München (aka Munich)

We recently got back from our mini-Vacation to Munich and Krakow. We had a fantastic time and are both happy and sad to be back- happy because its always nice to be home and we missed the Boss (though she was in fantastic hands with our friends Jess and Corey and their dog Buddy):

Boston & Buddy: Salt & Pepper

and sad, because we were having a lot of fun and because it stinks to have to go back to work ....well .... i mean it stinks for Matt to have to go back to work ;o).

Anyway, to give you all a recap of our travels, I am breaking it down into easier to digest parts.
On Wednesday night we left for Munich. The great thing about Zürich is its central location. We can take a train directly from here to Munich in about 4.5 hours. We got in pretty late, but it enabled us to have a full day on Thursday to explore.

Welcome to Germany! A new take on balcony decor.

On Thursday we had scheduled a walking tour of Munich. Our guide was entertaining and extremely knowledgeable... maybe a bit too knowledgeable. We were walking around the city for 4.5 hrs straight- which is a lot for normal people, never mind people with small humans sitting on their bladder.

Interestingly though, we learned that as a result of the bombing of Munich during WWII, only 5% of the original city remains. They have worked hard to rebuild the city to recreate its original aesthetic, but most buildings look quite new. They have ended up with such ironies as the below two town halls:

Old Town Hall, also the site of some infamous Hitler meetings

New Town Hall

One of the more famous (and incredibly overrated) things in Munich is the Glockenspiel on the new town hall. A few times a day there is this mechanical 'It's a Small World'-esque performance. This version includes our tour guide's hilarious narration (definitely makes it better).

Also in the center of Munich stands this poor statue of Juliet (as in Romeo and Juliet). Apparently it is good luck to rub her boob. As you can see from the copper color under Matt's hand, she has seen a lot of action.

Statue of Juliet

This church was one of the few buildings that largely survived the WWII bombings.

Can you find the cannonball stuck in the building?

Theatinerkirche

During Hitler's rule, there was a 'checkpoint' of sorts where anyone passing by was required to give the Nazi salute. In dissidence, many people (at the risk of death if caught) would take an alternate route to avoid having to give this salute. The copper colored strip in the road commemorates these people and the route they would take.

May Pole

The day we were in Munich also happened to be 'Man Day.' On this day men go to bars and drink... Matt really liked the idea of this holiday.

Just hanging & singing some drinking songs dressed in lederhosen to celebrate 'Man Day'... that's all...

31 Weeks!

It's been a while... but we haven't had a lot of exciting stuff going on to report. Just same old day to day life. I'm still taking German classes (I can finally understand stuff!!) and Matt's work is going well. We have just been trying to get everything in order for the baby, and enjoying sleeping in and going out with friends (since it will end soon, at least for the near term).

I had a doctor's appointment today, and it marked the end of 31 weeks, so I thought it was as good a time as any for an update. Blame pregnancy brain, but I forgot to bring home the ultrasound pictures- though in all honesty they looked about the same as the last ones.

The baby is growing right on target- he is now just over 4 pounds (1.85 kilos to be exact) and I am starting to feel pretty darn pregnant.

We should have some new, interesting stuff to share soon. We are leaving for a mini-vacation tomorrow in Munich and Krakow (Poland) and then we have some fun-filled weeks ahead with visitors (YAY!) and birth classes. Don't worry- I won't post pictures of the birth classes :o).

Excuse the crazy eyes... my photographer was making unfunny jokes.

27 Weeks: Last day of the 2nd Trimester

So today marks the last day of my 2nd Trimester! Coincidentally I also had a doctor's appointment today, so we have some new pics of the little guy who is already apparently getting into position. I am glad he doesn't seem to be following in his father's footsteps in this way, since his dad decided to make his grand appearance both breech and backwards. Based on his measurements the estimate for his weight is bit over a kilo (ie. just over 2 and a quarter pounds).

Naturally of course, here is the obligatory belly shot!

Sechseläuten 2012

Nothing says bringing an end to winter like blowing up a snowman....

The Swiss have a holiday (yes, some people actually get the afternoon off, not Matt though) which is like Groundhog Day with a pyrotechnic kicker. Essentially they put an explosive filled snowman (aka der Böögg) atop a wood pile, light the woodpile on fire, and see how long it takes him to fully explode. The shorter the time, the sooner and better summer will be!

