Monday, November 24, 2008
Uetliberg
It was a beautiful day for a trip to Uetliberg. Check it out: http://picasaweb.google.com/ctuttle/Uetliberg . I also took a 90MB (34k * 3k pixels) panorama of the city, but I don't have anywhere to post it.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
G9, the sequel.
I found a Canon G10 on special yesterday for 610 CHF. Everywhere else in town has them for 830. I took immediate advantage, and then I headed out in the evening to try it out on some festive decorations. Here are the results:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ctuttle/JelmoliChristmasWindows#
I'm pleased.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ctuttle/JelmoliChristmasWindows#
I'm pleased.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Je ne comprends pas.
My strategy of pretending to only speak French to people who approach me on the street (who I want to avoid) has now failed for the second time, leading to two conversations that were just as uncomfortable and far more difficult than they would have been in English. The first time -- in Berlin -- I spoke with a gaunt, unshaven man for ten minutes or so about some march protesting Chinese human rights policy while the poor girl selling the tour tickets worked through a transaction with a foreign couple who didn't speak much English at all. After a while, I sheepishly admitted that I am American (and that I speak English). He said I didn't have an American accent while speaking French. +1!
Today I ran into someone at the ATM machines nearby. There are 5 or 6 of them, plus 3 or 4 larger terminals that you can use to do arbitrary banking stuff. The ATMs differ slightly in which currencies and denominations they dispense, and the guy was using the one I really wanted (which can dispense 20CHF notes, instead of only 50/100/200). I think he was just really drunk, but it's hard to tell. Either way, we had a brief, but similarly uncomfortable discussion, in French, about Obama. Of course we did.
Perhaps I'll give up this strategy and treat people with the respect they deserve. Then again, this has worked quite well, despite two strikes.
In the end, it's a pretty fundamental social question, and I don't have a good answer. Or any answer. But yinz are smarter and more worldly than I.
Discuss.
Today I ran into someone at the ATM machines nearby. There are 5 or 6 of them, plus 3 or 4 larger terminals that you can use to do arbitrary banking stuff. The ATMs differ slightly in which currencies and denominations they dispense, and the guy was using the one I really wanted (which can dispense 20CHF notes, instead of only 50/100/200). I think he was just really drunk, but it's hard to tell. Either way, we had a brief, but similarly uncomfortable discussion, in French, about Obama. Of course we did.
Perhaps I'll give up this strategy and treat people with the respect they deserve. Then again, this has worked quite well, despite two strikes.
In the end, it's a pretty fundamental social question, and I don't have a good answer. Or any answer. But yinz are smarter and more worldly than I.
Discuss.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
On Glühwein
I've observed a couple of novel concoctions since my arrival. At first, there was the Panache, a mix of beer and sprite that's fairly popular around here. I tried it once, and it was pretty unimpressive. Which is to say, it was sweet fizzy beer. If wine coolers were made for beer, a Panache would be one of them.
More recently, I observed a most terrible thing. Someone took a glass mug of red wine, poured some sugar in it, and put under the milk steamer for a while. Then they put something on the top, added an orange slice, and served it to someone. Insofar as I've spent some effort over the past two years to keep my wine away from heat at all costs, my mind was boggled. I asked a few questions about it, and ultimately left feeling I'd witnessed something quite unholy.
As it would happen, last night as I was walking by I noticed that Gerrie (Geraldine), the waitress who'd I'd grilled about it, was working. When we first spoke, Gerrie seemed a little incredulous that I didn't know what it was, and that us yanks would drink apple cider with cinnamon instead. At any rate, she's a fan, and so I told her I would try it and then write about it on the Internet.
The first indication that this would be a memorable experience came when she refused to show me the wine bottle's label. Oh yes. We have high quality product. The rest of the ritual progressed as before: wine in mug; add sugar; stir; heat until steaming; add some cloves; float an orange slice in it; place on a saucer with a piece of chocolate, a spoon, and a sugar packet; serve.
Gluehwein is not a complex drink, and it tastes basically like you'd imagine. The depth of the wine is gone, like you've left it out too long (or, maybe, like you've heated it up in a steamer). The flavor of the orange is pretty strong, and it begins to make up for the lack of body. I don't get the point of the cloves, other than to have something other than the taste to focus on while drinking. Anyone who claims that swirling a mug is all you need to keep a pair of cloves from going down is quite mistaken. I imagine that if I were stuck in an igloo, Gluehwein would be quite pleasant.
Which is to say, the results weren't as bad as I feared, but I'll be preparing some hot apple cider for a throwdown.
More recently, I observed a most terrible thing. Someone took a glass mug of red wine, poured some sugar in it, and put under the milk steamer for a while. Then they put something on the top, added an orange slice, and served it to someone. Insofar as I've spent some effort over the past two years to keep my wine away from heat at all costs, my mind was boggled. I asked a few questions about it, and ultimately left feeling I'd witnessed something quite unholy.
As it would happen, last night as I was walking by I noticed that Gerrie (Geraldine), the waitress who'd I'd grilled about it, was working. When we first spoke, Gerrie seemed a little incredulous that I didn't know what it was, and that us yanks would drink apple cider with cinnamon instead. At any rate, she's a fan, and so I told her I would try it and then write about it on the Internet.
The first indication that this would be a memorable experience came when she refused to show me the wine bottle's label. Oh yes. We have high quality product. The rest of the ritual progressed as before: wine in mug; add sugar; stir; heat until steaming; add some cloves; float an orange slice in it; place on a saucer with a piece of chocolate, a spoon, and a sugar packet; serve.
Gluehwein is not a complex drink, and it tastes basically like you'd imagine. The depth of the wine is gone, like you've left it out too long (or, maybe, like you've heated it up in a steamer). The flavor of the orange is pretty strong, and it begins to make up for the lack of body. I don't get the point of the cloves, other than to have something other than the taste to focus on while drinking. Anyone who claims that swirling a mug is all you need to keep a pair of cloves from going down is quite mistaken. I imagine that if I were stuck in an igloo, Gluehwein would be quite pleasant.
Which is to say, the results weren't as bad as I feared, but I'll be preparing some hot apple cider for a throwdown.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Halloween
Nothing to see here. Move along.
The biggest celebration I saw was at work, where we had a pumpkin carving contest, decorations, and themed food (the nuclear green "witches brew" was pretty good). The stores are in full swing for Christmas. We'll see how that goes.
The biggest celebration I saw was at work, where we had a pumpkin carving contest, decorations, and themed food (the nuclear green "witches brew" was pretty good). The stores are in full swing for Christmas. We'll see how that goes.
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