day 3.

So...Ikea was a smashing success, mostly. Found a couch, some beds, and a few odds and ends that we just couldn't live without, and they'll be delivered to our new apartment on Tuesday. (Which is when we get the keys, YAAY!) It was, however, a truly exhausting shopping experience. And we still have to think about wardrobes/dressers, a dining room table and chairs, coffee table(s), an extra chair for the living room, more lighting...fun times. The older I get, the less I like shopping. However, here are some tidbits from yesterday.

Little color-changey night-lightey guys at Ikea

Levo...?

In other news, today was pretty spectacular: went to have breakfast with a few friends of Lori's, then took a fairly lengthy hike up the side of one of the hills surrounding Zurich, culminating in some fantastic apple strudel and a view of the Alps that was nothing less than truly awesome. (Especially considering that today was a 50-degree day in Switzerland, in February, with not a cloud in the sky. Apparently, this is unheard of, and I've decide that if this is what winters are like here, then I'M STAYING.)

Ice waterfall on hike

Ice waterfall

Looking south from Lake Zurich to the Alps

More Alps

Zurich from Felsenegg

Yes. There is a cow's bottom on my jaeger punch.

To top it all off, we had our first official Swiss fondue for dinner. Gruyere, emmentaler, and tilsiter cheese with garlic, seasonings, and Kirschwein (apparently, a cherry cooking wine that's not good for much else...), and accompanied by bread, potatoes, and pickled onions for dipping. YUM. I'm told we'll suffer for this excess through tomorrow, but I suppose, for now, that it was worth it. We'll see.

And now, to make this my lengthiest post yet: I may not have come into this venture with an open enough mind, because for every article I've read or bit of advice I've been given that says that the Swiss are standoffish, we've encountered someone genuinely helpful and/or nice. Also, everyone we've met who is NOT Swiss has been pretty fantastic, as well: yesterday, it was David (from the UK) and Arlene (spelling not correct - but she's from Ireland), today it was Janna and her mother (Munich) and Janna's boyfriend Gareth (Scotland). Just genuinely nice, fun people that will be a pleasure to get to know.