The national day - part V

Sorry forgot one stop. Which included marmots and pigs. I know, it's a helluvalot of animals. But it's the countryside. They exist. Ok, so the marmots are kinda shy, but they are there if you look closely. The pigs I'm sure you can spot :)

The national day - part IV

I'd like to name this item "counting sheep", just in case you have trouble sleeping. Which I won't btw after having too little sleep last night (remember nightmare?) and after having too much of fresh air in one day.

Anyway.

The next stop included sheep. Now here's a question for you. How many are there?

The national day - part III

Then of course you go back to join the group and have some more breakfast. This is clearly not the day for a diet! And whaddayaknow, got a pic for this too!

Finally, after having the aborigine talking to everybody around you finally round up the other 7 people in the group and go for a car ride. Not as you would've thought straight back to civilization but on a serpentine (I hesitate to call it a road but for the lack of a better description) road.

It is indeed a good thing that I do not have a problem with balance (despite being a libra!).

Which led us to the next "station" of our journey...

The national day - part II

After eating and eating and eating you walk. Just stand up, bring some friends and take a walk. Because you've eaten so much you feel the need to move. This is the pic from this excursion.

And as you can see it was a fantastic day. 28°C and sunshine, not a cloud in sight. Lotsa mountains though...

The national day - part I

Oh dear, where to start? It was a very long day. And I'd even go as far as saying it's become a tradition. To me that is. I'm sure it's been a tradition to ze Swiss for a longer time :). My third year. This is what happens:

I'm getting picked up at 8 in the (friggin) morning. We drive to ze Alps for a good hour. We meet up with friends, and have breakfast which turns into brunch because we stay long. This is the sign that you've paid the next to nothing 19 CHF in order to enjoy homemade bread, cheese, ham (ok the pig had a saying in this, but not enough), marmelade, coffee, milk, eggs etc etc etc.

Stalker

Not only do I have to get up at the crack of dawn on a holiday, but I had the weirdest dream. I had a stalker. Somebody who wanted me, who bought me flowers, wanted to serve me dinner, give me presents and wanted me really bad in general. And I was repulsed! He was unattractive, old and touched me even though I didn't want. I tell you, it would've been nice, but was a nightmare. I even tried to report him to some security guards who showed up in my dream, only they didn't care. What does this mean?

1st of August

Tomorrow is the national day of Switzerland. And this is what they celebrate according to the CIA World factbook: "The Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defensive alliance among three cantons." Basically that Switzerland exists. Ah well, when you don't have independence or something else to celebrate, I guess this is as good a reason as any. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sz.html Tomorrow you'll find me in ze Swiss mountains...

Just a Monday in Zürich

So after being busy the whole day I ended up in http://www.bauschaenzli.ch/de/index.html with some acquaintances. As you do. When we broke up, all of us going home, I decided to just pop into "my" place to say hello. Just to be polite you know. Hmmm. After seeing this old guy with a grey beard, playing on bottles in sync with the music, I thought that was the highlight of the evening. Until these two guys walked in. They turned out to be Swiss, on their way to Dublin. Only flight was 9 in the morning, and they were intent on partying until then. The reason they were going to Dublin was the "world championship of bicycle messaging". You know the people who delivers important letters/packages/etc from one place to another in record time. They were from Basel. To be honest with you I didn't even know there was such a championship. Much less that it was in Dublin. But the fact that one of the guys showed me 1. his tan line on legs and arms and 2. more importantly let me feel his leg. It was pure muscle. I caved in and believed them. Plus they were fun. Singing along, ordering 1l beers, having a good time. And when I said I was leaving, they were kneeling, begging me not to. I tell ya, these guys got the message :)...so to speak. Or delivering... Also, they were taking lotsa pics. If I end up on the front page of the Dublin news, you know why...

Swish

Just now it feels like the weeks are swishing by so fast I hardly have time to catch up. Checked the tv program for today and saw that Dr House is on this evening. Felt like it was yesterday I was sitting here watching it last time. It was a week ago. And Wednesday it is 1st of August. Which is not so bad coming to think of it. A day off since it's the Swiss national day.

