We got back from beautiful Zürich, Switzerland this afternoon, after eight nights. On the whole, we had a very nice time. Bill spent most of the time taking seminars at the C.G. Jung Institute in Küsnacht, a lovely suburb of the city. I spent most of my week hanging around and gazing at Lake Zürich. One day, I went to the botanical gardens, affiliated with the University of Zürich.

The weather was hot and sunny, and we were fortunate to spend the time at an apartment-hotel that had an air conditioning unit. It wasn’t the most effective air conditioner in the world, but it was better than nothing. The apartment was reasonably priced for Zürich, although for eight nights, it cost almost as much as renting our whole house for a month! But the place also had a couple of parking spots behind a locked gate, so we were able to park our car there all week… though we couldn’t move the car without having the car parked behind us moved. It was no problem, anyway. The place where we stayed was right by a very busy tram line that was perfect for getting Bill to and from the Institute.

I will be writing a full series on this trip, but at this point, I’m a little tired and not wanting to dive in just yet. I’m glad to be home, safe and sound. Although we weren’t able to bring home any interesting souvenirs or goodies from the COOP (grocery store), I did get a lot of beautiful photos, especially of the lake. I wish I’d had a chance to go swimming, but we did do a 4.5 hour cruise yesterday. The weather was perfect! We even got a slight break from the heat.

Bill found his time at the Institute stimulating and fulfilling; he finally got to meet his analyst, Max, in person for the first time in the four years they’ve been working together. I think he’d like to matriculate there and possibly earn certification. Of course, we don’t know what’s going to happen to his job… but then, that would be true of any job, really. Above are a few photos from the Institute. I got to attend the farewell ceremony with Bill.

I’ve missed Noyzi and Charlie, and my guitars. I’ve missed making music, and sitting at my desktop, which is so much easier to write blog posts on than my laptop is. I’ve even missed the washing machine and our shitty mattress, which so badly needs to be replaced.

But the one thing I’ve missed more than anything is peace and quiet. The apartment where we stayed was fairly noisy, mainly because of the people in the apartment above us. They were incredibly loud. From a screaming baby at 6:00 AM to heavy thuds on their floor/our ceiling, to crashes and booms when things got dropped, to the pitter patter of little feet running around, it was very annoying. And so, for the fact that no one lives in a unit above us, I am so glad to be home in Germany!

I don’t know how long this series will take. We did have some notable things happen, that I want to write about. However, this trip was not heavy on activities or even eating in restaurants. We ate a lot of meals in the apartment. So, even though we were gone for eight nights, I don’t think this will be a long series to wade through.

Hope you’ll join me for the first post, which will probably appear tomorrow.