All the twinkling lights

Greetings to you all during this warm and glowing season of Hanukkah and Christmas! 


Warm Glühwein and roasted sugard almonds are keeping my blood warm as usual this December.  I made the annual stop at the Zürich Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas market) in the main train station, which is the largest indoor Christmas market in Europe.  I say this like it's this massive complex, but it's actually really not.  If you don't stop for Glühwein at every Glühwein stand (and if you don't, what's the point?), you can easily make it around all the stalls in an hour.  Soaring from the center is the massive Christmas tree decorated completely with Swarovski crystals.  Now, go get another glass of Glühwein and have a look at those twinkling lights...they start to multiply for magnificent effect. 


Swiss Christmastide is often filled with nuts, and Samichlaus (sound like Santa to you?) comes on 6 December and generously leaves heaping bags full.  Once again, this December has seen massive amounts of peanut shells ground into the office carpet as we all happily crunch away during the day.  I'm not complaining.  I really like nuts, my favorites including walnuts, almonds and my mother.

This Christmas I'm spending in Slovenia with Mira and her family.  Ljubljana has some of the most unique holiday lights I've ever seen; they're really fantastic and seem to be suspended mid-air.  Small children will be relieved to know that Santa can find you ANYWHERE, no matter where your parents may schlepp you and no matter what airport you end up stranded in.  He knows where you are.  Big Brother is doing his good deed for the year and telling Santa.  And that's a comforting thing to know when you show up at your friend's parents house for Christmas lunch and find out that he made a stop under the tree for you.  : )

We took a quick trip to Zagreb (Croatia) yesterday to enjoy THEIR lights (they made a good effort) and explore the city a bit.  I had my usual hyperventiliation as we crossed the border (especially this time because the chick on the Slovenia side actually tried to say something...which turned out to be my name), but it was a very fun if short trip.  Mira and I even got a few leans in.



I'm back to Zurich on Tuesday, but in closing I hope your holiday season this year has been full of starry nights, bright lights and all good things.  I'm starting 2010 ready to take on a new decade surrounded by people who make me happy and things that make my life worthwhile, and when I remember that (and actually appreciate it) I can honestly say to you that I hope you are as happy as I am.

And one lovely afternoon in September, Jana got married...

... and, wow, did she look beautiful!  I should start by saying that the excitement in the weeks leading up had been nearly palpable, since everyone had been waiting for this day for over a year.  For the lucky person sharing Office 251 with Jana (aka me), it had been a year hearing about dinner courses and nametags, flowers, annoying guests who don't know how to properly RSVP, yes or no to a veil and Mystic Tanning (we went together - it smells strange but it works).  All of this, without Jana ever turning into Bridezilla!  I have no idea how she did it, and pulled off a flawless wedding, but she did.  And so after one and a half years of feverish planning and growing out her hair, Jana finally walked down the aisle.

The church wedding took place in our favorite Swiss village, Dittingen, in the old church there.  It was small but charming and sat perched upon a hill in the middle of the village, just up the road from where most likely 90% of the world's Jermanns live.  I must admit that part of me was feeling the frenzy primarily because I'd been given the honor of singing the processional song as Jana came down the aisle with her dad - quite the responsibility for someone who has a manic fear of failure.

(Kudos to Pischel-pix.ch)

But...it went!  And it went really well.  No one passed out, threw up, went flat or made an otherwise idiot of themselves.  There I was, parked in front of this nice little church in front of some 200 or so guests (a considerable portion of whom happened to be my colleagues, including my boss Barbara who took the great pic of me and Jana above and Claudia, resplendent in a water color-splashed dress that I covet).  Martin, also standing at the front of the church waiting to begin, looked very handsome in his dark brown suit.  We had a little chat as I desperately tried to put off the inevitable before it was time to begin.  And then suddenly there I was, opening my mouth and singing along, telling myself that under no circumstances was I allowed to look at Jana, which I of course did and then nearly started crying.  Before I knew it, my little part was over, just like that.  And so we finished watching the ceremony and then left for the apero.


The apero was at Martin's parents' house just down the hill, so the the guests poured out and skipped downhill just as I imagine they've been doing for centuries in Europe.  The only things missing were the musicians playing the lute and strumming a medieval guitar while young virgins with garlands in their hair jumped about on the path with ribbons as we all made our way down.


A Swiss wedding apero is a time for chatting, photos with the bridal couple and getting slightly toasted in anticipation of the wedding dinner and dance, which in this case were held at the Dittingen airfield (remember the airshow?) above the valley.  After some good food, good company and a very good party (and poor Martin trying to teach me how to dance) - we cashed out early in the morning and slept the sleep of the well-partied righteous!

