Author: Pete

Location:  Zug, Switzerland

So here we are.  Dry land, no salt water in sight!  We’ve replaced the Caribbean Sea with the Zugersee, white-capped waves for ice-capped peaks, and swim suits for silk suits.  Switzerland!  We’re still reeling from our good fortune of landing here.  It was a good deal of work and planning on our part, but I’m sure luck took a sizable role as well.  We’ll take any help we can get!

Zug is cute, comfortable and easy.  There’s the quaint altstadt, rolling hills, blue lake, and beckoning Alps in the background.  It’s gorgeous.  People are friendly and patient with my (slowly) developing Swiss German.

Four duffle bags worth of worldly belongings seems like a lot when packing, but it’s easily swallowed by an empty apartment.  I don’t know if I’m proud or unsettled by how few possessions we deem absolutely necessary.  The building is new; everything is glossy and freshly painted.  I haven’t had to fix anything in months.  Although there has been an IKEA construction project taking place somewhere in the apartment since we arrived.  I knew all those years of playing with Legos would pay off!  I’m sure we’ll miss a little grit eventually, but for now it sure is nice to have things just work.

There are cows and a dairy farm with fresh milk right outside our window, the Zugerberg range standing guard over Zug, and the Alps on the other side of the lake.  Several festivals in town have whipped into oompah band fueled fetes.  Cows and beer?  Miranda is sold.  Biking, skiing, and paragliding out the backdoor?  Me too!

Miranda and I have met a warm welcome here.  The other teachers have taken us under wing, inviting us to dinners and on outings, helping us find our way around, and giving us the beta on life in der Schweiz.  Most have been in Switzerland for some years.  Everyone seems happy here.  I’m sure we will be too.

Boat Update:  Brave Tayrona is still awaiting her new crew.  There’s been some paperwork tangle that has slowed her sale (and sail), but she’s hopeful to be back on the water soon.