It is Time....

Hard to believe, but it is already time for me to head back to New Jersey and the good ol' US of A!  Connor gets home from school next Wednesday, and Meghan's graduation festivities begin on Thursday! It will be strange to get back and have to jump right back into the swing of things.  In some ways it seems like we just arrived in Zürich, but in many ways it already seems like home.


I dont know whether I'll be blogging much during the summer...although everyone knows New Jersey is pretty exciting! However, I still have some post ideas floating around in my head so they may get typed up stateside.  Just thought I'd take this opportunity to give a little update on things around here...


Some of you may remember our little buddy "Fritz" the cat from the first floor who mysteriously disappeared around Easter weekend...   After nearly 4 weeks MIA, I am happy to report that he has returned!  Apparently he had an operation to remove a tumor, but now he's back; slimmer, trimmer and a little less sociable than he used to be.  I saw him today on my way out to the grocery store...

New litter box?  Or maybe just softer than the cement...

Speaking of neighbors, the one family in our building that we had yet to meet stopped by on Sunday with muffins for us!  They couldn't have been nicer.  The mom is a pediatrician (always nice to have a doctor in the house) and they actually lived in California for a while.  We feel very fortunate to live in a building with so many nice, friendly Swiss people!  Hopefully that will still be the case when we have our first party...although we did make it through the week of the teenage boys unscathed, so we'll keep our fingers crossed!


And speaking of Sunday, you'll never guess what we did last Sunday...we went shopping!  Yes, I know - I've told you that stores aren't open on Sundays in Zürich - but last weekend was a special event in an interesting area of the city.  Kind of like Summit's "Girls' Night Out"...but for anyone and on Saturday AND Sunday!  The area, Zürich West (Kreis 4 and 5) is your basic "other side of the tracks" area.  In reality it is actually on both sides of the tracks as it covers the area on either side of the many railroad tracks that run from Zurich's Haupbahnhof.  Throughout history the district has had a rather dark side - used initially as a waste dump and execution grounds; home first to migrant workers, then to prostitutes; and serving later as the domain of a quickly spreading drug scene.  It now features the creative talent of countless artists, architects, designers, musicians and innovative restaurants while still harboring a fair amount of the seedy side that is engrained in its past.  The world famous FREITAG store selling bags made out of recycled truck tarps and seat belts is located there in a "skyscraper" made out of old shipping containers.  That skyscraper is now dwarfed by Zürich's tallest building, Prime Tower, providing additional contrast in this intriguing and ever-changing area of the city.

FREITAG shipping container sky-scraper with Prime Tower looming behind.

Another view of Prime Tower - with some of the inventory of a second-hand
shop in the foreground.  Shop (I think the boat is just for display, but who knows?)
is located on one side of the overpass - office building on the other.
For you Mequon-ites out there - pretty obvious Jim Moriarty is not on the planning board here...
how about that for a blast from the past???

Mid-century (?) desk lamp we purchased at one of the many second-hand shops.

On the "other side" of the "other side" of the tracks...