Sister's Visit: Day 6: I need Boxes. How do you say that in Swiss German?

This is a little recap of my sister's visit from a few weeks ago. She spent 11 days in Zürich, in 2 separate weeks.
Day 6 = June 11 2009.

I don't know about you, but we rarely ever have carton boxes in the household.

Don't you just love to recycle those 'karton' whenever the collection date comes along?

So when my sister noticed that her ever-increasing shopping wasn't going to fit her FOUR luggages, we had to look for carton boxes, to pack and ship them.

"You know, those big boxes people use when moving?" she specified.

Don't I have any? When we moved?

Um, nope. We used canvas bags.

So, we trotted to Migros. Cashier did not understand my request.

(There went my confidence.)

We then moved on to Denner. Too late, they've packed and sent their carton off for recycling -- that much body language I could understand.

I was *this close* to giving up on the Box Hunt.

Eureka. Let's go to an Asian store!

A Chinese one, to be exact.

'Sawasdee kah' at a Thai store wasn't going to get us any help.

Lian Hua GmbH, @ Berninaplatz, Oerlikon.

Trams #10 and #14.

Finally, a place where we could be understood, vice versa.

Our accents differ a little, but my sister did tip-top;

the lady gave her a selection of boxes to choose from, and we walked off with 2!

A multitude of "xie xie"s and a heap load of instant noodles (I felt obliged to buy *something*) later, we headed downtown.

Yes, with those boxes under our arms.

We were that ecstatic.

It was a beautiful sunny day to be wasted at home, anyway.

So, what time does the post office close today?

"Um, I dunno. I'm always there before 4p.m."..."And it closes for lunch!", I injected with some pride.

What time will it open tomorrow?

"Friday? Um... 9? I think?"

Saturday?

"Um... not sure."

'Do people even work on Saturdays?', I thought.

Ms. 4-1-1 = Not me.

For my benefit, my sister took this picture:

Should stick this information on my refrigerator.

That was our little Box Hunt adventure.

Carton boxes.

Big carton boxes.

Where are they -the free ones- when you need them most?

And you thought a big supermarket would be the ideal place, right?

Tea time: Strawberry flakes from Finland.

Dinner: Fish curry, from the powder my sister bought from Singapore.

Dessert: homemade Custard tart.

Later, it was an evening spent at home.

Time to pack. And hey, Box Hunting can be exhausting too.

Polka Dot Swap package from Sharon.

How are you not 'wow'ed by all this loveliness?

A baby blue polka-dotted tea towel (I needed new ones!),

a very lush purple tote,

and 5 pretty fabrics (one of which is by Cath Kidston).

I am smitten by this gorgeous bag!

It's hand-made.

Wait, there's more!

Sharon has overwhelmed me with her generousity of more polka dot goodness.

Thank you SO much, Sharon ( a.k.a. The Crafty Trundler, at Clover Cottage ).

Now I am a little ashamed of what I've sent... Let's just hope my swap package gets to you well!

This Polka Dot Swap was organised by Stacey over at Polka Dot Daze, who deserves a 'Job well done' for hosting her first swap!

I sure had fun keeping an eye out looking for polka dots.

"Ladies night out" @Bar Fuss Bar, Frauenbad.

Outside pool, by the river.

Outside pool, by the river.

The dance "corner", inside.

DJ's baby.

Inside pool. The water is, river water that is "connected" to the river outside.

Inside pool, and that dancing corner.

Outside pool. The view at 10pm.

10:35pm. Bye bye 'Bar fuss bar'.

What comes to your mind when I say "ladies night out"?

It really wasn't what you were thinking.

Last Sunday, I joined 3 female colleagues (The Hub's colleagues, of course) for a glass of wine at Bar Fuss Bar.

My *first* night out. Alone. To places where there's music!

"Bar Fuss Bar" is at Frauenbad, that ladies-only sunbathing joint in Zurich.

By night -8pm on Wednesdays and Sundays- Frauenbad becomes a bar.

Guys are allowed, naturally.

It clearly is not a meat market, as you can tell from the pictures.

And you know what I like about this place?

You don't smell like smoke at the end of the night!

Anyway, after a glass of wine, and lots of chatter and laughs, I left Bar Fuss Bar a little after 10:30pm.

Fluffy gave me an earful for returning home at 11pm!

Barfussbar Programme: http://www.barfussbar.ch/tanz.php

Jeden Sonntag vom Mitte Mai bis Mitte September kann man in der barfussbar unter freiem Himmel tanzen. Von 20.00 bis 23.00 Uhr (Barbetrieb bis 24.00 Uhr)

Every Sunday from Mid-May to Mid-September... Dance under the sky...

From 8.00 to 11.00 PM.

Entrance fee: 15 CHF.

Cat paintings by Lulunjay

Images are taken from lulunjay.etsy.com.

