Although yesterday was perfect, seeing the weekend activity here, I decided to come back again today to capture Ouchy in a quiet way.  The weather forecast wasn't good - rain the whole day.  This didn't stop me from going back here.

The bus ride to Ouchy is quiet, different from yesterday and when I got there the place looked entirely different! It is so peaceful and calm, all you see are the birds and the boats docked on the pier.  It is beautiful.  As I am still enjoying the place, taking pictures.. clouds started to set in, the beautiful sunlight gone and rain started to fall.  I hurriedly went to look for a cover, found it in the presence of a snack stand, which reminded me that I haven't eaten the whole morning (I woke up late, so I started rushing to the train station forgot to buy food because I was trying to catch my train).  I enjoyed my burger and my coke silently praying for the rain to stop.  After a few minutes, the sky became clear.  I sat on the pier noticing that there are plenty individuals coming here, I'm not sure if they are tourists but they are doing what I was doing as well.  Sitting down, watching the boat that passes by, feeding the birds, silently enjoying the magnificent view.  This trip reminded me how nice it is to sometimes travel alone and how important it is to reconnect with yourself.

After a couple of hours in Ouchy, I went to the main part of Luasanne, walked up and down the hilly streets and finally decided to go back to Geneve because my legs can't take enough of the walking anymore. I really hate walking in hilly streets!!! After calling it a day, I passed by this Thai Restaurant and ordered my favorite green curry =)

A place for those who like metal music.

My biggest hobby always was dancing and i def needed a change of seen from time to time...i loved my work but i needed something i really enjoyed and were i could relax abit...but i just couldnt find a good course or anything...

so i wrode an e-mail to mrs Erb and asked her if she knew some good place! She gave me the address of an other au pair who went to a dancing school...the girl was Daniela and really nice. i called her to ask if she'd show me the school and stuff.

the dancing school De Roy was in Caroline, Lausanne and not far from were i lived...the school was owend and runed by an old lady and her husband, they were swissgerman and very great ppl! the class was all about diffrent kind of dances and we learnd something new every week..salsa, rumba, tango, walzer, rock'n'roll, chachacha...everything you wanted to know! I sooo loved going there!

I went once a week for 2 houers and i learned so much about dancing and life from this lady! and she was so kind to explain everything in german to me:P!

I wished i'd find a dancing school like this here back home!!! 

This was the my last day in switzerland...i realised this on our way to Lausanne..the last time i drove to Pully, the last time i've packed my stuff, the last day i sepnt with my parents...toghether with me being ill that was kind of an awful feeling day!!!

First we went to Pully to my hostfams house so i could packe up the rest of my things, the 2 aupairgirls from next dors made a cake for me and came to say goodbye..that was so sweet of them!!!
The girls were too happy to see their Aina agian and all hanged onto me!

The naighbours came over to say goodbye as well...it was a strange moment...dozen of men run around the house busy packing everything into hunderts of boxes!

About 2h later we packed the girls and the suitcases into the car and waved a last time to the old home...we made our way to Genf airport...

My dad helped to check in all those suitcases when my grandma and her cusine came into the checkin area... what a surprise!!!!!!
My grandma was about 80 and she was also the only one who ever came to visit me in Lausanne...i loved her and i was soooo happy to see her there!!!
When the time of saying goodbye came i really couldnt hold my tears back anymore! I gave all my loves who came a hug and a kiss and also my hostmom had to spend some tears;)!

After the passcontrole and stuff we went to the lounge...since we were flying business class:P

Not much later we could bored the plane...sitting in the front row we took off direction London.
When the flightattendend served the meal i suddnly felt soo dizy and all went black around me...!i had a sleeping baby on my lap..it was an awful moment but my hostmom gave me some water and the flightattendends were doing all they could to give me something with surgar in:D that was so sweet...but my hostmom was a bit scared: you looked like plain white!!!

When we landed in London we went again to the BA lounge and there my hostdad said: you will get something to eat and sit down here and do nothing, ok?...yes sir:P

Later on the way to the gate we had to pass security check and stuff again..i was carriny Charlotte who was the heaviest(about 8kg)my rucksack which was quite heavy as well and a 10kg babybag!...when we stood infrot of the plane waiting to go inside i thought i need to sit down...i had so no force cause i was ill and this stuff was oooo heavy!!

