It's been an up and down time here in the last week and a bit. The lack of a more permanent place to live (namely unpacking out of bags) is getting to me. I've contacted about 15 places and seen more than 10. Late nights to use the only available internet at the WSL is leading me to thinking waaay too much on the dark walk back to Birmensdorf. I'm scaring myself.
Hopefully that's about to end. Should have living arrangements finalized this weekend, I have a couple of offers on the table that I'm considering. All I needed to do was smile pretty, oh and the references helped - thanks Pat and Greg. Just waiting for one more place to get back to me.
Also, it's pay day. There is now officially some gold dubloons in my Swiss bank account...
25.3.09
11.3.09
Amusing Things About Switzerland: Part I
Small things please small minds. That's the saying. But when you arrive somewhere you've never been before, it is all of these small differences that you notice and either find interesting or extremely frustrating. Here is my list after my first two weeks in Switzerland:
1. Plug Outlets.
Switzerland has their own style of plug outlet. Three prongs, all the same size, with the middle one (if there is a middle one) offset. Although I knew this before from some research, I still couldn't find an adapter that accepted grounded NA plugs and converted to grounded CH plugs. Tip: Don't listen to anyone in airport shops about which one to buy. I didn't and it saved me $30.
The coolest thing about this type of plug is the arrangement of sockets for a multiple wall socket:
I think it looks very cool and makes so much spatial sense (as opposed to NA sockets). Also, they are usually recessed into the wall, so any adpaters don't work anyway.
2. Light Switches
I use the word switch loosely, because they aren't switches at all, but buttons that you push on and off. They work rather effortlessly and if the light is on you know you have to push the button to turn it off. I'm not sure which has more moving parts, but I thought the buttons were pretty cool.
3. Medians/Cross-Walk Signals/Drivers/Public Transit
I couldn't think of a category to encompass these, but they are all related. You never have to cross an entire busy/main street at once. They use medians extremely well here. I still haven't a clue how the traffic patterns are set (Few if any intersections are only 4 ways and there are lots of traffic circles). The standard walk, don't walk signage has been replaced with pedestrian traffic lights, three men, a red, a yellow and a green. They flash the yellow just prior to both the red and the green. The drivers stop for you at every single crosswalk, even if it means braking extremely hard. Amazing. Public transit here is awesome. I'm sure this is similar to what it is like in all of Europe, but the sheer density of routes (including: buses, tolleys, trams, and trains) is austounding. And, they are always on time, to the minute. That, might just be Switzerland.
4. Scooters
Apparently the fad isn't over, or perhaps has just begun here. I see them everywhere. From younger kids to businessmen. Perhaps it is the price of bikes, but for me, once I tried to scooter from our Paul Anka/Uplands place to the O-Train, my scooter experiences were finished.
5. Proximity
Of everything! It's totally different than home. Here I can be in Germany in 30 minutes, Italy in 2 hours and France in 3. Crazy! I've only made it to Germany so far (went to the Black Forest - Schwarzweld, remember the w's are pronouced as v's!, which didn't really live up to expectations) and I have already found that everything is cheaper outside of Switzerland.
I'm sure this isn't exhaustive, but I'll try to come up with more items as time passes.
1. Plug Outlets.
Switzerland has their own style of plug outlet. Three prongs, all the same size, with the middle one (if there is a middle one) offset. Although I knew this before from some research, I still couldn't find an adapter that accepted grounded NA plugs and converted to grounded CH plugs. Tip: Don't listen to anyone in airport shops about which one to buy. I didn't and it saved me $30.
The coolest thing about this type of plug is the arrangement of sockets for a multiple wall socket:
I think it looks very cool and makes so much spatial sense (as opposed to NA sockets). Also, they are usually recessed into the wall, so any adpaters don't work anyway.
2. Light Switches
I use the word switch loosely, because they aren't switches at all, but buttons that you push on and off. They work rather effortlessly and if the light is on you know you have to push the button to turn it off. I'm not sure which has more moving parts, but I thought the buttons were pretty cool.
