Ist here noch frei?

We arrived in Zurich on Thursday the 21st a little groggy but ready to go.

Zurich is in the German speaking section of Swizerland -- so the months of boning up on my French are really paying off!  But we are doing our best, remembering to say "bitte" and "dankeschon" as much as possible.

Zurich is a lovely city with a great old town and terrific transportation system.  We've ridden the trains, trams, and boats around town!  In a matter of two days we've visted the Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum), walked through the cobble stone streets of Old Town several times, visited the Zoo, seen the church from which Zwingli launched the Reformation in Switzerland, and hiked to a high point from which we could see all of Zurich, the lake, and a lot of the countryside (OK, the train took us most of the way there...we just walked the last 1/2 mile).

While there have been a few challenges, they have been minor.  The big challenge so far has been the rain.  There has been lots and lots of rain.  We've not been letting it slow us down.  But, let me tell you, having two boys share an umbrella is no easy task!

I've even had the chance to put to good use the very little bit of German I learned in the one semester I took in college.  At dinner on our first day, we entered a small restaurant and wandered over to the only open table.   I knew immediatly that I could use one of the four phrases in German I still remember and one of the few that can be used in polite company. "Ist here noch frei?"  (Is this seat free...) I said to the older man at the table.  He said yes and we sat down.  The man and I proceed to have a conversation in French--about the US, about our travels, about his family in the US and their low opinion of the French, about Obama and the US deficit.  Needless to say that 1/2 hour dinner completely taxed my poor brain!  It was clearly time for a beer!