Switzerland - Two and a third months in

Longtime, no blog. My flat does not have internet and it feels strange staying late at work to do too much internet stuff. I move into a new flat this weekend, so dear readers, I should update more frequently (I know you have read that here before)! In other exciting news, I have been at my job for 3 months, and have passed my "trial period." In April I will go to Spain (twice!) and play my first team tournament in Switzerland.

The Blue Diversion Toilet, developed by an interdisciplinary team at my workplace was in an art exhibit about re-designing slums. The exhibition was at the Löwenbräu-Areal, an historical industrial building that now houses several galleries. This was really neat because there were so many types of art on display. It was also cool to meet colleagues from other departments. The exhibition was curated to from work out of the engineering/architecture school – conceptualizing an ideal shack and contemplating how to get folks to agree to realign their dwellings, so that roads and pipes could be installed (highly unlikely, in my opinion). The toilet was not the focus (in some ways it seemed like an afterthought) and a lot of people were confused about what it was, one woman said, “Look, a shower!” (It was designed for washers and wipers.)

The trail.

We’ve had a warm winter here in the city, but just outside there is plenty of snow! I went with some ladies from ultimate to Studen for some cross-country skiing (skate style). During our introductory lesson, everyone went around and explained their skiing background; almost everyone had downhill skied before. I was the only one with just waterskiing on my resume  The lesson was okay, but the instructor stressed to me that I needed to start slowly in this sport since everyone else had some knowledge of how to get around/balance on skis.  I am not a natural, but got into a pretty good groove. Or so I thought… I got to a little hill, fell over (well, not over… my legs started drifting apart), and had an elderly woman tell me that, “Maybe you should just get into the classic tracks.” I told here that I has no idea how that was supposed to work and could not handle anything else new right then.

I'm always on the lookout for toilets these days!

A well earned bowl of Gerstensuppe after a long day in the snow.

Yum! I ate this in a most unladylike fashion.
In public.

I went to Sweden on my second business to trip. It was great to catch up with my buddies and see my new university and visit my old one. Bonus: it was Semla-time! (part of the feasting season before Lent) A semla is a little bit like a dens doughnut, filled with almond goop and topped off with whipped cream. I also went to the doctoral defense of my master thesis adviser. This was important so that I could get a sense of how a Swedish defense flows (there is an actual opponent!) and it was nice to see other aspects of my adviser’s work.

Answering tough questions.

Controversial art on the library at Karlstad Uni.

I also went to Bern for Bundesbeach, an indoor beach ultimate hat tournament. This was a great introduction to the broader Swiss ultimate scene. Everyone seemed to know everyone else. I signed up (by mailing in a postcard) while I was still in the US this past autumn and while I know people who play with both of the clubs in Zurich, I didn't know if anyone I knew was going. As I asked in the first empty seat I saw on the train was free I looked up and found that I was talking to two of the guys who run one of the practices in the city. As we got off the train in Bern, we ran into friends from the other Züri club. So I would not be totally socially without bearings for the weekend. My team meshed together really well and didn't lose until the semi-finals, where we blew a 3 point lead :), but we won the 3rd place game. The party was in a cool student-ish house with a shiny DJ. I left in the middle, because it was Karneval and my officemate’s band was playing at a bar downtown. There was quite a line, so I couldn't get in, but it was cool to see all of the festivities, confetti, costumes, marching bands, and the capitol lit up at night.

The streets and trains were covered.

One of the tamer band costumes.

The DJ/band at the tournament party was an entertaining
enough alternative to seeing my co-worker's band.

One of the prettiest places I have worked out!

The next weekend, I went with the women’s team I will be playing with for a pre-season team bonding retreat. We took a cable-car up a mountain, ate some traditional Swiss food, were awoken by a kids’ slalom race, played tons of cheesy team building games, hiked to a beautiful, tiny chapel, and did an intense workout on Sunday morning (at my other training on Monday, I couldn't do proper sit-ups, not because I was tired, but because my muscles ached so much).

Älplermagronen: Pasta, potatoes, onions, cheese and
cream, topped off with applesauce! SO GOOD!
This is what maccaroni and chees aspires to be.

View from the Chapel. There might be some famous
mountains in sight, but my Swiss-German isn't quite up to
scratch, yet!