3. Medians/Cross-Walk Signals/Drivers/Public Transit
I couldn't think of a category to encompass these, but they are all related. You never have to cross an entire busy/main street at once. They use medians extremely well here. I still haven't a clue how the traffic patterns are set (Few if any intersections are only 4 ways and there are lots of traffic circles). The standard walk, don't walk signage has been replaced with pedestrian traffic lights, three men, a red, a yellow and a green. They flash the yellow just prior to both the red and the green. The drivers stop for you at every single crosswalk, even if it means braking extremely hard. Amazing. Public transit here is awesome. I'm sure this is similar to what it is like in all of Europe, but the sheer density of routes (including: buses, tolleys, trams, and trains) is austounding. And, they are always on time, to the minute. That, might just be Switzerland.
4. Scooters
Apparently the fad isn't over, or perhaps has just begun here. I see them everywhere. From younger kids to businessmen. Perhaps it is the price of bikes, but for me, once I tried to scooter from our Paul Anka/Uplands place to the O-Train, my scooter experiences were finished.
5. Proximity
Of everything! It's totally different than home. Here I can be in Germany in 30 minutes, Italy in 2 hours and France in 3. Crazy! I've only made it to Germany so far (went to the Black Forest - Schwarzweld, remember the w's are pronouced as v's!, which didn't really live up to expectations) and I have already found that everything is cheaper outside of Switzerland.
I'm sure this isn't exhaustive, but I'll try to come up with more items as time passes.
Trip to Zurich
This blog is interesting. Everything is so new to me that I feel the urge to write about everything, but without internet where I am staying and only at work, it is tough. I'll try my best to keep on top of it and I promise once the living situation gets sorted out I can update on any adventures I undertake in the meantime.
This weekend was my first in Switzerland. Since I am staying with two other students who are on their first visits to Switzerland and are staying more short-term, I have the opportunity to explore with them. Saturday was my first sojourn into the actual downtown core of Zurich. We drove instead of using transit and it was interesting. The city seems to place a lot of value on public transit so there are many stop lights for advanced bus movement etc. Also as any European town, traffic circles/rortaries abound. These seem to be the general hubs of neighbourhoods with all of the main shops and often have a tram stop in the middle and then cars move around the outside. After spending a while finding a parking spot (which is free after 4 PM on Saturdays) we walked around the main downtown core. We visited a couple of the main churches in downtown (the Fraumunster and the Grossmunster) which were definitely the oldest structures I had ever been in (both founded around the year 1000). Fraumunster features some nice stained glass by Marc Chagall, but no pictures were permitted. Below is a panorama of pictures looking northwest from the top of of one of the towers (you can click on it for a larger view):
After these visits we walked along the river and stopped in the Lindenhof, a nice quiet garden located above the main streets. I also went for my first tea in a cafe in Europe. At 5 CHF each I doubt I will be drinking more until I save some money.
We finished the day by going for burgers at a restaurant on the west side of town with a researcher from the lab. The food was alright, but extremely expensive. I paid 40 CHF for my burger which was a decent amount of food and 2 beers. I will also likely not be going out for dinner very much (most Swiss don't eat out very often) due to the price and the fact that there is still smoking inside. I smelled like an ashtray when I got home and my sweater still smells. I'm going to try and air it out (any tips?), but it might need to go for a wash.
Sunday was also interesting and I'll try to get a post up about that.
