It's the Little Things

I remember this monologue from the movie Pulp Fiction, in which the character played by John Travolta is in a car with the character played by Samuel L. Jackson, and the Travolta character is relaying his recent trip to Amsterdam. He says, "They got all the same [crap] over there as they have here, it's just the little things that really make the difference."

Here are a few reflections on the little things so far in Switzerland.

1. Doors. Doors appear to be exceptionally well made here, with no squeaking and often times stunning design.

2. Toilet seats - just the opposite. For some reason, the ones I've seen so far are really thin and bendy. Perhaps this is an optimal design, but I'm not convinced.

3. Slugs and snails - are everywhere. I'm not sure if this is a function of the exceptionally wet summer they are having here, but when we are walking on the sidewalk to catch the bus or on the local soccer field, you have to be careful not to smoosh these little guys.

4. Soccer - is the unifying force of the world. The boys and I have been to a couple of local fields and have been able to meet 6 or 7 kids and a couple sets of parents so far through soccer. Even though we can barely communicate due to the language barrier, we can always seem to split up teams and play a game. Just like in the states, kids vs. parents is always the most fun.

5. Playgrounds - are everywhere. Some are quite old, but the one near Elliot's kindergarten are quite nice and innovative. We'll try to post some pictures (still no internet in our apartment), but they have a nice organic set of painted rails that go up a little hill that is part of the playground that the boys both love.

6. Water fountains. The public water in Zurich is really good, and they have these awesome water fountains located throughout the city, on hiking trails, and at nearly every playground. There is no shortage of water in this country, and the water shoots out perpetually. In the city, these can sometimes be elaborate, with beautiful stone basins and elegant spouts. Many people (including us) will always stop and fill there water bottles at them. Out on the hiking trails, these are often rustic with an old log that has been hollowed out serving as the basin. Even near Elliot's kindergarten, the basin is as large as 4 ping pong tables and about a foot deep with a nice stainless steel spout perpetually shooting water into the basin. Again, once internet appears in our apartment, we will give you some pictures.

7. Ping pong tables - every playground appears to have an outdoor ping pong table with a hard plastic net. I've never seen anyone play yet, though it is vacation season and many of the kids are gone with parents on holiday. We have bought paddles so the boys can play.

8. Cafeterias. Every large work place has a cafeteria that, for the most part, serve really great lunches. We have been to two cafeterias -- one at Univ. of Zurich and one at our host university of ETH -- and got huge, filling lunches. Lunch is the big meal here, and I'm not sure how one can be productive in the afternoon after such a big meal.

9. Cafes - every work place plus every street also has a cafe. There is always someone out chatting in the cafeterias. It seems more social than in the United States, but it might be we are just looking more carefully.

10. Public transportation. Buses here are frequent, clean and go everywhere. We are without a car, and that should be fine. We have bought passes for the year that cost about the same as our car insurance in the US that will cover about 90% of our travel for the year.

11. Shopping bags - when you go to the super market, you pay for the bags you use. So, we try to bring our own and to bring our wheeled luggage to pack everything into so we can get it up the hill or on the bus to the apartment.

12. Hiking trails. These are everywhere as well. In many areas outside of town, the roads that the farmers use to access their fields as serve as 'wanderwegs', or hiking trails that are open to the public. Last weekend we walked a couple of hours near an old castle on these walkways and yesterday we walked around a big hill that gave us a view of the entire Lake Zurich. Also, gasthauses, or guest houses with restaurants, are located all along these walking trails, so you can stop and get a beer, a brat or ice cream after hiking a while.

13. Washing machines. The washing and drying machines in our building tell you how many minutes it will be until the wash is done, so you can return to the basement exactly when you need to switch the laundry. Now, our building is a bit weird - we are assigned a 'wash day' every 10 days or so when we are allowed to do our laundry. Supposedly, anyone can do laundry on Saturday if needed, or we can negotiate with other tenants if we need to use the machines on a day other than our assigned wash day. And no one is to do laundry after 9:30 at night or on Sunday. I can see the value in the wash day concept, as you can leave stuff all day without having to worry that someone will move your stuff mid wash. But, waiting 10 days to the do the laundry with children who love to roll in the mud is a bit much.

I'm sure I'll have a list twice as long by the time we leave, but this is a good start.

Today is Sunday, and we're off to find another adventure today.