Living the good life

The past few days have been very busy in a great way for Kristina and I. As the weather has been beautiful and we're both almost fully recovered from viruses, we've spent almost all of our free time outdoors. Alas, enjoying our leisure time has led to our apartment falling into messy disorder that needs to be tended to, so I'll give a quick summary of our last five days before heading back to clean...

Thursday, 19.June: Went on a nice hour-long run with my Boston friend Mike G. Got to run a new trail along the river in the woods outside Sihl City. Then we headed into Zurich to watch Germany defeat Portugal in the Euro Quarterfinals. Finished the night with our piano man friend Valentin at the Splendid Bar in Niederdorf.

Friday, 20 June: Met my Starbucks friend Daniel at the train station and headed off into the Swiss countryside. Took a 4 hour hike through the Jura, northwest of Zurich outside the town of Brugg. Just hopped off the train, followed the yellow "Wanderweg" signs for a bit, then got lost in the mountains. The weather was beautiful, and the scenery was even better. One highlight was eating fresh cherries picked from a cherry tree along our route. A trip I'll not soon forget.

Friday evening after dinner, Kristina and I went for a walk and made it to a nice lakeside restaurant called Monchof am See. Watched the Croatia-Turkey match and enjoyed a few beers as the sunset around 10pm. They had a good looking menu, and we're planning to head back soon.

Saturday, 21.June: Biked down to Zurichsee, found a nice spot of grass. Brought lunch and books and had a relaxing afternoon. Even went for a quick, refreshing swim. Saw our first topless bather in Zurich. Good times.

Saturday evening we met Mike and Nicolette and their friend Rob in Zurich to watch Holland-Russia. Ate meat on a stick with a big roll on the end. Delicious. The game went to extra time, when Russia came away with the upset. I'd picked Holland to win the tournament, so I was bummed...

Sunday, 22.June: Again headed down to Zurichsee for lunch and a swim. Got sunburned as I didn't spray the sunscreen on carefully enough. Still had beautiful weather and a really enjoyable day. It's almost like living a few blocks from the beach, but without the sand or the waves.

Sunday evening we headed over to Rob's apartment for a BBQ with he and his wife, along with Mike and Nicolette. Delicious grilled food, tasty wine and good company. Lots of fun.

Monday, 23.June: Not too exciting today. Went for a long run through the Thalwil running trails, bought an umbrella for the "beach" along with paddleball and ping pong equipment. Yep, they have public ping pong tables here. They really have me excited! Now to get K to start playing...