Strasbourg and Riquewihr, France

This past Friday and Saturday, we went up to Strasbourg, France.  After a disappointing Zürich Christmas market, I really wanted to visit another one.  Some of the best Christmas markets in Europe are in Nürnberg (Nuremberg), Copenhagen, Vienna, and Strasbourg.  We decided to head to Strasbourg because it was the closest one, being only 2.5 hours away from us.  It also ended up being part of a work trip for Darren because he had to do some testing on a new Google Maps feature for France.  So Friday morning we rented a car and drove up to Strasbourg.  We hit some heavy snow leaving Switzerland, so the drive took us a little longer, but once we got into France, it was just cloudy and cold.  It was amusing to me that as we drove into a new country, we didn't even have to stop at the border.  I mean, just driving into California from Oregon, you have to stop at a checkpoint.

When we arrived in Strasbourg, we worked on Darren's test routes for several hours while it was still light out.  Then, we parked the car and checked into the hotel.  We then went in search of some dinner and just picked a random place because we had not done any research before we left about where to eat. So it wasn't until 8 pm that we finally got out to see the Christmas markets.  Strasbourg has multiple different Christmas markets throughout the downtown area because it is so big.  The first one we stopped by had a huge, beautifully decorated Christmas tree, with a miniature Christmas village that was all lit up.  There weren't many stalls next to the tree, though, so we moved on to another market.

We then went over to the Christkindelsmärik, which ended up being our favorite one.  They had tons of stalls and they were more what we imagined a Christmas market should be like.  We really liked the things they were selling and Darren said he could have spent a lot of money here, but we just bought a few souvenirs instead.

That's me standing under the sign

The market has three long rows of stalls

These stalls are selling Christmas ornaments and decorations

Other stalls were selling holiday treats

Pieces for nativity scenes, you can even pick from four different kinds of trees

We just looked around at this market and then decided to head back to the hotel.  It was 19 degrees outside and we were pretty cold.  The weather was the one downside to the trip.  All the Christmas markets and attractions were outside and we had to walk everywhere, so sometimes it was just painfully cold.  We did try to keep our spirits up and all the Christmas cheer around us did help forget about the cold. :)

Saturday morning we got up, ate some breakfast at the hotel, and headed out to see more of the sights around Strasbourg and see more Christmas markets.  We walked over to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg.  It is a gorgeous and breathtaking Gothic cathedral.  Construction of the cathedral began in the late 12th century and did not finish until the early 15th century.  The red stones used to build the cathedral come from the nearby Vosges mountain range.  After the completion of the single large tower, the cathedral became the tallest building in the modern world for several centuries.  The cathedral did sustain some damage during the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, and World War II, but in general the cathedral has surprisingly remained intact from its original construction.

The inside of the cathedral is massive.  There are dozens of stained-glass windows, tapestries, and statues that are all beautiful.  I don't know many details of the things we saw inside the cathedral, so I will just show you the pictures.

Astronomical clock that was built in the 16th century and was restored in the 19th century, it still works

Stained-glass windows, they are slowly cleaning and restoring all of them

Me, next to the nativity scene

After we left the cathedral, we looked at more Christmas markets and did some shopping before we needed another break from the cold.  We ate at McDonald's.  So far, Germany has the best snack wrap. :)

After lunch, we had more test routes to do for Darren's work, so we got in the car and took care of those.  We then drove around the city to see some of the sights we missed.  There were some other attractions that we did not get to in Strasbourg, but we decided we wanted to check out some other places in the Alsace region of France based on recommendations from Darren's manager.  We left Strasbourg and drove back towards Switzerland, but stopped at an old medieval town called Riquewihr.  It can be described in one word: adorable.

Everyone should definitely visit the Alsace region.  It is great!

More Christmas Activities

As the news has been reporting, Europe has had quite a cold and snowy winter so far (my mother pointed out that it technically isn't even winter yet, which is kind of a depressing thought).  Zürich usually stays above freezing and while it snows, it rarely sticks, but we have had a lot of snow in the city this year.  Here is a picture I took last week of the view from our balcony outside our bedroom.

As for more exciting things, there were some more great Christmas activities last week here in Zürich!  Last Monday, I went with some friends from church to see the Samichlaus tram.  This is the Samichlaus tram:

Sadly, only children can ride the Samichlaus tram

The tram drives around downtown Zürich for about twenty minutes while Samichlaus and his angel helpers tell the children stories and give them treats.  It is a fun little thing for children to do without their parents.  My friends take their children every year and they love it.

Samichlaus greets the children as they get on the tram

Then, Thursday was the annual Lichtershwimmen, which means "swimming lights".  On the third Thursday in December, hundreds of young children release little boats with candles inside down the Limmat River exactly at 6 pm.  I haven't been able to find any information on the significance of this tradition, but everyone knows about it and attends.  There were definitely hundreds of people all along the riverfront waiting for the candle boats.

Tiny boats with candles floating down the river

So how do the children know when it is exactly 6 pm?  Well, this is when big church bells come in handy.  The movie below is just when the Grossmünster bells started to chime at 6 pm.  I then tried to point the camera at where the boats where coming from, but people were in the way.

