Goodbye London, Hello Switzerland!

Hi again! We took some random photos in London

before the big move to Zurich. I baked Derek a cake

for the first time in London. It is a two layer and look how

thin it is. Baked goods don't rise as well in London because

you are pretty much at sea level. It is frustrating for a baker.

This is my favorite house in our Kensington neighborhood.

The picture does not really do it justice.

Here I am in my favorite Mews in our old neighborhood.
London is sending us off properly with rain!



Again in the Mews but with the pretty church.


This was our favorite breakfast place
in Kensington. We went every Saturday that
we were in London. It is called Kensington Square Kitchen.
Mmmmm.


Here I am with my candied fig porridge and
a cup of coffee from Monmouth Coffee in Borough Market.

We had to say goodbye to one of my absolute favorite

places - Whole Foods Kensington. This place was amazing.

It put the ones in the states to shame. Oh how I miss thee!

We even got yelled at for taking pictures by secutiry!

This is Kensington Square. Yes, the restaurant that I mentioned

from above is on the square.

And what would saying goodbye be without a

picture of our local Underground stop.
I do NOT miss the underground!!

So, here we are in Switzerland. This is the view from

our living room in our new apartment. Zurich Lake,

mountains and trees - a little different!

This is our kitchen area.

Kitchen again.

Living area with part of the balcony.

In the middle of the photo just poking out from behind

the trees you can see Mount Rigi.
Mt. Rigi is a great place for fun and recreation right in the very heart of Switzerland. It is one of Switzerland's most favourite excursion destinations with a breathtaking panoramic view of the Alps and offers 120 kilometres of hiking and nordic walking paths, covered picnic areas, playgrounds for children, skiing and tobogganing, nostalgic steam trains and a great variety of events and adventures.

And then there is relaxation time with
my cats! I am so gald to have them here.

They are adjusting fabulously and keeping

tired, pregnant me company during the day.

Here I am at about 32 weeks. Getting bigger!

Even Chloe enjoys the weiss wurst. Maybe she

has German roots as well!

So, in English this is the Pretzel King. It is right

outside my train stop and is one of my favorite

snack places. Who knew a pretzel could be so good?

Pretty fountain outside the Stadelhofen train station.

And yet another one of my favorite snack places.

Movenpick Swiss ice cream. Just what the pregnant

lady ordered!!

View of downtown Zurich from the Burkliplatz area.

Another view of the city with the Grossmunster.
The Grossmünster ("great minster") is a Romanesque-style church that played an important role in the history of the Protestant Reformation. It is one of the three major churches of Zurich (the others being the Fraumunster and St. Peterskirche). The core of the present building near the banks of the Limmat River was constructed on the site of a Carolingian church, which was, according to legend, originally commissioned by Charlemange. Construction of the present structure commenced around 1100 and it was inaugurated around 1220.

A photo of me with the Swiss and Zurich flags.

We were actually at a celebration called Sechselauten.

It is a celebration of the end of winter and the beginning

of spring. Derek even had the day off! There were street
vendors everywhere and Derek had to have some raclette.

Raclette is both a type of cheese and a dish. Usually the top

layer of a huge cheese round is melted and the scraped

off and served with potatoes (as Derek has here) or vegetables
like gherkins, onions, tomaotes, mushrooms or died meats.
It is quite tasty!

These are some of the horses used for the Sechselauten
parade. It was the longest parade I have ever encountered.

It was over 3 hours long - thank goodness I was pooped and decided

to go home and watch it on TV. I took a nap while it was on!

Some of the kids from the parade. In the parade

men and now women dress up in traditional guild costumes.

And this is the Boog. Yes, it ia a huge snowman on top of
straw that is lit on fire and burned. The Swiss time how long it
takes for the head of the Boog to blow up. If it blows up quickly
then it will be a good summer. Kind of like a Groundhog Day thing.

Now we are back in our little villiage of Meilen.
This is the Banhof or train station. I promise to take

more pictures of Meilen soon. We just really haven't

explored our little town on foot yet.

We are really enjoying our new home. It is much easier to get

around then in London. And that is important for the weeks and months

ahead with heavily pregnant me and then little baby Beckman's arrival!
Also, much cleaner and you can't beat the scenery!

Love to all,

Leah and Derek