The Blog Is Live

to go - gehen

After several weeks of saying we are going live with the blog - we are finally there. Small things kept getting in the way of finishing the backend: work, immigration, jet lag and unpacking.  

A summary of where we are right now: In the past month plus a little we: reunited, unpacked every single box that was sent over, realized how much we forgot to pack, filed a report on what the movers broke, missed (and still do) our friends, explored our new city, had meltdowns, quickly got used to living in an apartment again, learned that you are not allowed to do laundry after 9pm, figured out how to pay for produce in the grocery store, registered for language classes, visited with dear friends passing through the area, felt real pangs of home-sickness, met our new doctor and celebrated our first family birthday. There are many more small and large things that have happened to us - but all within the norm.  

The transition has been hard. One of the challenges, we moved in the summer, which in theory makes sense - but in reality means - there is no structured way to connect with people, many programs (school, clubs, etc) are not in session. School began for me on Monday, Klara on August 5 and Miriam the following week. We will all feel better as our schedules solidify and we are surrounded by people on a regular basis. In the meantime, we are exploring, reading, learning our way around and settling in. And this week Klara and Miriam took the train from Zürich to Salzburg to spend time with Oma and Opa. They are currently getting spoiled and  they will come back on the train on Saturday.

About the blog: It is going to mainly small posts taking about 1 minute to read. I think of them as vignettes of what we are doing. For years we have talked about this - to keep track of our life story for our own family... making it easier to look back and remember the moments that have passed.  I am hopeful that it will be all four of our voices  - but for now - it is mainly me. Sometimes, it will be a simple photo to capture the day and sometimes a small story.  I will attempt to keep it light and not political....

Yeah, I didn't believe that last sentence either. For now, I am keeping my politics off the blog- not for any reason than - I have no idea where to start. When the Wannabe King taunts a crowd with hateful speech at a college in my adopted state in the US - my heart and stomach twists.   Recently a good friend said, "It seems that Germany is to our left."  And so it seems.

And so, my "no politics" rule is not real. But for right now, I am learning my way around politics here. Trying to gauge the Expat and the Swiss community and where to find a place.  It will take a while as I am still learning everyday things, like getting used to using Celsius over Fahrenheit and readjusting my geography - so for example the Middle East is really the Near East.

So read along if you have an extra minute or two every once in a while.  And email  if you have an idea for me to explore for a vignette.

Sending warmth, but not too much for those in the heat. But sending LOTS of love.