Birchermüesli: let raw oatmeal, fruit and nuts soak
 in milk and/or yogurt for at least a half hour and enjoy!

The grayness of Züri has finally broken… it was broken, it put itself back together for two days of rain and hail, but the few days of sun make me really excited for summer and being in the city to relax on the weekends, which I may not be doing very much, because I just got our training/tournament schedule. When put together with my work calendar, I only have 5 free weekends from now until mid-August.

Switzerland - Sneaky with the dairy

Leave it to Switzerland to create a dairy-based soft-drink. This hard to find outside of Switzerland beverage is made with 35% milk serum -- more familiarly known as whey (thanks Ms. Muffett).

I guess it makes sense to utilize a byproduct of one of your country's most famous commodities (even though cheese accounts for less than a third of a percent of Swiss exports). It was a little disappointing that there was no protein in this dairy-ish drink

The taste was puzzling. I did not initially know that it had milk products in it, as a friend simply recommended trying it. After a few sips I asked a co-worker what it was supposed to taste like and it was explained to me that is was like lemonade with milk serum... I don't know if it is actually lemon flavored, because the label just says 'natural flavors.'  I guess that if I am ever in a situation where it is served, I would drink it, but I don't link I will seek it out again. Also slightly concerning was that there were no refrigeration instructions for after the bottle had been opened. 

Switzerland - Week One

I arrived last Thursday morning and one of my flatmates helped me carry my stuff from the train station (wouldn't have made it otherwise. They had prepared my room. It was all white down to the tulips on the windowsill. (More colorful accoutrements have since been purchased.)

There was a photoshoot at work today for a toilet. It literally took the whole day. This toilet is a big deal- it's part of the Gate's Foundation Reinvent the Toilet Challenge.

I have attended practices of two ultimate teams!

New Jersey, USA

After Grandma's party dad and I drove to Raleigh, where we spent the night at an Uncle and Aunt's place then took off for New Jersey Monday morning. Dad and I have spent a lot of time together in the prius (see all the excitement of out journey from Breckenridge to Charlotte near the end of this post) and I have gotten really good at navigating the satellite radio stations.

We arrived safely and spent the next few days preparing for the upcoming festivities: grocery shopping, getting mani-pedis (the upselled us to gel manis... quite the rip off), accessorizing our wedding outfits (this means buying warm things, as it was an outdoor evening ceremony in November). Dad and I even hit up the local fishing hole, but had no luck -- even though they had stocked the pond that morning. It was the most miserable fishing experience of my life, and I didn't even fall in-- cold, rainy and no bites. We also ate at Jim's Lunch, a south Jersey institution with a special sauce.

My cheeseburger

with onions and sauce. Tasty!

For Thanksgiving I made a coconut ganache pie. It had pressed and toasted coconut for the crust, a layer of homemade carmel, and dark chocolate filling. I might get disowned for saying this, but it was too rich. Thanksgiving spread covered the basics: turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. All delicious! I was able to talk my dad into making some broccoli, so there would be some non-starch veggies. My Uncle Todd's plate was filled with all white food! Dessert was great: pumpkin pie, apple pie, my pie and reese's pieces cupcakes. Plus we went over to my dad's cousin's house where his extended family had gathered where there was spice cake, more pies and cookies.

My pie

The sugar caramelizing!

The Fam around the table!

After all that food, we had to get up the next day and get all fancied up for my cousin Megan's wedding. It was so cold at the ceremony, but they had a hot coco station, so there was a little bit of warmth. The ceremony was celebratory and casual, with lots of clapping and wooooo-ing. We were able to get a full family shot during the cocktail hour and several informal photos during the reception. The food during the cocktail hour was, as Meg would say, slammin'. They were so impressive that there was some scandalous discussion about if there would be a dinner to follow. Apparently, dinner is standard at northern weddings. There was dinner and it was tasty as well. My little sister also taught me how to order a martini -- she is so fancy and cosmopolitan. My family hit up the photobooth and we even got my dad out on the dance floor. His lack of moves made me feel better about mine, but also worried that I looked like him :)

All of the cousins!

Happy family!

