2.00 was CHF111 (the eye test cost CHF20). So the total costs of my three pairs of glasses ended up being: CHF353 = GBP240. In the past when I’ve gone for the ‘buy one get (the cheapest) one free’ in Specsavers or other places, I’ve always ended up only using one of the pairs. This time around, I was determined to not let that happen and with three identical frames, I’m happy to confirm that I swap colours several times a week.

Electricity:

Having spent some time today doing calculations in order to establish how much we pay for 1 kWh here compared to the UK, we ended up with the following result (yes, we know how to have a good time!):

Switzerland: 

1 kWh: CHF0.14 = GBP0.10

UK: 

1 kWh: GBP0.20 = CHF0.30 

Even though we have a dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer, electric stove as well as more gadgets than two people necessarily need, the fact that we pay 50% less per kWh means that even with the above running regularly, we don't spend more money in total per month, than we would have done in the UK without these machines.

Travel cards:

My monthly travel card, which lets me use trains, busses, trams – and even a ferry on Lake Zurich (the short route but still very picturesque) in all of Zurich as well as all the way to Zug (25 miles), where I work, costs CHF248 (GBP168). I’ve just looked at First Great Western’s website, and the monthly travel card from Moreton-in-Marsh to Oxford (30 miles), which is what I’ve been using for years, before I left the UK, is now: GBP218.50. This includes the train journey only. No ferries, no busses. But probably still lots of delays and cancellations! (I'm SO not missing the general chaos of public transport in the UK!)

I am fully aware that most things in Switzerland ARE more expensive than in the UK (or even Denmark), but the quality and taste of for example fruit and vegetables as well as the service one gets and general standard of living are much higher as well.

This doesn’t mean I don’t miss living in the UK, though. Luckily I get a daily dosage of Britishness at work as most of my colleagues are ex-pats like myself. And I've started watching Coronation Street again...

Lots of love,

Karen x

Project: Learn to Cook

Things need to change in the Rosinger-household which involves me starting to cook on a higher level than the current one. Which is pretty non-existent. I have happily been chopping an astounding selection of vegetables (incl. three different types of tomatoes), adding feta either in crumbled or cubed form and sprinkling this colourful concoction with lime for the past two weeks which is a little bit like cooking. In raw form. And without the danger of burning anything (other than when I boil an egg!). But I would like to add a little bit of 'danger' into the mix. 

Yes, it's ridiculous that I haven't moved on and into the kitchen properly, but I just seem to freeze every time I look at a recipe, count the number of ingredients, techniques, pots & pans involved, and don't get me started on the whole timing-part of cooking. I am aware of the irony of me working as an assistant where I am interrupted on a hourly basis whilst doing one thing, then being asked to do another and in the middle of that job, having someone call me with a query about something totally different that now has to take priority. I should be able to handle juggling more than three ingredients, knives, at least two hobs and an oven without going into a minor meltdown and have Paul rescue me and bring me to safety away from bobbling sauces (the wrong kind of bubbles), too generous helpings of chilli, broken pepper mills (where one part falls into the tomato sauce) by kindly (and expertly) taking over. 

So, dear audience, I kindly ask, beg even, for your help, as this situation has to change. And ideally before Stefan turns up in July. My last day in the office is Friday 21 June and I hope to feel well enough to produce dinner for Paul when he gets back from work, say, at least three times a week during that time. Thus, if you know of any simple recipes which you think might be at my level, please email them to me and I'll try them out. I'll even take pictures of the finished result as proof (well, it won't prove that I actually cooked it, you'd just have to believe me...). 

By simple I mean:

Not too many ingredients;

Not too many techniques;

Not too many pots and pans;

No fish;

Not too many things that need to be done at different times.

The recipes can be in English or Danish. 

I look forward to hearing from you!

Lots of love,

Karen x

Swiss Privacy Laws (look, I can do heavy titles!)

The privacy laws in Switzerland seem to be less strict here compared to the UK: The other day we received a letter from the Concierge service that comes with the building (not that we have our own doorman or a baldakin!) saying that it was time for the yearly window-cleaning session.

