July 9 and Slowly Adjusting

I thought I'd be more diligent about my entries but obviously I haven't been.  Every little thing, including walking Pongo, takes so much time to accomplish that there never seems to be enough time in the day.  This is primarily due to the language barrier and my German hasn't gotten any better.  I have a consultation with the school where I will take my German lessons next week so am eager to get some information on my start date.  It is clearly vacation time here so it may be September before I can really get started.  Since you all understand English and before I forget everything that has happened, I'll put it down here.

Figured out that online banking is very secure here.  It takes SEVEN pieces of information to actually login to online banking.  So much for my birthdate pin code which was really easy to remember.

Now I need an efinance account number, efinance password, efinance user id, efinance PIN, ATM PIN, a battery operated gadget that my ATM card goes into and spits out a different number every time I log in, was that seven?  And on this note, I received some sort of certified mail slip in the mail but the next day the post lady delivered certified mail. This was our residence cards that we were billed 300 CHF for.  I tried to give her the slips but she said she didn't need them and had me sign. . .I (incorrectly) assumed that I no longer needed the slips so tore them up and only when I tried to login to our online banking did I realize that there was YET another secret code coming.  I dug the pieces out of the trash, (put them together like a puzzle) great for a recreation major, haven't done that in years and showed up at the post office trying to get our FINAL passwords.  The look on the post lady's face was priceless when she saw my taped puzzle of a certified mail slip.  Good thing I took Kirt's passport as there was no way I was getting his envelope without it :)

First big excitement in our (temporary) neighborhood was the Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd Concert.  Unfortunately we were unable to obtain tickets. Our tram stop is normally SPOTLESS and here is a picture of the morning after.

By Noon, it was once again spotless, gotta love the Swiss.

I traveled to Germany to visit the Hilton's.  Jackie was my hairdresser in CA and her husband is Chris Hilton that works for SRAM, a bicycle components company.  Kate is 7 and Shane is 9 and they live in an apartment in a GREAT, old castle.  I enjoyed my weekend.

Kate KelLe and Shane

 

Kirt has been working long days and enjoyed his trip to Spain.  He has project assignments in Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia and France as well.  Still on a steep learning curve but he figures out something new nearly every day.  

Other upcoming work related activities include application for a second passport at the US Embassy in Bern.  Some countries require a visa in order to enter the country, which requires submittal of your passport for several weeks.  Since the passport is also needed for current travel, a second passport book is often required.  It also helps in segregating which stamps are in which book.  Many of the countries that he will have to travel to do not "get along" with some of the other countries.  So it helps to avoid problems at passport control stations if the "wrong" stamps are in the other passport.  

Pongo continues to be very good off-leash at our green space walking areas.  Its typically the small dogs that exhibit aggressive behavior ... Napolean complex.  The tennis ball is one of his favorites now and if his timing and the throw are just right, he leaps into the air to catch it.  Not bad for a dog who will turn 11 next month.  

He continues to think he is entitled to sleep on the couch when we aren't around, so I've added a sheet to the couch to collect all his hairs.  He has been caught on numerous occasions with one front paw on the couch as we make our way to the front door. 

Pongo lounges on couch when we're not home - don't tell the landlord!

He goes everywhere with me, he can't come inside the grocery store but there are dog "clips" outside each store where I can clip him in while I shop.

The yellow "poop" bags are provided by the city; here he is while I grocery shop!

 

We have one tomato plant, basil and some cilantro growing.  I am really glad I brought along cilantro seeds which are coming up nicely as I haven't seen cilantro and there is NO FRESH salsa. We can get Pancho Villa's and Old El Paso in a jar, which .........there are children reading this blog so I need not describe the flavor. 

We think we've found an apartment but it is not available until September 1. Need to confirm that this week.  Ciao for now! 

Pongo Makes It Through Customs!!

Well, it is Day 19 and we're still here.  First a word about our Blog's name.  Kirt's sixth (maybe seventh) cousin, Paul Henning was THE producer of the Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.  It just seemed right since we were thrust from our 21 acres in Vermont into Basel city life in a matter of seven hours and fifteen minutes on Swiss Air that we somehow incorporate the two.  So there you have it.

Since everyone seems more concerned about Pongo than us, I'll update you on him first.  After three vet appointments, one chip installation, one feces sample, two notarized forms, one rabies shot and a $400 plane ticket, Pongo was ready to go.  The vet did not recommend any sort of a sedative for him so instead we used what our dear friend (thanks Jackie Hilton) had sent us, some natural DAP, Dog Appeasing Pheromone.  This we sprayed in his kennel prior to the trip. Kirt took him on one nice long last run in the open fields of Hampshire Hollow prior to our drive to Boston and was able to walk him at Boston's Logan Airport as well.  Then we checked him in with our baggage which was great (for us).  When we arrived at baggage claim in Zurich, he was already there along with, hallelujah! all of our luggage.

Kirt convincing Pongo to "Get In"

Ready to Check In at Logan

Next we had to clear customs which involved an inspection of Pongo and his paperwork by a Swiss Veterinarian.  I probably spent a total of fifteen hours on phone calls,  paperwork and vet appointments to ensure that we had everything in order. In the paperwork they clearly tell you that if you don't have everything needed, they will quarantine your dog and put it "down" in ten days if you aren't able to sort things out.  Needless to say, I was motivated to have everything in order.  Much to my amazement, the Vet never looked at Pongo but his assistant did read his chip. He "glanced" at the paperwork, swiftly collected our 88 Swiss Francs (US$104.32), officially stamped (this theme will repeat itself) the paperwork and sent us out the door.  Great, all we wanted was to get him in.

Our relocation agent Hanna Biedermann was there to collect us and Kirt gave Pongo a quick walk in the parking structure before the hour or so drive from Zurich to Basel. So we landed at Lehenmattstrasse 332, 4052 Basel, Switzerland (that's the mailing address) right on schedule.
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Kirt's Birthday came and went on June 13, impressive that he can still blow 39 candles out in one breath!

 

Kirt is pleasantly challenged with his new position designing versus optimizing.  He has traveled to France twice and leaves for Spain on Monday for three days.  Russia to follow in July. We've registered ourselves, gotten a bank account and made an attempt at our personal liability insurance, however, the offer and terms came in German. . .such is life as we know it today.

I have been busy grant writing, walking Pongo, grocery shopping and recycling (both take on a new meaning on foot) and walking Pongo.  And then there is walking Pongo and the apartment hunting.  We're eager to see one on Friday in the most rural area we've found :)   Details in the next post!