25 July 2010

Oh me oh my oh my oh me

Today marks the longest I have ridden here in CH. I found a new website that allows people to post routes and I found a real doozy. I have been looking for hills, and I have finally found them. Switchbacks, 70 kmh descents, muscle wrenching ascents. It has it all. Manages to meander through the Emmental region, then briefly into Luzern Canton for a bit, then slowly climbs into the Berner Oberland. Just when you think you're done climbing (because you are doing 70 kmh down a hill), you see a sign that says "road climbs 500m over 5km". And then you cry. It was a VERY beautiful route. At one point I was riding under a "flock" of para-gliders coming down from the mountain. The only problem really was he number of motorcycles, which as it turns out there was a motorcycle rally (Töfflitreff) at the highest point.

And yes, I totally bonked. Seems a pancake isn't enough food to do 100k in the Berner Oberland. In my defense I hadn't planned on going this far. And I swear the altitude map is wrong because at the little dip at about 55km into the ride was where I saw the "500m in 5km" sign.


So beautiful. As well. Wow.

21 July 2010

Mein Name ist Stegi!

Noah is completely infatuated with our neighbors that share our balcony. They have been very nice to him and are patent with his 4-year old version of English and a little German. Usually Noah brings out stuff to show them and they tell him what it is in German. Sometimes they give him little toys they have picked up over the years and he gives them some of his toys in return.

This evening for whatever reason Noah was out there chatting away with them. I went out to tell him it was bedtime and see our neighbor drawing and Noah with a small stack of papers - whatever Noah asked for, he would draw. At one point he ran inside to get his dinosaur encyclopedia to show him a special dinosaur he wanted. Turns out our neighbor is a professional artist (who knew?!?). He also gave us one of the books he has published. I haven't had a chance to look at it much because Noah of course will not part with it but it looks pretty cute.

05 July 2010

Happy 4th (5th) of July

Did the whole Bern Marines BBQ thing this evening. They always put on a good party with loud music (Rush, Iron Maiden, Van Halen), burgers shipped in from Germany, US beer, beans, watermelon the works. Try explaining to a 4-year old why US Marines like loud music.

And slip-n-slides. They never forget the kids. Slip-n-slides, soccer balls and lots of kid fun too.

On the other hand, when you overhear them discussing assembling an explosive device I tend to think they know what they are talking about.

27 June 2010

Ouch. That one hurt ...

Took a 4-hour ride this afternoon. Yes, the hottest day of the year so far and I head out on my longest ride of the year. Total ouch.  Did not bonk, but came close. Ride was actually 82km. Down to Schwarzenburg (or is it up? yes, it's up. That's the UP part of the ride.), then on down to Thun, then back up to Bern. There were some really awesome downhill spots coming out of Schwarzenburg. Zooming down the mountain at 60kph. There is also this spot just to the east of Schwarzenburg where there is a radio-controlled airplane airport. So I'm riding past and there are like 10 planes in the air all doing loop-tee-loops. Makes for an interesting ride.

So here's some German-English fun for you. In the following sentence, try to figure out what is German and what is English:

"Das Iced Vanilla Latte mit Caramel ist the shit. The shit"

As overheard at Starbux.

24 June 2010

Taking Longer ...

So here in Bern, it only takes 5 working days to renew your Aufenthaltsbewilligung. You suckers in Zürich have to suffer. All 4 of us. Bing, bam, boom. 4 cards. Done. One of the benefits of living in a smaller city I guess.

On the other hand, it took 3 months to get my NespressoClub membership card.

14 June 2010

Watching a Little WM

A lot of smack talk thrown around the office today because of USA's "win" against England.

10 June 2010

Things I Saw This Week

  1. Fabian Cancallera heading north out of Worb. He had a motorcycle pacing him.
  2. The World Cup music concert on no less that 50% of all channels we have. Shakira appears to be REALLY popular.
  3. Todd riding home from work
  4. A bunch of old dudes who could climb faster than I could

05 June 2010

Another Exciting Day on the Bike

Spent the afternoon wandering around the hills south of Bern today. We have had such crappy weather of late - typical for CH I hear. Cold enough to wear sweaters and jackets for most of the week, then suddenly it's like 85 and sunny and perfect. Got to hang out at Veter Herzog afterwards and drink coffee and their fabulous home made iced tea. Yum

23 May 2010

And ... I'm Back (sort of)

Trips to the US, selling the house (attempting to at least). Lots going on.