I knew our rental contract mentioned us having to clean the windows on a somewhat regular basis but thought this could be done once we moved out, or couldn't see out - whichever came first. Also, I wasn't too keen on either Paul or me trying to clean the windows on the outside, seeing we're on the 11th floor and NOT surrounded with a balcony on all sides.

We could perhaps hire that French guy who climbs buildings without any safety equipment. (Though I don’t think scaling our building with his teeth and a bucket of soapy water and a piece of cloth is enough of a challenge for him.)

Luckily, and there is a link to the privacy laws emerging, the letter told us that dates had already been set for when our windows will be cleaned, as they'll do it for us. It's apparently all part of the rent. And this is where one of the big differences between Switzerland and the UK lies: With the letter was a schedule for three floors stating when the cleaners will be in which flats. How big the respective flats are including flat numbers and everyone's first and last names!

I actually like this relaxed attitude to personal information (to a certain degree, I hasten to add), perhaps because it’s the same in Denmark.

After the cleaning of the windows, we might be able to see mountains from our balcony again!

I don’t have any pictures to illustrate this entry, so I’ll suggest you close your eyes and picture your favourite dessert in double size waiting to be devoured by you. (Mine is currently merengue with vanilla ice cream (must include real vanilla from a vanilla pod!) with a separate helping of warm chocolate sauce on the side. As enjoyed twice in Lyon during our recent three day visit there.)

Rumour: Spring’s here!

Lots of love,

Karen x

Uetliberg

This Sunday the sun was finally shining after weeks of lovely white snow but not so lovely grey skies. Hence we decided to go for a walk. Initially, the route was quite simple: From our flat in Oerlikon to Zurich City. A walk of about 7 km that takes just over an hour. (I don't walk fast, particularly not in hiking boots.)

This time around, the walk was interrupted halfway, as Paul wanted to change the route as he was curious to explore unknown territory! Well, as I'm always up for new adventures, I followed him which was a very good idea (not least because I have no sense of direction, so had I decided to stick to the original route, I probably would have got lost) because we ended up getting these views of Zurich:

The lake can be seen in the background along with some mountains.

Please pay attention to the mountains on the right...

I was pretty happy with these views and after having been walking around this area for a while, I started to look forward to visiting Starbucks in Zurich.

Paul, however, had a different idea. He knew that we could catch a train from Zurich main station to the mountain on the right, Uetliberg, so suggested we did that. I agreed, if we could have some lunch first. He agreed, if we could go to this Italian place that we both like. So it was very easy to agree to that...

After lunch, we caught the train and once we got to the end station, the following views surrounded us:

The lake is Lake Zurich.

We live somewhere between the two dark areas in the back.

Stunning! Absolutely stunning!

I shot this video which I think catches the beauty and breathtaking views even better than the pictures:

We went for a walk along various paths and it was quite a workout as some of those paths were absolutely treacherous, so due to my condition, we did a lot of turning back, instead of trying to climb down some ice-covered wooden stairs. There was also a lot of tree-hugging involved, when we had to walk a little bit uphill. Luckily, I look graceful in most situations.

This would be a great place to return to in the spring/summer, so we'll probably take our next visitors there.

Sunday evening, Paul made pancakes. All in all a perfect end to a gorgeous day!

Lots of love,

Karen x

Spiders - oh, and Happy New Year

Where are the Swiss spiders? 

We've now been here almost six months and I have yet to come across a spider. I don't particularly love them but accept them as part of life on the same level as dust. (One can get rid of both to some extent, but they will never go away completely.) I wonder if Switzerland is too clean for spiders? Or is it simply too difficult for them to get a permit? 

Whatever the reason may be, I have actually seen arachnoid evidence of their existence here twice: Once when walking over some Roman stuff and looking at display cases describing the Roman stuff with Tina and Sarah last month; in one of the cases it seemed as if a few attempts of making a spider web had been carried out. But I'm not sure by whom as there wasn't a single spider in sight. The second time was in our flat last week. I noticed a (slightly dust-covered) string of web glinting in the sun between two Christmas cards but after a thorough examination, I failed to spot the spider that had been hard at work. As proof, please see the picture below (if you look very hard, it's visible just above the red mushroom):

I'm not complaining but do find this very curious!

I will keep you up-to-date with this situation should it change. 

Happy New Year!

Lots of love,

Karen x