This weekend was my first in Switzerland. Since I am staying with two other students who are on their first visits to Switzerland and are staying more short-term, I have the opportunity to explore with them. Saturday was my first sojourn into the actual downtown core of Zurich. We drove instead of using transit and it was interesting. The city seems to place a lot of value on public transit so there are many stop lights for advanced bus movement etc. Also as any European town, traffic circles/rortaries abound. These seem to be the general hubs of neighbourhoods with all of the main shops and often have a tram stop in the middle and then cars move around the outside. After spending a while finding a parking spot (which is free after 4 PM on Saturdays) we walked around the main downtown core. We visited a couple of the main churches in downtown (the Fraumunster and the Grossmunster) which were definitely the oldest structures I had ever been in (both founded around the year 1000). Fraumunster features some nice stained glass by Marc Chagall, but no pictures were permitted. Below is a panorama of pictures looking northwest from the top of of one of the towers (you can click on it for a larger view):
After these visits we walked along the river and stopped in the Lindenhof, a nice quiet garden located above the main streets. I also went for my first tea in a cafe in Europe. At 5 CHF each I doubt I will be drinking more until I save some money.We finished the day by going for burgers at a restaurant on the west side of town with a researcher from the lab. The food was alright, but extremely expensive. I paid 40 CHF for my burger which was a decent amount of food and 2 beers. I will also likely not be going out for dinner very much (most Swiss don't eat out very often) due to the price and the fact that there is still smoking inside. I smelled like an ashtray when I got home and my sweater still smells. I'm going to try and air it out (any tips?), but it might need to go for a wash.
Sunday was also interesting and I'll try to get a post up about that.
6.3.09
Swiss Bank Account
Actually much easier to get one than you would think. In fact, I now have both a chequing and a savings account. You all now know where to send your cash (haha).
On Thursday, I came into the lab directly from the airport. Actually we stopped at my temporary accomodations in Birmensdorf to drop off all of my luggage first. Here's a picture:
It's a house owned by an older woman and she rents out rooms by the month to mostly the students of the WSL. There are also students from Bern, Italy and Bulgaria staying there at the moment.
Once at the lab though we had to go for morning coffee break. There I met my other supervisor on the project as well as Fritz Schweingruber (a big name in the dendro field). Although I was tired (I think it was about 3 AM Ottawa time) I had heard that to beat jet-lag you need to muscle through and stay up. I decided to take care of some administration and along with one of the technicians I went and took care of my Swiss residency permits and my bank accounts. Then we returned to the institute in time for lunch, where I had my first schnitzel since first year in the cafeteria. The afternoon was spent meeting other researchers and checking e-mail and getting things set up in the lab. In Birmensdorf, everything closes early so I needed to get some food for dinner. I managed to muck my way through the grocery store and get some museli for breakfast and stuff to make sandwiches for lunch and some torellini for dinner. One of the other students actually made me food last night, so that torterllini will have to be for dinner tonight. Last night I was also able to head to the bar (despite being terribly tired) to watch the Swiss Professional hockey playoffs. However, there is smoking permitted inside bars here (until October 1) and I was extremely tired, so it wasn't that great. I left after the second period to get some sleep.
And sleep I did as I didn't get up today until 11:30 AM and I walked to the lab in the afternoon. It's a nice walk, albeit a pretty steep climb up the hill. Tonight I will brave the transit system and find my way into town for a party I was invited to attend. Tomorrow the plan is to go to Zurich and look around for the day. The weather looks like it could be nice.
On Thursday, I came into the lab directly from the airport. Actually we stopped at my temporary accomodations in Birmensdorf to drop off all of my luggage first. Here's a picture:
It's a house owned by an older woman and she rents out rooms by the month to mostly the students of the WSL. There are also students from Bern, Italy and Bulgaria staying there at the moment.
Once at the lab though we had to go for morning coffee break. There I met my other supervisor on the project as well as Fritz Schweingruber (a big name in the dendro field). Although I was tired (I think it was about 3 AM Ottawa time) I had heard that to beat jet-lag you need to muscle through and stay up. I decided to take care of some administration and along with one of the technicians I went and took care of my Swiss residency permits and my bank accounts. Then we returned to the institute in time for lunch, where I had my first schnitzel since first year in the cafeteria. The afternoon was spent meeting other researchers and checking e-mail and getting things set up in the lab. In Birmensdorf, everything closes early so I needed to get some food for dinner. I managed to muck my way through the grocery store and get some museli for breakfast and stuff to make sandwiches for lunch and some torellini for dinner. One of the other students actually made me food last night, so that torterllini will have to be for dinner tonight. Last night I was also able to head to the bar (despite being terribly tired) to watch the Swiss Professional hockey playoffs. However, there is smoking permitted inside bars here (until October 1) and I was extremely tired, so it wasn't that great. I left after the second period to get some sleep.
