Gruezi from Switzerland!

imageGruezi (pronounced Grertsi) means hello in German. We are having a wonderful time in Zurich, Switzerland, but we miss our friends and my students in Rockland County. 

I intend on writing in this blog periodically to inform you of life in Switzerland, but specifically Zurich. Please feel free to write questions and I will try to answer them. If I don't respond to your question in my next blog post please be patient. I might need to do research or maybe your topic will be addressed in a long blog about the topic. 

We arrived two weeks ago and have been settling into life in Zurich. We spent our first week overcoming jet lag and trying to get a few vital systems in order like opening a bank account, enrolling in a cell phone plan, registering as residents and enrolling our daughter in school. We hit a few snags along the way but are moving in the right direction. 

This photo was taken from a bridge in Zurich near the main train station. In the photo you can see one of the many church steeples in Zurich. As a matter of fact, our apartment is in a building very close to a church with a bell tower. I absolutely LOVE hearing the bells ring. The sound of the bells is a constant reminder that we are in Europe. They are ringing now, reminding me that I must go to pick up my daughter from school. I will write again soon.

6 thoughts on “Gruezi from Switzerland!

  1. Hi Mrs. O'Brien, Is it true Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland? What is the weather like now? Have you used the polybahn little train to go up the high hills? From Sean

  2. Yes, Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland with a population of close to 380,000. The population of Switzerland is is only about 8 million which is close to the population of New York City. Imagine that, the entire population of Switzerland is about the same as the population of one city. The polybahn is greatly appreciated. Zurich is part of a valley. Mountains encompass the city. The downtown area is down near two rivers and then Zurich extends up on either side. We live up a steep slope which looks down on the shopping district. While I love the exercise of walking up and down the very steep hill – similar to the steep hills in Piermont (Ash St.), I do the food shopping in a grocery store down in the shopping district of Zurich and really appreciate being able to hop on the polybahn to get back home. I'll send photos in a future blog. Sean, it was great to receive your response. Just thinking of you put a smile on my face. I hope you are still pursuing your scientific interests and trying your best. Tell your class and Mr. Krump I'm wishing them a very Happy Valentine's Day. Each of the students has someone thinking of them here in Switzerland.

    Ms. O'Brien

    By the way, how did you know about the polybahn. Oh, and the weather is hovering around a balmy 50 degrees and it's usually overcast with some rain and occasional sleet but no snow. I've been following your weather. CRAZY!!!!! I hope you are enjoying sledding and making snow people. 

  3. Hi Mrs. O’Brien,
    I will tell my class you said hi and Mr. Krump. My grandpa and grandma told me about the polybahn. I know where Ash street is in Piermont I see what you mean.
    We had more snow today. I have had the lindt chocolates they are real good, never the other ones you talked about. We are studying the muscles in science class.
    From Sean

  4. Liam, I answered your question in next few blog entries. I hope that you read them in the correct order from bottom-up. I have been having a few difficulties with the blog and could not seem to change the order of the postings. Any ideas? I already tried putting them in draft form and then republishing them, but that did not yield my desired results. Alas.

    Please tell other people to write with questions. I will try to answer them, and I promise to include more photos in future blog entries. By the way, I think of you often and hope you are doing well. Is origami still interest to your crowd? Are you all still pushing each other to grow and learn? Have any girls infiltrated the origami-Scratch crowd? I hope so.

  5. Having more free time is crucial as it allows you to engage in hobbies and relax. Using online services for academic tasks can be incredibly convenient. I recently needed an essay written and found a trusted service through https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/where-buy-essay-2024-trusted-writing-services-digital-marketplace1-ykocf/ The service provided high-quality work quickly, which reduced my workload and let me focus on other activities I enjoy. This experience demonstrated how using a reliable online essay writing service can be a great way to manage academic responsibilities efficiently.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *