Thursday, April 19, 2007
Fence Posts
So everyday this week as Chance and I are walking home from his school, something has intrigued me and made me ponder: Why is dragging a stick across a rod iron fence and making it clank so damn fun? Almost the entire way from his school to our house is lined with a rod iron fence that has the perfect distance between each plank to make just the right noise. Then the fence changes as we near our house to a wooden fence but with planks the size of a picket fence. They too make a really great but different noise. Everyday this week Chance has searched out the perfect stick to drag along as we walk. And I just thought to myself today that if I had my own stick, it would be so much fun to drag it and listen to it clank. Not sure why this is still fun 30 years in to it....but it is. Maybe I'll find me a stick too next week and we can clank together.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
My Free Day
Well, Chance is back at school today from a week off for Spring Break, and so I've hit the to do list with full force. Many of the pictures from the last couple months are now posted in the "Pictures" column, so enjoy!
I'm off in a little while to sit in the park and study some German.
I'm off in a little while to sit in the park and study some German.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Zürich Sechseläuten
So today is Sechseläute, apparently a really big deal for Zurich as the whole city is shut down today on holiday for this big event. Yesterday we were out walking around the lake and it was packed full of people. The weather is finally warming up so we've been able to enjoy wearing short sleeved shirts!
Today Ryan worked half day and we went down to the lake with my friend Ursula and her son to see the big parade: a procession of the guilds (Zug der Zünfte): Over 7,000 participants in historic costumes, 500 horses, 28 music corps, as well as 50 floats and carriages form a procession - the coolest site was the 3 camels just plugging along in the parade. The procession finished at a square by the lake where there was a huge straw bonfire, where "Böögg" a large snowman filled with explosives sits atop a bonfire. At 6 p.m. sharp, the pyre is set alight and the mounted guildsmen gallop around the leaping flames to the tune of the Sechseläuten March. Supposedly the "Böögg" is the symbol of winter: the faster his head catches fire and explodes, the better the summer is supposed to be. Couln't tell you how long it took to explode cause we didn't quite make it there that long! At about 5 we headed home cause we had enough of crowds and heat. Chance really liked the parade though.
More History on the
Burning of the Böög:
The festival goes back to 1818, when one of the city's traditional guilds held a night time parade complete with musicians and horseback-riders. The idea caught on, other guilds followed suit and in 1839 the first coordinated Sechseläuten parade of all the guilds took place. The name Sechseläuten, meaning "chiming six o'clock," goes back much further in history than the parades: it derives from the fact that in winter the working day was limited by the lack of light, but once spring had come work could be carried on until 6 p.m. The festivities open on the Sunday with a parade of children, mostly dressed in historical costumes. Unlike the adult parade, children from other communes, cantons or even countries are allowed to take part.This is followed the next day by the parade of the guilds. In medieval times the guilds were organisations grouping members of one craft or profession, but today very few of their members are still engaged in the work represented by their guild. However, they must all belong to old Zürich families and have a close connection with the city. Each year the guilds also invite a guest canton and a limited number of other guests of honour to join them in the parade.The culmination of Monday's festivities is the burning of the winter effigy, the Böögg. The Böögg, looking like a snowman and stuffed with firecrackers, stands on a huge woodpile which is lit when the cathedral bells ring out 6 o'clock. The moment when the Böögg's head explodes marks the official end of winter. And the faster this happens, the longer and hotter the summer is meant to be.
Today Ryan worked half day and we went down to the lake with my friend Ursula and her son to see the big parade: a procession of the guilds (Zug der Zünfte): Over 7,000 participants in historic costumes, 500 horses, 28 music corps, as well as 50 floats and carriages form a procession - the coolest site was the 3 camels just plugging along in the parade. The procession finished at a square by the lake where there was a huge straw bonfire, where "Böögg" a large snowman filled with explosives sits atop a bonfire. At 6 p.m. sharp, the pyre is set alight and the mounted guildsmen gallop around the leaping flames to the tune of the Sechseläuten March. Supposedly the "Böögg" is the symbol of winter: the faster his head catches fire and explodes, the better the summer is supposed to be. Couln't tell you how long it took to explode cause we didn't quite make it there that long! At about 5 we headed home cause we had enough of crowds and heat. Chance really liked the parade though.
More History on the
Burning of the Böög:The festival goes back to 1818, when one of the city's traditional guilds held a night time parade complete with musicians and horseback-riders. The idea caught on, other guilds followed suit and in 1839 the first coordinated Sechseläuten parade of all the guilds took place. The name Sechseläuten, meaning "chiming six o'clock," goes back much further in history than the parades: it derives from the fact that in winter the working day was limited by the lack of light, but once spring had come work could be carried on until 6 p.m. The festivities open on the Sunday with a parade of children, mostly dressed in historical costumes. Unlike the adult parade, children from other communes, cantons or even countries are allowed to take part.This is followed the next day by the parade of the guilds. In medieval times the guilds were organisations grouping members of one craft or profession, but today very few of their members are still engaged in the work represented by their guild. However, they must all belong to old Zürich families and have a close connection with the city. Each year the guilds also invite a guest canton and a limited number of other guests of honour to join them in the parade.The culmination of Monday's festivities is the burning of the winter effigy, the Böögg. The Böögg, looking like a snowman and stuffed with firecrackers, stands on a huge woodpile which is lit when the cathedral bells ring out 6 o'clock. The moment when the Böögg's head explodes marks the official end of winter. And the faster this happens, the longer and hotter the summer is meant to be.
Our "Football" Player
Chance came in the room last week holding his soccer ball, and told me that he wanted to go to the park and play "football". So we went and apparently our little Chance is learning some soccer moves from the older boys at school, as he is SO good! He can dribble, run and kick it really far, and he likes to kick it and then fall down like the big boys do.Ryan and I took Chance this weekend to the park again to show off his moves to daddy.....
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