Yada yada yada...

So, novelty does wear off quickly. I no longer look around and see beautiful European things, I just see (or not, depending on whether I'm paying attention) another cathedral, another quaint Swiss building, another wee cobblestone road. Yeah, yada yada... You've seen one, you've seen them all. It's much the same as when I moved to NYC and stopped looking up at all the tall buildings after a week or two. It just turns into the place where you live, you know? The things that have particularly faded into un-noticed-status are those things that aren't necessarily historic or important in any way. For instance, I know that smaller multi-storey shops will only have escalators going up, so I don't even think to search for the down one anymore, but instead look for the winding staircase intended for that use. And I don't notice that European airports are different in all the ways I used to notice - building materials, fixture styles, bathrooms, etc. They are just airports.

Sidebar: Except I have to say that I really like Tegel airport in Berlin, b/c it is sooo smooth. You go to the check in desk right by the gate where your flight will be, and then there is a separate security set-up for each of these gates, so you go quickly through security not 10 feet from where you check in. It's brilliant. It's even better when you're arriving there, because the smallish baggage claim conveyor belt thingy is right when you walk in off the plane, and so by the time you get inside, the luggage is right behind you (or already there even, if you're nearer the back of the plane). It's so good. Something to truly only be appreciated by one who hates and despises airports and has to use them way too often. All airports should be this good. Speaking of groovy airports, there's another one in Berlin that is really cool - Tempelhof - it was built back in the 1930s-ish, and it's huge and looks very much like you'd expect Hitler and his SS pals to come marching through the halls. It's like stepping back in time. I found out later that there are seven levels below ground at that airport, used I'm sure for fallout shelters and etc. I also heard that they're closing the airport, not using it anymore (I have to say that when I flew in there, it was all but deserted, I only saw like one or two other planes there). I almost expected to look around and see everyone and everything in black and white. (For those of you who are interested, here's a good article in Engligh: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3875545.stm - but oh, what horror! - this article also indicates they're thinking of shutting down Tegel too - and me having just waxed rhapsodic about it. Quel dommage! :-( I just stepped out of Tegel this morning, thinking that life is good when there are airports like this. Sigh.

Speaking of airports, and flying, It was a funny flight I was on this morning, out of Naples - so the plane is very full of Italians. One group of guys were clearly airlifted straight from the Staten Island Ferry - and talked VERY LOUDLY the entire flight. Shut up - capisce!?! But I was giggling because when we started to descend for landing, I saw a whole lot of genuflecting going on - and it was a very routine flight, not bumpy or anything. I thought it was kind of funny. I was in Rome on Monday, then Naples yesterday, then Berlin today, tomorrow Munich. For those of you still laboring under the delusion that 'travel' is in itself 'fun,' I defy you to enjoy this schedule I'm on. Oh yeah, I'm technically 'in' Berlin today - meaning I walked out of the airport and noted it was raining as I got into a taxi, which 15 minutes later pulled up right outside the nondescript office building I'm currently sitting in as I type this. Many hours later, about 9:00-ish tonight, I will step out of the building in the dark, and will get into a taxi that will take me across town to the Berlin Hilton. I might inadvertently catch a view or two out the window, but aside from that, I'll mostly be hoping I can get more than four hours sleep before I get up tomorrow and do the same routine in Munich. So, while I did have a drive-by of the Colliseum in Rome, and a dark-of-night view of Mt Vesuvius in Naples, I wouldn't call it a quick tour or anything.

All of this said, by the way, we do love living here. We are having a ball. And just because I don't notice everything as 'European' per se, I do notice that things are often very beautiful. So that's a Good Thing. Scott said it's his favorite place we've moved to, by far. And I really dig it too. So we are definitely Swiss residents now. We even have cute Swiss plates on our car - we'll have to take a picture - and post all the other ones we've already taken while we're at it. :-P

We are loving having our car now - so far we have gone shopping in France at the Geant, a huuuuge brightly lit store that rivals Wal Mart for its variety of contents, but far surpasses it for quality. It's very funny to be in a large grocery store and have the type of selection that they have there. It is, after all, France. There is a whole aisle devoted solely to pates of all variety and manner. There is a full aisle of only cheese, plus a separate cheese counter for the more gourmet varieties. (Although I suspect most of us would find the regular cheese aisle quite gourmet enough...) Then last weekend, we went to Germany to shop - to a large 'gourmet' grocery store called Hieber Frische, very very nice. I even found cheddar cheese there (from Ireland) in their gourmet cheese section. Hadn't been able to find that before. Spent a good hour and a half going through the entire store and got all sorts of good things, and then it was only 90 Euros when I checked out. I thought that must be wrong - we spent 150 Euros at Geant, and it seemed like we got about the same amount of things. But no, Germany is cheaper shopping than France even, they say, and apparently They are right. But both are quite cheaper than der Schweiz.

Speaking of our car (well, I was a number of sentences ago), we have an underground parking spot in which to keep it (CHF 250 per month - sheesh). Unfortunately, it's not under our building - we're on the waiting list for those spots (grrr, don't get me started on all the untrue things I was told about that garage, and yet we still don't have a spot there). Meanwhile, we're, on the face of things, parking under the building right around the corner from us. But it's like the Bat Cave in many ways. It's nearly impossible to find the walking entrance to the garage (it's well hidden behind a hedge and right up next to someone's apartment windows). Then you wind down two levels underground, and find our wee spot way down there. However, to reach the surface level requires no small effort. This involves at least one 180 degree turn that requires an Austin-Powers-type maneuver to accomplish, then you drive a long way through winding, DARK garages until you eventually reach the ultimate exit - which comes out on a street a block away from us. Hmmm. Not what you'd call 'convenient' per se, but at least a guaranteed parking place off the street (those are hard to find).

Did I ever tell you about the Herbstmesse? Oh, well it was really cool. We went for two different days, but in all, it lasted over three weeks. It was very good. They had all these stalls set up in the park with people selling all sorts of things - kind of like the Candy Dance (for those of you who've been there), but even better in many ways. Again, we did in fact take some photos there - I just need to figure out how to post them. Bought some very nice tablecloths and napkins there as well. Now that the Herbstmesse is gone, we'll soon have the Christmas market instead - yay! Who wants to come see it? :-)