Before bording we got our bording cards and the lady at the desk looked at us and then at the pc to see what we've booked for seats...you really wanne leave those babies in the babybaskets all the time??? she asked..nono this cant be it, i always felt sorry for my own kids, i'll give you 6 business class seats so you have enough space...!! wow thanks a loot!!!
Actually i was only booked in World traveler Plus class!

It was soo compfy and i really really felt sooo sorry for little Lotti to be stuck in this basked to i took her out and she liked to steal my lil dog of me...fine, i thought,,,i'm gonne take your bear then:P

I only slept for about 15mins on the whole 12h flight since i was always scared that Lotti would fell dwon the chair or so!!!

When we were finally landing in Mexico city i had some tears in my eyes...i gave Lotti a hug and was happy that i actually survied that trip with all my fever and stuff!!!!it was such a relive to leave the plane!!

No we only had to drive to the house and my hostmom and i were so excited to see our new home soon! My hostdad was the only one who saw it before...we only knwe it from pics!
The drive took about 2h and when we arrived i was soooooooooo tired!
We first had to make the girls bed and feed them, then i finally could move into my room;)!
My kind hostdad even made my bed...that was soo nice of him...i was even to tired to open my suitcase and just took out the pjamas i had in my rucksack...never in my live i was sooo tired..i fell into the bed and fell asleep(it was 11pm)...silly jet lag woke me up at 5am again. 7h time diffrence!!

What a great idea. Skiing in the middle of winter and after the trip we hit italy. Idea perfect b-u-t.... 1.st thing that went wrong was the car. We had a small opel combo (who ever is not familia with this car, it more or less a golfcar with a better roof). We were so optimistic to get there that we could have taken a carpet instead and it will bring us the same way ( 2 optimistic like i said). so we packet the "small" car till the roof with snowboard stuff and equipment no one needs (but thinks he does because he bought it cause it should have a purpis!!,anyway) and a good stereo and got on the road. after a few miles out of the netherlands we got gas and water ( no one knows what happens!?! or did we?) and went back on it. after miles and miles of frustrating road in germany we finally got to the boarder (germany/switzerland). 2nd mistake to buy in our euphoria a discolight u can install in the inside of the car so it looks a bit more rocking. gsus what a trouble with the boarder patrol.after they eventually made shure we have no things to declare (safty first) we could drive into this great country. And i think that is on of the fascinating things when u cross the boarder. from grey to white blue. brialliant view and i think the toilets flush a diffrent way ( just jokin' ). So we went straight - with some corners - to SOLOTHURN. What a city ...but we wanted reach our destination -->Lausanne. I think best spot for snowboarding in switzerland. Just after we reached our hotel my friend hopped out of the car and kissed the snow (mad man like i always say). i reather went to the next "skihuette" (aka:pub) and loaded myself into the local atmosphere. A few drinks and broken hards later we managed to find the way back to the hotel and dumped our selfs (not even in the right order) into a bed. Next morning with a hangover and a head that didnt fit through the door, we made it with sunglasses to the reception where we picket up our skipasses for the 2 weeks. After a great week of drinking and boarding we decidet to go to italy earlier then we planed. 3rd mistake the check out. I just cant say it enough times. Check the minibar bill before u even attempt 2 check out. keeps u out of greater problems. But light headed we were we didnt and just had 2 pay much more then we planed. what so ever we made it back on the street and with in the back of your mind into new problems. 4th mistake how to get out the country again. Actually there was nothing happening this time. We passed with our little overloaded vehicle the swiss boarder in the near of lugano into italy. By the way we where overloaded cause we had 3 crates of beer in the back (hahaha). Now in Italia i start another story and another blog. Salute

Nadine came over to our house from time to time or i went to Prilly to her place!

When she came and sometimes stayed over night we always had good fun! The girls liked her and it was too much fun playing with them taking funny pics!

Trough nadine i also got to know two other au pairs that were living in my area..basicly next to me:P! I saw them at the au pair meet up but didnt talked to them! we never really became good friends or anything, we just hanged out from time to time and talked!

our free afternoon we usualy spent in town, going shopping or having a meal at our favourite Chineese restaurant in the center of lausanne!..once it was end if the month and we didint have much money anymore, so we had to think of something we could do...hmm we have a free train ticket, its warm in trains...lets go to Bern!...lol so we drove an hour to Bern...aaaahhhh HOME! German again, it felt so familiar:P...we walked trough town, got some food at Migros and went back to Lausanne 2hours later:P!

Once we also went to the Olympic museeum..or better to its garden in front! its really nice there and we enjoyed that a lot!