Saturday we said goodbye to my mom and sister and went fishing with some of my dad's college buddies (for being a small southern school, Pfeiffer sure had a lot of kids from New Jersey). It was so cold, but a pretty day nonetheless. It is the only time I have ever outfished my dad! We fished for about four hours without a hit. Then I pulled in a little sucker fish-- it's not a trout, so doesn't usually count, but we were just happy to have gotten a fish. On my next cast, I brought in a 14 inch rainbow. A few minutes later, my dad caught a rainbow. Not long after, it was getting chillier and we hadn't gotten any more strikes, so we headed back to the car. That little suckerfish turned out to be the tie breaker! Dad usually out catches me 2:1 (or worse), so I need to celebrate the little victory!

The tie-breaking fish!

Sunday we joined one of dad's cousins and her husband's family to make grave blankets out of evergreens and holly to place on relatives' gravestones. Apparently, someone will probably steal these pretty soon, but I really like the new-to-me heard lots of good stories about my family and those of the others who went with us.

North Carolina, USA

Shortly after I accepted the position in Switzerland, I flew home to the US. I wanted to experience an American autumn (and all of its holidays) and didn't want to spend my savings living in Stockholm's gloomy winter. This means three months with my parents. Because I went to boarding school for part of high school and spent my summers in college interning abroad, I haven't been at home for that long in about ten years.

Mom with some trick-or-treaters (a witch, frog, and functional transformer!)

My dad retired almost a year ago, so we have been doing lots of retired-man things: going to the grocery store multiple times a day, home improvement/DIY projects, home brewing, and fishing two days a week at my parents' house in Asheville. I'm loving it!

We tiled the mailbox!

This blue heron nabbed our fishing spot. 

Also spending some quality time with mom when she isn't at work!

At the Southern Christmas Show!

Cleaning mom's stitches after her skin cancer removal.
(She's fine! Wear Sunscreen!)

It couldn't all be fishing and beer, after a few weeks, I started working part-time for our neighbour who has a home civil engineering office. She designs parking lots and stormwater management strategies for them. I prepare environmental reports and look up regulations for cities and towns. I also draw schematics of sewer lines!

After two weeks on the job, I had to take a 2 week vacation for Thanksgiving. My dad and I drove to New Jersey for Thanksgiving with his side of the family and the wedding of a cousin that happened on Black Friday (my mom and sister had to work, so they flew in Thursday - Saturday). On the way, we went to my Grandmother's (mom's mom) 80th Birthday Ice Cream Party! Most of the fam was able to make it and it was so nice to be able to see so many folks who have been part of Gma's life.

I also got to see my college friend/flatmate/classmate, Alyssa, while I was in Winston!

Heidelberg and München, Germany

06-07/09 USM: Uppsala, Sweden (coaching)
14-15/09 SM Dam (Women's nationals): Linköping, Sweden
21-23/09 Burla Beach Cup: Viareggio, Italy
26-29/09 eXtended European Ultimate Championship Finals: Bordeaux, France (watching/volunteering)
04-06/10 Oktoberfest Hat: München, Germany

I needed to stop in Heidelberg on my way to Munich because a potential future boss was travelling from Frankfurt to Zurich and thought it would be nice to have a coffee. We met on Tuesday, which left me with Monday for hiking. I've been to Heidelberg before for a conference, so had already done a walking tour and gone up to the castle. So I spend the day on the Philosopher's Way and some other trails nearby that take you around Celtic ruins of a chapel and a monastery. There is also a Nazi amphitheatre on the path.

It's just so darn pretty!

It was a beautiful day reflecting on all of the great times I have had in that corner of the world. The 3 week language camp I attended at the start of my gap year was nearby. My impromptu trip to Amsterdam followed a fantastic weekend in Heidelberg with RISErs. I had a great time hiking in near by Baden-Baden last Spring. I don't think Baden-Württemberg and I are through!

The coffee went okay and I caught a mitfahrgelegenheit (a German carpooling website) to Munich where I met up with Izzy, who played for my team in Stockholm, but not at the same time as me. She took me to get some awesome ice cream (I got two scoops: traditional Bavarian cake and a Doppelbock) before meeting up with other tournament goers and heading to Oktoberfest.

Inside the tent it is all about standing on benches and singing along to the music, which ranges from "Sweet Caroline" to Die Ärzte to Robbie Williams to Traditional German Folk music. This photo and all of the following ones come from Frida.

