Hate it less here

As things have settled down, I have to say I hate it less here now. Getting hang of language and meeting good people has helped. New Year party in building was nice. Finally I got to meet the "nice neighbours" you only hear about. Snow is back on the mountains and cloudy rainy weather is helping.

Switzerland and India

This December I went from Zurich to Delhi. The first thing that hit me was how opposite Switzerland and India are. While Swiss are the definition of punctuality, timetables have no meaning in India. Right at the immigration counter, you could see the stark difference in Zurich efficiency and in bored kaam-chalu behaviour of "babus" at immigration desks. Some of them were randomly chatting, playing no attention to passengers waiting in line. Some were really rude to Indians and some were equally rude to foreigners too. Baggage as usual took forever. I was not expecting any efficiency there anyway.
While boarding the domestic flight in Aurangabad, the said departure time (after already 2hr delay) was 7:30 and that was when boarding started. Flight left 30min after and there was no apology. As if no once cared that flight was delayed by another 30min.
While Swiss have so much national pride, they seem to always want to use swiss made (that's my impression), take pride in speaking their language, Indians only run after American and other western cultures. In the bus I was speaking to someone in Hindi and he was replying to me in broken English. I almost felt like retorting - Don't you know Hindi? (It was clear that he was native Hindi speaker).
While in Switzerland, or any other developed country I have seen so far, people take their work seriously and responsibly. India of course is complete opposite, there is no accountability or responsibility of work at any level.
These things just make me wonder if our poverty and lack of advancement is really just the fault of this kaam-chalu culture. What if it changed one day and people became responsible and took their work seriously?

From Berlin to Prague

Took a short bday trip to Berlin and Prague, 2 very interesting and very very different cities, still tied together by common WWII and communist past. While Berlin was a very open city, feels new, filled with interesting new architecture (obvious since it was bombed to ground at end of WWII), Prague feels like a old european city, narrow cobblestone gulleys, stuck together colourful victorian houses. Berlin tells the tale of how cruel humans can be to each other, Prague tells the take of what beautiful things humans can create when they are not busy killing each other! Overall it was a very historic tour, part of history that we just read about.

Fall colours

ok, I have to admit, this is one time when Zurich is really beautiful. More so than Seattle. Of course in Seattle, we have our berry bushes that turn all red and yellow and convert mountain slopes into beautiful canvases of nature. Hiking during that time was such a bliss. But.... it was short lived, 2 - 3 weeks max and then snow took over.
Here, fall happens in the city. There are very few evergreens around. Most of the trees turn red, yellow and orange, and its movie / dream like setting that you get to walk through every day. Its great, fall definitely is so much beautiful here. That combined with dry Oct and Nov means we are still able to hike! +1 for Zurich.

Still hate it here...

...yes. I guess hate is strong, it can only be used for New York. Lets say don't like it here. It will never be home. I guess its all downhill from here. Now this and then India. I am done with all the fun I was suppose to have in a lifetime in Seattle. Now that I have moved, I can totally see there is something about US that everyone wants to live there, and that something is something real. Life is just good and comfortable there. People are nice, make an effort to be nice. People in Europe are just mean (maybe racist or maybe just plain mean). When someone is real nice, I am surprised and then often discover that they are actually American! Especially true at work. If I could, I would move back to Seattle in a heartbeat.

Travelling is great though, but that charm is wearing off now.
Italy was great though, can't complain, especially Sicily!
Off to Berlin and Prague next.

This happens only in Switzerland!

So after all my ranting and raving about how I miss Seattle, how Switzerland is horrible! I found one good thing. On Sunday we decided to go hiking to Windgällenhütte (don't try to say it!) or Golzern. I think the place is off the track from Thalwil. So SBB suggested, we take 3 trains and then a bus and then a gandola to get up to Golzernberg to start the hike!
(Thalwil - Zug - Arth-Goldau - Erstfeld - Golzern Talstation - Golzenberg)
I am hike this is crazy! It was suppose to take 1:58 min total, and 4 - 6min to change the trains. But being Switzerland, we could count on trains being on time and making those 4 min connections, and we did, both times while going up there and coming back! Amazing, how things work out when every one and every thing is on time! I have also often made 2 - 3min connections, but making 4 in a row was great! (the train to Erstfeld was 4 min late to start, but I think it caught up or the bus waited!)

Even now, when we hike, something seems always missing. I don't know what it is, company of friends, the feeling of remoteness or whatever. But I get more tired than refreshed on hikes here.

In Napoli

Finally reached here after visitng 3 great volcanoes. Pompii was great, but decided to skip Vesuvius. Its not really a hike afterall and after the 3 great volcanoes, it wont appear great anyway. Had some good oven cooked pizzas of course. Waiting to get some great Napolean pizza now. Off to Florence and Cinque Terre next.

--
tuls

sicily

In Sicily now. The state of Italian train is no better than Indian. They too r almost always retarded. Its kind of fun after the insanity of Swiss people. Coast line is interesting. We also had the first moment of tourist traps, always happen

Rome!