Friday night and we stayed in Lausanne til saturday insted of going home...what could we do?

I left home after work at about 2 and went down to lausanne to meet up with Nadine and an old schoolmate of mine.
We had a look on the cinema programm and decided to watch "Charlie and the chocolate factory"!

luckely at least one of us could buy the tkt in french:P wasnt that easy somehow;)!
Since it was only afternoon, the cinema was empty and we had it all for us...we sat into the middle (there were in the end all the popcorn was:P) and had a good laugh watching this movie...english spoaken with german/french subtitle;)!

Afterwards we went down to Ouchy (my mate went back to Neuenburg)...Ouchy is the area down at the lake and really really nice!:D
We came to the shipstation and had a look on the timetable...only 10 min till the next ship tp Evian is leaving. Our change we thought and since we had free tkts we went on the ship:D!

Enjoying the sunset over the lake we made our way to the other side of the lake...to france:D! On the way we suddnly realised that we didnt have any Euros with us...so we checked our purs and found some rests.....EUR 2.50 we had in the end:P!

Arriving in Evian (that where the water Evian is coming from) we first walked around a little...it was wonderful over there, it felt like on holiday with all those palmes:D!

Later we sat down in a restaurant wanting to have an icecream for our money:D
So we orderd one cube with 2 spoons...hmm she rought one cube for each
nono one cube in one glass we said and she returned with 2 cubes in one glass!
nope thats wrong: One cube in One galss with Two spoons!
Ahh now she got it and probably thought we were crazy!:P:P

We took the 9 o'clock ship back to lausanne and went to nadines flat.
Before we left we bought some Spätzli and stuff which we now wanted to cook...hahahahahahaha we didnt have the right pan but never mind, we found a way to cook it:P...gotta post some pics of this!!

It was a good laugh and a great afternoon!!:D

I signed up at the Migros Club school in Lausanne for an english course.

An the only thing i can say about this school is: unfriendly and a waste of time and money!!!
First they wanted to put me into a very beginner course....i've had 8 years english before!!
Of course i didnt want this and was allowed to joyn an other higher course...the teacher was form India and of course didnt speak german...that was okey for me but since she explained eveything in french i had no chance to understand half of what she said! I learn def more french then english in this course...we often had to translate texts...of course into fench...HAHA..jeah i'm really sorry i can say it in german but not in french...naja she never wanted to understand why i couldnt do it!

So i was so fed up going there that i "missed out" about every second time and insted went out with friends:P!

In the end i should of done the BEC but there werent enough ppl sho wanted to do the same so this didnt work out and i would of had to wait till summer...which then didnt work out as well since i moved to mexico!

There was always someone german speaking at the reception but if you had any questions they never cared weather you spoke frenc or not...such unfriendly stuff really!!!!

This was the day of moving my home!

My last big summer holiday i've spent in greece...3 weeks realxing and having some time with my family!

I've packed all the things i needed and my parents drove me to Pully...of course i always went home at weekends and so i didnt need to pack too much for the first!

Arriving there, i unpacked my stuff and then my daily work began...taking care of 3 wonderful little girls and giving my hostmam a chance tohave sometime for her self!;)
Since my hostmom is swissgerman and the girls got many diffrent medications and stuff and i really didnt wanne do anything wrong with this, we spoke german for the first week! Just till i was a bit settlet with all the news!

Now the girls were 3 month old and still veeery little...they didnt sleep the same time, they didnt wanne eat all on the same time and bath's in the evening were filled with crying...but...i loved this job from the first day on! I got used to carry babies all day long and doing some houshold stuff with the one free hand! preparing milk for 12h was a daily work of mine so we didint have to prepare milk everytime they cried for it!:P

Having three little babies the same age is really a challange for everyone!

Lausanne became like a second home for me while i stayed there as an Au Pair girls for 8 month! I know my way around quite well and when i went back there the first time after leaving(2,5 years ago!!) with my school class from business school it was a special feeling..nothing has changed! We stayed at Camping Vidy, about 20 min walk from Ouchy down at the lake. We've spent all evening walking the lakesideroad into Ouchy..as i said it takes you about 20 min...we needed 2 houers...including being pissed and tired and taking 200 pics in the beautiful sunset! Ouchy is dev the place to hang out and enjoy for everyone! We sat into a bar and a had only one single drink...but the fact that my friend and i went out the night before and where fucking pissed and only slept for an hour (and this was actually a sport weekend..lol) we where over hanged again after that one sex on the beach!:P:P:P jeah so we sat outside on a bench waiting for our bus back to Vidy..some frenchies came along and just sat on my friends and my lap..thx a lot i'd say!:P so the busdrive was just one big party even if the busdriver had already mentioned the time we went on the bus that this is not a party place!! haha..tja!

