Too much to post...

It has been a few days since my last post due to moving into our new house!  So much has happened that it might take me a bit to go back over it all.  In view of this, I will try to go over some major points of interest.

Trip to Ikea
This was an interesting trip in that we had just received the rental car and now we had to find our way through Zurich and over to the other side of the city.  Luckily, the GPS's available are quite good and this wasn't too difficult until we hit construction just as we got back into downtown Zurich and the GPS couldn't route us a different way until we got out of the mess.  Low and behold though, we happened to be right next to the "Technopark" where Duke works and he had a vague idea as to how to circle around. 

The Ikea itself was very large but was just like ones in the US.  We didn't buy very much because we hadn't really gotten into the house yet.  This weekend we will attempt to fill in the gaps in the house.  Apparently there are two Ikeas so we are going to find the other one as it is closer.  It also has the Swiss version of Best Buy next to it and a couple of other useful places.

Brunch with Duke's colleagues and their families
This was Sunday morning.  Both of these families are from the US.  One is from Seattle and the other from the D.C. area originally but they were in Boston before coming here.  We had a nice time and I'm sure that we will get together with them again at some point.  The difficult thing with hooking up with them is that they live on the other side of the lake so it takes a bit to get over there.

Moved into the new house
The movers came with sea shipment at 8 am and were finished unpacking and putting everything together by 4 pm.  It was great!  We slept in our new beds that night and everyone seemed very happy.  The kids are anxious for the air shipment to arrive with their toys tomorrow morning.

Kids had their first day of school
The kids also had their first day of school they day we moved in.  They seem to like it just fine.  Ross really likes his German class. Kim was not so excited the first day but it got better the second day.  They alternate between English and German every half day or every other day, depending on the grade.  Overall, I think the school will be a good choice for them.

Duke had his first FULL day of work
Duke has been in and out of the office all of last week but yesterday (Tuesday) was the first full day he put in.  It's hard to say how this is going as of yet, but I think that it will be fabulous in the long run.

Driving
I also learned how to drive in Zurich this week.  Not so bad if you have a good Navigation device.  I was VERY glad that Duke did the first driving.  It's always a little nerve wracking in a new place! 

A little bit if trivia: 
It seems to be so safe here that parents let their kids walk home from school over fairly large distances as well as leave them at home by themselves to run errands!  It's rather nice to think that we are in area that is so child friendly.  There are many children in our neighborhood and the kids seem to have already found friends to play with.

There are so many things to say that I can't seem to think of them all.  I will try and write more often so that I don't forget things.  Overall, we are having a very good time and we are enjoying all of the new challenges.  Onward and upward!