Finally able to make a trip to Italy. After more than 12hrs of train (including overnight) got to Rome. Spend 2 days here to see all the major sites. I think 4 days is more appropriate time here. We had to cram all site seeing of this ancient city in 2 days and did not get to go to any ancinet museums. Next time probably. An ideal itinerary would be take 2-day open bus tour and see what is there in the city.
Food - suppose to be great here. But we have not yet discovered so. I tasted 2 wines, both definitely good given my selective taste of non-reds. Pizza was good, but can't wait to get to Sicily to taste the real italian food.
Off to Sicily now where Etna is erupting, all fingers crossed to see a good light show and be able to get on the mountain (sort of conflicting wishes!).

4 months after

Its been 4 months, and a goodish summer. Hiking is exciting again, new places, new things, new challenges. Almost every trail here is either Mt Si or Mailbox peak, nothing less steep. And you don't always go up to see towering Mt Rainier, or snow capped Olympics or North Cascades. But you see something different, or cows, or huts and people etc. etc. I know every hiker's dream!
This place is still no home. Always after a hike I have mental image of reaching my Kirkland home. The cool homely home and am almost disappointed to reach the Thalwil apartment, full of light and hard floor. Oh well! I miss Seattle. When I look at my pictures from Swiss hikes, its feels like a trip. The pictures from Seattle hikes feel like images from home, the familiar, the fun place. I seriously doubt that Zurich will ever become home. It will remain a place where I 'stayed'.

Miss you Kirkland!

I really miss everything about my life in Kirkland. I donno what I was thinking when I decided to move. It was so perfect there, almost everything I wanted. I miss my cool apartment, tiny comfy kitchen and 'forces you to relax' furniture. I miss my office, the nice corner desk with view of road, and my own little place. Of course I miss my car :( Shopping at REI :( Salsa, Zumba, swimming, running from one activity to other, not knowing when the day started and when ended. The weekend parties, hiking with friends, Mt Rainier, 520, lake side, a rare view of Mt Baker on runs! It was all just so awesome, so comfortable, people were so great, life was so nice. Any problem there seemed so easy, so solvable.
Its the total opposite here, I hate the place, hate the people, it feels like a hostile environment to live in, apartment is not comfortable, even the walls are harsh rather than the smooth plastered walls of my apartment in Kirkland.
I can't believe I am saying this, but I want to go back, back to the life I loved and end this insanity of moving here :(

The most amazing thing

... I have seen
Can't be one, so here are 5

1. Glaciers sitting on top of Kilimanjaro

2. Wild lions in Serengeti

3. White endless mountains of Alaska and the sunrise-sunset colours there. We went there to see northern lights. But I was totally amazed by the vast whiteness of the place. Endless Yukon plains and mountains, all covered in perfect white. There was something completely soothing and refreshing about being there. One place I would love to go again and again.

4. Machu Picchu

5. Mt Rainier from many points in Seattle. I know its cliche, but to see Rainier rising about the clouds from many unexpected places in Seattle area IS amazing!

Americans just have something right!

I cannot believe I am saying or even thinking this! But America just has something right in it. Life there was nice, welcoming, comfortable. Its just something in the culture that people from anywhere in the world soon find themselves settled and comfortable and part of society. I am realizing this after I moved here. Ok, yes, 9 years vs 2 months, huge diff, still. I don't see myself ever getting that comfortable here. People around are not nice and welcoming, it feels like a 'foreign' place and I think it always will. I am not saying that I came here with expectation that Europe will be all rosy and nice, I have read history and I was expecting some hostility. But I can feel the famous - 'don't like foreigners' saying in the air here. I have not yet encountered open racism, at least not that I am aware of. But I do wonder if part of hostility I feel in environment is coming from that.

And I don't even want to talk about hiking! Again American has just nailed it. The numerous national park, especially in the north-west are just amazing. You can be in middle of everywhere and feel like nowhere! Here you hike in artificial forests, and when you pant and sweat your way up, there are people clicking heels who just came on the cable car! That would be ok, if on foot I got a chance to see and be in absolute natural beauty. But no, there are cows and smell of dung everywhere, barbed electrified fences. Not really my idea of a hike!

So in all, yeah, at this point I am regretting moving here! I miss Seattle, I miss St Helens and sight of Rainier. What the heck! I miss hiking Mt Si. Top of Si had more beauty and remoteness (yes I did say Si and remoteness), than I have seen on actual 'hikes' here. I hate this place.

Unfriendly place

Since I have been here, there was a nagging feeling at back of my head. I could not put my finger on it, but I think I realize it today. I think this place is really unfriendly, people around are not friendly, things are just not nice and comfortable. It just does not seem like a place for a worrier like me. As oppose to US, where I was comfortable and had confidence that things won't go terribly wrong. And here its not. First of all, I have no confidence that even in daily life if I wanted money urgently for something I will get it. Its like bank has locked away my money in name of security. It was not so there. Bank people were nice and friendly and made you believe they are there to help you. While here its like - why r u here, its not our problem. And I believe this easy access to money brought a sense of security with it.
US was probably better place for me, at least this one is not.

