Yes, that is SNOW in April!

When I walked Jace to the Bahnhof this morning, we were dumbfounded that not only was it freezing cold, but that there was snow on the cars, grass and mountains in the distance. Yes, it is April and that is snow. (Click the image to enlarge)

The hills of Zürich's west - covered in snow, in April.

I went out early with him, despite having a cold still, so that I could help him get a new weekly pass. I am feeling pretty confident with my German lately - watching TV shows and understanding the whole plot and dialogue exchange, calling the Migration department to ask a few questions, interviewing in German, etc. But, as oftentimes happens, as soon as I asked for a new weekly pass for Jace, the gentleman at the counter switched to English and pretended as though I had never attempted German... Pet peeve you say? Yes, yes indeed. I would say that.

No doubt they're just being helpful because all Swiss seem to speak impeccable English. But not all Swiss are so. Jace's work actually goes out of their way to make sure that their international staff learn German and learn Swiss culture. Amen to that I say. Jace is really coming along too, and he'll start lessons any day now through work. So far he really enjoys the Swiss culture, for example, here's the exchange we had on Friday night around 11:30 pm.

Scene: Jace rings bell and door opens ajar.

Jace: "Dij jew know that you can drink beer on the train here?"

Jessica: "Um, no, no I had no idea."

(Door is pushed open, coat is dropped, bag is dropped, beer is presented.)

Jace: "Here you want some? Did you know you can drink beer on the train?"

Jessica: "So I hear... "

Jace: "Well, you can. It's not illegal or anything. Everyone is drinking their beer on the trains... I told my mate, 'No, no we can't go on the train with the beer and he said it's ok and then when I got on the ticket guy stared and me an' I waved the beer at him and it was ok. It's not illegal or anything. I love the Swiss.... ' "

(Here's the culprit now!)

Nach Zug mit dem Zug

Literally, that means "To Train with the Train"... But because Zug is also a city (one just 30 minutes south of Zürich), it also means "To Zug by Train." Hence you can understand my predicament when buying tickets to Zug for a recent interview. The gentleman at the train station counter kept telling me that the train (Zug) was small and I was like "Dude, I can see the trains out there, that's not small!" and finally I got it that he was saying the city (also Zug) was small and I could get around it quite quickly so I didn't need to get there that early. Then I said it was an interview and he said, "Well, you can't be late then! No you can't! Go early..." So of course I did.

Getting around is definitely not a problem in Switzerland. The train system is amazing. You can get anywhere you want, quickly, safely, and above all efficiently. The trains always run on time and as our relocation consultant said, if they're late, they'll put a notice in the paper tomorrow, no doubt as both proof (in case you can't convince your boss... "No, really, boss, the train was late.. Yes, I know that doesn't happen in Switzerland but check out this notice in the paper... Yeah, that's right. I told you. It was late." ) and as a potential threat to the train drivers ("You think you're going to finish that ciggie, do ya? Well that means you'll be pulling into the last station 2 minutes late and well, I won't hesitate to tell everyone tomorrow you know... That's right, front page news for the likes of you miscreants.".

Anyway, Zug is very pretty and quaint. It's indeed a very small city, but because it's a tax haven a lot of multinational companies (Siemens is one example) have built their offices there. I recommend a walk around the old part of the city as well as to the church on the hill - great view up top. Here are some photos from our jaunt around Zug after the interview last week.

The Temporary Apartment

We have finally moved into the temporary apartment. It's great because we're no longer cramped into the hotel and we can cook our own meals and throw dirty laundry around without feeling guilty. Yes, it is bye bye to the maid but alas no job yet so I've got plenty of freetime.

The temporary apartment is located in Seefeld which is the east side of Zürich and very close to the Zürichsee. (See map below) It's easy to get around the city from here as everything is within a 15-30 minute walk - again Zürich isn't that big! It's really close to public transport, too. So Jace just has to walk down the street about 5 minutes to get to the train station where he takes a 15 minute train to work. And I can get on all kinds of trams if I don't want to walk around during the day and as we did last night, we can always walk along the lake as it's just at our door.

