NO-alcohol-vember

Over the last couple months I've found myself over indulging in the vino, I think it became more of a habit than anything else. I became tired of being tired all the time and waking up with a thudding headache and dry mouth.

Since Movember doesn't really apply to girls, except for putting up with that itchy fluff on the top lip, I decided to turn it into NO-alcohol-vember... no alcohol AND coffee for the month of November. That makes for a very long month.

See you on the other side!

Thailand for Christmas

About a months ago the husband and myself started talking about what we were going to do for Christmas. We could feel the Swiss winter sneaking up on us and the last thing we felt like was another cold, dark Christmas. We had a couple ideas, visit family in LA, stay in Switzerland and do the Glacier Express, Egypt and the late comer to the list, Thailand.

To help us make a decision we drew up a spreadsheet to compare expenses and duration of stay for each destination. Surprisingly, or maybe not, staying in Switzerland and spending 3 nights in the Swiss Alps worked out the most expensive. Next came LA and then Egypt, Thailand worked out the least expensive for the most number of days... how could we say no to that, add in the sunshine and beach and Thailand is our winner :)

Once we made our decision we booked flights with Swiss and Stu got in touch with a place he stayed on Ko Phayam, Ranong, Bamboo Bungalows whislt he was volunteering in Thailand a few years back. So flights and accommodation are booked, and then the floods hit. We are watching the situation closely but we are confident that we will be ok as long as BKK remains open!

So very excited to get to Thailand and relax for 8 days.

Norma Elizabeth Peckover

On June 15, 2011 I lost one of my most favourite people on this earth... my granny! She had a spirit like no other, you could always be sure she would tell it to you like it was and the stubbornness would shine through constantly!

I miss her incredibly... I miss hearing her laugh, her hugs and her greeting me with, "Hello my Robs". I miss making her laugh so much she would wet herself. I am very sad my children won't get to meet her but thankful she did get to meet and bond with Stu and was there to witness our wedding. My birthday has just come and gone and what hit me hardest was the fact that a birthday card from her didn't arrive... she really is gone!

Granny, you are always in my thoughts, love you lots and lots.

I left my wisdom in Budapest

My wisdom teeth have been a constant problem in my life since they first peeked out my gums 7 years ago. Whilst living in Colorado I had one removed because it was impacted and causing infection. Over the summer it was finally the turn of the remaining 3 to be ejected from my mouth.

Living in Switzerland is an expensive habit and when it comes to dental work, it's extortion. Stu suggested we go to Budapest to have my dental work done. So I did some research and got a few quotes back on having 3 wisdoms removed and a laser teeth whitening done. The quotes were cheap, we worked out that for the price of having 3 wisdoms removed in Switzerland we could get a week holiday in Budapest for both of us including the dental work. I booked an appointment with Kreativ Dental, found a cute little apartment, booked plane tickets and off we went.

The dentist office was very professional and pretty fancy complete with huge fish tanks, comfy chairs and an internet cafe. The dentist was friendly, spoke very good English and had a pretty good sense of humour, thankfully! The whole experience as far as the dentist is concerned was painless and cheaper than expected, but the pain was extremely painful and left me looking like a squirrel smuggling nuts.

Budapest itself is a beautiful city... so cosmopolitan in some ways and very much third world in others. Unfortunately the weather wasn't kind to us and it rained almost everyday but in hindsight it was probably for the best as I was in so much pain I didn't really feel up to sightseeing. I can't say this was the most memorable trip I've ever taken but it served it's purpose and I am not wisdom free :)

Spring has sprung

My blog posts seem to move with the seasons and with the threat of summer in the air i think it's time for another post (although I really should be posting more often), especially as i'm sitting on my balcony in a patch of sun. The last couple of weeks in Zurich we've had more and more sunshine and less and less cold and grey which makes me happy :) all the trees are starting to get their shoots and my spring tulips are growing fast! With Spring/Summer comes a change of atmosphere in Switzerland, the country comes alive with people spending as much time as possible outside... cafes sprout up all over the place, late picnics by the lake, frisbee in the park and of course, braais on the balcony... Summer in Europe rocks :)