We are not from here!

So this 'incident' happened a while ago, around the Royal Wedding time, if u know what i mean. I was in train back to Thalwil, and there were a bunch of Canadians on the train. Teenagerish, definitely college students. I am guessing lost, must have been trying to get to London to attend the 'wedding'. So anyway, these folks were on train, speaking their canadian english, and I was feeling good to finally hear and understand conversations around me and smile at jokes. We are all getting along, and we arrive at Thalwil. This group also wants to get down there, and they are standing in front of train door. Shouting at each other - open the door aye, it does not open aye, what is wrong aye! how are we going to get down aye!

And some of us 'from switzerland' are telling them calmly - you have to press the button, the one that is shinning green. They finally did it. They tell me - "We are not from here, aye, so we are still confused, aye". I was sympathetic, so I told them don't worry, I was doing exact same thing less than a month ago :) How fast we learn!

So why was I reminded of this - bcoz on Sunday I decided to take ferry to Thalwil from Zurich. As I was boarding, there were all these people with maps and camera and what not, 'the tourists'. And I had this funny feeling, I am not a tourist in this very touristy place! I live here every day! how funny is that! Its like living in Switzerland! or Paris!
(we always wondered where do those people go for vacation! Do they just keep visiting each other!)

The machine that keeps your clothes hostage!

Yesterday finally got around to washing my clothes in the machine. As expected, all instructions were in German, but I could manage my way around 20 different programs to find the one that I like. So I put in the clothes, did in-pin-safetypin to put soap in one of the 3 slots, and told the machine to wash for 30min. No response. I tried again. No responsem, except the 30min counter was counting down. There was a coin thingy, so I put 20c in it. No response. So I thought, maybe I asked it to wash 'after' 30 min. I come back after 30 min, and its doing something and saying will take 20 more min. ok. good. I come back after 20 min and its done. wow! that was good. But wait, it won't unlock the door. I cannot take my clothes out. The machine is keeping my clothes hostage. No washing powder has been used either. It just ate the 20c and now wants more if I want my clothes back.
Now I don't know what to do. Give it more money, or just wait till one of us give up. I decided instead to call the neighbours. They were also kind of not sure what is going on, but advised I pay. So I put in another 20c. It started doing some work again. This time using the soap and told me to come back in 20 min. After 20 min, again its the same status. My clothes are still hostage to the machine. So I decided to put in another 10c. This time its rinsing and spinning. ok, that is progress. Spinning is the last state, it has to give my clothes back after that. This time it said come back in 10 min. No way I am leaving my clothes now!
So I wait there for 10 min, watching it rinse and spin. And guess what, after 10 min, exact same status. Still not ready to give my clothes back. I put in abother 10c. This time it said 2 min. I waited 2min and phew finally the door opens.

First time I have seen a machine that kept my clothes hostage till I fed it money.

wowed :)

Finally I saw a view that I had to say wow! while biking down (up?) from office to new apartment. Here I am speeding down a hill, looking at a lake and distant mountain, feeling the usual blessedness that comes from a sunny day! Something was amiss though, did not fit the picture. Then suddenly it hit me! These are not Olympics! These are Alps and that is lake Zurich not Washington! I slammed by brakes, almost toppled over and climbed back for a better view. And wow! The mountains were just sitting there, looking great! They were blurry, distant and not as clear as Olympics on a sunny day, but it was still an awesome view. And I had to say wow! I felt bad for not considering moving to a place further away from office but with such a view. It was almost worth the 40 min a day commute!

run Thalwil to Enge

Finally moved-moved into the new apartment. Almost saw a good sunrise. The view from apartment is such that you can almost see what you are missing! Still the day was nice and cloudy, temperature perfect (mayvbe tad bit warm) for running. What's the best way to make first commute from new apartment to office - run :). The distance is about 9km, and with rolling hills. I heard that view is good from 'top of the hill'. Of course first had to run up the hill :). And yeah, it was good, folks who live there are lucky! But still it was not so bad, except for one little hill, it was smooth sail in ~1hr. Hoping to bike back. Found a route that almost look devoid of steep hill, we will see. Go SPC!
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4471688

And my latest favourite Sheldon quote -
“Ah, memory impairment. The free prize at the bottom of every vodka bottle!”

I hate this place!

yes, I hate it! I want to go back to comfort of my awesome double bed, cozy little car and easy banking. Spent panicky 30 min trying to find the 20 numbers and passwords and cards and what not required to access the bank account. Finally had to call help line which thankfully spoke English to figure things out. I hate this place, I don't understand the language, I miss Rainier, hiking at truly peaceful places and I miss my car, swimming, going for salsa :(

I hate this place!

yes, I hate it! I want to go back to comfort of my awesome double bed, cozy little car and easy banking. Spent panicky 30 min trying to find the 20 numbers and passwords and cards and what not required to access the bank account. Finally had to call help line which thankfully spoke English to figure things out. I hate this place, I don't understand the language, I miss Rainier, hiking at truly peaceful places and I miss my car :(