First Weekend

While we have ideas for some big outings in the future, we decided to stay local this weekend.  There was a decent amount of rain predicted for Saturday and I wanted to become more familiar with navigating the city. Saturday morning we did what people the world over frequently do when it rains, we went to the mall.  We caved and got McDonald's for lunch.  The combination of the kids' pickiness and Layla's allergy really does impact our decisions about where and what to feed them.  (It also helps keep our waistlines from expanding too much; I have seen sooo many amazing looking desserts here, but since Layla can't have them, I haven't tried one for myself yet.)  McDonald's was the first place I used one of Layla's allergy cards. The girl behind the counter understood right away, and it was nice that the McDonald's menus actually contain a list of all allergens in their various products.  It may very well be this way in the U.S., too, but we don't do enough fast food at home for me to know.  I am happy to report that a Swiss McDonad's cheeseburger tastes exactly like you would expect it to.

The walk home from the mall includes this:

In the afternoon the kids spent some time riding their bikes and playing with chalk before venturing to the playground next to our complex.  Layla has added a boy Oliver to her list of Switzerland friends, which includes a random boy from the playground on our 2nd day and a girl named Isabel who we met at a restaurant Sunday morning.  Sadly for Layla, she will likely never see these kids again!

Layla demos her bike next to two of the many, many public ping-pong tables in this city.  What?!

Sunday was a much nicer day.  I mentioned previously that our immediate neighborhood didn't have too much to it.  I may have been wrong.  To the right of our building is a large park.  In front of our building is a huge construction area.  I believe they are building the retail site you see in this rendering below.  I think that what you see on the left is the Swiss International School and the building behind the small trees is our complex.  I think.




Kind of right where the grassy park and the dirt lot meet, is a random building with some tables outside but no sign really indicating its use.  We poked our heads in yesterday and found it's an adorable cafe/restaurant/bar called the Bahn Kantine.  We went there for brunch today and will be going back.

We then headed to the world famous Basel Zoo.  I purchased a membership so the kids and I can come back any time.  The zoo is huge, so there are still things we didn't get to see and do, even after a full afternoon there today.

 The kids were beyond excited to find both Dory and Marlin in the same tank!

The penguins from Madagascar!

 Layla was a happy girl viewing her favorite, the flamingos!

 Josh poses with another Swiss Cheese smile :).

Beautiful birds.

Chasing chickens.

Watching the farm animals head in for the night.  These cows were fast!

After a long day at the zoo we headed back to the apartment for dinner and fun in the courtyard.  We met some other children there, including 6 year old Tyler and his 2 year old sister, English speaking kids with no parents to be found. After baths, the kids rounded out their night watching Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith with Chris.  Pretty much a perfect day.

The view from the tram on the way home.

Two tired kids.

More Adventuring!

Today made for a lot of firsts.  Our first trip to see the animals at Lange Erlen Tierpark.  We will be coming back here A LOT!  This place is beautiful and totally free.  There were deer, wild cats, lots of different birds, horses, donkeys, goats, and more.

Our first visit to the Gartenbad Eglisee, our local public swimming pool.  Pics coming later when we actually swim, but this place is amazing.  The woman at the front desk spoke little English but I was able to determine that you can bring your own food in (though there is a restaurant, too), there are lockers, and there is a whole section just for women and young children.  Can't wait to really check it out!

Our first successful visit to the library and the Ludothek, the toy library.  We successfully became library members and we rented balance bikes and some Duplos, that we can keep until we leave!  It is a minor miracle that both children and I all made it home from the Ludothek in one piece, me pushing the stroller and them on their bikes (no helmets), and all of us not fully understanding the rules of the road!

Our first unaccompanied trip on the tram.  We met up with Chris and a coworker at the Novartis campus.  It is a BIG deal to be caught on the tram with no ticket or the wrong ticket, so I have been really paranoid about this.  There is no one on the train that takes your ticket, but once in a blue moon a tram operator might ask to see your pass.  If you don't have the right one then you pay something like 75 CHF.  Starting in July I have a monthly pass, so it will be tough for me to screw up. But until then I have to be super careful that I am doing things correctly.

First visit to the Rhine.  We ate at a nice Italian place.  I am pretty sure that Josh thinks we are in Italy; the kid has eaten pizza just about every day of this trip so far!

Can't wait to see what the weekend holds for us.

A Stranger in a Strange Land

I really don't know how people did things before the internet!  Once again, the Yahoo expat lists come through for us.  I posted a message asking how to get somewhere and the next thing you know, 24 hours later the kids and I are touring the city with a perfect stranger.  Danica is a Californian who has been in Basel for 13 years.  She happened to have the morning free and was so gracious in taking us around. Most importantly, she helped me get two bus/tram/train passes that I will need. And bonus - she invited us to her place for a 4th of July bbq.  Using the tram with her was helpful and I am slowly beginning to feel like I might be able to do it on my own!  

