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!

Liestal Fasnacht- Fire Parade

Fasnacht- which is the Swiss 'Carnival' celebration (pre-Lent), has been spread to many weeks so that the various towns wouldn't overlap (sort of like the St. Patty's Day Parade in the NY metro area). This past Sunday was the Fasnacht celebration in Liestal. In this town, they are famous for doing a 'Fire Parade' where people essentially carry bonfires on their back. Remember when I said (on New Years) that the Swiss were reserved? Nope- I guess they save it for other occasions. This was a crazy event and a lot of fun!

Matt getting ready for the parade... he doesn't even know what's in store yet.

The parade started pretty normally with people in intricate costumes playing instruments

 Then came the fire... the crowd was really going crazy as we could see it in the distance.

The first rolling bonfire to come out was small

Then a group of people came along carrying giant 'torches' on their backs. They weren't wearing anything special to protect themselves from the flames... 

This was the second bonfire

The ground was littered with confetti maybe 1/2 inch deep (perhaps from an earlier parade)- sort of a fire hazard???

Each new bonfire would get a little bigger...

This guy's head was smoking!!

and a little bigger...

Firemen & women were on hand to sponge down fire carriers who started catching fire

Everyone was watching to see how big the next bonfire would be

Matt & Corey&Me baring the flames... when they stopped the larger fires right in front of us it got RIDICULOUSLY hot. We were right in the front! 

This bonfire was getting up toward the street light...

But this next one actually hit it!

Every time we thought there couldn't possibly be a bigger one, there was.