Looking Back...

Now that we've been safely ensconced in Switzerland for a couple of days (Mrs. TBF is actually on her way to the U.S. right now), I've had a chance to reflect on our week in Bangkok.
Let me start by saying that it's good to be home. I didn't like Bangkok, I'll probably never go back there again, and I'm glad the week is over.
While we were flying home from Singapore, we saw in the current issue of Conde Nast Traveler that the readers' poll rated Bangkok as the "Number One City in Asia". They certainly didn't ask me for my opinion.
Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I went along with Mrs. TBF on her business trip. I was exposed to something new, and that in itself made it a worthwhile experience as far as I'm concerned. However, Bangkok has an overabundance of things that I just do not like. Namely: heat, traffic, and pollution.
It was HOT and HUMID!!! You can't walk anywhere in Bangkok. I would begin sweating ten seconds after stepping out of the hotel while waiting for a taxi. That's MY problem...I've always been a heavy sweater. But, the heat is just relentless!
The heat makes it necessary to take a taxi everywhere, and it seems like everybody shares my sentiment because the TRAFFIC IS HORRENDOUS!!! I'm talking one-mile taxi rides taking twenty minutes. I would guess that Mrs. TBF's meetings were in a hotel that couldn't have been more than a couple of miles from our hotel. The concierge told her to allow FORTY-FIVE MINUTES for the taxi ride. I rode with her one morning, and it took at least a half-hour.
The traffic contributes to really bad pollution. The city smells like car exhaust, and there's a smog that kind of hangs over the city. I could feel it in my throat when we were out and about. The policemen directing traffic wear facemasks while they work. It's just very unpleasant.
These were just the big issues. I won't even go into the little things that I found annoying. Do I sound like a big baby? Maybe I am, but I'm just calling it like I saw it.
Let me switch to the positive things. Our hotel was nice. It wasn't great, but it was adequate. One thing I found out is that "minimalist design" is not very comfortable. I'll avoid it in the future. TBF needs a big comfy chair.
The spa at the hotel was excellent. My Thai massages were great, and so was the Metropolitan Bath (I'll blog about that one later). I even asked Mrs. TBF if she thought there was any way we could hire a Thai au pair at home. She would only have to clean house, bathe me, and give us massages. I'll have to begin looking into that one.
The food was good...and cheap. Bangkok, overall, is pretty cheap. Even when you're paying high hotel prices for things, it still seems cheap - at least compared to Switzerland. That might be why it rates so highly as a travel destination.
Our hotel had ESPN, so I was able to watch every game of the World Series live at 8:00 a.m.! We'd go down to breakfast (Excellent! There's nothing like fried rice/noodles for breakfast!), Mrs. TBF would go off to work, and I would watch the second half of the game. Then, I'd go work out in the gym. After my workout, I'd rest a bit, then I'd go to the spa for some "treatment". Hey wait a minute...maybe it wasn't so bad! Really, by the time Mrs. TBF would return, I'd be climbing the walls. I guess my biggest disappointment with Bangkok was that there just wasn't that much to do. Sure, you can go see a bunch of temples, but once you've seen a couple of reclining buddhas you've kind of seen them all. We saw Wat Pho, and there are a bunch of other places that pretty much look the same.
Our daytrip to Ayutthaya was excellent. Although it was a little temple-heavy, it was nice to get out of Bangkok. It was pretty amazing to see all of these temples (some looking like they might topple over at any minute) in such a concentrated area.
So, there you have it. I could ramble on and on about everything, but I've gone on long enough. I'm not going to post any additional pictures of me standing in front of a Buddhist temple sweating my butt off.
I'll just end this post by saying that even though I didn't really enjoy Bangkok, I still appreciate the fact the I was able to go see it. I don't take that for granted.

Home Sweet Home!

We made it home at about 9:30 this morning. I'm tired, and I'm going to take a nap. More later...

Just a Quickie!

We are leaving for Bangkok Airport in a couple of hours, so I'll just leave you with a couple of pictures from yesterday's day trip to Ayutthaya. I'll post more pictures when we're back at home some thirty hours, or so, from now.

....#@$@#*(!!!!!! I just typed a bunch more stuff and saved it. I received an error message (this has happened to me over and over again while at this hotel) when I tried to save what I had written. I constantly have to save partial entries as drafts just so I don't lose everything. I'm annoyed right now, and I'm going to stop.
More about our week in Bangkok when we return home (where we have dependable wireless service)!

It's Not All Fun And Games...