And sleep I did as I didn't get up today until 11:30 AM and I walked to the lab in the afternoon. It's a nice walk, albeit a pretty steep climb up the hill. Tonight I will brave the transit system and find my way into town for a party I was invited to attend. Tomorrow the plan is to go to Zurich and look around for the day. The weather looks like it could be nice.
5.3.09
On the Way to Switzerland
As most of you will know, in December I agreed to begin a PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute WSL in Birmensdorf, Switzerland beginning in March. A healthy combination of procrastination and actually being busy prevented me from posting a bit of background info prior to my departure. I'll try to work in some of that as I go. Basically, the idea for this blog is to provide an overview of my experiences as I spend 3 years in Europe. I'm sure the post will be fast and furious to begin with, but I'll do my best to ensure they don't taper off (wouldn't want anyone back home in Canada to forget me...).
The last three days were hectic to say the least. Monday was spent in relative relaxation as I went with Emily to get my last ski experience in before hitting the Alps. Monday night and most of Tuesday were spent arranging last minute stuff with the bank and packing. Wednesday was busy, but surprisingly calm. My journy began with a flight from Ottawa to Toronto that left at 3 PM on Wednesday, March 4th. Coincidentally, the same time as the NHL trade deadline, so TSN was providing a nice live countdown to Greg in Switzerland on the ticker. Having never left North America before now, it was my first time in the international terminal in Pearson. Nice place. As I had an hour and a bit to kill before boarding the Toronto to Zurich leg of the trip, I managed to fit in a last bit of Canadiana by purchasing a couple of donuts from Tim's. I suppose that would have been the chance to roll up the rim, but I'm not a coffee drinker at the best of times and I figured downing one just before flying wasn't a great idea. I also purused the duty-free where you can name your vice and it's sure to be found, but deiced against anything this time around. The plane was the largest I had ever been on and first class had these nice personal pods, of course I was in economy. The flight was decent, with 2 meals served (food not as good as Canadian North) and I was able to watch Slumdog Millionaire and catch a few winks. I arrived in Zurich at about 8 AM and waltzed through customs with no problems at all (perhaps all these years of US travel has me paranoid). The airport wasn't busy at all and my luggage all arrived. I met my ride and we were off to my temporary abode in Birmensdorf and then the WSL. I have yet to buy a convertor for my latop so this is all I can write today, but I will post some more updates tomorrow perhaps.
GK
The last three days were hectic to say the least. Monday was spent in relative relaxation as I went with Emily to get my last ski experience in before hitting the Alps. Monday night and most of Tuesday were spent arranging last minute stuff with the bank and packing. Wednesday was busy, but surprisingly calm. My journy began with a flight from Ottawa to Toronto that left at 3 PM on Wednesday, March 4th. Coincidentally, the same time as the NHL trade deadline, so TSN was providing a nice live countdown to Greg in Switzerland on the ticker. Having never left North America before now, it was my first time in the international terminal in Pearson. Nice place. As I had an hour and a bit to kill before boarding the Toronto to Zurich leg of the trip, I managed to fit in a last bit of Canadiana by purchasing a couple of donuts from Tim's. I suppose that would have been the chance to roll up the rim, but I'm not a coffee drinker at the best of times and I figured downing one just before flying wasn't a great idea. I also purused the duty-free where you can name your vice and it's sure to be found, but deiced against anything this time around. The plane was the largest I had ever been on and first class had these nice personal pods, of course I was in economy. The flight was decent, with 2 meals served (food not as good as Canadian North) and I was able to watch Slumdog Millionaire and catch a few winks. I arrived in Zurich at about 8 AM and waltzed through customs with no problems at all (perhaps all these years of US travel has me paranoid). The airport wasn't busy at all and my luggage all arrived. I met my ride and we were off to my temporary abode in Birmensdorf and then the WSL. I have yet to buy a convertor for my latop so this is all I can write today, but I will post some more updates tomorrow perhaps.
GK
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