Swissmas 2005

Although we couldn't go home for the holidays, we were fortunate enough to have a bit of home brought to us. Kathleen's brother, Michael, paid us a visit over Christmas and got to see first-hand why Switzerland has got to be one of the best places to be to get in the winter spirit.

With a trip to pick out our live tree, Michael's visit began. When we put it up (with ornaments and lights), we realized that unlike other trees we had had in the past, we could actually see through this one -- front to back. We wondered why it looked so sparse or "anorexic" as Kathleen said. We made due and figured, hey, someone has to get the Charlie Brown tree. We later found out that this is normal. In fact, in some cases, people chop out additional branches to make more room. Why? Because the tradition in Switzerland is to have real candles on the branches instead of electric lights. Upon hearing that, we nodded knowingly and then paused, thinking what a fire hazard that must be.

The visit continued with two great sledding trips -- one to a small town called Filzbach and another to a peak near Lucerne called Pilatus. While the safety hazard of the candles should have been our first clue into how "reckless" the Swiss could be, we were unprepared for the death-defying slopes of the sled runs. And unlike the U.S. where we were certain you would have to sign at least three waivers before grabbing your tobaggan, we just had to pick out our plastic or wooden death trap, aka the sled, and go. We decided that Michael was the closest qualifier to the X-games as he perfected the ability to careen down the mountains at high-rates of speed while spending very little time actually making contact with the ground. Nice moves. Our Christmas Eve trip to Pilatus was not only filled with sledding but also sunning. We've since decided that all Christmas Eves should be filled with a view of the Alps, a bit of sunning and a cold beer! Good times.

We also spent some time checking out the Zurich Christmas market in the main train station. The market was filled with wooden huts, each with either traditional Swiss food or holiday paraphenalia for sale. We turned down gluhwein and raclette in favor of some good bratwurst and beer. The highlight of the market is the towering tree filled with Swavorski crystals. Leave it to Switzerland to be able to have that up without a huge security barrier.

The time in between our activities focused on food, of course! And importantly, a visit to the Lindt-Sprungli chocolate factory. What an amazing place. Michael pointed out that it would be hard not to go home with something since you have to walk up 5 flights of stairs before you're actually in the store. "So, you kind of deserve it." We loaded up on truffles, filled chocolates, chocolate santas, chocolate sticks -- you name it, we bought it. Yummy! And as per the tradition with all our guests, we had to bring Michael to the Zeughaus Keller for the famed "sword of meat". He was not diasppointed.

We hope that you all had enjoyable holidays as well and we hope to see you in Switzerland in 2006!

Holiday Visits to New York City and Chicago

Our December was a whirlwind. We started out in New York for a week. What a great time to be in the Big Apple. With a quintessential visit to Rockefeller Plaza and the Tree, we spent the weekend exploring all the holiday glitz. Our gift? A seasonal snowfall. While Kathleen worked hard during the week, Todd was able to take off and spend time with his family in Georgia. The treat at the end of the week was a night of dinner and theater -- a local Italian restaurant and "Sweet Charity" (which was surprisingly good -- I have to confess it was hard to imagine Christina Applegate in any other role than the one she had in "Married With Children"). Our next stop was the windy city of Chicago. What a great and much needed trip. Our stay was short but so sweet. Thanks to all our friends who made it so very good to be home. A big thanks to Emily and Jason as well as Amy and Sean for hosting us. And a huge congratulations to recent new parents, Rhonda and Craig who have a new daughter, Sophie Marie, and Jodi and Dave who also have a new daughter, Ava Marie. Congratulations! Keep us posted. Seriously, the only negatives about our trip were: (1) it was way too short and we didn't have a chance to see everyone we wanted to (2) it was cold :) and (3) we found out that Marshall Field's will soon be Macy's -- did news of this upset anyone as much as me? what will happen to Frango mints? the Walnut Room?

Zürich lights up for the holidays

There's no place like Switzerland when it comes to getting into the holiday spirit. Click on the video or the link below and see how we do it here in Zürich.

Click on the video or here to watch.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Todd racks up another theater credit

This time the credit is for running sound instead of writing.

The photo shows Todd at the soundboard of the Zürich Comedy Club's production of "Death of a Salesman."

With no prior experience, Todd welcomed the opportunity to learn something new and have some fun.

The show was a success, selling out 10 productions of over 500 seats before opening night.

Montreux - The jewel of the Swiss Riviera

We took a weekend and headed to the southwestern part of Switzerland to the town of Montreux, the resort town known for its annual jazz festival. We wanted to relax and pamper ourselves with some swiss spa treatments. We managed to enjoy a nice soak in their hydrotherapy tubs. But after the most clinical massages we've ever experienced, we felt rubbed the wrong way.

But sterile spa treatments aside, Montreux provided us the opportunity to check out Château de Chillon, one of Europe's coolest castles. It's right on the lake with the snow-covered Alps as a back drop. Stunning.

Montreux is in the French-speaking part of the country and not only has embraced the French language but also excellent French-inspired cuisine. You should have seen Kathleen chatting the with locals. What a pro. The town's charm has captivated artists, writers and musicians, including Lord Byron, Mary Shelly, Leo Tolstoy and Hans Christian Andersen, and let's not forget Freddy Mercury. This was Freddy's second home and the place where he came when he was very ill at the end of his life; and eventually, he passed away here.

Also, there's a casino in Montreux that has entered into rock legend. On 4, December 1971, during a concert given by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, a rocket-flare was fired into the ceiling, and the building was suddenly engulfed by flames. As clouds of smoke soared above the waters of the lake, Ian Gillan, of the band Deep Purple, who was watching from his hotel room, was inspired by the sight to write "Smoke on the Water."