And while we're at it, September is a poignant wedding month for another reason.  On 1 September my parents, John and Mickie (at left in my favorite Parisian bistro), celebrated 30 years of wedded bliss and three fantastic daughters.  I hold that this is a good omen for Jana and Martin.  No relationship is immune to the ups and downs of life, but I hope that their life will be as good as my parents', which in my opinion as the Beloved Eldest has been pretty crazy (thanks to the Bretz genes), but also pretty fabulously well-lived.  Unless I'm missing something, and Mom and Dad are just really good actors, in which case I'm officially scarred and in need of a really good shrink.


Wedding season didn't begin here, and it isn't over.  Congrats to Lindsey & Nick who tied the knot on 15 August.  The Paris crew isn't done pairing off, either.  In less than a month Maggie is getting hitched, and yours truly will be on site in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (how ironic, right?) on hand to celebrate.  Tune in next month for tales of the Parisian crew reunion.

I'm feeling positively romantic these days.  I really must do something about that before I start feeling the side effects.  : )

(Again, well done to Pischel-pix.ch)

Carly & Nature reach an understanding

I've never been the scientific type (or the math type, while we're at it), but I think I have somehow restructured the laws of the universe.  I don't think I can describe it in words, so in the spirit of my new-found discovery I've included a very scientific diagram of this Eureka moment below.  I like to think of it as the Law of Things that Usually Repel Each Other Not Repelling (the Things being "Carly" and "Nature"):

There are so many things wrong with this picture, I almost didn't know where to begin.  And yet, somehow, despite the odds, here it is - courageous and clearly a work in progress (kind of like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which is my least favorite construction I've ever personally seen).  Don't be alarmed.  It's unlikely to happen with much frequency, but for what it's worth it was actually a pleasant discovery.  I wouldn't have even made it if it hadn't been for Jana and Martin who decided to get married at the top of the world (aka Hasliberg, Switzerland) and I schlepped up there in heels to watch it.  The ceremony was brief but nice.  I'm always struck by how easy it actually is to get married.  You swear an oath that has to be the shortest of any solemn oath taken: I do / I will / Jawol / Ja.  And that's it, that's all it takes and you're in a legally binding relationship.  No wonder so many people get in trouble in Vegas.  Anyway, after that we had a fantastic lunch in the Alpentower restaurant and enjoyed a few hours of good company.  Then we traded our wedding finery for wandern Kleidung and made our way in down the mountain's slope in the middle of a breezy sunny afternoon.  (Above right: the happy Ehepaar)                                                                                                                                   

It was a lovely, brisk walk.  Along the way I had several full-fledged conversations in German and did my absolute best to enjoy all the natural beauty around me.  Autumn is settling in with her blushes of red and orange, but the slopes are still fairly green with just splashes of late summer flowers.  Jana's grandfather pointed many of them out to me along the way.

      

 

I will not claim that our little wander, though briskly made, was some mountain-scaling, gravity-defying, vertical-flying activity otherwise known to some as "hiking" (you know who you are).  Some of you will perhaps also remember that I recently tried a form of hiking last May with fairly disasterous results.  Despite the fact that I constantly tell myself and others that I don't actually care what Nature thinks of me, this is a lie.  I'm still actually somewhat depressed about how crappy of a hiker I turned out to be, so today was fantastic for restoring that can-do feeling, leaving me cheerfully confident in a shadow of some innate ability to move through nature and enjoy it if I really, really want to. 

It doesn't mean I'm going back to Ratitovec, of course.  I'm an optimist, not an idiot.

Various forms of "flying"

Last weekend was considerably action packed in a very good way.  This began early on Friday when all of our department schlepped out to Interlaken for a firmwide event.  This included (of course) the requisite dissemination of information to all employees concerning various work-related topics before our Chief led us to the festival grounds (yes, they were indeed called festival grounds) for the par-tay.  Several months ago, when we were initially informed of this event, they told us that any over-nighters would be granted accomodation in a tent.  Now, I'm sure you are all desperately trying to picture me in a tent and are failing miserably because the odds of this are about as likely as me becoming a nun in Iran.  This did not mean, however, that I was not going to enjoy the party.  It started off in the best way possible - they fed us.  And when I say this, I mean they truly appreciated the concept of providing delicous, succulent, readily available food:  Käsebrötli, chicken schnitzel, Turkish food, sweet and savoury crêpes, bratwurst, salted ham with green beans and fresh potato salad.  I was weeping at the bounty.  Washing it down was just as easy, with a well-stocked open bar for our drinking pleasure. 