Hit the road seriously for the fist time in a while. Did an out-and-back down to Schwarzenburg. Uphill all the way there, downhill all the way home. Oddly, it was WICKED windy. Uphill was therefore easier actually. Doing 30s (kph) most of the way there (up), 20s most of the way home (down). Yes, I was actually working hard to "go down the hill" it was so windy.

Schwarzenburg is for CUTE! I'd live there in a heartbeat assuming we actually had a car. There is a train that goes between Bern and Schwarzenburg, but only very few are non-stop. Thus, the trip would be 45 minutes I think.

Did not stop by Sabato's place while I was there. Wish I did though. Would have been funny.

12 April 2010

Sickness (or, the Tyranny of Healthcare)

I've been out with the extreme ickies for the past 2 days (going on 3). So I thought it time to elucidate upon on our experiences with the insurance/medical system here. A lot of expats will write up something on how the CH system differs from their own, but rarely do they talk about actually using it.

I also have very little idea of what is happening back in the old country - only that a communist has taken over the government and is forcing everyone to participate in a healthcare system that is a lot like what we have here. A bunch of people feel the communist government should be overthrown lest they be subjected to the tyranny of forced healthiness. So here's a little bit about what we have.

The Facts:

Every person in CH is obligated to have health insurance, and to acquire it on their own; one's job does not provide health insurance (they do sometimes work with insurance companies to get their employees small discounts, as does mine). For some reason one's job does provide accident insurance. Within 3 months of arriving in CH one is required to sign up with a health insurance company. There are something like a gazillion insurance companies. Every company is required to offer a basic standard level of insurance to all that request it (i.e. pay for it) and supposedly you can't be denied. This standard level is actually pretty good. The companies compete on price and services, and by offering different packages. They save money by reducing the bureaucracy and administration fees. If someone can't afford the insurance, the CH government steps in. So in effect, everyone gets covered (sounds awful, doesn't it?). Some people, don't ever get insurance. They cheat the system (no one ever checks really). If ever they were in an emergency, the government would find out somehow and assign them an insurance plan (at random for all I know).

We chose one that was a little more expensive than most because they offer their services in English. We also pay for the "next level up" as it were. We know exactly how much our insurance costs every year, and it's a lot. And it went up with the new year. We even have a fairly high deductible which lowers the cost quite a bit.

People are allowed to switch plans only during a certain time of year (i.e. the end of it). This seems rather arbitrary. So at the end of the year you see ads talking about switching and new plans and comparis.ch ramps up advertising its really good plan comparison engine and will even notify you when plan switchin' time is near.

When you go to the doctor, they ask you for your insurance company, but then bill you directly. We have been able to see any doctor we have wanted to. You receive all your own bills and see how much everything costs. Once you receive a bill, you simply send it into your insurance company. They then deposit into your checking account what their contribution is and send you a transaction record every month. The process has worked very well thus far. This constant back and forth in turn must fund the postal system somehow as well.

What we have experienced:

1) We had a baby. We did not pay anything - it was all covered under the BASIC coverage. We did however pay CHF 20 to the hospital to (in reality) completely screw up the birth certificate. Everyone in the hospital was SUPER awesome. Obviously, our doctor was already picked by us so we knew he was good. We had a really hard time finding him though - most are booked with patients and aren't taking any more. Everyone at the hospital spoke English with Alison and saw it as somewhat of a novelty. We did not get to experience any of our coverage "upgrades" because most plans (at least ours) do not allow you to tap this until after a year of coverage. So basically until this June we are under basic coverage.

All CH plans allow visits with a midwife for two weeks after birth as part of basic coverage. We opted to leave the hospital a day early and meet with a midwife as a followup. This was covered under this provision so it was very handy. We found her from a list provided to us by the hospital, she came to our apartment, did a test on Daniel and actually ended up billing the insurance company directly. Meeting with her was a nice personal-touch type experience.

2) We have been visiting the health center that our insurance company offers. We haven't had to pay for any of it. The health centers give out prescription meds on site at the reception desk (no need for a trip to the pharmacist). They give out generic brands. One doctor Alison saw spoke English, and for some reason the doctor I see doesn't (very well) so he and I speak German. Kind of weird.

3) Coincidentally (or perhaps not) we have twice had need to visit the urgent care doctor after hours during a holiday. There is a 24hour medical phone line that the cantons of Bern and Luzern offer (medphone.ch) for medical advice and will make appointments at the "on call" doctor for the evening. At least for children's doctors, one is available in town every evening for urgent care needs, and it rotates among the well known doctors. We did this once for Noah and once for Daniel. So instead of going to the emergency room somewhere and waiting for hours (which we could have done as well) we have been able to make appointments and see doctors almost immediately. Both doctors we saw, were able to give us medication on the spot. I think we ended up paying CHF 15 for one of these visits as part of our deductible or it might simply not have been covered.