Here's a pic of the kids from our journey today.  You can see my reflection in the window and next to me is Danica.  

Say Swiss cheese!

More Exploring

Today was our first full day in Basel.  Chris went to work, which left me to exploring with the kids.  I still haven't tackled the tram and bus system, so for now we just navigated the sites of Kleinbasel.  And it was all about finding more things to entertain the kids.

Stop #1 this morning: the Ludothek Blaesi.  This is a toy library that allows you to rent items from them for a month at a time.  They weren't open when we arrived but we were able to speak with one of the employees. It sounds really promising and we aim to head back on Friday when they are open.

Stop #2: Horburgpark.  This park is kind of spread out and has three different structures you see below.

Climbing structure with web swing (not pictured).

Really cool slides built into the hill.  Somewhat reminiscent of the slides in Arlington.

The kids played with a really friendly Swiss boy here.  We taught him "Ready, Set, Go!"  Chris has warned me that in Swiss culture it's not ok to photograph other people, so you won't see any pics of the little boy...or anyone else, really.

 Here's the final part of the playground.  Lots of fun things to climb in this country!

Stop #3: Back home. In the afternoon the kids and I eagerly awaited our delivery from Coop At Home.  Apparently the Swiss like really large condiments.  Pretty sure we have enough ketchup for a year!  Layla was happy to discover that they still put prizes in their cereal boxes :).

Stop #4: Lange Erlen.  When Chris arrived home and we'd dined on our fine frozen pizza, we found our way to the nearby German rail station to check out the ATM and the almost 24-hour grocery store (the rest close at 5:30!).  From there we continued to the Lange Erlen Tier Park that I mentioned previously.  We couldn't see many of the animals because it was after hours, but I could tell this is going to be a go-to place for us for sure.  The kids we happy to find this shady playground there.

Late here, so signing off.  Kids had a rough night of sleep last night.  Their poor little bodies don't know if they're coming or going and Josh is trying to make the switch to a big boy bed in this strange new land.  He keeps crying out for his "big house."

This link should show you the walking route we took to Lange Erlen.  We went into Germany for about 2 seconds and then back into Switzerland: http://goo.gl/maps/F98zn  If I were a fancy blogger or if it weren't 10:40 pm, I'd have figured out how to put that map right onto this page!

Rain predicted for tomorrow.  That should be interesting!

We Made It!

After a long day of travel, we are safe and sound in Basel.  It's 8:15 Basel time (2:15 pm EST) and the kids are sound asleep.  They were such troopers during the whole journey, however they were up really late on the plane (Josh didn't nod off until almost 1 a.m.!) and up around 5 a.m., so it's no wonder they are zonked! From Zurich we hopped right on a train to Basel.  A coworker of Chris's nicely took time out of her day to pick us up at the train station.  Technically, she picked up me and the luggage.  Chris took the kids on the tram.  After settling in we set out to find a Migros or Coop, the two main grocery stores.  We picked up a few essentials and discovered that while some things are different here (you have to weigh your produce prior to check out...oops), there are other things that are exactly the same (you know those kids' bubble bottles that you're supposed to squeeze to make the wand pop up?....yeah, they are crap here, too!).

The apartment is in Klein Basel, on the other side of the Rhein from the main part of the city.  The neighborhood doesn't offer a ton of go-to spots, but there is a nice courtyard with some playground equipment and another playground just around the corner.  We could sense Layla's disappointment when she was trying to get in with the other kids.  First she didn't get a window seat on the plane and now she can't talk to the kids!  I think she'll deal, though!  We haven't spotted them yet, but I know we are a walk or a short ride away from the Lange Erlen Animal Park and also a public pool.  Guess I need to figure out which bus/tram pass I'm getting!

Here are some pics of the apartment, as well as a couple of exhausted children!


                                 Kitchen, sans just about everything you need to actually use a kitchen!

                                                                 Balcony off the kitchen

                                                    View of courtyard from the balcony.

                                                                       Living space

                                                                     Kids' room

                                                                          Master
                                      

                                                              One of two bathrooms

                                                               8:15 Basel time.  Time for bed!

T - 24 hours

At this time tomorrow night, assuming all goes as planned, we will be at the airport with two excited, yet tired, kids.  Hopefully shortly after our 9:45 departure, they will nod off, and so will we!  92 and mostly sunny in Boston when we leave (well, by evening, 78)....64 and showers in Basel when we land.  Made sure to pack the raincoats in our carry-ons, as our checked baggage will be arriving later in the day than we do.  We fly direct to Zurich and then take an hour train ride to Basel.  Bags will be put on a train to Basel, guaranteed to arrive by 5pm.  So, raincoats and epi pens in the carry-ons.  Check!

Next post will be from Basel.  Stay tuned.

Until then, some fun Swiss German phrases for you!