My Life - So Far

"Unbounded ambition makes an obscure existence simply impossible for me"
Lucien de Rubempré

Friday, July 31, 2009

Vienna Again I

I'm in Vienna again. This time we, that means I and a former track and field training partner which is now a doctor in medicine, went by train, the night train that leaves Zurich at 10:40 PM and arrives at Vienna Westbahnhof at 8AM. After a short walk we got to Chwallagasse next to the metro station Neubaugasse where our hotel was located. The location could actually not have been better, as we had the shopping street Mariahilferstrasse just around the corner. The Gumpendorferstrasse with the Café Sperl, Ra’mien, Shanghai Tan and the Naschmarkt were also in short walking distance. Even the sizzling museumsquartier was not far away. Thus, a great starting point for our trip.

In the morning we had breakfast and coffee and then walked to the museumsquartier where we could have gone to the MUMOK, the museum of modern art or to the Leopold Museum, where Gustav Kilmt’s paintings are presented to the public. However, as the weather was so good (actually, the weather was good all days long and hot, really hot. Summer. As it should be) we walked on to the Maria-Theresien Platz, the Hofburg with the Heldenplatz and then went to the Burggarten, next to the Palmenhaus.

In the meantime Ulli called and we decided to meet for a coffee in the afternoon. So we had enough time to go to see the Stephan’s cathedral and do some shopping at Kärntnerstrasse. Then we went to Figlmüller (Bäckerstrasse 6) to eat the famous Wiener Schnitzel. It was quite big and pretty tasty but the location was just a bit too touristy. For coffee we met at the station Kettenbrückengasse next to the Naschmarkt, where Ulli already waited for us. We found a cozy place where she gave us some very helpful recommendations for good bars and clubs. She came with us then and we went shopping again in stores such as American Apparel, Diesel and others. As we were pretty tired we went home and relaxed a bit, wrote some messages on facebook, and then decided to go to the Naschmark for dinner. We found a comfy place called NENI (Naschmarkt 510), where I had a delicious tuna steak with wasabi puree. It was pure summer feeling, as the NENI was mad just like a beach bar. Then we joined Ulli and her friends for a drink before we went to the Tanzcafé Jenseits, which was funny to see. Not much later we went to the Camera Club that the waiter at NENI recommended, as it hosted some electro and minimal acts that night.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Restart VI

I spent an awesome weekend up in the mountains! I already announced that trip in previous posts, now we put that in action. Urs, Livia, a friend of hers and my humble self met on Saturday morning in Zurich where we took the train heading along Lake Zurich for Glarus, the hometown of Urs. When he was studying Food Science, he used to commute every day, but now as banker he lives amidst Zurich at sizzling Schaffhauserplatz. He bought some breakfast and we enjoyed the journey up to his place. There we wandered up to a alp hut that belongs to the family of his. Just a few days before a helicopter brought fresh food, gas and water up there. After a few hours of climb in the steep terrain, we arrived and we were to find an amazing view of the Alps and the Klöntalsee down in the valley. As there were still some clouds covering the sun, the ascending was pretty comfortable. As we were hungry we cooked two packs of spaghetti with a delicious tomato sauce and mango and banana pieces with chocolate cream as dessert. With a glass of wine, the evening was perfect! Thank to the iPhone we even had access to the internet and could play music all night long. And for the romantically minded among you, the sky up there at night is just awsome! I'm no ignorant and also watch the stars back down in Schaffhausen, but sorry, I never saw so many stars as I saw up there! And Livia and I even saw a shooting star dashing across the beautiful sky! However, the night was bloody cold so we were happy to find some blankets in the hut.

When we woke up in the morning a fabulous blue sky waited for us! We had breakfast with everything you could imagine, really! We enjoyed the sun, relaxed on the sunloungers, listened to good music, got tanned and eventually decided to take a bath in the nearby creek that was following its path down the valley. It costed quite an effort to get the whole body into the bloody cold water, but it was so refreshing! After the descent, we had another bath in the Klöntalsee, which was not much warmer. But again, with an ice cream in one hand, it was pure pleasure! The evening we spent at Urs' place where his parents prepared dinner for all of us. Tired but filled with joy, we took the train back to Zurich and said good bye.

