Auf Wiedersehen, Basel!

We are sad to announce that our trip has been canceled. It's a complicated story of budgets and bureaucracy. Chris and I, and even Layla, had really begun to live this dream and it's a sad loss to recognize that it's not going to happen. We are hopeful that some day we will travel overseas as a family as more than just tourists on a whirlwind trip.

Trying to look at the bright side. Here are some good things to come of this:

1. I can enroll Layla in the "Teddy Bear Picnic" camp at the Lex Res.

2. I can get back to the gym. Put the kids in the gym daycare and work my butt off.

3. We will be able to visit grandparents in Maine and maybe even meet our new cousin, Liam.

4. We can focus on finishing the basement and maybe even enjoying it this summer.

5. Layla no longer has to worry that Josh is going to "fall out of the sky" if he isn't buckled into a carseat.

So, to the two of you out there reading this (hi, Mom!), Auf Wiederluege, and until next time!

A Little Taste of Home

I came across this blog today and was so happy to discover that there is a Vapiano in Basel. We discovered this place in Boston and love that it's a family-friendly place where we can get the kids a pizza or some pasta. I wonder if the staff in Basel makes bunny-shaped pizza like they do here! Of course, like everything in Switzerland, the prices are about 3x what they are in the States. We'll start saving for some pizza now!

What's in a Name?

I think I used that same title to a couple of blog posts when we announced the name of our children.

Well, no children being named here, just some confusion about how Switzerland came to be abbreviated CH. If you're like me, you didn't even know that CH *was* short-hand for Switzerland. Well, it is, and surprisingly, the CH is NOT for 'cheese' or 'chocolate'.

This snippet from Wikipedia explains where the CH comes from:

Switzerland, in its full name the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH)...

Hence the Swiss Franc is the CHF.

And now you know.

It was meant to be

I finally googled this "fasnacht" word that was popping up in lots of different places in my search. Check out this wikipedia entry to find out why I was surprised to find out what my homeland of PA has to do with my summer destination.

Connecting

I am really feeling the Basel love these last few days. I posted a message on the Basel expats' Yahoo group and I have gotten a bunch of responses. People are so helpful! I've connected with a woman who works at a summer program for kids and also with a woman from the Boston area who had all sorts of advice AND has offered to send me her babysitter's contact info. Woohoo!

Big Things and Little Things

As I mentioned before, we have so much to think about. I lie in bed at night, my mind racing about what we will need to pack and what we can buy when we get there, and what we can do without. Once our housing is secured I think that some questions will be answered for us. Novartis is tackling the housing. Hopefully it will be a 2 bedroom apartment. I hear that places there are small, so it could be cozy! Will someone, somewhere (the Novartis gods?) make sure that we have a twin bed and a crib in there when we arrive? Or will we be making an immediate trip to Ikea? Luckily, I located an Ikea less than 20 km from Basel. Then again, without a car, how would we get there?

Because I can't yet answer a lot of the big questions, I decided to take care of something much more trivial....water shoes! I was at my favorite resale shop, Growing Up, in Belmont, and found good water shoes for both kids this summer. I have no clue what type of swimming or water activities we will be doing over there, but at least now we are prepared! So....water shoes....check. Everything else that really matters....no checks.

Planning, planning, planning!

We finally got our summer in Basel, Switzerland approved. 8 whole weeks! We are so excited about this opportunity, but know that there is lots to think about before June 25th. Check back often to see how stressed I am as the school year winds down and our summer winds up! You can also follow me on pinterest to see some of the cool spots and activities I've found.