 I'm pretty proud of this shot I took of Grossmünster, still kind of grainy though

So now you can see in this video the boats coming down the river.  It's just right in the beginning, so watch carefully.  Then I panned around to show what downtown looked like.

Or you can just look at the picture below to see the boats traveling down the river.

I showed you a while back the lighting ceremony of the main street in Zürich and that it was kind of underwhelming.  Well, I think the smaller side streets are much prettier and just so picturesque.  They are exactly like the cute, little European streets you imagine and I can't get enough of them.  When my step-mom comes, she will take infinitely better pictures to highlight the cuteness, but for now, you'll have to deal with my poor-quality shots.

On Thursday, our tree also finally arrived in the mail!  We ordered it from Amazon Germany.  I got it up and we decorated it right away to try and enjoy it for a week!

The tree is six-feet-tall, but we are kind of giant people

We also went to France this past weekend, so I will post about that tomorrow!

Why Zürich Is So Expensive

When we first arrived, I posted an article that talked about Zürich being one of the most expensive cities in the world.  Since then, I have been pondering on why this is so.  Yes, when you go to a store, things are more expensive, in fact they are usually double the price as in the US, but there has to be more than just my soap is expensive.  As a friend pointed out, Manhattan housing prices are very expensive and are probably on par with housing prices here, but Manhattan was like #20 on the list.  So then what is it?  Well, here are some examples that we have come across over the six weeks we've been here that help Zürich move into one of those top spots.

1) Fees

Everything and I mean everything has a fee associated with it.  When you move to Switzerland, you have to register with your city.  They keep track of what address you are living at and how long you are going to be living there.  This information is already given by the landlords, but for some reason you still have to go and "register".  It seems to not have a purpose, but well, the first time you register, it costs 120 francs per person.  And in Zürich, you have to register with every district.  So since we moved from the Wiedikon district to the Enge district, we had to change our registration, which was 25 francs per person.

There is also a fee to use a radio or a television.  I don't mean you need to pay for cable to get certain channels, that is separate.  There is a licensing fee just to use a radio or a television.  So if you have a clock radio or a radio in your car, you have to pay a fee.  And since the city knows who has paid this fee and exactly where they live, they will do inspections to see if you have a radio or television if you haven't paid the fee.

Finally, the best one is the cleaning fee when you move out of an apartment.  The Swiss like things clean and like things new.  So they want their apartments to look spotless when someone moves out.  This means that apartments last longer and buildings last longer because they maintain them well and it is a great idea.  The tenants before us had a dog and they smoked and both smells were 99% gone when we moved in.  However, it costs 1,000 to 2,000 francs to get your apartment cleaned just they way they like it.  Yes, that was 2,000 francs just for a normal cleaning job.  So don't ever move, it's expensive.

2)  Nothing is included

Things that you think should normally be included are not.  Apartment buildings do not have apartment numbers, just a building number and then people find you because your name is on the buzzer, on the mailbox, and in front of your door, like this:

So it is required for you to have these name plates made by the landlord and put up as soon as possible.  Well guess what, these aren't free, even though no one told us, they showed up in our mailbox with a 33 franc fee.  Yes, even though we just paid them thousands of dollars in rent and deposit, we have to pay 33 francs for three small name plates.

Light fixtures are also not included in an apartment.  Tenants must buy their own light fixtures and then they take them with them when they move out.  So we had no lights when we moved in except for in the kitchen and the bathrooms.  You, of course, don't have to get light fixtures, but well, we want some.  We got an estimate of 150 francs to put in five cheap Ikea lights.  So Darren tried to do it himself and was able to get one up.  However, he couldn't get the rest of them up, so it looks like we'll have to pay the 150 francs.

I am thankful for Roger Baker who made his son help him build the basement so his son knows how to do some handy things around the house.

I could name a lot more things, but those are enough examples.  I don't mean to complain (too much) because life is just too fantastic these days to let this get us down, but I'm just offering some insight into how some of these cities make the top of the list.  We are certainly going to feel grateful for all the things we get (and cheaply) when we move back to the US.

Christmas Activities and Missionaries

First up, I thought I should mention that we found out our stuff won't arrive here until the end of January. :(  It isn't even leaving California until December 20th.  Oh well, we are going home (Texas) briefly for Christmas and for the birth of my new sister (!!), so we'll have to stock up on essentials while we are there.

This past week Darren and I were both sick and are just now recovering, so we didn't go on any grand adventures, but we did manage to fit in a few fun things.  On Monday (St. Nikolas Day) I found out that the Lindt Chocolate Factory store was having a sale, so I raced over to fill up on some yummy items.  While I was there, I ran into Samichlaus and Schmutzli.

Samichlaus on the left and Schmutzli on the right

Now Samichlaus sounds familiar, right?  This is St. Nikolas who comes on December 6th (St. Nikolas Day) and gives treats to good children.  They get things like mandarin oranges or gingerbread or candy from Samichlaus.  But who is Schmutzli?  He is Samichlaus's sidekick who takes care of the children who were naughty that year.  He is supposed to look scary so he wears dark clothes and his face is painted black.  He also carries a wooden broom or stick to hit the naughty children and he is supposed to drag the naughty children away into the woods.  Apparently Schmutzli is much scarier in other European countries, so I guess we should consider ourselves lucky!  

