Movin' On Up

So, for those of you who voted (none, I believe, since I have yet to disclose the whereabouts of this blog to anyone I know) and said that I wouldn't keep up this blog beyond one week, you are hereby out of the competition. Although it's been two weeks since the last post, I'm back. And better than ever.

This weekend was a tremendous success, but I'm absolutely exhausted still. It began on Friday (as all weekends do of course) when my shipment arrived from the US. Peanut butter, Easy Mac, Folgers...your basics. And I didn't feel bad for the delivery man, who had to carry the multiple boxes up the four flights of stairs. This, because I knew what was in store for me the next day.

On Saturday morning, I boarded the 8:28am train to Allaman, which is this little town about 25 minutes west of Lausanne toward Geneva. There sits the greatest tourist attraction in all of Europe: IKEA. It was packed when the doors opened at 9am. But by about 11am, I'd gathered up enough items to max out my new little UBS Maestrocard for the day. The Swiss not only like to save your money from others, they like to save it from yourself.

Courtney and Rene Leuenberger arrived not long after this to help me unload the big red van that IKEA rented to me for a couple hours. And up the stairs we began. Boxes and boxes later, my apartment was a disaster zone, but one with furniture. Hours and hours even later, my apartment was still the single largest repository for used cardboard boxes this side of the Atlantic, but it had a bed and a sofa. This, my friends, I consider a great success, considering when I moved in just over a week ago, there was me, my three suitcases, and a single-sleeper air matress.

Le Deck Terrace

Yet another cell phone picture, but you get the intended idea from the background. Breathtaking. On my first day in Lausanne (as soon as I got to my hotel and began unpacking, at which point I'd been awake at least 24 hours), my new senior manager called. The team was heading to a going-away party for the outgoing partner, so I tagged along to meet some of my new co-workers. After the velodrome (like roller derby, but with bikes) and a winery tour complete with tasting (half-glass samplings...sheesh), we ended up at this restaurant east of town. Of couse, the picture does not do the joint justice. That's France on the other side, near Evian. We can't figure out why they bottle the water here, since you might as well just drink out of the pristine glacierwater of Lac Lèman (Lake Geneva to us Yankees). After Le Deck, which was too crowded to get anything more than a quick drink, we headed to a terrific restaurant where we were served at least five courses in less than one hour. What a day for my first in Switzerland. The foie gras was not bad.

Movenpick WC

Very exciting. Here is my bathroom. There is no mouthwash or lotion or shampoo/conditioner, only the blue soap in the bottle attached to the wall, which is apparently all-purpose. It's in the bathtub/shower as well. Do you like the rubber ducky?

Ouchy Sunset

There's the big "C" again. You think it's moved too? And a little bit of Lausanne sunset. Although the sunsets here take about 4 hours it seems. Never thought the latitude difference would be so great as to keep it light outsided until past 10pm. Not quite Alaska, but not something I'm used to either.

Ouchy Swans

Near the boats in the picture from the previous post is this giant "C" at the Ouchy Harbor. I've not yet figured out what this is...art? a nautical sign? a wind meter? the last remaining letter from a giant German spelling of Switzerland...die sChweiz? And though I'm not positive, I think it swings around. I've not witnessed this, but it's like one of those old paintings with the eyeballs, where you look once and they are looking right, but upon next glance they are gazing left.

In and around the harbor can be found a multitude of swans. Who knows why. They are probably just the European version of the Canadian goose, just dressed a little better. And these are not the only birds nearby. I've been awakened several mornings by the lovely...achem...song of the crow, and I've been attacked (eg Newman in Jurassic Park, sans death) by dozens of little bitty birds out on the lake walk. Who knew they were such fans of kebab and gelato?

Easy Like Sunday Morning

It actually IS Sunday morning here, despite the fact that all of you are still dreaming of sugarplums somewhere thousands of miles away. But I thought I would take this opportunity to post a few pics I made with my techy new iPhone. On my Lausanne walk yesterday, I took a number of pics with my camera, but they will have to wait until the shipment arrives for upload. Meanwhile, the iPhone must suffice.

At any rate, the photo to the left is the Ouchy harbor, just in front of my hotel (center left). It's been a great place to get started in Lausanne.

Lausanne à Pied (by foot)

There are two directions in Lausanne: up and down. One might argue for a third...lateral...but this direction typically ends in up and down itself. I don't know if the hilly layout is unusual to this area of Switzerland, but it's certainly new to me. Today I decided to begin learning about the city, so I took the metro to the top (relative) of Lausanne and began criss-crossing back and forth on my way down through the city. Three hours later, I'm beat. As a former, beloved manager once put it: "all out of poop." Because Lausanne is not a grid city...something I assume is due to the age and the geography, the streets go every which way without making any real sense. But in the process of my trek, I passed by the cathedral (circa 1,300 AD), the city center (markets and markets and more), the new Flon area (a redevelopment project with all kinds of new shops and, apparently, bocce tourneys on Saturdays), Lausanne Gare (the main train station), the Palace (one of two 5 star hotels in the city with a picturesque view out to the lake), a great park (where ping pong and book clubs seems to have taken over the former basketball court), and finally my new apartment! and local grocery. The plan was to blend in as much as possible, but that was destroyed pretty soon: in walking near the cathedral, a man leaning over a railing smoking a cigarette (of course) began whistling "Yankee Doodle Went to Town," albeit a pretty poor rendition. Of course, this could have just been my own paranoia setting in. But if I hear someone whistlin' Dixie tomorrow, I won't have to guess anymore.