Stu and i are looking at our options for our European summer holiday this year and although I would kill to chill out on some tropical island somewhere, our holiday this year has to unfortunately include some dentist work for me, so it looks like Budapest for us but we plan to extend it to include Vienna and Krakow as well. Anyway for now it's just in the planning phase, so we shall see what we come up with :)

I'm going to get back to soaking up the sunshine... have a fantastic Sunday :)

One year on...

This week is a year since my permanent arrival to Switzerland, I can barely believe it's been a year already... they say, time flies when you are having fun... well it hasn't always been fun but it's definitely been a year to remember!

The first half of the year was difficult... it was cold, very cold and grey, i also had the stress of organising our wedding and adjusting to living in a new country whose native language is not English and where foreigners aren't exactly welcomed with open arms (i was even attacked by a little old lady in the supermarket... probably my lowest point)! But summer arrived and things just got better from there... I had made some awesome friends i met through afternoon drinks and the sun was shining, how could things not get better! :)

Now, things are pretty good even though winter is back and so is the cold, very cold and grey! The main reason for the change is the fact that i have a job now... thanks to my fabulous friend Paula who hooked me up with the job, i am now a teacher at a preschool for English speaking kiddies, McTots and i'm loving it! :) It's a great feeling to be able to earn my own money and contribute to the household finances, it also gives me something to do during the day, not sure i'm cut out to be a stay at home housewife... all is good in the world again :)

So here is to another good year of cheese, chocolate, skiing and wine in Switzerland... I've already had my residency permit extended for another year, so there is nothing stopping me now :)

As the first snow falls

It seems summer is slowly but surely coming to an end, to great sadness... i'm not sure i'm ready for cold, dark and grey! The first snowfall of the season has already fallen on the Alps and yes, it is beautiful but it signals the end of the long summer days, the end of winding down the day sitting along the river with a beer and the end of wearing slops :(

Although not a particularly hot summer except for about 3 weeks where the temps were getting into the 30s... i think it's the long days of blue sky and sunshine that i love more than the heat.

From paddling and swimming in the lake, jumping off the bridge into the river fully clothed, picking raspberries, riding bikes along the lake, hiking in the Swiss country side or up to the highest point in Zürich (Ueitliberg) to joining in the festivities of Zürifest and Streetparade, summer has been eventful and i look forward to next summer! :)

Please come back quick :P

Beautiful, stunning, gorgeous Croatia

After my first taste of Europe in the summer (Bonjour France) i wanted more! Stu and i try to stick to a rule of going to countries we haven't been to but this is proving to be a little tricky here in Europe because he has been almost everywhere i want to go! In my search for a place in Europe with sunshine, water, sunshine, where Stu hasn't been, sunshine, visa friendly to me and sunshine, I stumbled upon Croatia. I was immediately won over by the photos of beautiful coastlines, over 300 days of sunshine a year and the fact that Croatia has relaxed it's visa requirements for the summer, allowing people with Schengen resident permits in without needing a visa which i would ordinarily need having a SA passport.

After some research we decided on the island of Hvar and i managed to find a gorgeous, reasonably priced apartment with the most amazing view of Hvar Town (the website does not do the apartment justice). So with flights booked and research done on exactly how to get from Split airport to the port of Hvar we were off!