We also had a team building activity - create a commerical using a random object (provided) promoting the firm.  Our object was a strainer ("water out, spaghetti stay"), and I must say our team was IN.GEN.IOUS.  The language lover in me was delighted that we even managed to incorporate "Welcome!" in TEN different languages!  Alas, we did not win, but I am trying not to be bitter about that.

The sun went down, the moon rose high, and we all went inside the festival hall for the musical acts.  Several groups had been brought in to play for us, one of which was headed up by the equivalent of a Swiss American Idol.  The band was pretty impressive (picture above right - check him, um I mean it, out).

The best part of any party, though, are the people.  We have the most awesome, rocking group of people in our department, and I'm pretty sure that we fly the highest at all work events (and this is not ONLY because of the open bar).  I have some of the best colleagues the world has to offer.  See how much fun we had?

Saturday, as you can imagine, required some R&R, which I happily did by treating myself to a pedicure (yay for LABOspa).  Sunday, it was off to Jana's for a BBQ and a chance to see the worldfamous

FLUGTAGE DITTINGEN!!!

(Dittingen Airshow)

For those of you unaware, Jana lives in Dittingen, "Weltdorf mit Herz" or "Worldvillage with Heart," with a lovely apartment providing us with a fantastic view of the airshow.  We had gorgeous weather and tons of fantastic food, compliments of Jana & Martin who hosted a slew of us on their back patio.  For those interested, also available were dips in the hot tub.  It was a great opportunity for all of us to gather outside the office with the sig others and friends and enjoy the last days of summer.  It was the perfect weekend.

I ♥ my people!  : )

London adventure!

I've just come back from an impromptu three days in London, the apex of which happened to co-incide with their hottest day of the year. You won't believe it but, it never rained! Because of the beautiful weather, I was above ground more often than I expected, but I still put my Oyster card to good use. I usually pride myself on being a world-savvy and subdued type of tourist, but for whatever reason being in the UK brings out the annoying American tourist in me. I grin excessively and have a constant and annoying desire to sprinkle my conversations with excessive "lovelys" and "smashings" and elongated vowels. I am constantly on the look out for little jolly and decrepit pubs called things like The Black Lion or The Horse & Whimsy where I can camp out with a pint and grin like I've got a screw loose at all the people talking about footie or whatever else it is they talk about. On top of this, I was always painfully aware of the fact that every time I opened my mouth I sounded as though my IQ had dropped at least ten points and that the English just sort of falls out of my mouth instead of lyrically skipping off my tongue...like theirs does. I hated this part, but I was undeterred, primarily because it would have meant speaking to only myself for nearly three days. I'm great company, but that's pushing it.

I arrived Tuesday and had an initial scout about town before heading out to Brighton to meet someone for dinner. She gave me a quick tour in her swank convertible before we had traditional fish and chips (and mushy peas!) at a restaurant near the pier, after which we took a nighttime stroll. It was also this time that I learned the difference between bread and butter pudding and bread pudding as well as custard and cold custard (subtle difference in semantics only). I admit that I am still confused about the various ways in which you can use the word "pudding," but I'm not questioning the people who gave me clotted

cream, BBC period dramas and the Royal We (an integral part to ensuring that you and your closest people are in synch on all important matters).

Wednesday morning I woke up ready to take on London, or more accurately Oxford Street. In order to fortify myself for the adventure I considered having a full English breakfast but ultimately decided against that because I am still somewhat suspect of baked beans in the morning. The weather was beautiful, so I strolled all along the northern parts of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, stopping at the fountains and the Long Water for a while, to Marble Arch where I began the more materialist aspect of my holiday. It was walking down Oxford Street that I encountered an overwhelming sight - The Gap. The Gap the size of my apartment building. I was overcome. My knees grew weak and my eyes nearly misted because I knew that in that store was a pair of jeans that would fit me and not cost a month's wages (though I did hold off). In addition to a few other purchases, I also bought a fascinator for a wedding in September, and I am working up the courage to actually wear it.

Shopping left me happy but depleted, so I picked up a sandwich and plopped myself under the leafy oaks in Green Park. After lunch and a brief rest, I was back on my feet down Queensway to The Mall and Buckingham Palace. Sadly, Her Majesty was not in residence.