On Friday I left Bern and headed to Lausanne, where the International Olympic Committee and its museum and archives are located.  Of course, I can't do research over the weekend, so I had two full days to spend doing non-PhD stuff.  yeah!  I stayed with a friend in Lausanne who owns a car, which means we had even more options of what to do.  What I've learned from one week in Switzerland is that July translates into "hold a festival" in Swiss (either the French of German Swiss -- probably even the other two national languages, too).  I arrived in Lausanne on Friday evening, and that night was part of the Festival de la Cit頭- such a creative name those Lausanne people were able to think of!  It was a lot like the Züri-Fäscht only within a smaller amount of space, and minus the carnival rides.  We met up with some of Thomas' friends who are doing PhD's in econ (yuk!) at Neuchatel.

Saturday we drove to Fribourg (no, not the German city, the Swiss one with a comparable name) and walked around.  We also had some of the yummiest pastries at a cafe in the city there.  Fribourg also has the Swiss National Museum of Sewing Machines, but we didn't go.  After walking through the town, we then headed to Gruy貥s -- home of, you guessed it, one of my favorite cheeses!  We went to the Maison du Gruyères which is all about cheese-making.  They hand you a package of three pieces of Gruyère when you pay to enter the museum part -- each piece is aged for a different amount of time (6 mo, 8 mo, 10 mo).  That was perhaps the highlight of the museum.  It had an audio guide which was pretty lame.  The only good explanation was the one on when the cheese is actually made.  The rest of the time it's a cow called "Cherry" (who names their cow Cherry?) telling you about life as a cow.  like I can't get that at home.  I suppose the museum would be better if you went during the set times each day when the cheese is actually made.  You can then take a two-hour walk through the countryside, stopping at other places where cheese is made in traditional methods, ending at the other big cheese-making place.  We skipped that and instead walked up to the town (I won't call it a city) proper.  The town is mostly contained within the original walls high on a mountain, or so it seemed when walking up the path.  There is a castle there, and also a museum for H.R. Giger, the guy who created Alien.  We didn't go in either because we were a bit pressed for time, but that's about it for Gruyères -- you can buy cheese and other dairy products from the region.  Cheese.....  yum......

Then it was off to Montreux, which is the city on the east end of Lake Geneva (with Geneva being on the west end and somewhat south of the lake, and Lausanne on the north side of it) for a concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival (though not everyone plays Jazz music).  See, it really is Festival month in Switzerland!  We walked along the lake through all of the stalls and food stands.  Montreux is one of the richest towns in Switzerland (as if it seems possible to be one of the richest among a really expensive country) and it's pretty posh.  We had tickets to a concert with three rock bands.  The first sung in French.  They were ok, but really, they could have been singing "I love my girlfriend" or "I hate the world" and I wouldn't have known any better.  oh well.  The second group sang in English -- they were just three guys.  The singer/guitarist, a pretty good drummer, and then the bass player.  You know how every school has that really tall and gangly 16-year old who looks like a turtle?  that was totally the bass player in this group.  Apparently that stereotype is universal.  After the second band, we waited a bit for the third band, and then the concert organizers came out and said the girl singer didn't have a voice, so there would be a rescheduled concert next Saturday.  After the mess of people attempting to exchange their bracelets (you trade your ticket for a plastic bracelet that allows you into the venue) for new tickets and, I presume, asking for their money back instead, they announced you could get your money back.  And so, we got to see two bands play, and get all the money back, too.  not a bad deal!

But after all that driving, now I understand why the Amish settled at home.  Seriously -- driving through the Swiss countryside is just like driving through PA!  Deer crossing signs, lots of farmland, getting stuck driving behind a tractor and just hoping you can pass it without being forced to drive 20 mph for the next 20 minutes.....  it's really just like home!  well, home doesn't have the awesome mountains in the back of every view.  so I guess they kinda lost out on the scenery when they came to the new world....  but I guess that was the price to pay for religious freedom a few hundred years ago.

