Disneyland Castle

On Saturday we rented a car and drove to Germany to the Neuschwanstein castle. It is the castle that the Disneyland castle is modeled after. It was a beautiful drive. I had so much fun driving again. I really miss it. We got a manual transmission because it was cheaper and great because that's what I prefer anyway.

TA-DA!

It was a beautiful day!

We later went out to this bridge but didn't stay long because there were obnoxious American teenagers who were poisoning the scenery and ambiance.

It was a fun day!

We took a few detours on the way home and got to see more beautiful areas of Germany and Austria!

Chillin' at Google

While the boys were visiting we wanted to show them where Jared worked. Well we spent most of the time in the "water room." A place to relax. Mike in the background got a great massage from the chair.

I chose to lay in the bathtub.

While playing fussball in the game room (I don't know when these people work) I noticed that the lights were giant up-side-down light bulbs.

Then we went to show them Sihl city down the street

They had these giant balls hanging from the ceiling that were Google's logo colors.

Here's all of us going down the slide.

Let them have peace

FREE TIBET!!!!

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Interlaken

When I get to the top of a mountain that is overwhelming with beauty I just want to sing out! The site was just over stimulation. We had the most perfect weather at the "top of the world."

Yesterday Jared took the day off and then headed to the Interlaken region with Mike, Ryan and I and we explored one of the most beautiful places in the world. I really wanted to see it in the winter. We are definitely going back in the spring/summer to do some hiking! We took about 7 trains/gondolas to get there but we had cards (to play hearts) and a wonderful view to enjoy on the way.

Here's the four of us taken with my one-arm extension self photo method.

Basking in the sun on our way up the mountain.

I took this while traveling up the mountain. I wish there was a breeze to make the flag blow.

We were literally standing on the edge of a ledge on slippery snow.

I felt like I was going to fall.

Birds flying above. Jared wondered what it would be like to be a bird living in the mountains there.

We went to the very top of Schilthorn.

Final elevation 3000 m (10,000 ft)

Gasping 360° views. Now is the time to be jealous.

I really love my husband!

Jared was so happy to not be working.

One of the many trains we took to get home.

I really loved this smoke stack. I caught it on the way back from Bern.

Click for more breathtaking views

Lugano and sun

This week our first visitors came! It was great, Mike and Ryan who were Jared's roommates before we got married which were basically my roommates also because I practically lived at Jared's place when we were dating. They came baring gifts of Girl Scout cookies and a new iPod for Jared because his has been misplaced somewhere.

The day after they arrived I took hem down to Lugano for the day. It's the Italian part of Switzerland. Oh the glory of the sun. It was wonderful to see the clear blue sky and soak in some vitamin D.

It was spring in Lugano, (something Zürich hasn't caught onto yet.)

I love these trees.

First stop after checking out the lake was food. We thought that it was hilarious that Mike's pizza which he ordered with 4 toppings came with all toppings segregated. As if it had been ordered for 4 kids who each got to choose their own topping.

We went up this mountain to see a 360° view of the region.

A little tribute to George Washington. So random.

SUN!

Mike having fun with a sculpture.

For more photos click below.

The sky lately

The weather has been wild and sporadic. Stormy one moment and sunny the next or visa versa. I grabbed some shots over the past few days of the sky.

Here is the aqua clouds as the sun was setting from the other day.

This morning we woke up to blue skies after a day straight of rain/sleet/snow. So we took advantage, got the house cleaned up, went for our runs and headed out the door.

We walked downtown and just explored a little bit of Zürich that we haven't been to.

Jared noticed how these trees were leaning over to the river.



The weather started to turn so we came home to take a nap and woke up to snow....


with sun.

I still can't get over how beautiful this city is.



And this just in while I was writing this post, another beautiful sunset. I love the hard/dark contrast of the hills.

Good food with a view

Jared called me from work yesterday and asked, "will you go out with me? I made reservations." He made them at this really nice restaurant called Sonnenburg up the hill behind us. It has views of the lake and city. I was worried at first that we wouldn't be able to see much due to the icky weather, however the clouds blew over and we had a wonderful view from our window table.

Oh man was the food good. Jared had sole and I had the moist, tender savory veal "jacky." Our desserts were even better. Jared had chocolate leaves with gingerbread mousse, and I had apple strudel with delicious creams and sauces. I scraped the plate clean. The second photo is the view of the oval restaurant from our apartment.

a camera to capture

Has anyone noticed that my photos are better quality?