Platform

Yesterday the ex and I went to the boat, since he promised to do some minor repairs. The idea was to take it out for a cruise after. Didn't happen for two reasons. First of all he didn't have all the tools with him (men and planning, I tell you!). Second, for some reason Zurich city decided it was a good idea to place a big fat construction platform next to the bridge, so that I now have very little space to turn when taking the boat out. I kinda think they should've sent me a letter informing me of this, and exactly how long it's going to go on. If I now would take the boat out, I would have to reverse out into the river. A tricky manoeuvre to say the least. Bstrds!

Weird

Yesterday I got a weird phone call. All in German, so not sure I got it right. But it was somebody who asked if I was Annika. Couldn't deny that. And then he ranted on about the computer I had either bought or left with them. They now wanted to give it back. Of course I said I didn't understand what he was talking about, and he said something like "don't make a fuss, just take it". That's when I hung up. Somehow I don't think it was a free computer...and I feel uneasy when I'm alone at home with weirdos like this who know my name. Ok, so I'm in the phone book but still...

Hotel tv

Last Friday my guests who were staying in a hotel talked about the tv channels available here in Europe. They were both a little shocked, but at the same time thrilled. So the guys were discussing this in low voices, but of course being overheard by the woman guest. "Oh", she said, "you mean channel 26"? A second of silence, before everybody burst out laughing. So much for thinking porn is a man thing :)

Tired

Or if you must know, hungover. It was a really nice evening yesterday. Lotsa laughs, lotsa fun. But everything has a price, and today I'm paying for it big time. In two hours I'm being picked up to go on the lake. Think I will sleep a little first...

Friday dinner

Ok, so home now with the last of the shopping. Will tell you about the delights later. Should really be changing and starting in the kitchen, instead sitting in front of the computer. But I need to relax and cool down a bit, really hot today. Hoping for a nice evening, and if I know these guests I think they won't stay too late, so downtown, here I come. Later :)

M is on his way

Hi J, I sent M on his way to you. Please take good care of him. And make sure your toilet is clean, he has a bit of an obsessive-compulsive disorder when it comes to this issue :)

Not enough time

Sometimes I wish there were more hours in the day. Been running around like crazy the whole day, and then doing the shopping in the evening before coming home. Now I've deposited empty bottles (still a couple of bags to go, tomorrows problem) in the glass bank, watered my plants, eaten a little, run a dishwasher machine, cooked one of the dishes for tomorrow and prepared a sauce. Started to set the table. I probably won't have more than max 1,5 hour at home tomorrow before the guests come. Feel like just sitting down now with a glass of wine and watch some mindless tv. Only, there is so little to choose from in English, and I can't be bothered with a whole movie. And I have yet to monitor the dish in the oven. Ah well. Tomorrow's another day...

Fucking Austria II

This is the actual article in the paper version of 20 min today. And there is a funny feature not mentioned in the you-tube version. Under the actual sign it says "bitte, nicht so schnell", which means not so fast, please. HAHAHA!

Fixation

Was reading an article on Hollywood body fixation. This is not exactly a new subject, but something that most of us laugh at. Or get fascinated by. Equal doses, I guess.

What struck me when looking at this pic was how men are allowed to regress whereas women are supposed to look forever young.

If I'm not mistaken Oprah is 50+, Charlize 30+ and George 50-. And yet George is allowed to look like he should carry around an iron, while Oprah and Charlize look like they have baby-skin.

What is not right in this equation?

Toilet seat II

So when I got home tonight the new toilet seat was installed. In the right place mind you and not as John suggested "over the kitchen sink" :). Was funny though to place butt on new and undiscovered territory. Felt like my butt had grown overnight, but think it was seat that was smaller. Or so I hope. And like I suggested yesterday already in IKEA "are you sure it's the right size?" This was when M told me that "here in Germany and Switzerland there are standards. They always match". Right. Because I'd like to keep the pleasantness in the household I chose not to argue. I will happily place my butt several times a day on a toilet seat that moves around :)

Fucking Austria

Excuse me for being bald but this is actually a place. Check this you-tube out: http://www.20min.ch/digital/webpage/story/15072894