The next morning, the tournament started and I recognised lots of folks from Burla, which was pretty cool. I was a little preoccupied all morning because I was waiting for a call about a position for which I had applied. The Professor was kind enough to wait until noon to call me because he "knew that I was auf der Wiesn" the previous night... (I'd been awake since 7:30). My team didn't win any games, but they were great people to lose with! Everyone was fun and chill. (At a hat tournament everyone is assigned to a team. They try to have people rate themselves, so the teams are even.) The tournament had one indoor pitch and one outdoor. I greatly preferred the indoor one, because the sand was really cold outside and it was raining a bit.

On Saturday, all of the girls did each other's hair in the locker room. Then I met up with Max, a friend I met through Ultimate in Madrid who recently moved back to his native Munich. He was kind enough to go dress shopping with me before we went to Oktoberfest (he hadn't signed up for the tournament, but we were able to sneak him in). Once in the tent we ran into another Madrid Ultimate person who was also at the tournament, the "other Max", who was there at the same time as me, but played for another team, so we had never met. All of this frisbee nostalgia convinced Max to talk to the organisers and come play on Sunday.

Frida and I getting photobombed by Max and Jens, a German former Stockholm Syndrome who studied at Uni with Max - The ultimate world is pretty small. 

My team did really well on Sunday, winning all of our games! We had an advantage because not all of our players were at the festival the previous night. Of course, Max got added to the team that won the finals.

On the indoor beach ultimate pitch.

I stayed in Munich on Monday to figure out some transportation options because I need to go to Zurich on Tuesday to check out my new office! Starting in January, I will be employed as a PhD student at eawag where I will study the business aspects of their projects in low income countries. The position will require a bit of travel - to field sites for case studies and workshops, to conferences, and back to Sweden where the university that will award my degree is actually located; however, I am really excited about the move and the prospect of living in one place for more than a year. In the meantime, I am heading back to the states... just in time because I just retroactively put up my post from my summer trip there. I hope that Burla and Oktoberfest fit into my travel schedule next year!

Marseille and Bordeaux, France

06-07/09 USM: Uppsala, Sweden (coaching)
14-15/09 SM Dam (Women's nationals): Linköping, Sweden
21-23/09 Burla Beach Cup: Viareggio, Italy
26-29/09 eXtended European Ultimate Championship Finals: Bordeaux, France (watching/volunteering)
04-06/10 Oktoberfest Hat: München, Germany

I left Italy in a car with two other ultimate players who were headed to France. We did some sightseeing in Marseille and continued on (minus the guy who owned a car) to Bordeaux with a covoiturage (a carpooling website in France).

 This should give you a view of Marseille from the cathedral from all angles.

I decided to make a bridge between Viareggio and Munich with xEUCF because I don't have that much going on in Stockholm and it would have been a lot of trips to the airport, so I thought I'd just go watch some higher level club ultimate in France. As a volunteer, I kept time and the score of games, recording the assists and scores of each player. I was able to trade games so I could watch some matches of Sweden's VIF - I have several friends who play for this club, but most of them decided (for reasons of varying legitimacy) not to came to France - and Russia's Cosmic Girls with whom two of my Swedish Fish teammates were playing. The men tied for 5th and the ladies got 4th; both were disappointed in their performance.

An entire Swiss team going to the bathroom together before a match. Unity!
(the only photo I took at the fields...)

I spent the first two nights in a vacant VIF hotel room (some of the players could only come for the weekend) and moved to the free volunteer campsite for the rest of the tourney. I'm pretty sure there were fewer mosquitos at the camping than in the hotel!

After the tournament, I met up with some folks from the Frankfurt team for some sightseeing and crepes, before taking a morning train to Germany.  This was random and incredibly lucky. I was just going to find a hostel near the train station, but the wifi at the camping and hotel were really bad, so I was walking around the city center looking for internet (or a hostel) and ran into someone I knew on the team from Frankfurt, who lives and plays in Stockholm now, and their team took me in for the night!

Overall, volunteering was an okay experience. I met some cool people, but I watched so much ultimate it all just blended together. Someone asked me afterwards what the best game I watched was and it took me quite awhile to come up with an answer.