Beautiful sunset from the other evening.

That's because Jared got me one of these (Nikon D80) for my birthday and I'm in heaven when it comes to taking photos.

Colorful run

Sometimes I like to put on a lot of make-up before I go out for a run in the rain.

A boy with berries

Jared eating a smoothie last night. So cute with the berries on his lips:)

Sun teaser

If you know me well then you know that I am very in tune with the weather. It really affects me. I don't like this in between thing going on here in Zürich. Oh ya, and tomorrow is the first day of Spring. Don't start getting cold and snowy now, you've had your chance. It's time to shape up and get with the season.
Yesterday there was some sun which was surprising because the prediction for the next 10 days in rain/snow. I thought I should take advantage so I went out for a walk down to the lake.

A bathroom by the lake.

It was clear enough to see the mountains at the bend of the lake.

Sun setting in our apartment.



Goodbye sun. Please come back with warm weather so I can swim in the lake.

Addiction to sweets

Jared and I both have an addiction to sweets. So I found this 7-day bearable detox diet online. We basically just can't eat meat, pasta, bread, dairy, eggs, sugar and salt for 7 days. So, it's fruits, veggies, nuts and fish for the week. We eat a lot of that anyway but on top of that we eat too many sweets. I started us off yesterday with stir fry and salmon with a lime/mustard with mint sauce. We did well and Jared is currently resisting the sweets that are everywhere at Google.

Clutter vs. cleaniness

Growing up my mother had this quote hanging up in the laundry room, "Dull woman have immaculate homes." I think of that every time I look around the house and feel like it should be more tidy and then think, I'm not dull, then I move on with a smile:)

Bern Temple

I went to the temple with my friend on Saturday. It's in Bern. There were 4 languages. It was great!

View of the alps from the temple.

Sunday afternoon walk before the rain came

It was a nice afternoon and not too cold so Jared continued our tradition of Sunday afternoon walks that we started when we were dating. We usually head down to the lake where there are tons of people and performers on Sunday's however, we opted to go behind us up the hill. The lake can sometimes seem like a catwalk with everyone all dressed up in their spike heels...just for a walk. I usually wear my running shoes which will switch to my Keens when it gets warmer.

Witnessed a lot of great color!

My handsome husband!

We found this little structure to climb.

Friday night date part #108

On Friday night Jared and headed to Baden to the thermal baths there. Oh what a nice and relaxing evening. It was "candlelight night" and we got to see lots of stars since it was a nice clear night. In the corner of the pool there was a 1/2 circle with jets at varying heights to massage feet, d'arrière, back etc. They had a little bell and light that rang and went off for everyone to move onto the next jet. Then when you get out they hand you a nice warm towel.

Walking to the baths from the train station looking for a good time.

Found a star on the wall...hot fitting!

So relaxed on our train ride home!

Death of an iPod

The saddest thing happened the other day. My iPod died. It was given to me from the coolest and most generous people in the world, Barbara and Scott. I babysat their kids and eventually moved in with them because they are just so cool. (Barbara used to say, "someday you're going to get married and your husband is going to whisk you away to another country and we'll never see you again." ) Well, it happened. They were always big fans of Jared even when we were just good friends. She was always nudging me, "What about Jared." I'd always reply, "aaaaahhhh, we're just good friends, we would never work." Little did I know.

Anyhow, it has lasted me a good 3.5 years. Good thing I already retrieved my music off of it thanks to cnet, and that I have a shuffle as a backup for running. But, I loved it because plugging it into the car I had a huge range of music to listen to. I loved putting 5,000 songs on shuffle, it would be Rage Against the Machine to Gershwin, to Beastie Boys to the soundtrack from Lawrance of Arabia to Sigor Rós. Since Jared has misplaced his iPod we are down to 1 from 3. Hopefully all of the computers will stay in tact or else I will really die.

Goulash of my own

When were in Prague I had Goulash twice. It was so good to me. So I made it last night. I kind of took bits and pieces from 3 recipes. It was also a comical me trying to get the right meat from the butcher in English/what little German I know. My Grandma and I decided that I have "kitchen sink German" meaning, I know the foods and enough to get around but not really enough to have a conversation.

