The Swiss Flag Game

...you can contact me through my blog, my personal email, via facebook, or at mobilemarypoppins@gmail.com. Thank you all for your support so far!!

WEEK 16

Dear Lincoln, Lilliana, Leni, Juliana, Evyn, Jack, Faye, Chloe, Emerson, Lake, Rita, Violet, and Ella,

Grützi!

This is means “Greetings” in Zurich. I say Zurich because it's not the same for the whole of Switzerland. It's actually very confusing. In some parts of Switzerland they speak German, in some parts they speak French, in some parts they speak Italian, and in some parts they speak another language altogether, called Romansh! I’ll be telling you more about that when I stay with a Romansh-speaking boy next week, but for the moment, I’m a little confused. Especially as, when I said they speak German in Zurich, I wasn’t being completely accurate. It’s actually a form of German called “Swiss German,” which is a little different from what they call “High German.” Yes, there have been many times I have got so confused I’ve started doing sign language!

So here I am in Switzerland! It is on the other side of the world from Australia. I had to fly for hours to get here... almost a whole day and a whole night. That’s how far away it is! It is in the middle of Europe. Europe is a collection of countries that have lots of agreements about working and trading. And many European countries now use the same money. It’s different from the United States because each country is independent, whereas all the states in the United States are governed by the same President. However, some countries in Europe are very keen to keep more of their independence than others. The UK is one of those countries that still has its own type of money, and Switzerland is another. Switzerland is a small country but it is very rich, both in terms of natural beauty and in economic terms. It did not have all the problems many other countries of the world had in recent years, and their money, the Swiss Franc, is still very strong. But that means everything seems very, very expensive. Honestly, I thought I had a tough time in Australia because the Australian dollar is so strong against the American dollar, but Switzerland is ridiculous! A coffee in Starbucks in LA cost me $2. In Starbucks in Switzerland, the same drink costs me $6! The trams are great for getting around, but one short journey costs $4. And in one restaurant I saw a sandwich that costs almost $30!! No wonder people have to earn lots of money to live here!

Anyway, I arrived in Switzerland, a little tired from all my traveling, and not understanding any of the signs (as they were all in Swiss German!) But I saw the most wonderful sight when I came out of the airport. There was a very beautiful little girl waiting for me with an equally beautiful bunch of flowers. Her name was Annelie and she became my friend, my tour guide, and my translator, because although she is only 7, Annelie can already speak both English and Swiss German absolutely perfectly!

When we got to her house, I put the flowers in a vase and they lasted all week.

Annelie is a real Swiss girl. She has her own bank account and saves her money. She doesn’t have a bank card, but that doesn’t stop her trying to use her mom’s card at the ATM!

The first place Annelie took me was to the museum near her house, where she once put a gold leaf on the wall. She always finds it because she wrote a big “A” on it for Annelie.

Then she took me paddle boating on Lake Zurich, which was so much fun. You have to peddle with your feet, like you’re on a low bicycle. It was hard work but worth it. It's law in Switzerland that all kids have to wear lifejackets on boats.

We had so much fun. Every day Annelie made me laugh. She is a complete clown! One time she was being a cheerleader with her new pompoms...

One time she made a hat out of a cushion...

And because I told her I don’t put kids’ faces on my blog, she was always asking me to take a picture of her and then putting her coat over her face! I could not stop laughing with her!

Annelie also really loves playing games. We played Monopoly, and Scrabble Slam, and tic-tac-toe, and hangman, and I taught her how to play battleships... which I regretted a little as she turned out to be super good at it and always beat me!

She took me to see her favorite toy store called Franz Carl Weber...

...where they have a whole section of different Monopoly games.

They also sell these wonderful puppets, and the puppet theater to go with them.

One day, Annelie and I took a boat trip around Lake Zurich. It was really beautiful. We saw so many different boats and all the places where people swim, including slides and diving platforms. The lake is exceptionally clean, so it’s good for swimming in. And it’s free!

When we got back to the city, we found a store that I think is now Annelie’s favorite place!

It’s called Lush and she got a “bath bomb” there. It’s a big ball that you put in the bath and it fizzes up and smells delicious.

Annelie got one that smelled of strawberries. She had so much fun with it in the bath.

It was even worth risking washing off her really cool tattoo that she put on her leg earlier!

The next day, we took a bus tour of the city. I was really glad that the headset on the bus played the commentary in six different languages including English! Annelie listened to it in German. We got taken all around the city and saw some of its most beautiful sites.

All through my week with Annelie, whenever I couldn’t see her, I found she was climbing trees. She is an expert tree-climber!

The next day it was raining so we did an indoor project. I don’t know if you all heard about this in America, but in the UK there was a big wedding, a “Royal Wedding” of Prince William to Kate Middleton. Annelie watched the wedding on the TV and thought it was beautiful. So we got some English newspapers and made a really beautiful scrap book of the Royal Wedding. I know we will both love looking at it years from now. It is a great memento of the occasion.

During my week with Annelie, I noticed something about Zurich. There are Swiss flags EVERYWHERE! They are very proud of their country, and they love their flag, which is red with a big white cross on it. So Annelie and I thought it would be fun for you all to play a game. What you have to do is count the number of Swiss flags in all the photos I took in Zurich and let me know how many you see. There will be a prize for the person who counts them all!

So... here are a few more photos of beautiful Zurich, with several Swiss flags hanging around!

One of the things I most love about Zurich is how green it is. There are so many trees and plants everywhere. And it is so clean. No one ever leaves trash around. They all love their city too much!

I made a real lifelong friend in Annelie... we had so much fun together.

Most days we would go to this beautiful café, right where the river meets the lake.

We loved the sculpture at the entrance. It was a bird made out of old knives and forks and other kitchen things!

In the afternoon there is always live music and people dancing.

We would get a drink and play our word games. One day it was so funny. It was really windy and just as Annelie was about to win a game of tic-tac-toe, the wind picked up our piece of paper and blew it into the river! It was gone forever!

Just at the end of my week I got to go to a beautiful town at the other end of Lake Zurich called Rapperswil.

I came across some deer in a steep park beside the lake.

I watched the sun set there. It was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen!

Goodbye Zurich...

Goodbye Annelie...

I love you and I know I will see you again very soon! And good luck with the Swiss Flag game.

Next week I am going up to the mountains. I will be in the middle of the beautiful Swiss Alps staying with a boy who learns Romansh at school and who lives in a village with only 75 people in it! I look forward to telling you all about it.

All my love, Susie xxxx