Zürich

I made a weekend-trip to Zürich in a good company of my host-family, or actually just with the mom and the kids. I took almost four hours to drive from Munich to Zürich, and the kids were turning impatient, but - I could have watch ages these mountains and other landscapes there were outside of the car.

We were invited to the house of the mothers half-sister, whose husband works for one big IT-company, moving once in three years to other place (they have been living for example in Greek, in Saudi-Arabia, now in Switzerland... wow).  It was nearly 8 pm. when we arrived, so we just ate dinner, took the kids sleeping and had nice conversations with wine and cheese.

Saturday I went to the tpwn, experience the atmosphere of money-smelling city (Zürich = zu rich = too rich). I didn´t have much time to find out before where I should go when I had only one day, but when noticing the coffee-museum by Johann Jacobs were closed for whole summer, I decided just do some walking around in the old-town and the famous Bahnhof-strasse, Fraumünster Church and the Kunsthaus - one of the largest and most famous art-museums of Europe.

The Bahnhofstrasse, the most expensive shopping street of Europe, wasn´t actually my favorite - I have seen these luxurious shops (Chanel, Dior, Lous Vuitton, Tiffany´s etc.) and done the window-shopping already in Munich and well, I am just not that interested about these over-priced things. I wish I will never be that rich that I can´t figure out other options to use 6250 frangs (4628,50 Euros)  than a Hermes bag.

But in the end of this street was lovely fleamarket! I found a cute scarf and found out the salepersons mother was from Finland. Weird and funny, talking Finnish with a stranger in the middle of Zürich!

                          local kids swimming at the pool

Fraumünster Church and the windows painted by  Marc Chagall is beautiful. Taking pictures was forbidden, of course.

The Kunsthaus was really worth for visiting. I spent 4 hours watching cool photographies, modern art, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, old masters and other collections.  And an hour in the bookstore also - not bying anything, just wishing there were more space in my luckage and more money in my wallet, remembering my grandpas all the art-books he had and wondering how many of these books I could actually use in my future work in kindergarten.


In the evenig, beautiful wiew in the S-bahn alongside the Zürichsee -lake, and of course having problems with the tickets again. I am not sure, why I had bought the wrong ticket but luckily the conductor realised I was travelling first time there and I at least had bought some ticket and just told me how to buy the ticket and wished me to nice way home - I was so pleased not to be paying the 80 Swiss frangs (60 euros) penalty.

Another evening with good conversations and wine, love them. Sunday was just going to the beach with children and travelling back. Good people, good stuff. Yeah, Zürich was clean, beautiful and sunny, I loved the Kunsthaus, but... this time, it was the good people making a this trip good. Not the other stuff.

Short story

Couple of things I want to share with you:

-Body Percussion is my new favourite.
-Wednesday was the first day ever I had painted German  any flags in my face. Good game, good company. ( I also love Canadians: I can always discuss with them, why Ice Hockey is actually so much better thing)
-This was third day the six-year-old asked me, when will I be married. Today was the first day he had couple of suggests. This is kind of scary.

-Tomorrow: Zürich!

Meet me at the Hostel-room?

Well, wow, hmm. where would I start? So much to tell you. I have now been in German-Stamtisch two times - it means meeting where you can watch football, eat something, of course enjoy your beer - but you have to speak German only. More than one word  English in sentence and you should be ready to pay everybodys beer. So, high motivation! I have surprised myself with my german-speaking skills! We meet always in Atzinger, pub near University.

Well, Friday. Out with my lovely next-door-aupair -girl, first of course in Jaeger´s Hostel downstairs, just because of the happy-hour offer (two beers, 3,- euros) and a great atmosphere. First we met some random backpackers from Hamburg - the other one really couldn´t believe I was from Finland, because "I am not blonde and not looking like a Russian." I couldn´t say a word, huh! But luckily along these guyes we met super-charming girls from New York and California, and in some part of night we were actually in a group of maybe fifteen randoms from for example Canada and Mexico. But in the end, after the hilarious girls from USA just left the group because of a great sleep debt, we realised that these people being here two days didn´t want advices from almost two months here lived girls, we decided to find a party on our own. We should have made this decision a bit earlyer, ´cos atfer 2.am every place is full, closed or entrance will pay at least more that 9 euros. But we had a good evening still!

Saturday I was on my own. Friends babysitting or havin early mornig Sunday, so....If I want to go outside, I will.   Atomic Cafe is cool club near Marienplatz, great gigs and dj´s, decoration from the 1960´s. Looks and sounds British.

So, I followed the White Rabbit. White Rabbit kind of wanted me to drink one tequila and then Helles-beers enough that the barman knewed what I wanted to offer. Groovey! So, the music actually was so good that I just danced with some randoms and didn´t feel lonely at all! (No, do not misunderstand me!) But the way home... Well, first I was lucku to catch the S-bahn in right time but fell in sleep and was woken up after my homestation. Got off the train in the next station and realised the next train to back home was coming around 5.30 am, so... Without the map, 3.30 am. I walked home not having any clue where I was. Luckily it took only 45 minutes - but yeah, I was kind of worried. So, OK: Not falling in sleep in the S-bahn again.

(I also started my active-life in the another gym and learned that some showers work only with money!)

Tomorrow I am going to some body percussion class - truely random but why not!