4) We chose a good children's doctor suggested by the US Embassy and by the midwife we met with after Daniel's birth. Regular visits have thus far all been covered. He is also administering the same immunization schedule as in Minnesota per our request (which is pretty close to the CH schedule).

5) Do you want to know what IS really expensive? Over the counter drugs. Pop into a pharmacist and ask for Zyrtec - I think it's CHF 20 for 10 pills where you can get 100 for $30 in the US. Ibuprofen is CHF 1/pill. Do the math.

6) There are also a bunch of things you can't get here except from a doctor - children's claratin, children's tylenol, pedialyte. See the pattern? At first we were taken aback as we were so used to being able to self-diagnose everything. That, is medical savings in the US - DIY. In CH there appears to be the unwritten rule that children's health is paramount and to be controlled by a doctor just to be safe. You get used to it. Our children's doctor is reachable over the phone and in person very easily - his office is 2 blocks away.

Overall, for us, the system has worked quite nicely and is pretty much just like back in the old country. It's obviously expensive and projected to be even more so over the years (CH folk are just as worried about that). We have had much quicker and direct/personal access to actual doctors though. Score one for CH - although I don't know what it would be like in a different (and perhaps larger) CH city/Canton. Basic coverage is actually very good and we probably didn't need to get the "next level up." If rates go up again this year, we will probably reduce my coverage to basic.

Anywho. That is our experience here in a foreign land. I watched this Frontline episode a long time before we came over - a very good compare and contrast between a bunch of good systems, including the CH system.

Caveat emptor - these are our experiences. Your mileage may vary.

05 April 2010

Marktgasse Nebeneinanderstellung

Just remembered I had these two shots ... Marktgasse is the main shopping street between the Zytglogge (clock tower) and the Bahnhof. Saturday afternoon absolutely everyone was out purchasing stuff for the coming two day holiday (Easter Sunday and Monday) during which most of CH would surely starve to death unless groceries and H&M clothing were purchased right then.

04 April 2010

Berner Eiertütschen

Some traditions are simply too odd to pass up. This morning, Noah and I headed out to enjoy a quick round of Eiertütschen. Strangers gather in front of the Kornhaus cafe with (sometimes) dozens of hard boiled eggs and challenge each other to rounds of "smash the egg." More of a social event really. You start out with the "sharp" end of the egg, then if neither egg is broken, you continue on to the "fat" end. Small taps on each end. The "winner" takes the broken egg. I haven't decided if its really winning though. Some people bring bottles of prosecco and small picnics and enjoy an hour or so of fun with strangers.

Other than that, the town was d..e..a..d ... dead ... dead. It was fun to walk down the middle of the streets and play choo-choo on the tram tracks though. Managed to get in a quick "I'm too shy" shot though.

01 April 2010

Gründonnerstag

And as Daniel and I were walking through Bern this Gründonnerstag (that's today) what did we see? Why ... of all things ... the Polizei arresting a bunch of Santa Clauses on the Bundesplatz.

Just can't make this stuff up.

28 March 2010

yeah, i got nothin'

Lots going on sort of. Warm week in Bern followed by three days of cold European rain. Trips to IKEA, birthday parties, US and CH taxes (thank goodness for Turbo Tax). Verfallsanzeige der Aufenthaltsbewilligung, Daniels Schweizer Geburtsschein, US SSN and passport and a pending trip back home. I feel like we've been busy busy busy. But not really.

Also, can't decide whether or not I like the Swedish version or the BBC version of Wallander better.

14 March 2010

three point one four blah







Totally missed pi-day. Went skiing instead at Adelboden / Lenk. We actually went there by accident, expecting to go back to Wiriehorn. Oops! Missed the turn. Guess we should go to Adelboden, shucks. Much more of a big-style resort with gondolas and covered chair lifts and chalets up and down the mountain ... and drink bars. Yes, little drink bars peppered the mountain. Ski up, have a drink, keep on ski'n. Photos aren't that good because I only brought my cell phone. Sigh.

27 February 2010

I have two things to say

1) 50 degrees
2) tacos on the Bärenplatz

20 February 2010

Bärner Fasnacht

On Friday afternoon we all went "downtown" for the Chinderumzug. Met up with a bunch of Noah's friends (and moms obviously) and we all marched in the soggy wet cold confetti parade. No pictures - raining too much. Noah had dragon wings but wouldn't wear them. Oh well.

