Laowai

Part of the fun of living here is enjoying all the Swiss holidays. I love, love, love celebrating. – especially this time of year. But I have to admit that my head is spinning trying to keep up with the US holidays and the Swiss holidays. Halloween is done and now the Räbeliechtli season is upon us (the turnip carving time). I’m hosting Thanksgiving and then we have to fit lots of Christmas in before we head back to the US for a visit in mid-December. We must make time to visit Christmas markets and make gingerbread men and houses and make some homemade gifts… Suddenly it’s that merry time of year.

Yesterday I went to the girls’ school to help hollow out a bunch of turnips (Räbeliechtli). The kids will finish the hollowing out and then carve designs on the outside. They are so pretty when you light a candle in them. This weekend we will to to a big Räbeliechtli festival and parade in the town next to ours.

I was at the brocki again (the girls think that’s all I talk about: brocki, brocki, brocki all the time). I had to add to my collection of this type of trinket – I can’t resist.

Over the weekend Brian and I went to the wine boats in Zurich with some of his work colleagues. It’s a cool event where wine distributors set up on a bunch of boats. You go around to their little bars and get to taste many different wines and then you can order the ones you liked and they’ll be delivered by Christmas. The boats are the same lovely boats that tour around Lake Zurich in the summer and for the wine event they are docked at the top of the lake in the city.

All the holiday goodies are in the stores. I try to ignore the pretty chocolates but I had to have some cranberries:

And Brian found a beer with this festive fellow:

Merry, merry, merry!