The Gates Of The Sun

Watching the sun rising behind the mountains.

Friday to Sunday last week we spent in Portes du Soleil on the border between Switzerland and France. After checking in at the hotel in Champéry on friday we took a walk in the village to find a place to eat lunch. We had left our jackets at the hotel, but soon we had to take off our sweaters too. Not what you expect when going skiing, to sit outside eating lunch wearing only a t-shirt!
Andreas had a really good steak tartare (raw beef), a new food experience.

On Saturday we took the cable car (kabinbana) up to the ski area. From no snow in the village (1000m alt) to good skiing conditions (1900m alt) in just a couple of minutes. 

Skiing makes you happy!

We started the day skiing in Switzerland but soon, by the longest ski slope I have ever gone down, skied over to France. 

You don't get waffles in the Alps, but a
chocolate cream crepé is not a bad replacement.

We spent the most of the day in France before heading back towards Champéry and Switzerland. We found out that our pist map reading was not the best and the way we thought we could take back was not possible to go (without going down a black run called the Swiss Wall). We managed to get a lift out of France just 5 minutes before they closed. And after that we had to finish the day with a stressfull mogul ski down a long red slope (not so good pists after a warm sunny day). A bit of adventure ending a beautiful day on the pists. After a 3-course dinner at the hotel it was no problem to fall asleep later!

We also had sunny weather on Sunday. This day we took it a bit easier and stayed in Switzerland skiing. Maybe mostly because Jen's legs were a bit tired from the day beforeAfter all a wonderful weekend in a wonderful landscape. 

Picnic at the top of the mountain.

Spring flowers

Many people have asked what Andreas is up to while I am at work these days. He has started training for running full time. This means that he is losing weight and getting in shape while I am going the opposite direction.  We had a visit to the midwife yesterday and weighted in - we now weight the same amount! I can only wonder what the final difference in kilos will be.

He is also getting out exploring on his bike. He came home with a bunch of flower pics today. But training full time is hard work too - Andreas barely stayed awake through dinner with me tonight and was in bed by 8pm.

Not in Zurich

Last week I was back in Sweden for work meetings. It was a busy week divided between Göteborg and Stockholm. I am working on establishing a project which is a collaboration between Göteborg and Kisumu, Kenya. The focus is on improving resource efficiency in water and waste management. And to do this we want to use games as planning tools. We hosted a guest from Kenya Monday-Wednesday and filled the program with meetings, study visits to the wastewater treatment plant, and even playing a bit of a game during a seminar at Chalmers. It all went very well and I am looking forward to seeing the project develop.

Thursday I was in the office in Stockholm and Friday in Uppsala to see my MSc student Saga Perron present her thesis work. She did a fantastic job - so I felt rather like a proud parent being there. I did manage a few lunch and coffee meetings with friends, including brunch with Linn on Saturday before heading to the airport. Felt good to be "home" and reconnect with everyone. 

Back in Zurich, Andreas and I took advantage of a sunny Sunday morning to head for Uetliberg, the highest point on the edge of Zurich. Of course, as soon as we got to the top the sun disappeared and the wind picked up. We were not really dressed for the suddenly cooler temps. It was threatening rain but we decided to do the 1.5 hour hike we had planned. Nice views (probably better on a sunny day) kept us going, but we skipped the picnic lunch we had brought. Instead it we settled for a cup of hot chocolate in the cafe when we arrived at the cable car that would take us down again. Lesson learned - mountain weather changes fast, be prepared.

Klosters

Last weekend we probably did our last cross country skiing for the year. We went up to Klosters, close to Davos. It is amazing to get on the train in spring in Zurich and then get out of the train in a winter landscape among the mountains two hours later. Andreas did read wrong when planning the trip so we got of the train too early and had to wait for another one.


There are an amazing amount of people using the trains for daytrips to skiing, snowshoing, snowboarding, hiking, etc. Above you can see the people who didn't get on the full train where we went off (too early).

Eventually, we made it out to the trails with rented skis.The trails were in really good condition - more than 1m (3ft) snow still on the ground! We followed a stream up a valley. At the end of the valley we stopped for a small lunch before we went back down and out for another loop. In total about 2 hour active, wonderful skiing.

Week 22

It has been awhile since I posted a belly-shot. It is getting hard to hide. The baby is active and moving around and kicking. It was especially active after yesterdays skiing activities -maybe Baby likes skiing?

Spring coming

Last week spring and warmth arrived in Zurich. The flowers popped out and we spent Saturday afternoon enjoying a picnic and sun along the lake. In the morning we had been given a tour of the old town by my colleague Christoph. That evening we had dinner with Jorien and saw a film with some other American (Young Adult - filmed in MN!).



On Sunday we planned to do some cross-country skiing. We were up early for a quick breakfast and headed to the train station. An hours train ride landed us in Einsiedeln. Unfortunately, my stomach is much more sensitive these days to how quickly or slowly it gets filled and I was sick by the time we arrived.

The ski trail was groomed but mostly ice and given that I had just emptied my stomach we decided that it did not look that tempting. A nice walk up the valley though and picnic lunch in the sun still made for a pleasant outing. We will have to see if there is another chance for cross-country skiing, the snow is melting fast...

Bureaucracy

Some of you may be wondering why we were in Munich last weekend and why I would be needed a visa to stay in Switzerland. Both Swedish and American citizens can visit Switzerland for 3 months without a visa, but since we will be staying for 5 we will need residence permits. In Andreas' case this is easy - just come to Switzerland, register with the police and say he wants to stay. No problem, they ask him his religion and parents' names and will mail him a permit.

However, I am an American and therefore not subject to special rules for EU citizens (remember Switzerland is not EU). I need to have a visa to enter Switzerland if I am going to be getting a residence permit. I applied in November but it wasn't ready yet when our moving date came in February. So I came anyways (as a tourist). When the visa was finally ready (after many questions and double checks regarding my income, employment, insurance, etc.) I needed to leave the country to pick up the visa. Can't do it in Switzerland because I wasn't supposed to be here without it. Munich is the closest Swiss consulate so we headed there.

Just when I was thinking that everything was worked out, I find out that this visa that took so much trouble to get is not good for my entire stay. It is simply a visa to enter Switzerland to be able to apply for a residence permit! So now I have an interview with the emigration office next week. Hope for the best.

The situation could get worse if conditions deteriorate between USA and Switzerland. Soon the USA might demand visas from the Swiss and I can only imagine how they might retaliate.
http://www.thelocal.ch/1975/20111208/