By this point I was absolutely baking, so I did like everyone else, crawled over the lip of the fountain at the base of the imposing Queen Victoria Memorial and plunged my feet into the deliciously cool water while watching the throngs try to tempt the bearskin-hatted guards into cracking a smile.

I finished my day at Westminster Abbey and Big Ben before catching one of the famous double-decker buses back across town to the hotel. I sat on top but I didn't get to sit in the front seat, as all of them were already occupied by particularly annoying tourists.

By the time I got back to the hotel, I was hot, happy and hungry. After

dropping off all excess "bits and bobs," I went down to the corner pub, the Prince Alfred, for dinner. There I treated myself to some Guiness and cottage pie. I didn't really know what exactly cottage pie was, but it seemed quintessentially English, and that's what this American was after. It turned out to be very good and completely hit the spot. I camped out at the corner window with my paper watching the world go by, or rather watching it come to the pub on the corner.

Finally, before heading back to Zurich on Thursday afternoon, I spent the morning at the Victoria & Albert Museum. I enjoyed the fashion exhibit, which had some beautiful and incredibly ornate dresses and shoes from across the centuries. I also found the collection of Islamic art awe inspiring. It boasts over 400 objects from the Muslim world from Spain to Afghanistan from the 8th to 20th centuries, including the world's oldest carpet from Iran.

I also visited the Northern Renaissance collection (1500-1700) of chalices, statuettes and other like bric-a-brac. I generally avoid these types of galleries because I find them to be full of figurines of pasty and strange-looking people bending anxiously over yet another bleeding Jesus, and this always slightly creeps me out. It seemed to me that this collection, while obviously well curated, did indeed feature similar themes, until I got to the end where I saw a wooden statue from southern Germany (ca. 1510) of Jesus about the size of a small child riding on a donkey. The whole thing was set on a rolling platform and was entitled "Jesus Riding on an Ass." Evidently this kind of thing was common for Palm Sunday celebrations. The thought of this trundling about some ancient village made this an exhibit I won't forget. It also made me really glad that Jews don't believe in Hell.

(photo not mine)

I flew easyJet to and from London. I had heard about its wretched reputation (although Ryanair's terrifies me so much that I don't think I will ever fly with them), but I must say that except for the fact that they didn't serve coffee until we were basically landing they were a really friendly bunch and I was able to buy my ticket from the airport to the city and my Oyster Card (for mass transit in London) on the plane, saving me both time and stress. This was ingenious, and they have earned a little place in my heart for that. They also let me carry my baggage onto the plane as hand luggage on my way back, even though it took a small stretch of imagination to believe it would actually fit into that annoying box for measuring hand luggage dimensions.

So here I am, people, back in Zurich. It's still hot, but it's considerably calmer, and I'm looking forward to wrapping up the last few days of my summer holiday week doing pretty much nothing at all.

Slovenia & the Czech Republic - May Extravaganza 2009

Two weeks gone in the favorite of favorites (aka Slovenia) and homeland of all Biseks (aka Czech Republic)! It was, as usual, a whirlwind. Since you've all already heard copious (perhaps excessive, you might say) accounts of Slovenia, and in particular Ljubljana, I will forego description of said portion of the trip and concentrate on the capital city of my ancestral land: Prague!

Going back to Prague again was incredible. Despite the not so fabulous weather, it was so great to be there again! M & I were lucky to stay with a friend of ours there - she has a beautiful flat in Praha 6 (there are 10 districts of Prague) and warmly welcomed us - we were quite at home and felt free to make a dent in the couch and break crockery as we saw fit (long story involving blood but no trips to the hospital). We arrived late one Wednesday night - Thursday morning found us spending a few hours up at the Prague castle (Pražský hrad), which is, in my opinion, really one of the most incredible spots in Europe and, I understand, the largest medieval castle in Europe. Wandering about the extensive grounds is free, as is the visits to the garden, but entrance to the other sights within the castle grounds is very reasonable. There are two kinds of tickets - we took the limited one because we were more interested in the sights than the museums and galleries, and it was well worth it. (Adult limited tickets: 250 CZK = approx 13 USD, 9 EUR, 14 CHF. Students (under 26): 125 CZK = approx 6 USD, 5 EUR, 7 CHF). The castle is well-maintained and a great place to spend hours. In addition, the tickets are valid for two days, so this is really a great deal. Kudos to the Czechs.