Besides, last sunday I went to eat ice cream with Michael and we planned a trip to Belgium in late fall. And most important of all, I'm going to Vienna this week! But this time I'll take the night train on Wednesday evening and will spend the weekend in that beautiful city! Actually we wanted to go to Stockholm, London or Berlin, but as it was rather short-term, there were no cheap flights. So we just came up with the idea to go to Vienna!
Together with Urs and Livia, I plan to go to London anyway somewhen in September... Amazing!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Restart V

Don't know where to begin! :-) This past week was just great! I did so many things, met so many people, had so many good talks, made so many new plans. I'm just happy!
Let's start with this week. On monday I only had a workout in the evening and finished Balzac's "Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes" which I started reading in April, but because of the exams and everything else that I was up to, I could not continue. Now I'm reading "The Great Gatsby" by Fitzgerald, which is set in New York and hopefully it helps to get into the NYC feeling! Anyway, on tuesday I worked until 5:30PM and then went to a friends apartment in Zurich for a glass of wine. As he offered the wine, I offered a Tuorta da nusch, the engadinian nut cake. With these appetizers as basis, we had good talks about architecture and our future jobs and the ever-existing questions of how important the salary is. I had to leave pretty soon after, as I went to see Ice Age 3 together with Livia and Urs. We met in front of the Abaton cinema at Escher-Wyss-Platz, where you can see the movie in 3D. This was pretty funny, as you have to wear some stupid-looking glasses.

That night a enormous thunderstorm swept over Zurich and Schaffhausen. When I went to bed, I could see lightnings all over the sky. And in the morning I again woke up because of the thunder that echoed through the city. On wednesday I went to the gym in Zurich and then intended to relax a bit at home. But a friend called and asked if I'd join him for a drink at Güterhof. Of course I could not turn down that offer! The next day the sun came out again and it was pretty hot. So I went swimming in the Rhine with Jonathan and his friends and after that cooling we enjoyed the evening with a nice BBQ. On friday it rained the whole day, ceaselessly. I intended to meet Sophie, and as the weather was that bad, we immediately went to see "Alle Anderen" at the cinema Riffraff. I really liked the film, and Sophie even knows the main character Lars Eidinger personally. After the movie we went to eat at Lily's just around the corner at Langstrasse 197. I can fully recommend the Red Thai Curry and the Edamame, they were just delicious! Before I went back home, we had a drink at the Riffraff bar, which is pretty cozy and invites you to relax on the couches.

Yesterday I went out with some girls from Unilever. We met at Haberhaus, where we already had a drink a week ago. I have to admit, that were two pretty funny evenings! And it was always fairly late when I was at home. Besides Ulli, also an intern at Unilever, studied in Vienna and she now asks her former professor for any open master topics. If there is something interesting I might go to Vienna next year! :-) If this doesn't work, then I try to get a project in the United States or any other country. And if it's too difficult to find something abroad, then I try to find a project in the industry in Switzerland. That would enlarge my network in Switzerland and maybe open another door.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Restart IV

Wow! I'm just sitting outside in front of my place and drop this lines while watching the fabulous summer evening sky! That's just the end of a great day! After a workout in the morning, I went to Zurich to get the Lonely Planet New York City guide and check out some shoe stores because it's time for new ones. But as I got my shoes from all over the world, I guess I'll wait until I'm in New York. Anyway, after shopping I went to the Letten where I met Carlina (beautiful name, isn't it?) and after a bath in the Limmat we went to the mercado mundial, which is a market at the Latin Festival Caliente with lots of culinary specialties, exotic drinks and good music. As she had to work in the evening we went back to the mainstation where we caught our trains. Back at home I met Kai for a drink at Güterhof.

And now I'll tell you what we planned: On thursday evening, after I came back from Zurich, we all sat together at Oberhof and discussed all opportunities we had for trips around the world. First we intended to go to Copenhagen by car, then we thought about going to Croatia for a week, as we could have stayed there for free. But then Kai came up with the idea to go to New York! And that's what we are going to do! But not only that, we will combine that with a roadtrip to Montreal in Canada. There would even be the possibility to go to Toronto and then see the Niagara Falls while driving back to New York. We intend to stay approximately one week in New York and the rest we'll be heading north!

And I also have another trip in my mind. On thursday I went swimming in the Letten with Livia and Urs. By the way: It's just so refreshing and relaxing to do that after work. Urs then had the superb idea to buy some meat for a BBQ at his place. And with a glass of wine, we decided to go to Den Haag/NED for a weekend, most likely plus a friday so that we have more time to spend there.

On wednesday I went to eat at Tiffins together with my cousins. This is an asian restaurant in the vibrant Seefeld area located at Seefeldstrasse 61. They have a very delicious selfmade Ice Tea which definitely got my recommendation! Besides, it was very nice to see my cousins again. Actually they are also studying in Zurich but I do not see them very often. Unfortunately.