Another fascinating post about Zurich (Not!) and Bathrooms

We are not alone in feeling the chill of winter. So this will not be a complaint, just an observation.

And - hat's off to you in the Midwest for surviving this Winter because as much as we may go "brrrrrr", our nostril hairs are not freezing unless we're up in the mountains. Love you all but not so sad to be living in another part of the world this winter.

Today is a "clear" day - pic below is today. For the record - it is the dreariest Zurich winter we have ever experienced. We've had sunshine maybe 3-5 days of January - and trust me, the sidewalks and 'wanderwegs' are full of people on those sunny days. It doesn't matter how cold - if the sun is shining, people get out of doors here. So we look at pictures like this to remind us of how nice it can be. And what it will be again. Or we head up to the mountains - Sun is shining beautifully there on most days when it's not snowing.
I obviously don't have much to report as I'm hibernating so thought I would share another 'bathroom' frustration here in Switzerland. I first thought of posting about this 2 years ago when my BF's mom came to visit and asked "Where do I plug in the blow dryer and my curling iron?" In fact, every guest ask's this question if I don't mention it on the initial tour of Gasthaus Olson.

Observe the vanity set-up (this is NOT a BHG or Sthrn Living photo shoot), paying close attention to the top/middle of the photo:

There at the very, tippy top of the vanity - in the cabinet - is an outlet. One outlet - no curling iron warm-up while blow-drying the hair. Fortunately, we have a double vanity so Bart & I each have ONE. I know. You are all green with envy just about now. I can just reach it - Grrrrr! Makes it harder to reach the girls for blow drying as half the cord length is taken up in height.

I love bathrooms that have reasonably placed outlets.

Continuing in the bathroom theme, I bought Bart a present several weeks ago: One set of new towels. Only one. And they were 50% off. Towels are expensive here - I don't know what they are at home anymore. In a 'regular' linen store in Switzerland (like Macy's homewares, Strouds, BB & Beyond), a large bathtowel runs about $60 - $80. At a grocery/house level (WalMart, Target, Payless), they run $30 - $40.

Bart had been saying "Don't you think we should get some new towels?" The water here is hard on them and yes, they've faded, and yes, have a few bleach marks but "Honey, have you seen the price of towels here? I'm buying all new ones when we go back to the States - it's in the budget." We had that discussion over a year ago. I told him this Fall, when they were talking about us staying another year, that if they signed the papers through 2011, I'd buy him new towels.

Papers signed in Dec., towels in January. Not a full set - don't want to commit to colors & cost when we'll be moving next year - but they are new and soft.

The bedsheets ought to hold out until next year. Euro beds are sized different and we brought over our US beds. How often do people replace sheets anyway? I'm not saying how old ours are............. Boy, I need to start working on that budget!

No more bathroom stories. That's it! Done!

I'm off to test out the knee this afternoon. Wish me luck!