For those interested, the quickest and easiest way to get to Hvar from Split is:

• As soon as you walk out of the airport there is a Croatian Airlines bus which takes you to the port of Split for Kn 30 each
• The bus drops you off directly outside the ticket booth where you buy your ticket to Hvar on the Catamaran at Kn 47 each (the tickets can't be prebooked or bought online, so get there early, they do sell out)
• During the summer there are only 2 catamarans a day... 11:30 and 15:00, so try plan your flights to get you there a few hours before those times or you'll have to spend a night in Split.
• While you are waiting on your catamaran take a walk through the old town of Split... it's amazing

Some of the old town of Split

As soon as we disembarked from the catamaran we were hit by the beauty of Hvar... a port jam packed with Superyachts, a riviera lined with bars and cafes and gorgeous, sunkissed people everywhere. Even more stunning was the view from our apartment... we both just sat and stared out over the beautiful, little port town.

The view by day from our apartment

The view by night... i just can't get enough of it

Our 3 full days were filled with a Sea kayaking trip to the Paklinski Islands, where we did some snorkelling amongst the superyachts and had lunch at a quaint restaurant on the water in a small cove. It was tough on the arms and legs but a great experience. Laying in the sun with a book and beer on a secluded pebble beach about a mile outside of Hvar Town... stunning. Sailing from Hvar to the island of Vis, where we snorkelled in the Green cave and had a wonderful homecooked meal on board the yacht. It was a fantastic day spent at sea with the wind in our hair :)

Our mode of transport for the day mored outside the Green cave

Both Stu and i were very reluctant to board the catamaran back to Split, Hvar is a beautiful island with stunning weather, friendly people (mostly) and the sight of all those Superyachts is just amazing. Some of them can be chartered for as much as €500 000 per week... maybe in my next life ;)

Hmmm... which one to chose ;)

More photos :)

Bonjour France

Now for my first venture into France :) We were invited by Glen and his family (friends of Stu's) to join them for a long weekend in a small village in Normandy. We decided to leave a day earlier to spend some time in Paris, for my benefit of course :) SO with train tickets in hand and a very kind offer from Liz for us to stay at her place in Paris... off we went.

Paris was an eyeopener for me... lots of hustle and bustle, people everywhere, a big different from Zurich, which is a tiny city compared with Paris! We had less than 24 hours in Paris and I was determined to make the most of it! We walked through the streets of the "dodgy" part of Paris, up to Montmarte, stared at the view of Paris from the steps in front of the magnificent Basilique du Sacré Coeur, stood in the middle of the Arc de Triomphe with the crazy traffic whizzing around us and finally made it to the Eiffel tower... what a whirlwind, it really bought the tourist out of me ;)

Doing amazing tricks with the backdrop of Paris

The middle of the Arc

Ain't she a beauty...

Next stop Normandy and the quaint little village of Crocy. We stayed in a very cute old blacksmith's cottage, surrounded by farm animals and countryside! It was a lovely and relaxing weekend spent with Stu's friends... we drank lots of French wine, ate lots of French cheese and bread and just enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere :)

Our Crocy cottage... gotta love country living

Thank you to Glen and your family for inviting us and being such great hosts :)

More photos :)

Is that the sun i see?

After what seemed like a neverending stream of cold and grey days, the big, burny thing in the sky is starting to make a regular appearance and the trees and plants are responding by turning a lighter shade of green :) Winter was hard, more because of the lack of sunshine than the cold... the benefit of cold is fresh and fluffy snow... well before it turns to black sludge that is!

Flowers are popping up everywhere

I'm really looking forward to summer in Europe... the atmosphere changes dramatically, everyone is out and about, spending long nights sitting in beers gardens along the river, swimming in the lake, hiking the beautiful hills of Switzerland and soaking up the vitamin D :) hopefully we'll be making use of my Schengen resident card by doing some travelling around Europe... stay tuned!

Even our balcony got a makeover in time to welcome summer

Looking back on THE wedding

It's been over a month now since the BIG day and i thought it was about time i did a little recap on the day itself and the organising that went into the day. Weddings are a very important milestone in any relationship and some people signify that by spending an astranomical about of money and time on their big day. Our wedding was very important to us but i couldn't justify the cost of hiring a fancy wedding planner and leaving everything to them... so bring in myself! One great thing about organising a wedding yourself is that you get exactly what you want and you appreciate it a whole lot more.