Me on the Charles Bridge, castle in background

Easily seen from within the castle walls are the spires of St Vitus Cathedral (Katedrála svatého Víta). St Vitus was founded by Wenceslas I, Duke of Bohemia, and is the resting place of many Bohemian kings. This is of great interest to me because my family is descended from Bohemia, so who knows? You may be friends with a princess!

Fun fact: It is possible that the cathedral's saint was chosen because it sounds similar to the name of the Slavic pagan sun diety, Svantevit - another interesting example of those clever Catholics aligning themselves with pagan feasts to ease conversion to Christianity.

Among the sites seen were St George's Basilica, the Wenceslas vineyard and quarters in the old Prague castle. We also took a short walk down the Golden Lane (Zlatá ulička - picture below), a famous lane formerly housing castle craftsmen.

Kafka, a Czech Jewish writer, briefly lived here in a cottage rented by his sister before his death. At the end of the lane is the Dalibor tower, which we could also call home of medieval torture instruments used in the Prague Castle (no medieval castle being complete without them). The tower is so named after a knight called Dalibor, imprisoned there after supporting a peasant rebellion in 1498. According to an old tale, he learned to play a violin there during his imprisonment. His accomplished playing could be heard throughout the castle, and people came from miles to listen. Perhaps more likely, this legend came from a dry comment made at the time that it was merely "necessity that taught Dalibor to fiddle" - meaning of course that it was merely torture in the end that made him "sing." (Medeival torture rack to the left)

Prague has an impressive Jewish history. The Jewish Quarter, or Josefov, was founded in the 13th century and was in its heyday home to a thriving community of around 100,000. Today about 6,000 Jews live in Prague, but the quarter is still home to an array of synagogues and an impressive and melancholy cemetery as well as the legend of the Golem - a kind of superhuman made by Rabbi Judah Loew from the mud of the Vltava River.

Duke Wenceslas is also Saint Wenceslas (Svatý Václav) and is the patron saint of the Czechs. You probably know him from the English Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslaus." He wasn't a king, but saint status is eternal and he's probably laughing at all the kings from his seat at the Pearly Gates Party.

After a few hours at the castle, we headed down into the city and crossed the famous Charles Bridge (Karlův most). Commissioned in 1357 by King Charles IV, it is an impressive and popular Prague destination. All along the bridge are approximately 30 statues (mostly erected around 1700) depicting various Christian saints and images. The official "lean" picture of our trip was taken here, with the castle in the background.

Tower view from Charles Bridge

We made it across the bridge to the Old Town Square (staroměstské náměstí), home of the famous Astrological Clock. Unfortunately, folks, this is actually sort of one of those tourist destinations that's more like a "Seriously?" incident. It's cool, but not so cool that it's worth getting drowned like a mouse as you stand outside waiting for the hour to chime so you can see some little saint statues come to the window and nod at you. Nonetheless, if it's your first time in Prague, you should see it. Legend has it that the inventor was blinded after finishing in order to ensure that he could never re-create it anywhere else. (See clock tower at left)

Our friend's birthday party was Friday night at a little cafe/bar in town. With an eclectic mix of people and Private Party status, it was a very swank evening.


With M, and our host D, we spent Sunday brunching and cruising along the Vltava River, which cuts through Prague and offers great views of the city's banks and many historical sites.

Fun fact: The name "Vltava" is said to come from the old Germanic words "wilt ahwa", meaning "wild water."

After our whirlwind few days in Prague, it was time to head home to Ljubljana. Being big girls, we had decided to have an adventure and had trained our entire trip. This was actually not so bad, seeing as we had special provisions (1 liter of Jaegermeister) as well as a compartment mostly to ourselves (with two rare exceptions, one being a hyperventilating and sleep-mask-wearing Korean back-packer who, succumbing to the waves of hostility radiating off of me after he forced is way past me into our train and deciding to contribute unasked to our conversation, finally left). So aside from my mild snoring we made it back with relatively few scratches.

In a quick Slovenia recap, I once again visited my friends the zmajski (or dragons) and sadly still no wings flapping...hmmm. M and I also went hiking, though we quickly discovered we had considerably different interpretations of the concept of "hiking", mine being a steady, hearty walk up a gently inclining hill, hers being scaling a mountain. Evidently a "lost in translation moment." I'm happy to say that we and our friendship both nonetheless survived. We also enjoyed the full attention of a live Serbian band at a local restaurant's party and I was happy to spend some quality time with our friend R, finally seeing her new digs and drinking copious amounts of strong coffee.

And now I'm back in Zurich. Life is good, but travel is great, and this incredible continent calls me again (at least, until all the leaning is done).