We poured it over buttermilk biscuits, (thanks Tanya for the recipe.)

Jared liked it but you can tell he's like, "Argh, I'm eating why are you taking a photo." Notice all the laundry in the background. Yup, it is an ongoing process.

Tiny Bowl

I found this little bowl in Globus, a local store here in Zürich. I use it to put my rings in when I'm kneading bread. It reminds me of Paul Smith a British designer who my mom introduced me to when we were in London in Nov. '05.

More Prague photos

Less tangles

I was tired of so many tangles so I chopped off my hair.

Rain+Sun=

This is what a woke up to the other day!

Prague

Last weekend Jared and I went to Prague. It was expecting to snow but we had nice weather. Jared would get up in the morning and go for a run and scout out the city. I loved the old buildings and how nice the people were. There was an easter market that we wandered through and I had goulash twice. YUM! We also found a bagel shop, real bagels. Double YUM!

Here's a bunch of random photos from our trip.

Notice this guys hands!

Anyone want a "desert"? Yes, I'll take a Death Valley and Jared will have the Sahara. The English translations here were pretty humorous.

These were yummy pastries.

Our room was HUGE!

Cool building.

Jared got me a flower on the street and it's still thriving!

Big grains of salt on my window

It started snowing last night.

It looked as if there were big grains of salt on my window.

We woke up to Zürich sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Personally I don't like this wussy weather. I want it to STORM!!!! But not when we're trying to fly somewhere.

Evolution of a relationship

Just Friends. (sometime in 2003)






























Only Dating (Jan. '07)






























Barely Married (July '07)

New York City in Feb '08

For the past week I left my darling love (which was very painful) and flew to the land of toilet seat covers and no smoking in restaurants. I had to work out visa issues (ARGH) and got to see my mama and my friend Casey's art show in SOHO. Casey is the one who took over my old job teaching art.

I landed on a beautiful day. My sister picked me up from EWR and zipped me off to NJ Transit so I could go into the city to meet up with my mother for the show.

Casey's show was at the Drawing Center in one of my favorite parts of town.

It's always fun to see friends when you live so far away. It was great because Casey and his wife Amanda didn't know I was coming. I love surprising people.

Discussing art.

Jared Clark siting.

I flew in he perfect day because we woke up to many inches of snow the next morning. Since I was on Zürich time I work up at 6am, threw on my boots and went out for a donut.

Later mom and I trekked through the snow to visit galleries and the Met.

This is along Central park.

I had to make my mark.

All a glow!

Nephews refill!

After a couple of days in NYC my mom and I headed to NJ to my sisters to play with my nephews and keep them contained while we painted and stripped wallpaper.

Hudson as usual is full of smiles. This little daredevil will jump off anything. Even after smacking into the bench while sledding and getting a shiner he cried out, "I want to go again." He loves loves loves green, and talks A LOT for a 2 yr old. Saying, "I fink, I fink I wanna sit on your lap and eat your cereal." "Hudson we need to change your diaper," his reply, "I don't fink so." Blurting out "Yippees, and yahoos" while he jumps and hops around.

Johnny, will now smile for the camera again. (There was a period when he would just hide.) He also will imitate things that my sister would say. "I'm afraid Hudson that you can't do that."

He loves to bake, especially with his Dad.

These boys also love to jump, into their imaginary pool.

Actually, Hudson jumps or runs everywhere. I love it when he's waiting for me to kick the ball back to him and he is just bouncing up and down with excitement.

This little goof ball loves to copy his older brother.

Eating grapes off the table at a restaurant where we went to celebrate my sisters birthday. I love it when he makes this sound when he pops it into his mouth. Like he's a bear biting. His response earlier to dinner was, "MMMMMMmmmmm, this is sooooo yUUUmmy!"

Emma gets a little older!

I made the infamous chocolate cake.

Hudson pouting (in his Superman pj's I bought for Johnny for Halloween a few years ago) because he only gets one cupcake. He thought that he got to eat all 5 of the ones that he decorated, well when his Dad took a bite of one he got very upset yelling, "Spit it out Daddy."

Yes, I had the best and longest week. The best because I got greeted each morning at 6am from this little guy with a huge smile, longest because I was away from Jared. That was the hardest thing I've ever done and we've vowed to never separate again.

Click below for more shots of the week.