My 3 biggest challenges were finding the perfect venue, deciding on food and bringing my ideas for decor together.

Venue: We wanted the wedding to be on a beach in Durban... not just overlooking a beach or next to one but on the actual sand. I did large abouts of research and the "normal" venues would only allow the ceremony on the beach and they cost an arm and a leg. Eventually i stumbled upon Beachbums, a small restaurant and backpackers right on the beach 40 mins north of Durban. After much to-ing and fro-ing and some stress things came together perfectly :)

Food: We wanted to create a very relaxed atmosphere at our wedding (having a wedding on the sand is a good start) and I wanted to introduce the American visitors to true Saffer culture. What better way to do that than with a braai, complete with pap and chakalaka! :)

So now we have a venue on the sand just metres from the breaking waves and a braai, the next thing to bring together was the decor.

Decor: While deciding on a venue, both Stu and i had one request each... he wanted tiki torches and i wanted paper lanterns. Both worked perfectly with the decor i had in mind... chilled out chic :) my vision was to have a collection of different clear bottles on each table with a flower in each, surrounded by tealights to form the centre piece, white table clothes and hessian table runners, paper lanterns hanging from the roof of the tent and sand underfoot... the result was even better than i could have imagined :)

And what would a wedding on the beach be like without a jumping castle ;) i decided to add a jumping castle just to add to the relaxed atmosphere and it was a huge hit, not just with the little kids but with the big kids as well :)

Unfortunetly the one thing we could not control was the weather and when having an outdoor wedding you are at the mercy of the weather gods... thankfully we had no rain, but man did the wind blow. Stu's only disappointment of the evening was the fact that it was to windy to light his beloved tiki torches!!

It was a fantastic day, enjoyed by everyone, especially Stu and i... that's the main thing :) A huge thank you to everyone who celebrated the day with us, especially Stu's friends and family that made the long trip from the states... it was amazing meeting you all :)

Intriguing stenciling in Zürich

I mentioned in a previous post about the abundance of graffiti in Zürich. The graffiti is fascinating and ever changing... the colours and the messages are definitely eye catching but i've discovered a smaller form of graffiti that i find intriguing and in some way... beautiful, stenciling of small figures and messages that pop up in the most random places.

Below are some photos of stenciling i've found, but i'm always on the lookout for more :)

2009... the year that was

Another year has come to an end... this decade has flown by, 10 years since i finished school and by golly it has been an interesting, exciting and adventurous decade! From working and travelling around the UK and the states to getting married and moving to Switzerland, as well as doing a self drive trip from South Africa to Northern Kenya and back... many tales to tell :)

2009 was a good year, with many important events or milestones (which ever is more applicable) taking place... fell in love, got married, completed my degree, survived long distance and moved to Switzerland... all and all, not complaints from my side :)

Looking ahead to 2010, it's going to be a busy year... at the moment i'm knee deep in wedding planning (which has it's fair share of ups and downs), we also have a few other trips we want to squeeze in this year including the all important honeymoon ;) i also have ambitions to learn German and maybe even find myself a job here in Zurich... right now i'm just focusing on getting the hang of this cold and DIY :)

A very happy 2010 to all my friends and family around the world... keep it real :)

FINALLY :)

So after almost 5 months, loads of blood (well just a suspicious drop on my police clearance certificate), sweat (well stress anyway) and many tears i finally have my shiny new Swiss entry visa in my passport, my one way ticket to Switzerland is booked, i've finished my exams and am ready to go go go :) :) :) i am currently bracing myself for the wall of cold i'm about to hit but finally being able to start my life with my wonderful hubby will make up for everything! :)

So, that's my good news in a nutshell... i have a very busy 5 days coming up including going to the opening game at the brand spanking new Moses Mabhiba stadium, it's going to be a goodie :)

D-day has come...

