Thursday was a very interesting day. I wound up walking over 10 miles. I started my morning off at the Migration Office. Here I underwent the final process to be granted my residency card. Hopefully in two weeks, I will get the card in the mail; so I do not have to worry about carrying my passport around in case someone wants identification. The next stop was to the US Consular Office. Here I had to give the US Government $150 so they could notarize my signature on three different documents so that tomorrow the closing on our home can take place. I did feel lucky. The notary was telling me about a gentleman who came in last week and needed 17 documents notarized. At $50 per stamp, I think it would have been cheaper for him to fly back home. My last errand for the day was to find the FedEx Office and get all the paperwork sent back to Wisconsin. This trip actually worked to our favor. When I looked online the website said it would cost about $250 to overnight the paperwork from Zurich to Appleton. However, by going to the office, they knocked off 60%! That was worth the miles…
This part of Switzerland has a very distinct Germanic influence. You have already seen me mention that I have German classes starting soon, and I have to pass a language test. Well Zurich also celebrates Oktoberfest. Julie’s Boss got a table, and invited some of her co-workers and their spouses for dinner and drinks. It was a fun way to end a very busy day.
Julie and I commented on more than one occasion, that we probably would not be able to get by with that behavior back in Wisconsin. When out to a party, and security finds you dancing on the tables, they always tell you to get down! The beer was good, but after a “few” glasses I was moving pretty slow on Friday.
One of our good friends happened to have a meeting in Germany last week. She arranged her schedule to come to Zurich, and spend a couple of days with us. It was great to have a visitor, and it gave us an excuse to do some exploring around Zurich this weekend. Friday we explored the Bahnhofstrasse which is the main high end shopping district in Zurich. This would be comparable to the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. Store after store full of items I will never be able to afford! With the exception of our favorite chocolate store.
After walking down the Bahnofstrasse we went by the Opera, the Grossmünster, and then Old Zurich. Old Zurich is the part of town, that Americans think all of Europe is like. The streets are very narrow and made of cobblestone. The restaurants have little sidewalk seating areas, and it is just a generally fun place to walk through. The stores range from high end fashion, home design, to tourist t-shirts. Also if you come visit, we will take you to our favorite restaurant. La Pasta. La Pasta has made to order fresh pasta dishes, and the best cheesecake I have ever tasted!
We had a pretty lazy Saturday. Julie and Theresa walked up the hill to visit the Supermarket. It sounds kind of crazy, but anyone that comes to visit, should go to the grocery. You will see a lot of differences between grocery stores back home and in Switzerland. You just need to visit so you can gasp at the prices!! We then went to Felsenegg. This is one of the lookout areas above Zurich. This is one of the times, though the public transportation is not in our favor. Via bus and train, it is almost an hour journey, but with a car the trip is only 20 minutes. You can either drive to the top, or you can take a cable car up from the bottom of the hill. We then spent the evening drinking wine and playing a rousing game of Deer in the Headlights. 🙂 Thanks for coming by Theresa. Hopefully you and Mike can visit this summer. Tell Mike I will investigate what we need to do so we can fish in the Alps!
I hope you enjoy the pictures from our weekend.
