(CH)ICAGO ABROAD: Uetliberg - Remix, Random Acts of Kanton

We did not watch a single pitch, strike, ball or throw to first base but our home in Switzerland was, nonetheless, saddened by Yankees departure from the playoffs. America's highest paid team could not put together the pitching needed to advance to their second consecutive World Series and my wife was miserable for a few days. In the playoffs, it comes down to pitching and the Yankees, this year, just didn't have enough to compete with a white hot Texas Rangers lineup.

Speaking of the Texas Rangers...pretty amazing they go from bankruptcy court arbitration to their first World Series in a matter of months. Even my wife, the devout death do us part Yankee fan acknowledged the historic run by Nolan Ryan's Rangers and stated "It's pretty cool the Rangers made it to their first World Series." I wondered, to myself, if she was saying that seriously or sarcastically, since the Yankees have won somewhere in the neighborhood of 27 World Series! If we were home, we'd want to watch the forthcoming Lee/Lincecum showdown. Should be a great one...

So what have your favorite Swiss transplants been doing? A little bit of everything and so much of nothing. We've settled into our new place., well I've settled into our new place. The wife is still trying to decide what to keep and what to put in storage and what to have me mule back to the states tomorrow. I guess we're more settled not that we're not living out of a suitcase in a hotel room.

We went on a date with some other American transplants that we connected with through a friend back home (Thanks Stacey in ATL). It was actually very similar to a date. They took us to lunch to a place called Iroquois, that compared to most restaurants in Zurich, resembled an American establishment...even stocked with MGD. This place is dangerous and could become a crutch, so we'll try to steer clear of this place as much as possible, even though the breakfast burrito's and bacon cheeseburgers are very tempting. After an uncomfortable but necessar period of getting to know one another, our lunch went very well. After lunch they took us for a walk along Lake Zurich and showed us the places to go during the cold season and the warm season. From what we gathered, Zurich is a cold/warm city. The in between period, which is right now, is difficult to enjoy the outdoors. The "right now" is 30-52, so it's too cold to BBQ by the lake and not cold enough to ski in the mountains. I guess my wife and I passed the test because they invited us to a Halloween party this weekend. Second date, YES! Unfortunately, neither one of us do the "dress up" thing and had to defer to another time. I'll also be on a flight from Chicago to ZurichOur three new friends were very gracious and we look forward to rolling with them in Zurich at some point.

This past Saturday, my wife and I trekked up to Uetliberg. If you remember from one of my blogs, I made the journey up during a cloudy day and while it was exhilarating, the views of the city or lack there of, left much to be desired. On the train up to Uetliberg, we noticed that the train was packed with young folks toting beers, vodkas, and vino and couldn't understand what the heck was going on. On the hike, we were disturbed by the sheer # of people smoking legal and illegal substances...and then as we arrived at the summit, we realized what was going on. A party production company rented out the bar at the summit and were hosting a VIP party. It was a strange scene with hikers, bikers and club kids.

So here you go...