... and gone! Today is the day i was suppose to phone the Swiss Embassy in Pretoria to get an update on the status of my residency application BUT the second round of documents (Stu was sent a letter from Zurich side requesting documents such as a copy of his lease agreement, a sworn affidavit that he knows me and is married to me and a translated copy of my apparent crimial record) have just been sent off so i know the answer i'm going to get from the Embassy... it has not been approved yet! I'm going to give it another 2 weeks then try...

In the mean time i am knee deep in exams and studying... i have written 2 exams already and have 3 to go. It's been a stressful time but in some tiny way i am thankful for my studying because i don't want to imagine what this time in limbo would be like if i had nothing to do. I want to thank Stu for all the support and encouragement he has given me (like threatening to take away xmas if i fail anything :P) and apologise for being a stress ball at times and taking it out on him... I love you!!

Talking of Stu, he made the long trek over the equator again to spend my birthday with me. We spent a wonderful 3 or so days together in Cape Town. It was a very busy weekend with a drive along the Cape Peninsula where we saw the penguins of Boulders Bay, had lunch in Simon's Town, stumbled into baboons soaking up the spring sunshine and went to the south-western most point of Africa. We also spent a day chilling at the V&A Waterfront with friends and took a quick open-top bus trip around Cape Town, including lunch in Camps' Bay.

I'd like to thank Nic and Jules for letting us stay with them and Lynnie for taking us on a scenic drive :)

Ok, well that's the update on my life right now... i'm just counting down the days til exams are over and i make the move to Zurich... bring on the brrrrrr winter :)

Testing, testing… 1 2 3

I’m trying a new program by Microsoft called Windows Live Writer… apparently i’m suppose to be able to make pretty blogs, so lets give it a go :)

• adding a map – FAIL… tried to insert a map of my current location but apparently only the states exists (not surprising :P)
• adding a picture – PASS… then again all blogs have this function

• adding a photo album – FAIL… seems like you have to upload the photos you want in the album onto a Microsoft based program first (to much extra work when you use another program for web albums)

That’s about enough for me… i haven’t found any real benefits from this program (there are no Sparkle Pony add-ons), my web-based blog program (Blogger) offers the same features and it doesn’t use up memory or space on my little one! So… out with the new and back to the old :)

Talking of little one… Stu bought me a new laptop, affectionately know as “little one” because of it’s size! In this case size is not a disadvantage… little one packs a punch :)

Counting down the weeks

This blog of mine seems to be turning into a visa info blog... i can't wait for the day i don't have a visa issue hanging over my head. To update, i'm still in Durban and it's been 2 weeks since i made the trip up to Pretoria for my date with the Swiss Embassy to hand in my residency application. I was told to wait 8 weeks and then phone them to check on the status of my application... sigh, so we wait some more!!! As things stand now it looks like i'll only be able to make the move to Zurich at the end of Nov or early Dec.

I have been trying to keep myself busy during this time... with studying for my upcoming exams taking up the bulk of my time (writing 5 exams between 30 Oct and 25 Nov), i am also helping out Cllr Warwick Chapman with some of his ward 18 issues, planning our wedding and was planning my school reunion (which was held last Saturday, it was awesome to see and reconnect with some of the girls again).

My husband will be making the trip across the equator in a couple weeks to visit me... YAY :) we will be spending our time together in Cape Town... oh so very excited :) :)

Plan M is in effect

After a couple days of nervous waiting i was told by the Swiss Embassy that yes my Schengen visa will be issued but it'll take a further 4 weeks... 4 weeks i didn't have... SIGH! Once again Stu and i chatted long and hard about the situation, played with a few ideas and scenarios and eventually decided enough was enough with this visa game... we're playing no more. So all flights and booking were cancelled and Stu booked myself a flight to Durbs... he arrives in 10 days :) :)

We've decided to put Plan M into effect... do the marriage paperwork here in Durbs and apply for my Swiss residency permit, enough with these silly tourist visas!! So yes, we are doing things a little differently but it's what works for us... and that's all that matters!