This is a really nice part of town, our relocation consultant Suzanne said, and apartments usually rent out for about $3000 per month for even just a one bedroom. This apartment is owned by Jace's company so we get it 'gratis' or free for 60 days. We'll probably only stay for 30, depending on when our stuff arrives, as we have already found a place in Urdorf that we're going to rent out starting May 1st.





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Week 1 in Zürich

Our temporary apartment wasn't ready for the first week of our stay in Zürich, so instead we stayed at the Hotel du Theatre near Central station in Zürich. It was lovely and I'd highly recommend it. Just watch out as the breakfasts are incredibly tempting but not free like complementary breakfasts at US hotels! (We only ate there once since it was 14 fr/person for breakfast in the hotel!)

From the hotel, we were able to walk all over and really experience the best of Zürich - the Bahnhofstrasse with all of it's fancy shops and stores, the river and see area, the Zoo, the Kunsthaus (Zürich's art museum), and the lovely downtown area in general. And boy did we walk all over! I would highly recommend that you experience Zürich by foot. It's not at all a big city and even if you need a bit of help the trams are all over Kreis 10 (the downtown area - literally section 10) and you can always hop on and off if you have a Tageskarte (daily card) that costs only 7.80 fr.

We had some lovely days to explore and get orientated in Zürich... and it also gave us plenty of time to find out where we wanted to live as well as work... more soon!

Getting the Swiss Visa

I have to start by saying that the move to Zürich so far has been unusually easy. We've moved a lot, and this has by far been the easiest, probably easier than any cross city move we've done even. A lot of that has to do with the fact that my husband's company has provided us with a relocation consultant to help us with the move - Touchdown Relocation Services AG. Basically they've organized everything for us, from the visa to hiring a mover and then also everything on Swiss soil such as finding an apartment and getting registered. Let's just say, they've been more than great.

The most important item that you'll want to take care of before you leave is your Swiss visa. As in our case, once the Swiss government approved my husband to work in Switzerland, they sent (through his employer) a letter that said that he and I could apply for a Swiss visa. This letter is then used to send off or take to the consulate to apply for the visa. We had to send this letter, our passports, a completed application, a photo, an SASE (we did a return Fedex envelope) and I believe $50 per applicant (check the Swiss Consultate website) to get our visa. It took approximately 10 days to receive our passports with the new visas inside back in the mail... it's fast! And if you have questions, call the Consulate. They were helpful and easy to reach.

The new Swiss visa in your passport is then used to get you into the country as well as register you in your canton. Within 8 days of your arrival in Switzerland, you need to register with your canton so that they can start the application for your long term residence permit. Go to the Cantonal Office within your municipality where you'll live in Zürich with your passport and visa, the letter from the Swiss government referenced above that says you can work there, approximately 20 fr/person for registration, and just in case the following: marriage certificate, birth certificate, police clearance and a bit of patience. We did not need all this in the end, but depending on your canton, you might need this and more.

Afterwards, we were given a temporary permit that we need to carry with us at all times until we receive our permanent permit, which will last up to one year. We'll also have to unregister in the old canton and re-register in the new canton if we move cantons at any time. All in all, painless. We got to the Cantonal Office at 8:30 am which surely helped as there was absolutely no line! Now, we're ready to live and work in Zürich (or at least Jace is, more on that later...)!

(By the way, depending on where you're coming from, these steps could be different. But in the US, this is what we did...Please do not use this blog as your only reference - perhaps I just need to say I won't be liable for any mistakes you might make if you don't get professional assistance!)

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You're moving where?... Switzerland?!

My husband and I have always wanted to live in Europe. That's the last stop in our travel adventure and we have been looking for an opportunity to go - and alas, the right opportunity came our direction and we grabbed it. So a week ago we moved to Zürich, Switzerland to start our next chapter.

We liked the idea of moving to Zürich because it's continuously well ranked as one of the 'best quality of life' cities in the world... actually it was number one in 2006. It's close to everything Europe has to offer... actually right smack dab in the middle of it all. And it's got everything - water, mountains, hiking, biking, big name companies to work for, excellent roads (very important to my husband!), awesome public transportation, security and safety for all, socialized health care, and of course delicious chocolate!

I will document our stories in Switzerland and in Europe here for family and friends to keep up with our adventures and for new friends alike that may be moving to Switzerland or just want to know a bit more about the area... here is our Swiss Story.