Pictures

Ok, so I am sitting at work and am a bit bored, so I am posting pictures of Andi and I on some of our travels over the years, it just hit me that the pictures aren't really anything exciting, mostly just of our faces, and if you have facebook and have looked at my pictures you've seen them before,but stop complaining and enjoy them again :-)

Aruba, Jamaica, ohh I wanna take ya.." Honeymoon in Aruba :-)

Sitting in airplanes.....just another part of having an international relationship!

This is from a long time ago (before we were married even) we took a trip to Hurgada Egypt and they decided it would be funny to give me a humongous camel apparently!

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When in Switzerland you gotta hit up the alps...even if you can't ski! (I'm lucky Andi is practially pro!) 

Dublin-oh how I loved Ireland!!!

Lloret de Mar Spain-our summer vacation spot...this year was our last year though...times are a'changing!

Las Vegas Baby!!!

Lists

Because I feel like it.

To Do:
Apply for Australian visa-Roni
Apply for Australian visa- Andi
Apply for Brazilian visa- Roni
Pay off taxes
Pay medical insurance until next October
Register in Lengnau
Renew B Permit-Roni
Open new, joint bank account
Set up Travelex card and payments
Scan, copy all important documents
Get International Drivers License
Make final payment on plane ticket
Make sure that Globetrotters makes final changes to flights
RELAX

Coming up:

Moving out of apartment!
Andi’s 30th birthday party with Klub 80
Roni’s trip to Canada :-)
Katja's B-day party in Mittenwald
WORLD FREAKING TRIP


Still need:

Mosquito nets
Camelpaks
Travel first aid kit
South American Guide Book
Passport photos
Extra battery for cameras
Extra memory sticks for cameras
Moleskin 2011 agenda (daily journal)- Roni
Trek towel-Roni

-Am I forgetting something?!?!?

Moving on Out

We are moving out this weekend and I’m sad.
Although we’ve already moved out of the apartment we called home for 4 years, the one we have been living in for 3 months is exactly like it and was still ours, still filled with our things still our home. After this weekend, the only things we’ll have that’s ours are our suitcases, and eventually only our backpacks. It’s hard, I guess because I’ve never had a place to my own, I haven’t lived with my parents since I was 18 but until I moved in with Andi I was always staying at someone else’s. I think it’s also because this is our first apartment together; this is where we have grown and become the Ruefer’s as we are today. It’s hard for me to say bye to things like this. I imagine us in the future saying “remember that tiny first apartment we lived in for 4 years?” and we will remember it as a wonderful perfect time in our lives, but not yet. Now it’s still sad to say goodbye, I guess that's why we put off packing until the very last moment as well.

We move out tomorrow, and in my opinion we aren't even close to being ready for it (ok, well Andi took a day off today to prepare, so maybe by the time I get home we will look more ready) I think we were both putting it off putting it off, telling ourselves "oh we have time." "there's still time" now the time is up and we are left stressed out! Once this is over though the only thing left to think about is the trip.... :-)

Basically though, it's just still sad to be moving out of our home, to never again sleep in that tiny, sometimes uncomfortable bed we had, or sit on our red, falling apart couch. Change is good but I need some time to mourn the passing of this time in our lives......

Yellow Fever--Check

One more thing crossed off our list of things to do! :-) Yesterday, we went and got our yellow fever shots. For some reason in Switzerland (and possibly the rest of the world?) your normal house doctor isn’t allowed to give out yellow fever shots, you can only get them from certain “verified” vaccination centers so yesterday we finally got our crap together and went there. Boy, am I ever glad we don’t have to do that again, after two and a half hours of waiting, we got the 10 second injection and were ushered out the door for the next person to come in. Not only did we have to wait 2.5 hours, but they charged us 200 CHF for those damn shots. Andi and I went together of course, and before you get the shot you have to go for a quick consultation (I guess this is for people who don’t know what vaccines they need etc), we spent approximately 8 minutes with the consultation doctor, and do you know what they charged us!? Each 15 minutes and 15 minutes costs 52 CHF. What kind of a joke is that?!? We were there together, for 8 minutes and they charged us for half an hour! It’s no wonder the health insurance in Switzerland is so expensive when the stupid doctor centers are charging such ridiculous premiums!!!! I am still shaking my head at the shock of it!

But…. At least it’s done, and I guess you can’t put a price on your health (inhale………exhale……repeat “you cannot put a price on your health”….inhale, exhale, repeat)

Realization

It really hit me last weekend just how much I am going to miss the Swiss people in my life. I am always saying how I never found any really “close” friends in Switzerland, and that was true until just recently. We have a couple friend of ours which we see regularly, at least once a week I would say and they have really become a part of our lives, almost sneaking up on me since I hadn’t realized how much we had come to rely on seeing them and hanging out with them. Its not only those two that I will miss either, it really really hit me direct in the heart after last weekend how much I will miss all of my Swiss friends. On Saturday we were out with friends in Biel, really awesomely cool people, and on Sunday we were at a friend’s house to bbq and just chill, again more awesomely cool people. I rag on the Swiss a lot and complain about not being able to find good friends, but in fact I’ve come to realize that the Swiss just don’t flaunt their friendships the way I am maybe used to. They come into your life slowly but faithfully, and once they are there, they are there to stay. It’s a quiet friendship, a reliable one, a strong one and a great one!! I am really truly going to miss our friends during this trip!!!






P.S- there are of course other people that I will miss, but I just needed to air my feelings about how much I will miss my Swiss peeps since it caught me a bit by surprise once it hit me.