Grüetzi or Hello! We have been here 3.5 days and we are starting to adjust to the time change. Last night, Luke had a couple of bad dreams, but pretty much slept through the night. My schedule is still thrown - I have had a hard time getting to sleep, we aren't taking naps during the day - so I hope to be sleeping well soon.
Yesterday, we rode the bus to the train station and then the train into Zürich. Luke was beside himself! The train was a double decker - Luke insisted on sitting on the top level. While at the train station Luke needed to use the restroom, so 1.50 CHF (which is currently about $2 in U.S.) literally down the drain - but the restroom was clean and well worth it. We took Luke to a couple of toy stores. He wasn't into the wooden toys so much, but was a big fan of the Brio trains, Playmobil (similar to Legos) and Legos. He left with a red train engine. We went to a little cafe for lunch. Luke was not thrilled with the food, but I had a delicious celery apple vanilla soup. On the way home, Luke talked to another kid at the bus stop, but the little boy was shy and confused - so it wasn't much of a conversation. A little heartbreaking to watch, but I explained it to him later.
Today (Saturday), we road the bus to the Migros (grocery store). It wasn't much different from one in the U.S., expect it spelled like various kinds of cheese. They still had Coca-cola, Fruit Loops, and other familiar items. Luke was excited to see a box of Cookie Crisps. A couple of noticeable differences: they don't refrigerate the milk or eggs, some eggs are dyed - resembling Easter eggs, they don't supply grocery sacks, and to get a shopping cart you have to insert 2 CHF into the cart - when you return your cart it returns your 2 CHF.
Luke also enjoyed playing with a little girl named Rommie at the park. Her mother is from New York - it was wonderful having a conversation that didn't force me to think. Felt almost like home. Anyway, I learned about a couple of English playgroups and local parks. We also exchanged numbers, unfortunately they will be moving back to the states this summer.
Our place is really nice - the pictures from the advertisement didn't do it justice. The rooms are bigger than I expected - Luke's is almost the size of his room in Atlanta. We have a small refrigerator and a freezer - very rare. We also have a place for a microwave, but have yet to purchase one. The appliances are small, but very nice and modern. All of our windows have the roll down metal siding - which do an amazing job blocking out light. The windows also have radiators beneath them. The windows open to let in a nice breeze - the place can get stuffy since there isn't an air conditioner or fan. Lately, its been nice so we have opened them during the day. We do have two built in closets in the front hallway and dining room - which is wonderful. We share the washer/dryer with 5 other apartments. Wednesday is our laundry day, but Monday is also available on a first come basis. Our bathroom has an oversized tub - deep and long. The toilets have two modes of flushing - depending on the size of your deposit. Our building also a nuclear bomb shelter - each apartment has a little 8 x 8 storage closet within the shelter.
Near our house, we have a school. The school bells ring every half hour. Whenever Luke hears them he says, "School bells." He wants to know when we get to go, he's really excited! We also have a playground within walking distance, a lake with ducks, and walking paths. We took one of the walking paths yesterday and past a barn with horses, chickens, roosters, and geese. I also introduced Luke to electric fences. We also live across the street from the post office.
