morning ride.

we're back to grind here in lausanne. howie back to classes and i to my computer. i think i should go to bed soon so that it doesn't burn a hole in my lap! i've been working on a couple of graphics projects and also started seriously planning our italy trip for july.

but this morning when i woke up i didn't quite know what to do. i thought about running, but my toes hurt from all the walking we did over the weekend. i looked at my bike and knew that even though i didn't feel like hauling it downstairs, it would be exactly the thing to start my week.

somehow i found myself all geared up and ready to go so i hit the road towards vevey. i didn't plan to ride the entire route, so turned around somewhere in the middle. the route is seemingly simple- ride along the lake. but occasionally there are small towns you can ride through or the road changes into a highway, or surprise roundabouts... just enough to make a simple ride a little confusing.

misty morning lake.

so my first mistake was riding up to the top of a steep hill after riding through a town, only to find myself arriving at a round about exactly at the same time as a car, who of course did not stop (maybe didn't even see me?) but luckily there was literally only enough room for the car, maybe about 6" clearance, me, and about 1" between my tires and the curb stones. somehow i managed to stay up and just rode right through it all with the passenger in the car looking amazed that i didn't stop. i'm just amazed that i didn't fall OR touch the car! later i realized that the car had come from a hidden side road and legally had the right of way, so i should have stopped, which also would have made me fall over :)  i think i'll just avoid this intersection in the future.

that's the road i was supposed to be on... 

second mistake was on the return trip as i meant to stay on the main road and avoid all small towns. i followed the biking route sign and ended up riding through a town. somehow i missed the signs back to the main road, and ended up following some signs which took me up into the vineyards. this turned out to be not such a bad mistake- but that path has many more hills, and the occasional car popping out from nowhere. also its actually a little scary as i felt like the wind would blow me right over the edge of the path. you can't really see whats below, so might as well be the lake! i wasn't on the vineyard path for very long, but i will have to try it again soon.

vineyards are finally green!

towers and kissing cows.

After scouting some French language schools, a few of us made a trek (well, took the metro) north of Lausanne to a more suburban area called Sauvabelin where there is a large park with walking trails. I’d seen a photo in a brochure, but this tower that is in the park is a beautiful piece of architecture, completely unexpected!

The tower is made from large timbers stacked on top of each other, pivoting at the center to form a helical structure. The timbers create steps, walking up on one side and down on the other. The entire visible structure is wood, and its so interesting to look out on the way up/down to see the different views through the wood and the trees surrounding. At the top, of course, an amazing view of the mountains. In the summer with the sun a bit higher in the sky, it will be even better.

we also managed to find some kissing cows! so cute!

and ended the day with a to-die-for sunset.

my first SANAA.

As life is catching up with me I’ve slowed down on the blogging a bit. I’ve been busier (which is great) and have taken some time to explore some parts of the city. Luckily there are a few willing friends who have made great company on the excursions.

My first excursion was to see the Rolex Learning Center (library and student center) at the EPFL campus by Japanese architects SANAA. Friend, Nora, (also an architect) and I walked the 6km along the lake to the campus.

students walking into the building under a large concrete span.

next time we'll find a place to relax and read

and our favorite is the map of the building... so cute!

We not only saw the building, but scrounged in the library to find some names of local Swiss architects. We were hoping to find more, but unfortunately there are not many publications of architecture in the French part of Switzerland, and of course so much information on the German part. It just means that we’ll have to dig a bit more.

It was great to see such a large architecture selection in the bookshop- even saw some familiar books! (Also saw Tom Fisher’s newest book in the library.)

architecture books! i was in heaven!

Transmaterial!

It was a great day, so good to have a friend who not just appreciates architecture, but has worked as an architect in Switzerland before!

who's counting? happy new year!

no more counting, and no more expecting myself to blog every day. its just not going to happen.

happy new year, everyone! howie and i celebrated with some of our new IMD friends at Le Bleu Lezard, a "low-key" bar in Lausanne. we had a 6ish course meal- we skipped a couple of courses and went ahead to dessert when we hit midnight and everyone started getting crazy. we just couldn't sit still any longer!

the last few days we have spent exploring Lausanne and Geneva. we have posted many of the photos at our website from our recent explorations. (in case you were worried, howie's macbook has recovered from motherboard transplant surgery and is doing well!)

Lausanne:

one of the great things about this city is the mild weather. although its been very grey and gloomy, it is not nearly as cold as MN and there's rarely snow on the ground. therefore outdoor produce markets continue straight through the winter and there are always people in the streets (walking, not driving.) on our way to the cathedral we found this great market with these mobile bucheries (butcher shops) and many cheese shops as well.

we were a bit chilly so we ducked into a museum nearby- turned out to be about 6 or 7 museums in one big building. so far we haven't had much time to explore our Swiss Scavenger Hunt (courtesy of the Crosswoods) but we think the four legged chick could get us some bonus points, no?

finally we made it to the top of the hill to the 12/13th century Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Lausanne. apparently the best preserved cathedral in Switzerland, it is quite beautiful and also quite large! i was trying to analyze the architecture based on my gothic architecture class from ~2 years ago. lets just say that i need to review a bit, but was able to note the three story elevation, ribbed columns, flying buttresses and ambulatory. and no, i did not just look up "ambulatory"... well...

there is still some paint to remind us of the days when these

great cathedrals were very colorful inside.

the nave- lots of light from the clerestory windows.

here is some evidence of ongoing restoration:

i have a renewed faith in duct tape!

this cathedral originally used a side entrance for the main entry which is unusual. the carvings at that entry are still painted- preserved with a lovely modern steel and glass vestibule.

definitely a beautiful space with some unique features- if you come visit me this will be one of our tour stops. i'd love to attend one of the organ concerts there!

day one. the move.

I'm not sure when December 21st ended and the 22nd began, but we definitely turned the shortest day of the year into a long one. After cramming one last bag of christmas cookies into my backpack, we set out for the MSP airport. We were worried about our luggage- we ended up with two overweight bags and one extra bag. Luckily there was an angel at check-in who gave us a break on the fees for all of our bags. (Since when did they change it from 2 to 1?!) Besides getting it all on the plane, we also weren't sure how we would actually make it on the train from Geneva to Lausanne and to our apartment on Ave. d'Ouchy.

Luckily there was a nice, empty train and plenty of time to load all of our giant bags. Poor Howie was already feeling pretty sick at the time, but he was a champ at hauling the 70+ lb suitcases off the train into a crowd of frenchies, who patiently waited for us to move our 9 bags onto the platform.

French moment of the day: I knew I would do this, but the first time I tried to speak french (to our taxi driver) I definitely said "dos taxis". Oops! I blame it on the lack of sleep.

Howie goes to school/We're moving!

its been a busy year, but lets skip right to the good stuff. Howie recently was accepted to IMD, a fantastic business school in Lausanne, Switzerland! which leads me to the second point, we're moving to Lausanne in January! i am super proud of my amazing husband, and we are so excited about the opportunity to begin our adventure together.

its so exciting that it makes it difficult to focus on my graduation, just a mere 34 days away. i keep thinking of all the craig's list posts this summer to sell cars, furniture, etc. it will be a lot of work, but the rewards will be greater than we can imagine.

so you might be wondering what i will be doing while Howie is busy at school 6 days/week. good question! i am starting to investigate different architectural research/work/travel opportunities and will update when i know more. one definite plan is to revive Hooks and Loops to document our great adventure and help us to stay connected with our friends and family.

more to come!