Sunday was a bit more relaxing.....  no festivals going for us.  After brunch we headed down to the lake but just outside of the city to one of the more expensive suburbs of Lausanne.  We found a beach/park just on the water and laid out and swam in the lake.  Swimming in clean, clear water that's not chlorinated is a bit different than my usual brown Jersey Shore water.  But it was really nice!  Though I do prefer the sand to the pebbles that constitute the "beach" here.   Still, it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon!  Alas, it's research at the IOC this week....

October 8
We arrived at Pascal (see previous)
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October 9

I woke up and did some things with the computer, then later I went to visit the town and have a complete different view from the Lausanne I had seen in 1999.

I walked the old town and the Autumn feeling was fully there with a sun like from the Indian summer. After this walk I found back my way to Pascal, but then I also needed to get some money to go buy some food at the supermarket for the evening and the next days. No ATM anywhere in sight and no where after 2h walk... I couldnt believe it, is this Switzerland, Bank and accountant country having no ATM.

I walked back to Pascal and said as the first thing... 'damn there is no bank in here?'

So finally we cooked something with what was available at Pascal and the grocery was about to wait till tomorrow.
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October 10

At last a bank, I got some food by midday and the sun is still pretty much shining. After the grocery and the short walk in the suburb area I joined with Pascal by jumping on the bus and having an evening walk through Lausanne.

Going to discover the hidden river of Lausanne and some other Planning curiosity, which was pretty great. Then we went back and cooked a great pasta meal before talking some more longer in the night.
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October 11

Today, I spent my day doing some hospitalityclub work, trying to close some France region in the geo task. I also wrote to people and received answer for accomodation.

Dylan was now on the road and he became the centre of attention as he didnt show up in Montpellier at his host and she got pretty worried and contacted anybody... So for a while we wondered where he could have been (Dylan will arrived finally and we will meet for a great trip together).

As nothing could be done, we simply waited and went to sleep to see if there would be news the next day.

in what was probably an old warehouse, this place is legendary - one of the best nightlife venues in the whole country, and certainly the best in this half of switzerland. the main dance floor is very big, and they often have big parties with famous dj's. there's also a small basement dance area, and another dance area on the upper floor as well - those two give you more of the low-ceiling, tight cramped spaces feeling typical of other clubs around here. had lots of fun every time i've gone.

If you like sports -- and especially the Olympic Games -- this is the museum for you! I went a few years ago, but since I had some extra time in Lausanne, and because I was given a free pass to the museum, I thought I'd see what has been updated since I last visited and check out the temporary exhibits. The walk from the main road (Quai d'Ouchy) is, as always, beautiful. The Olympic Museum is built atop a hill, so there are all the gardens in between the road and the actual building. You'll definitely feel as though you had a workout before seeing all the elite athlete souvenirs inside! There are a lot of sculptures within the gardens, all having some sort of relationship to the Olympic movement, so check them out. And if you turn around to look at the lake, it's not too shabby of a view, with the lake, the Alps, and the town of Evian across the water. The permanent exhibit has two parts. On the first floor, you get a history of the Olympic Games, both from antiquity and the modern games founded by Pierre de Coubertin. There are souvenirs from all of the Games, Summer and Winter, and information about all of the IOC's presidents. Perhaps the coolest part of this exhibit is the torch section -- with a torch from each of the Games. Getting to see them up close is really interesting -- like noticing the old Norwegian drawings within the flame part of the torch from the '94 Lillehammer Games. The permanent exhibit on the second floor is about the sports themselves -- one side for the summer sports, the other side for the Winter Games. There are a lot of memorabilia from the athletes and events, including a bobsled (because who doesn't want to go bobsledding?), as well as information about great or surprising performances at each of the Games. There is also a permanent exhibit on numismatics and philately that deal with the Olympic Games. There are definitely some cool stamps and coins that have been produced to commemorate the Olympics -- so take a few minutes to go in that room. The temporary exhibit that I saw is about the minds of a champion, and is contained within two parts. The temporary exhibit, as part of the IOC's Education department, is very interactive. For the mind of a champion, the upstairs room focused on the mental preparation that an athlete goes through in order to be successful. There is also a restaurant and cafe at the museum, as well as a gift shop where you can purchase all sorts of Olympic-related items, including reprints of past Games' materials (there was a lot of Mexico City '68 and Moscow '80 stuff when I was there). There is also a Swatch room where, if you have somehow managed to not go in any of the oodles of Swatch stores elsewhere in Switzerland, you can go to the one at the Olympic Museum, which also carries the limited edition Olympic swatches.