Neuchatel

Aubrey and I headed out on an exploratory trip to Neuchatel and had a fun time at the museum of art and history. Here are some shots from the trip. Of particular interest were the first 'androids' made by a watchmaker in 1770. Unbelievable...if you're curious, check out this website: http://www.automates-anciens.com/english_version/frames/english_frames.htm

We capped of the day with Aubrey submitting a reproduction of an oil painting that caught here eye. If her work is selected by a panel of judges she will win a small prize!

Tigger and Telly by the way joined us on the trip and handled the train steps pretty well...They also did a great job waiting patiently for us in the museum lobby as we browsed!

Tight Fit

We're now members of a car sharing plan and tried out the system Saturday...First we went to Morges and checked out their farmers market...quite nice...I was really taken by the display of spices....Then Dedi and I tempted fate and hit IKEA for some table shopping. One thing led to another and next thing I knew we had purchased a dining room table and 6 matching chairs....all supposedly going to fit into our economy sized car. Somehow Diana managed the impossible and got it all in...we were quite the sight !

Radio and TV Tax

I started reading some of the brochures given to me by the city, in preparation for our move to our new Flat. This is how I discovered the "Radio and TV" tax. The two are taxed separately by a private Swiss company that is apparently relentless in its pursuit of tax evaders. One collegue, in protest, claimed exemption from the bill after ridding his house (and car) of all TVs and radios (including Sony Walkmans) only to have the company come back with the argument that his PC had the capability of receiving broadcasts over the internet....so rather than pay the 5,000 Swiss franc fine, he relented. I guess I will have to follow suit...

Dog Food Bargain

Tired of paying $20+ dollars for a 3Kg bag of grocery store quality dog food, I went to a pet store and started inquiring about different brands and value. I finally settled on a top quality Swiss brand and unfortunately they were offering a special that I couldn't refuse...18Kg for the price of 15 Kg...

Only after purchasing this 40lb bag of food did I consider how to get this back home. To the disbelief of the pet store owner and with the help of one of their sales persons, somehow we managed to stuff the whole bag into my magical REI daypack....The bike ride home was a bit top heavy and tough on the hills, but bag and I made it home safe and sound!

...Picture quality is bad, but that's Telly next to the bag with my stretched out back pack in the foreground..

Trip to Bern

Note from Diana: We are adjusting to Switzerland pretty well, learning to ride buses, trains, and to carry little brown baggies wherever we go in order to pick up dog poop.

These are the times I miss our Colorado big backyard the most. Two days ago the girls and I went to Bern for a day trip. It was beautiful. On the way back, we were rushing to get on a train, and Telly, our blue merle, slipped under the train while tied by a leash coupler to Tigger (our red merle) who had arleady boarded. To make matters worse, the door then closed, leaving Telly hanging by her neck with her back feet dangling under the tain and over the the tracks. Luckily, amid Brenna and Aubrey screaming and passengers crowding around to help, I was able to open the door and scoop Telly up before the train started grinding its wheels...

Moving In

It was a tough Friday...renting a truck, getting lost on round abouts, running out to Ikea, leaving truck lights on, fighting the crowds, getting someone to jump start the truck, and finally heading back to the apartment with a truck load...then we discover the elevator is too small to carry anything but the smallest pieces!

So we broke open the boxes in the lobby and carted the contents piece by piece up 3 flights of stairs...made the incline seem easy! Just not quite as scenic!

Now the fun part of assembling furniture...