PS. America´s Next Top Model really sounds awful Tyra Banks dubbed auf Deutch.

Half-time

Being here 8 weeks. And have only 8 weeks left. Time runs so quickly that I don´t even notice it...

(I got present from boys. Little tapdoles, to my balcony. How sweet!)

Birthday of 852-year-old-Munich and Germany-Australia -game: Win-win -situation

What a weekend! Horrible weather and new fresh and genuine people. Saturday supposed to be babysitting-night for me but actually the parents of my family didn´t have energy to go out after their Ikea-trip, so I and one other au-pair (really living like 500 metres near!) decided to go Schleissheim Biergarten. Although it was raining, it didn´t bothered us. Sometimes trees are very good umberellas! (Don´t have pics again, but there will be. Bavarians wanted to do their own version of Versailles!)

                          Original Lederhosen -costume

We, me and other au-pairs were plannig to go to the Englisher Garten in the forenoon but we couldn´t. After meeting under the Glockenspiegel, we decided to just walk around because of there were so many people celebrating the birth of city.

 

flags: white-blue: Bavaria, EU, white-blue again, Germany, yellow-black: Munich

             this box was moving!                                          

                he was pleased to appear in my picture


And the evening. Germany-Australia-game. We were kind of ashamed because we weren´t having flags painted to our faces, not wearing scartfs, not having yellow-red-black striped nails.
But Germany really kicked ass! 4-0 to Germany and couple of beers, great atmosphere ang going for work next day not before 2. pm.  Very happy people, very safety way home.

Little moments. Huge feelings. Missing you..

Listening: Pariisin Kevät - Alkemisti

This feeling. Everythings fine, everythigs great - exept you, my heros, aren´t here.

Hot weather, some hotties and... erm, soccer?

This week, huh! Unterscleissheimer See - the nearest lake and biergarten has really... been my hero. I think it´s genius to cut the beach on pieces - one for biergarten, second to families with children, third to people who want to grill and the last one to young people. Nobody disturbes each others! The lake is only two-three meters deep so... the water is maybe +25 degrees or more?

Wednesday-night was fun. I went for a beer with one another aupair and we ended-up discussing about our au-pair -jobs everything. There were little problems of course: First, I was 30 minutes late (!). Second, there weren´t free tables in any terrace. Third: Everybody else leaved to their houses after staff told to go inside. We founded only two of us still continuing...!

And yes. Soccer. Usually, in Finland, I may not be ever noticing it but here, hmm. When it was Inter-FC Bayern München -night, I was afraid to walking at town, there were hundreds of police-mans and bouncers around and everybody else were dressed on Bayern´s jersey, socks, scarft and surpricingly of course, lederhosen. Now when the World Cup 2010 South Africa begins tonight, it´s a big thing. Even in every shops. New Yorker, for example, sells this kind of stuff:

Hmm. Probably in some pub at Sunday when it´s Germany-Australia. If I am brave enough.

I don´t want these schedules and wrist-waches. Just give me time.

Feels like a lot of things are happening, here and there, everywhere. Like I should be in many places at the same time.

My two weeks vacation is over. It was great have that freetime - doing plenty of stuff like this trip to Salzburg, great gig of Band of Skulls, throwing all my money for Lush cosmetics and cute dresses, kickboxing and other new exercises - and of course, days of sleeping too late for now reason and keeping myself not doing anything special. But now when the family is back, I don´t miss my holiday at all. Today I picked the kids from kindergarten. They were swimming at the little pool! I want that activity in Finland´s kindergartens too! I am also going for a couple of days watching the days in this kindergarten. Think I am lucky to see what things are different from ours in Finland.

               Coconut for my hair, dear friends! You only have to smell a bit air to find out where I am.

We were looking today our calenders, the mother of the familys and I, and I noticed that the time is gonna run fast... maybe too fast for me. We are going to go for a one weekend to Switzerland, Zürich and for another to Italy, near lake Garda. I am very looking forward that :)

Feel more, Read more.

Books, love them. It is kinda weard having so much spare time that I actually have the time for a book reading. It sounds stupid that I haven´t have time for something that I like to do but well, thats only the question of prioritize...

I notised that we - the mother of my aupair-family and me - have very same like book taste. Anna Gavalda, Anna-Leena Härkönen,  Alexander McCall Smith... And lots of stuff I have planned to read. Proparbly the best... book I´ve read hear is Robert McLiam Wilsons Eureka Steet, Belfast

I am wondering is the place still same as it have been told -protestants are in war with the catholists, but the book is full of hidden humour and striking, insightful narration of people, relationships, funny coincidens. Story about people.. If I could recommend only one book at the moment, it would be this one.

The other book which I found cheeringly different and fresh is Martin Pages How I Became Stupid.

 Antoine has been intelligent all his life and thats makes life hard. So he decides to come stupid and that´s how the snowball-effect starts to run...


But you know what? The best thing to read above all is: mail. All the e-mail from my mother, from every friend, other relatives. Facebook inbox. Sms-messages (at least one friend IS coming to see me here yeah!) and the old fashioned mail, especially from my grandma.

The best things in grandmas letters are advices and poetry. Here´s one!


Kun on kunnossa meikit ja tukka
Olet kedon kaunein kukka

Grandma knows! Yeah!