re-entry draws nearer

Well, I'm wrapping things up in Switzerland. Today I started out with some clothes shopping....the clothes in Switzerland are awesome and they could also empty my bank account rather quickly....and through an extreme act of self-discipline as well as a nod to the burgeoning size of my suitor bag, I bought nothing.

Nothing, that is, except for a nice, folding black umbrella when the rainstorms started up this afternoon, which was promptly lifted from me by a restaurant patron a few hours later when I foolishly left it in the public umbrella bin with everyone else's. (Funny how every time I do that, my umbrella disappears,)

During the afternoon, I met Nicola and we walked around a bit in the rain, then settled into a trendy-looking lounge with low, leather sofas for some tea.

Later, all four of us -- Tanja, Michael, Nicola, and I -- went out to a traditional Swiss dinner, followed by a visit to another Zurich landmark in a 500-year-old converted munitions building for drinks and dessert. Here's a few photos: the bow and arrow on the wall is yet another reference to the legend of William Tell, Note the size of the beers, which are being prepared with whiskey or something that was first set on fire. And though I'm not a beer drinker these days, I had to try it.

I'll miss Switzerland and really miss the superior quality of life in Europe, but I also look forward to being home and getting back to my life, my states-side friends, my crazy, lonely cat, work, and my interests, too.