While all you guys (on the East Coast at least) were enjoying what was already Summer... today was a miserable, cold, rainy day here. We thought for sure it was going to take FOR-EVER for the snowman to explode.

The official time hasn't been posted yet, but there was little left of the snowman after minute 8, though the final (ie. loudest) explosion didn't happen for another few minutes. Typically the head blows up within 10-12 minutes. Whatever the case, we are hoping the nice weather hurries up and comes back.... and stays.

25 Weeks!

Blindekuh

Tonight we went to dinner with Sara and Allison at the Blindekuh (translation: Blind Cow). The restaurant is an interesting concept in which you dine completely in the dark and are served by blind and partially sighted waitstaff.  It is meant to give you the experience of what their daily life is like as well as to provide work for people with little/no vision. It was really interesting- I think we all left with a renewed appreciation for our eyesight.

Blindekuh Website

This is what it looked like:

Mt. Pilatus

Today we went with Sara and Allison to Mt. Pilatus. There are two ways to see the Alps here: take a train ride through them or go up to the top of them. It worked out better with our schedule to go to the top, and we were all glad we did. The gondola brought us up above cloud level, so all you could see was mountaintops and clouds- it seems surreal to me every time I see it. I never get sick of it!

There were some people playing the alphorn (and what must be a traditional song, because you hear it in the monorail at the airport). Apologies in advance for any motion sickness you might feel while watching my video.

Sara & Allison

Zeughauskeller

Tonight we took Sara and her friend to Zeughauskeller, which is a very well known restaurant here in Zürich that serves traditional Swiss food. The food is tasty and the beers are large....

Just kidding!!

Rapperswil

On Thursday my sister arrived for a visit with one of her friends. After spending a couple days showing them Zürich, we took them to what we had heard was a really nice town down near the opposite end of Lake Zürich called Rapperswil. You can get there by both boat and train, so we took the boat on the way there because the weather was beautiful.

Basel

We decided on a whim today to check out Basel. We hadn't been, and the weather was great, and it's less than an hour from Zürich. It was a cute city though maybe a bit less picturesque than some of the other cities we have visited in Switzerland.

Not quite so picturesque as the Zürich waterfront

A cute town nontheless...

This is the Basel Rathaus, which is like the town hall. Zürich's Rathaus is very plain compared to this one, which seemed like some sort of castle. 

This is the Münster in Basel, which is the German word for Cathedral.

This is your Swiss street Ritters!!

                                                                            And last but not least... the PwC Building in Basel... 

Engelberg Ski Weekend

This weekend we went to Engelberg for a PwC ski trip. The weather was gorgeous though the conditions on the mountain weren't the best we've seen here... but it was still fun. Boston got to come too, so she was happy.

 Above and below are pictures from the town of Engelberg where we stayed.

At the top of Mt. Titlis (insert joke here) where we skied on Saturday.

More shots from the top of the Mountain - amazing, amazing views. We were at 3,028 meters (almost 10,000 feet).

It's a.... BOY!

Today was the big day! We found out our little one is definitely a boy, and most importantly we found out he is healthy of a number of potential birth defects. After checking throughout, the doctor ruled out spina bifida, cleft palate, most heart abnormalities (apparently there are some that cannot be diagnosed from the ultrasound, but those are extremely rare), the right amount of brain fluid and symmetry of the brain, and the proper number of fingers and toes. So far so good! 

No pictures, please

Here is where the doctor pointed out his teeny weeny and his "hodensack" (I dont think you need to know German to get the meaning of that)... this little one is definitely a boy.  Sorry my iphoto skills are not good enough to point them out to you guys, but I think you know where to look.

20 Weeks!

The bump is finally less beer belly more baby!  (Boston is doing gopher pose)

Beautiful Day!

Happy half birthday to me! Today it was 45 degrees and sunny (balmy for Switzerland as of late), so Boston and I went on a nice long walk to the Zürich Horn, which is a little park area just down the lake a bit from where we live. There was a gorgeous view of the mountains in the distance- the pictures don't do the scenery justice!