Then today Noah and I headed "downtown" again to meet up with Todd and his son to watch the big Umzug. Noah and I arrived and walked around a bit first. Got a "Bratwurst im Schlafsack" (hot dog). After that, the place was WAY crowded as they were preparing for the big event. 58 bands and silly groups marched by all playing the Guggemarsch. Fun time.








13 February 2010

Ski Wiriehorn

Duncan and I hit the slopes today. First time for in CH for me. Rented skis for the entire season for CHF 135. Can't argue that really. Although they pretty much suck. But they'll do for this year until I get around to purchasing my own pair. Drove down to Wiriehorn, 30 or so minutes. Wonderful. The views were utterly spectacular even though the clouds were quite low. At times we were looking down at them. Some may notice, that on the map, there are no green runs. As I learned for the first time yesterday, US ski runs are defined differently than in Euro-Disney. Here, Blue is easiest, Red is Medium, Black is hardest and Yellow is unmanaged. So when I rented my skis I was all like "yeah, I have tons of ski experience and I like to ski the blues." And the sales guy I'm sure was like "doof."

Wiriehorn is one of the smallish local places the Swiss tend to cut their teeth on as far as skiing goes. Very few runs, locals, mostly medium difficulty. Skiers of all ages. There were young kids who could ski circles around me. Long runs, not too hard, but icy at times. Which, as a Minnesotan, I'm used to.

On the down side, only a single chair lift. The rest ... T-bars. This is hard core skiing. Sit down on the way up? Puh. Only for wimps. Took me a while to get used to. My. Legs. Are. Tired.




12 February 2010

New Baby Bag for the Bugaboo

We ordered Daniel a fancy-pants baby bag so now he's all snugly warm when we take him out in the stroller. Just zip and go.

23 January 2010

CHF 10

Noah and I headed up the Gurten again today. But this time ... Skifahren! It's finally officially open. CHF 5 for the skis, CHF 5 for the Liftkarte. Wow. Hours of entertainment. Total. Noah. Exhaustion. He's asleep on the couch right now.

Two "runs" if you can even call them that. Tow ropes that are fairly easy for 3.5 year olds to figure out. And not very crowded. Took about 15 minutes to rent the skis and be out skiing.

We had a great time. Too tired even for a cookie inside afterwards.

19 January 2010

Midmorning

Nothing better than a long day at work, stopping off at the COOP for a few items for dinner, walking in the door and hearing a little kerri miller on the radio. just figured out ... tv does streaming internet radio. love. it.

09 January 2010

Migro's (Delivers)

Back in the "old" country we used a service called Simon Delivers. We tried it out, did it a few times but it really became more of a hastle than it was worth. So we dropped it. As did a lot of people I guess as they went out of business.

Now that we have a brand new babychen we decided to try out the CH equivalent. Even though we are normally a COOP household, Alison did it through Migros - LeShop.ch. Why? They do English so Alison can do it all without my mad Übersetzer props. Plus, COOP site wasn't working at the time. We only signed up yesterday morning, and roughly 10 bags were delivered (by the Swiss Post) at about 8.15 this morning. And now I don't need to schlepp those 6-packs of water 6 blocks all the time.

Somewhat odd experience - it was far too easy.

We signed up only yesterday. There are various payment options. We chose paperless which means we get an email eventually that tells us we have a bill online. We go to the site, get the payment info and then pay it directly via the bank. When the food was delivered, I didn't need to sign for anything. Guy just drops of the food, "merci, adieu", we're done.

Yay easy shopping!

04 January 2010

Grindelwald Winter Wunderland

Noah and I headed up to Grindelwald this past Sunday. Spent the time on the train doing sticker books, telling stories from our heads and watching a little Fairly OddParents (the iPhone is Gods gift to 3.5 year olds on train rides).



We didn't go skiing though - just wanted to check everything out. Headed up on the BOB (Berner Oberland Bahn) which is an older style train that switches from normal self-propelled motion to cable or cog-wheel or something (at times it is far too steep for the train to do it alone). We had lunch in town and then walked around a bit. One can rent sleds, take the bus up the mountain and sled down, or walk a few blocks and jump on the chair lifts to hit the slopes. We played in the snow a bit and then headed to the sport center and warmed up a bit. After a few hours we jumped back on the train and headed back down the mountain and back home.