Trip to Malta & Gozo

We just got back from a great week in the Maltese Islands. We stayed on the island of Gozo in Xlendi Bay. We spent our days diving, sunbathing, and checking out the ancient ruins and temples (some date back to 3600 BC). We also ate at least one gelato cone per day, sometimes two; we felt compelled to eat as much of the amazing food as possible, especially considering it was probably a third of the cost of Swiss food prices. Yum yum! Some highlights include: diving through unique rock formations and caves, seeing the most jelly fish we've ever seen in our lives, taking lots of pictures of Maltese doors (or as Todd said, "you gotta love those knockers"), riding the old buses (one we rode had a full plastic religious shrine glued to the ceiling), and taking in the breathtaking cliffs from the waterfront. For more information on Malta, click on the title to this blog.

Zurich's Street Parade

Todd and I checked out the Street Parade yesterday. Initially, we were a little skeptical. Everyone had warned us about the size and the noise. In fact, many locals had planned on leaving Zurich for the weekend and did. And when Todd and I went out for dinner in the Old Town area on Friday night and didn't see many people, we thought, "this is no big deal." Well, somewhere between 10 pm on Friday and noon on Saturday, they showed up. Approximately, one million of them. They came with their techno music and "creative" costumes -- many of which included very little in actual material (as you can see by the photos). The parade was not so much a parade in the traditional sense as it was a collection of big trucks filled with scantily clad people dancing to the beats of an on-board DJ pumping out techno music. The parade started at 3 and ended at 10. The parties then migrated to local bars that sponsored various DJs and became expanded clubs for the night. And in true Zurich form, the mess was all cleaned up by morning. If we didn't take pictures, Todd and I would wonder if it had ever happened.

Switzerland: The land of extreme sports.

This Swiss keep adventure in the heart of their culture. They consistently stay on the cutting edge of new sports like paragliding, windboarding, and of course hiking with humongous backpacks, as demonstrated here by Kathleen's dad, Joe.

KZ's Corner

This is an outside view of Kathleen's office. She shares it with Ivo Furrer, her direct boss. They have a great view of the lake and park across the street, where Kathleen can sometimes see Todd sailing or catching a game of volleyball with the locals.