Sunny weather

We have had another full week. No sooner had my mother and her partner left Zurich (under grey skies) than Therese from the Political Science dept. at SCU arrived and we entered full-blown summer. All of this of course coincided with the immigration problems I have had here. Ultimately Google was unable to persuade the Zurich migration office to grant an exception and I mandated to leave the country. I deregistered with the police station here and we traveled up to Germany for the weekend. Now I be a tourist for the remaining time here. But at least the good weather is still around!

The trip to Oma and Opa's house in Germany was like a visit to kid-paradise. The kids ate hot dogs and french fries, ice cream and lots of gummibears. Therese got lots of practise (which she doesn't need, unlike me) of her household German and lots of time chasing Timo (the runaway). We visited a wild animal park in the woods, several great playgrounds, and the local swim center which is a great collection of pools and pool-activities for kids. Not exactly what Therese expected from her visit to Zurich, but she was a very good sport about it!

Back in Zurich and without guests we have resumed our exploration of new playgrounds and new parts of the city. The city is still dressed up for the European cup which ends this weekend (last game in Vienna...will it be Germany?) Even some of the playgrounds have been augmented. Unlike in the states kids just get naked and play in the fountains. Timo and Nicolas are loving it!

Otherwise, we are expecting some visits from cousins of Markus and a visit to my host family in Denmark in July. Time suddenly seems to be running out...although we have two and a half months left. We discussed tonight ways to really maximize our time still here (including moving Markus' working hours around so that he has more daytime free with the kids and the city.) And sealed the plan with a picnic in a city park and more time in the fountains for the kids. With the sunny weather everything seems jollier here. Here are some pictures taken by Therese of our weekend adventures.