You all know how much I love my Prince Fluffy, right?

Etsy's current featured seller is "lulunjay". Lulunjay are a couple who run an animal sanctuary, and Jay Schmetz of the duo created these paintings.

I *adore* these art printings of "Fluffy cat in bathroom" and "Ragdoll cat at the wine bar", for obvious reasons.

Also, I just love pet-animal paintings.

Do visit lulunjay. I am certain you will find a painting with a favourite animal of yours.

B-Movie Swap from Apryl (Meridian Ariel)

Purple yarn!!! And Skittles -- I'm targeting the blackcurrant ones first!

Isn't that illustration (of B-Movie Queen) gorgeous?

A Vampire Kit with silver tip needles that'll help me fight those vampires in the basement. An Alien hairband :) A cup cozy... and a really lovely comic card!

What's scarier is my black hair growing out, not the alien.

What more can I say?

You had me at Purple yarn.

I'm just thrilled!

Come see the Flickr Pool of B-Movies swap goodies that have been exchanged.

Thanks so much, Apryl!

Post Script edit:

Scream Queen from Apryl is now on display!

Vegetable Query: Carrots, and Kohlrabi re-visit.

It appears that my little Vegetable Adventure has fallen into the rut.

Nothing new to explore, just the usual salad lettuces, and occasional sprouts.

(Sprouts, that might be something new.)

What I also did was try out those few recipe recommendations.

Carrots:

An "intermediate" between Floss' mashed carrots + and Anneliese's Thai carrot soup.

(See their comment-recipes here.)

It was a spicy carrot puree which I had used 6 carrots for.

A bowl's serving was a meal in itself!

Kohlrabi (German Turnip):

As suggested by Olga,

I grated a Kohlrabi, along with a couple of carrots.

Added a generous amount of Mayonnaise, salt & pepper for season,

and a couple of splashes of lemon juice.

It was really refreshing, and was a perfect, fuss-free slaw (Coleslaw) to accompany the BBQ lunch we had with friends.

Seen any new veggies in your supermarket?

Sister's Visit: Day 5: Salvation Army, and Freitag Shop.

This is a little recap of my sister's visit from a few weeks ago. She spent 11 days in Zürich, in 2 separate weeks.
Day 5 = June 10 2009.

Image of map is taken from www.brocki.ch.

June 10th: My sister had just arrived from Finland in the afternoon.

Had a quick bite at Nosch, but it turned out disappointing as the wraps were done by a different chap (the boss does it best).

Then it was a quick hop on to the train to the Salvation Army at Hardbrücke.

More thrift-shopping! (As requested.)

There was a funky cafe/eatery with traffic signs next to the railway,

and I've never seen that place before as it was only my 2nd visit to the Salvation Army.

(My regular thrift shops are Brocki-Land, and HIOB International.)

A stone's throw away from the Salvation Army is the Freitag shop,

so I stole the chance to take a quick peek into Freitag.

I love the ingenuity of the Freitag shop (those stacks of containers, !!!), and those recycled bags, how each and every bag is unique (!!!).

My sister wasn't impressed with the prices though.

Perhaps there might be a Freitag bag in a thrift-store?

Factoid: From Singapore, to the U.S., to Switzerland.

A while ago, Olga had asked:

How do you find living in Europe after Singapore and then the US?

Where do you like it more and why?

Before we start, perhaps a little background information might help.

I was born and raised in an independent country called Singapore,

a tiny island just off Peninsular Malaysia.

Yes, it's so tiny you can't spot it on the map.

There we go.

A zoomed-in map showing you the expressways

and residential districts of the island of Singapore.

I did say it is small, 710.2 km² (274.2 sq mi) according to Wikipedia,

though not small enough to make it to

the list of "Smallest Countries in the World".

In 2004,

post-graduate studies brought The Hubs and I to the east coast of America.

It was a quiet, peaceful university town in New Jersey.

He was a Student, I was on a "non-working" dependent's visa.

4 years later, in 2008 (that was last year, wow)

a job opportunity brought The Hubs, myself,

and Fluffy -our Jersey boy- to Zurich.

He is now a Staff member of a university, Me a full-fledged Hausfrau.

With each location, our financial circumstances differed, which undeniably affected our social situation. With that, it also shaped the way we lived.

Going along this, I'm listing some of my humble opinions.

Please, they are not meant to offend anybody.

Living in Singapore:

• It is inexpensive, compared to the U.S. and Europe.
• I have a small circle of friends. The numbers dwindle over the years as many move out of Singapore. Our families are there.
• It is multi-cultural, safe, and has a considerably good infrastructure.
• People are busy. Everything is competitive. Men push and shove.
• While it is a city with many shopping and dining experiences, I often feel stifled. One way to combat this was find quick getaways to neighbouring countries. That didn't happen too often though, as it meant taking flights, and time away from work, which was the constraint.
• The country is young and progressive -- new facelifts and tall buildings sprout quickly, within months; I hardly have a place of childhood memory left. Call it dynamic, if you will.

Living in New Jersey:

• It was expensive initially, but we got used to being frugal and managed.
• Apart from an old friend in Jersey City, and The Hub's handful of university peers, whom I've met no more than twice a year, we almost had no friends. (We are quite introverted, anyway.)
• There is a welcoming feeling for diversity. It is safe, quiet, and we needed a car to get to do something as simple as grocery-shopping.
• People are warm and friendly. Ladies do go first, and you know someone will always hold that door for you.
• There were no language or cultural barriers.
• We were poor, but happy, in a small town of a large country with many great opportunities for things to see and do. With all that time spent at home, I grew more domesticated, and started getting crafty. (As ever-so encouraged by said good friend.)

Living in Zurich:

• It is frighteningly expensive.
• I have a small, growing number of friends from all over the world. Non-German speaking, of course. Still no Swiss friends to speak of.
• It is slightly diverse in its demographics, safe, and has a fantastic infrastructure.
• Men push and shove, with a few exceptions. The elderly can be such dear sweet things.
• Right smack in the middle of Germany, France, and Italy, I adore the idea of a travel opportunity just waiting for me to grab it. We are no longer scrapping for scraps, but 'once you go Frugal, you never go back'; we are not sightseeing as much as I'd like to. Besides, I worry about Fluffy all the time.
• In my opinion, it may be difficult for us non-Swiss to fully integrate here, unfortunately. (In terms of language, and the quiet and reserved nature of the people.) Perhaps all it takes is for me to put in a little effort.

On to the questions.

How do I find living in Europe after Singapore and then the US?
14 months and loving it. The culture here is not unfamiliar to me. Also, I like to think we adapt and adjust to the surroundings without fuss.

I believe Singapore has acquired many influences from the U.S., so, no "culture shock" while in New Jersey. On the other hand, the Swiss have done a fine job in conserving their traditions and way of life, which is something I appreciate. They are known to be "quiet and reserved", something I've grown up with.

I also love the way we do not need a car to get around, because I do not have a sense of direction, even if my life depended on it.

Where do you like it more and why?

With the way things are, I prefer it here.

BUT, in an ideal situation, I would be having this level of comfort-of-living, good friends near-by, all set in a strategically and conveniently located English-speaking country, with the same gorgeous natural scenery that Switzerland offers so readily. We'd always bring with us our passports, because we may spend a weekend some place warm and sunny this time, or an afternoon in a mountain the next. All a train or boat ride away.

Oh, and may there be many, many thrift- and craft-shops that friends and I will be spoilt for choice on how to spend our good money in the afternoons!

I hope I've answered the questions?

Sure went a LONG way about it.

Sister's Visit: Day 4: Zooh!, and Landesmuseum.

This is a little recap of my sister's visit from a few weeks ago. She had spent a total of 11 days in Zürich, in 2 separate weeks.
Day 4 = May 21 2009.

It was a sunny Thursday morning.

So off we went, to the Zoo.

Got us our tickets, for 22. CHF each.

There were some lovely views at the zoo,

and was it a hot day.

Perfect day for an ice-cream,

and to my sister's delight,

there was Hello Kitty ice-cream.

The Zurich Zoo is set atop the hill.

And because of that, we kept walking in circles,

not remembering the upslopes or downslopes we took.

But there were signs to help us.

What nice views huh.

I have been told the tropical rainforest was impressive.

And I thought it was done well,

with many tropical rainforest plant species represented in this majestic dome.

{The Zurich Zoo Website: http://www.zoo.ch/xml_1/internet/en/intro.cfm }

Pity we didn't catch any animal shows.

We've then decided to head downtown.

This was us leaving the Zoo via Tram 6,

...winding down to town.

Größere Kartenansicht

Our next stop:

The Swiss National Museum,

otherwise known as Schweizerisches Landesmuseum.

That is the one,

the castle-looking building right next to the Zurich Hauptbahnhof.

As with most museums,

no photography was allowed inside.

Good thing for us,

it was a Thursday, and the Landesmuseum opens until 7pm on Thursdays.

We spent a little while exploring the "Swiss Humour" special exhibit.

I would have found the videos and many other texts funny,

had I brushed up my German!

Drawings and comics were helpful though.

(I'm only beginning to learn German.

Swiss German? Not yet!)

So, have you gone to the Zurich Zoo ("Zooh!")

or Landesmuseum yet?

Do check them out, if you get the chance.

iheartcrafts Giveaway winner

Guess who won this lovely lot of iheartcraft goodies?

I did!

I am so thrilled about winning a tea towel -- I've just ruined 2 of mine in the wash, this afternoon. Great timing.

Thanks so much Gillian! Can't wait to receive these items!