We arrived safely in Switzerland with our sanity hanging on by a thread. Seriously, the most horrific plane ride of my life. I won't go into detail, but the 8 hour flight involved a kids meal of spaghetti and meatballs, a serious bathroom incident involving #2, and a 2 year old insomniac who gave the entire business class a tantrum wake up call well before the sun came up. I now know the true meaning of a dirty look but refrained from responding to each one with a hand gesture. A sign of true restraint on my part! The flight was followed by a lost suitcase with all the kids clothing in it, and the front wheel of our brand new jogging stroller flying off in the middle of a Zurich intersection. Good times. At that point I just started laughing hysterically because I was sure we were creating National Lampoons European Vacation part 2. Thank God for a sense of humor!
Since then, things have been looking up. Our temporary apartment, although not at all child friendly, is much bigger than expected and has an amazing view. We look out onto Lake Zurich and can see the Alps in the distance. It was 70 degrees our first day here and it was weird to see people getting of the train in their ski boots with their skis on their shoulders. This is truly, the most beautiful country I have ever seen. It's amazing.
The kids are still struggling with jetlag and I found them playing out in the living room at 3 a.m. the first night we were here. They went back to bed and then slept until 11. Tomorrow I will rouse them (and myself) at a normal waking hour and try to get them adjusted before school starts on Monday. They are very excited to meet new friends and I am hoping to make it through the first day without tears! There is something very uncomfortable about the thought of leaving my young children in someone elses care in a country where everything is so foreign to me. But I'm sure a few days of only having to drag one kid on public transportation will be enough to get me over my issues!
We are trying to get used to apartment living. Our apartment is on the 4th floor and has window seats and big windows without any screens. The fear of one of the kids falling out the window has caused me to freak our every time one of them comes within 3 feet of one. I also shush them whenever they speak above a whisper in fear that they will disrupt the neighbors. Have you ever read the Diary of Anne Franke? Yeah, there are a couple of similarities...
There are so many things about life in Switzerland that are drastically different than home, that I don't even know where to begin. The grocery store is just a strange experience. The milk and juice is all sold in cardboard boxes at room temperature and buying produce requires a scale and a computer. The meat department, although ridiculously expensive, seemed pretty normal until I saw the packages of horse meat. I'm not sure horseburgers will make it into our regular dinner rotation.
The swiss take recycling to a whole new level. In the U.S, I considered my self pretty eco-friendly and recycled almost everything. Here, the recycling police (I'm told they go through your garbage and fine you if you are in violation) require you to separate all your recyclables and drag them with you around town until you come across a recycling area where you stick them in the appropriate bins. There's nothing like toting a bag of empty wine bottles around town in the bottom of your jogging stroller! I was a little embarrassed to hear the bottles clinking together when I dragged my stroller up the stairs onto the tram. Although considering I had my 3 kids in tow, most reasonable people would understand.
So, we are adjusting to the changes and learning to live permanently outside of our comfort zone. I know without a doubt that everything will get easier with time, but right now it really does feel like I've been dropped on another planet. Talking to our friends and family on Skype has been one of the highlights of our day and although it reminds us of how much we miss everyone, it gives us an opportunity to share our ridiculous adventures, as well as a laugh.
Tomorrow we attempt to go buy a used car. Stay tuned as I'm sure the Griswalds will do something to make it memorable...