So, here i sit... in Durbs (enjoying the wonderful Durban winter weather), trying to keep myself busy with this and that and procrastinating about studying... nothing new there :P

The visa saga continues

I am currently back in SA on a "visa run". After much research and discussion Stu and i established that i had no choice but to return to SA to reapply for my Schengen visa and to apply for my US tourist visa. We discovered that once a Schengen visa has been issued for a certain duration, it can't be extended in the Schengen region and a new visa has to be applied for... sigh!

So here i am... once again thousands of miles away from the love of my life, waiting around on visas. The day after landing in SA (after a torturous flight full of delays and layovers) i turned up at the US Consulate and applied for my B1/B2 visa... which was intially denied because the lady was not convinced i would be returning to SA. After some pleading i walked out of there empty handed with tears rolling down my cheeks... but whilst on the phone with Stu trying to figure out what's next, the phone rang... it was the lady from the consulate imforming me she had reconsidered and is going to issue me my visa... SIGH!! :) Now my passport and application forms sit at the Swiss Consulate in Pretoria and i await a decision on my visa... not sure how much more visa stress my nerves can handle!!!

Now that i think of it, i didn't actually write a post about my engagement... oops!!!!! I think i just got swept up in everything that i forgot about my poor blog... well Stu and i got engaged on 23 june... i'm very excited about our life together and just can't wait for the "fine print" to be behind us so we can get on with it!! Right now i'm missing him terribly and am just focusing on getting home (that is now Zurich)!

Gruetzi from Zurich

From my previous post you would've picked up that after many months of talk, anxiety and stress i've finally set foot on Swiss soil... and very nice soil it is! Zurich is a beauitful, efficient city, the countryside with it's green rolling hills and cows, just like a scene from Sound of Music and the people are friendly yet quiet... the language (Swiss-German) is a whole nother story.

the Letten down the road from my apartment

It's been 3 weeks now and i think i've settled nicely into the role of house-girlfriend... my days consist of cleaning, laundry, gorcery shopping, studying, exploring the city and cooking for my wonderful boyfriend, who spends his days working hard (had to add that because i know he'll read this at some point) :) the only thing i'm battling with is the language... but that'll come with time!

During my time here i've made a few observations about the city:

• For a city that is so health and environmentally concious... this is obvious from all the effort that goes into recycling and the number of "normal" sized people on the streets (after my stint living in the states, it was one of the first things i noticed... very few obese people), the Swiss are very relaxed on the smoking issue, most places still allow smoking indoors and in public places, the smoking of weed is also not frowned on and there is a wiff of weed almost everywhere you go (yes, i know what it smells like)!
  

• Sex shops and Erotica clubs can be found on almost every corner (something like McDonalds)... apparently the Swiss have a "healthy" interest in sex, this comes as a surprise considering how tame the Swiss seem to be, obviously this all changes behind closed doors!
  

• Graffiti is another surprise, the Swiss seemed to have imbraced these random, colourful scribles that find themselves on public and private walls... they have graffiti zones in Zurich where people are free to express themselves to their hearts' content, in my opinion a good move... and it actually brightens up some areas that have the potential to be pretty dreary looking.

• Swiss wine... or wii (Swiss-german)/wein (German), it's one of the best kept secrets of Switzerland but it wasn't kept from me for very long, they make some awesome wines... what a combination, Swiss chocolate, cheese and wine :) on my to-do list... exploring the wine making regions of Switzerland.
  

All in all, Switzerland so far has met up to all those expectations i've been holding onto for many years... i do need to spend some time in the countryside, get aquainted with the cows and their bells and experience the magic of the Alps... but that will all come in good time.

a storm moving in over Zurich

the See (pronounced say) with the Alps in the background

Next on the agenda... sorting out my visa issues, my life would be empty without a visa problem hanging over my head!

Just a little side note... this is my 100th blog post, yay me... keep on reading :)