Wyles in Zurich summer 2010: The zoo

On Wednesday the weather was terrible, cold rain but we went to the zoo hoping we could dart between indoor exhibits and then go outside when the sun came out. But the sun never came out!

In Zurich we spent lots of time with my father-in-law.

Simeon ate a delicious breakfast.

We headed off to the zoo.

The zoo has Bluetooth transmitters that beam audio clips, MMS videos, and pictures to your phone if you bond your phone to the zoo Bluetooth system. As you walk past an exhibit, it beams files at you.

In the Madagascar dome we were protected from the rain in a warm jungle climate.

And the animals from Madagascar were on display, including colorful birdies and interesting fresh water fish.

Lemurs scampered above us in the canopy, pooping on unsuspecting Zoo visitors.

A big chameleon decided to make himself look like a tiger.

Some big sea tortoises lounged around.

The teenagers thought the “C” and “L” merged together and misread this sign when we stopped for ice cream.

Camels in the rain

Outside in the rain, we stopped at every covered awning, cave, or shelter.

Two female peacocks and a baby ran around in the walking paths getting underfoot of the zoo visitors.

An alpaca wanted to spit at Yofi

Inside the reptile / aquarium building we saw lots of interesting animals.

A rhino sharpens his nose.

Livio high-fives Yofiel.

Eitana learns the latest teenager gangsta hand shake.

Lunch in the zoo cafeteria was not that great. The beets were fresh in the salad bar but the rest of the food was bad.

Tarantula.

Anaconda

Crocodile

Reptile exhibit

Emperor penguins

Nemo clown fish

Wyles in Zurich summer 2010: Herrliberg, Zurich, Glatt Zentrum

It was warm sunshiney weather in Herrliberg. We chased lizards in the back yard.

We distributed the gifts to our cousins, ate too much, and hung out with cousins and in-laws.

Eventually we went back to Zurich and had dinner at Glatt Zentrum.

Eitana will be 7 years old in August.

Arrival in Zurich

The longest journeys begin with a single step and frequently include travel fatigue.

We changed planes in Amsterdam and the hike across Schiphol gave us an opportunity to play catch with the football along the moving sidewalks.

The puddle jumper from Amsterdam to Zurich boarded on the tarmac with an old rolling stairs instead of the usual jet-way.

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There was a very tight connection for passengers headed to Homer Simpson’s favorite expression (actually I think it’s Quatar).

After arriving in Zurich, we bought Swiss SIM cards and then waited for the train to Herrliberg.

It was a tight squeeze in the commuter train with all of our big suitcases.

We arrived in Herrliberg and walked from the train station towards the beautiful house on the lake. Julian picked ups up and took our bags back to the house; he dropped them in front of the house, drove back and chauffeured us the final 300 meters. We had a wonderful dinner in a house full of guests (the directors and family of Kids Africa are staying here) along with a German contractor who is repairing a neighboring house.

Wyles in Zurich summer, 2010: the journey continues

The teenagers and Colton played hacky sack. Yofi fetched it from under Adinah’s car.

Eventually the van arrived.

Mitch takes a self-portrait.

Another attempt at a self-portrait.

The older four in the van on our way to the airport

We shared the van with “Troy,” a very out-going, gregarious Mormon from Idaho who sold nutritional systems to health practitioners

After we cleared security (very quickly) Adinah wanted Wendys food (in addition to all the food we packed) so we stood in line.

Elisheva got sushi. I ate the veggie burgers I had packed. Simeon went hungry.

Sunday was a nice bright sunshiny day – good flying weather.

We were late taking off but the pilot tried to fly faster to enable us to make our connections in Amsterdam.

We wanted to have Simeon and Adinah sit in the exit row but FAA regulations forbid a strong, level-headed child from operating the exit door in case of an emergency. Only hysterical, weak older people may sit in an exit row.

Here is another view out the window. We sat in rows 20-22.

Wyles in Zurich Summer 2010: The journey begins

The teenagers started packing for our trip a few hours before the shared van ride service was scheduled to take us to the airport.

There was a last-minute barbarian horde scramble for clean clothes from the unsorted (ahem) laundry.

. . . and creative arrangements of various items in their rooms.

Adinah’s room had the most opportunity for straightening up. But, with the help of her friend Colton, she did clean everything up. She also picked up the poop from the back yard. She is wonderful.

In addition to the left-over Chinese food, Elisheva and Simeon decided we needed some food for the journey so they went to Safeway and came back with 2 kilos of fresh grapes, fresh bananas, fresh apple slices, fresh oranges, and sundry chips to pack in their carry-on luggage.

We ate a quick lunch. Some of us ate while standing.

Elisheva and Yofi also bought fresh-baked bread. Yofi tried to bolt it on to the side of his backpack with duct tape.

Simeon continued his marathon gaming session from last night. He packed in less than 5 minutes. He took a nap before the van arrived.

When Adinah started to pick up the poop in the backyard, Leighton and Reo came to interrupt her. I am hoping they did not leave her a goodbye present for the road. After half an hour they left and Adinah continued picking up the poop.

Enough poop to fill a bucket.

Eventually we finished the last-minute packing and straightening up, and waited for the van to arrive. The teenagers and Colton played hacky-sack. Yofi and I played catch with the football.

The van was a little late. But we had plenty of time.