I wasn't very discreet trying to take this picture from my phone, so Samichlaus came over to talk to me and said something, but I had no idea what he said so I just smiled and said, "Ich spreche kein Deutsch, tut mir leid! (I don't speak German, sorry!)".  I was proud of myself for getting at least that out because if people talk to me unexpectedly in German, I just start answering in English because it's so automatic.  It definitely takes a lot of effort to become fluent in a language!

Most of the rest of the week I was in bed sick (Ich bin krank!), until I felt well enough on Friday to get out of the house.  I went with some other ladies from my church to go and serve lunch to about 30 LDS missionaries who are serving missions in the area.  They were having a conference at a nearby church building and had asked us if we could provide a meal for them.  I was sick during the week, so I didn't make any of the food, but was well enough by that day to go and help prepare and serve it.  We served them salad, rolls, lasagna, and pudding and cookies for dessert.

The lovely salads all ready to be served

The missionaries eating up

It is also very true that nineteen to twenty-one-year-old boys can eat!  We gave each of them two heaping servings of lasagna and most of them came back for seconds!  Good thing we had made so much.  But seeing as how expensive food is here, they might not be able to afford much on their little monthly food stipend from the church, so maybe they were really excited to have seconds.  It was also funny how surprised the missionaries were to have five American women show up who were from a local congregation.  I'm sure they were expecting some local Swiss people who didn't speak English, but little did they know our congregation is mostly Americans!  Most of the missionaries are also from the US, so everyone just spoke English like we could have been doing back in America.

Our lovely desserts, but we made sure to have healthy options, too, with the oranges 

The missionaries were very grateful for our service.  They sang us a song in German and presented us with some candy and a homemade card they all signed.

The lunch crew and our mascot, Charlie

We also had a mascot with us while we were preparing and serving lunch.  He was such a good dog and I got to take him for a walk!

Meet Charlie

I started feeling better on Friday and that's when Darren started to get sick.  So ended up just staying home for most of the day on Saturday.  Later on in the evening, Darren was feeling a little better so we decided to stop our church's Christmas party for a bit.  The theme was that all the church members had been summoned by Caesar Augustus to Bethlemen to be counted, as was done in the days when Jesus was born.  It was a very cute idea and lots of people had put a lot of effort into making a great party.  One lady had painted big murals of Bethlehem scenes.  Most everyone dressed up in Bethlehem attire.

Forgot the camera so these are taken with the phone, better than nothing though

 We all went to the Bethlehem "market" to have some fruit, meat, cheese, and bread from the stalls of the market.  The children under twelve then read and acted out the nativity story and sangs some songs.  They were really cute, though some had no idea what they were doing. :)  One little boy was dressed up as a sheep and he was adorable.

It was a really fun way to celebrate Christmas!

Pictures of Our Apartment

Someone reminded me that I haven't put pictures up of our apartment.  I had emailed some pictures to my immediate family when we first got the place, but now I realize more than just my parents and grandparents read this blog. :)  These are the pictures from the online ad, so no it's not this sunny and bright right now.  It's actually pouring down rain.


When you walk in the front door, to the right is the living room and the dining room.  The Swiss (maybe Europeans?) love parquet flooring, but I am not a big fan.  Not much you can do about it though since many apartments had this flooring.  You cans see in the picture that there is a little ledge inside the living room.  That is where the fireplace is.  The sliding glass door in the dining room leads out to a large balcony.

If you look straight ahead from the front door, this is hallway that leads to the bedroom.  See the closets on the right?  So amazing!

As you walk down the hallway, there is a bathroom on the left.

If you keep walking down the hallway, there is a door to the kitchen on the right.  You can also enter the kitchen from the dining room.  The kitchen is very large for Swiss standards, so I am excited about that.  We have a lot of kitchen things, so there is plenty of cabinets for all of our things.  You can also see a nice, little attached table there.  This has been a been a huge benefit to us since we don't have any kind of desk/table for another month.  We just bought two black Ikea folding chairs and use this space as a desk and kitchen table.

When you walk down the hall to the bedroom, inside the bedroom door is another bathroom.  Again, this is so huge compared to normal Swiss bathrooms.  You can't see it, but it has double sinks, which we really enjoy.

Then this is our bedroom, which is really big.  That is good for us though since we have a large bedroom furniture set.  We are excited we will be able to ship all of our furniture because we have space for all of it.  The open door leads out onto another large balcony.

So that's our place!  There is one picture of the apartment currently that I will share with you:

We have an advent calendar!  They are huge here in Europe and lots of stores sell them.  Even LEGO makes one where you get certain pieces every day to build parts of a larger thing.  It's pretty awesome!  I just got this cheap one at the grocery store, though.  We also ordered a tree from Amazon Germany!  Hopefully it gets here some time this week and then I can decorate!