On our walk along the water today we also came across the coolest vintage kitschy thing ever: this kiddy car ride. Just look at those little old cars. The green one reminds me of our old Nova. And there are Vespa-type bikes, rockets and airplanes too. Bea chose the bus. She was so funny, spinning the steering wheel, as she went around and around. She was very pleased with herself and of course wanted to ride again.
Today, strolling along Lake Zurich and killing time between a playgroup and a doctor appointment I couldn’t help thinking – this is the quality of life that Switzerland is known for. The park was oozing with a pleasant vibe – people strolling along paths, lounging on the grass, eating at cafes and watching the boats and ducks in the lake. It couldn’t have been more pleasant and there wasn’t even a whiff of anything close to discord. I suppose it helps that it’s a warm spring day – but still – it just felt more mellow and pleasant than almost anywhere I can think of. A beautiful day.
Today we went to a festival that is unique to Zurich called Sechseläuten. Here’s the explanation from the Zurich tourism website.
Every year, the guilds of Zürich and the general public celebrate their traditional spring festival: the Sechseläuten. The celebrations start on Sunday with a colourful children’s procession. This is followed by the main festival on Monday: People in historical guild costumes, 500 horses, 30 marching bands, together with 50 carriages and coaches, parade through the city centre to Sechseläuten-Platz on Lake Zürich. There, at 6 p.m. a pile of wood, on which the ‘Böögg’ – a symbolic snowman – sits enthroned, is set on fire. The quicker his head catches fire and explodes, the finer the summer should be.
We had to head home before the actual burning of the snowman but we caught what we could of the parade. It was a beautiful spring day and even though we waded through a huge crowd of people the atmosphere seemed really mellow. Everyone was just smiling and having a good time. All the Swiss people had big bouquets of flowers tucked under their arms or in big baskets. There were horses and bands and colorful flags and camels and people of all ages dressed up in traditional costumes. The streets were closed and filled with carnival type stands selling sausages, ice cream, pretzels and candy and toys and balloons for kids.
Here’s the snowman before he gets set on fire:
Here’s my montage of parade photos:
Bea was lacking a nap and so she faded, faded, faded until she was just dead weight and Brian’s arms were extremely tired.
So we had to head home and watch the burning of the snowman on TV:
Bring on the Summer!
Today we had a little shopping to do and then we wandered around the old-town part of Zurich.
Here’s Bea, running like a little heathen, through the train station:
The patriotic flags were up all over:
Oh golly, my belly is soooo big – just let me lean against this wall for a moment:
There are fountains all over Zurich – all different shapes – some old and some new. This one was modern and sculptural. They usually have a little spout near the ground so doggies can get a drink too.
Fresh as a flower:
Uetikon is the next town to our north. It’s another cute little town with lots of character. We checked out the fabric store there on Friday. The fabric store is small but it has everything I would need for projects: all types of fabric including a good selection of patterned and solid cottons, some beautiful wool felt, lots of notions and pretty ribbons, even patterns. The prices, of course, are a bit steep. So I think I’ll concentrate on using up my fabric stash and just go there if I need something to complete a specific project.
Here are a couple photos from our walk through Uetikon. The churches in towns our size all seem the same. It’s like they ordered them from a kit – they all have that same blue clock face. This one looked so pretty surrounded by dandelions.
Here’s a tiny architectural detail on a house we walked by. It’s a little man that holds the shutters open. I wonder how old he is.
I’ve finally used one of the oliver + s patterns that Brian got for me. This is the 2+2 Blouse and I really enjoyed the pattern. All the good comments I’ve heard about oliver + s patterns were true. It was easy to follow and I felt like I was having a sewing lesson while I put the shirt together. I also felt the way the pattern was designed was more creative and clever than other patterns I’ve used from the big name pattern makers. It’s almost as if those big name pattern makers have been using the same patterns for the last 50 years and they are just getting more and more watered down without any improvements or thoughtfulness going into them.
All that said – I am feeling grumpy because I’ve just made a nice little shirt that will probably never be worn. Bea hangs out and plays with buttons or pushes her cars around the floor while I sew lately. That’s nice. But when I told her I was making a shirt for her she said “I don’t like it”. Aaargh! She is so opinionated lately. I know she just wants some control over part of her life, but still, it drives me nuts. There are only about 3 things in her nice wardrobe that she ever wants to put on. It’s a major struggle when it happens to be chilly outside and I insist that she wear pants. I guess I should have her choose some fabric for the next thing I make for her. I just get so tired of the bright sugary pink that she is drawn to. Where does that pink obsession come from?
So here’s the shirt – it still has markings on it and it needs buttons down the back. I think it would be great with some little jean shorts this summer. It’s made from some inexpensive fabric that I found in the remnants section at Vogue Fabrics back in Evanston. I miss that big grungy store – but we might go over to the next town this afternoon to check out a fabric store that I found online. I need some flannel to match some fabric I have for a baby blanket. Maybe I should just give up on sewing for Bea for the moment and make some stuff for my next baby while she has no opinions.
Only Daddy can make Bea laugh and smile like this. Here he is invoking his gossip girl characters. He has a high pitched little gossip voice for these three matching Fisher Price ladies.
Oh and yes – she is wearing that polka dot dress again. I can’t explain it.
It really makes me feel like a Mom, and a grown-up for that matter, to have a whole room dedicated to children. We had an office slash kid room before, but now we have a full fledged kid’s room. We cleaned up and put some stuff on the walls today. We’re developing a bit of a bug theme on Bea’s side of the room. We hung up our world map – good for pointing out where grandmas and grandpas live and where we live now. We have a big ladybug pillow from IKEA. And we put up our paper bumble bee that we found at The Paper Place in Midland. I love how her doll house looks on the church rummage sale dresser. We’ll renovate that house someday. We made a paper bumble bee garland to hang in front of the curtains. I finally finished the curtain for the bottom part of Bea’s bed – it makes it a private little space just for her. We read books down there before bedtime – we even installed a light. I’m really enjoying making the room a bright and comforting spot and I love seeing Bea happy in her big girl bed. Lately after we tuck her in she insists on “reading” for a while. She takes the three books that we read and re-reads them to herself. I stand outside her door listening to her sweet animated rendition of each story. I also like the idea that she may be developing a love of books. I can almost picture my teenage Bea reading in her bed late into the night and having to nag her to turn her light out. A mom can hope… right?
Guess which gift I was more excited about.
A: A lovely gift of chocolates from my husband in celebration of our anniversary. They’re from Spruengli – the very traditional and very yummy chocolate shop in Zurich. Did I mention that they are extremely yummy.
B: A bag of brown sugar from one of Brian’s good co-worker friends. He brought it back from the US in his suitcase. Essential for most cookie recipes. Cheap and easy to find in the US, but harder to come by here in Switzerland. And of course not cheap.
As you might have guessed I am more ga ga about the brown sugar (sorry honey). It’s the little things that I miss so far. I can’t go much longer without some comforting homemade cookies. In fact I was just about to order some brown sugar from one of the online American food stores for expats. I would have paid about $3.00 plus lots in shipping costs. Tonight I will be going through my recipes and Bea and I will be baking tomorrow. We can’t wait for the scent of cookies to fill the house and for a taste of fresh from the oven warm soft cookies. Now I just need to get my hands on some molasses. I’ll order some soon.
As you can see I’m really suffering in this third world country.
Maybe it’s this sugar loving baby in my tummy that’s making me crave cookies and…
American candy bars. I paid about $2.50 for this little candy bar – um, I mean the candy bar that was formerly and briefly in that package – today. Another weak moment.
Laowai 