...while we're in Bangkok. We have work to do too! Who "we"? Mrs. TBF AND I. That's who "we".
Mrs. TBF is really here on business. She has a "compensation forum" to go to at the J.W. Marriott this afternoon, tomorrow, and Thursday. She left this morning at about 7:00 a.m. What's a "compensation forum"? She gives me some kind of malarkey about "...comparison of corporate compensation data provided by outside consultants" to throw me off the trail. I say it's collusion designed by "the man" to keep the worker down! That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Really, I shouldn't complain. Mrs. TBF might decide not to bring me along on future business trips. You know..."don't bite the hand that feeds", etc., etc.
So, I did say "we", didn't I? Why yes I did Mr./Ms. Doubting Thomas! I too have a "Things To Do List".
The first thing on my list is to blog ("...have a good day at work, honey!") - which I'm doing right now. So, consider that one to be accomplished.
The second thing is to schedule a day-trip for this Friday - which I just did. I called Julie's Taxi, and I arranged a 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. trip to Ayuthaya - a place our travel guide describes as having "glorious old ruins well worth a goggle." I opted for the Volvo instead of the regular car. I hope Mrs. TBF doesn't mind. It does cost an extra $10 U.S. for the Volvo - bringing the TOTAL for the car and driver to $60 FOR THE DAY!!! I inquired about the "guide" for an extra $25 for the day. The lady talked me out of it saying something like "...save the money for your lunch. The driver knows the area very well and can show you around for no extra charge." Wow! Second thing on my list - DONE!!!
Third: Schedule Wednesday Spa Treatment. I'll do that when I'm done blogging. I had a Thai massage yesterday, and I gotta go back fo' mo'!! I'm going to schedule more treatments for tomorrow. I'm thinking about "The Metropolitan Bath":

This cleansing treatment works to gently exfoliate and soften your skin. After dry brushing the body, COMO Shambhala's [that's what the spa is called] specially prepared Invigorate Salt Scrub infused with essential oils, macadamia oil and oat bran is applied to the body. After a rinse in a revitalising bath, this treatment concludes with a relaxing COMO Shambhala Massage and a choice of healthy juice from COMO Shambhala.

Yup...sounds good to me. Tomorrow, I'm gettin' my bath on!!! I have a lot of skin, so I'll definitely get my Thai Baht's worth.
Finally, I have to pick out a place for dinner. I think we should definitely go for Thai food, but it's just a matter of where. Maybe I'll go down to the spa, soak in the hot tub, and then sit in the steam room until I'm all red and pruney. I need to clear my mind before I focus on dinner.
The stress is killing me!

In My Room...

I'm overjoyed by the fact that we have ESPN in our hotel room. I just finished watching Monday Night Football - LIVE!!! on a Tuesday morning in Bangkok. Globalization - good! We also watched the first two games of the World Series. Go Sox!!!!
I've also been perusing my International Herald Tribune. I have a subscription to IHT at home. In addtional to the normal paper (albeit with an Asian versus European focus), it also has a Thai Day section. So it's pretty much two papers in one. Nice!
What isn't nice, however, is the difference in the annual subscription price in Thailand versus the annual subscription price in Switzerland. Right now there is a subscription special for 3,900 Baht per year. That comes out to about 125 Swiss Francs per year. What's the annual subscription price is Switzerland? 765 CHF!!!!

Love You Long Time...

Look at what Mrs. TBF found in our mini bar refrigerator right next to the Swiss chocolate. That's right...condoms - IN THE REFRIGERATOR!!!

Speaking Like a Local.

One of the things I've been surprised about in Bangkok is the fact that people just don't speak English very well. I'm not complaining - afterall, I can't even say hello in Thai - I'm just surprised. Mrs. TBF once told me that everybody in Singapore speaks English very well. I thought Bangkok would be the same - it's not. Even staff members at large hotels with mostly English-speaking guests kind of speak a "velly bloken Engrish". For every four staff members, one speaks English pretty well, and the others get by with basics. For example:

Thai Waitress: "You want more coffee?'
TBF: "Yes, thank you. What is the origin of this coffee?"
Thai Waitress: (looking confused) "You want tea?"
TBF: "No...coffee is fine. Where does this coffee come from? Thailand? Sumatra? It's very good."
Thai Waitress: "Yes." (she walks away...)
Another Thai Waitress: "Is the coffee OK?"
TBF: "Yes, it's great. I was just asking where the coffee comes from."
Another Thai Waitress: "Oh...the coffee beans are from southern and northern Thailand."
TBF: "Oh...thanks. It's very good."

At this point I see the one waitress go behind a glass partition and explain in Thai what I was asking.

Thai Waitress: "Ahhhhhhh!"

Communicating with taxi drivers is even more challenging. The hotels give you a card to give the drivers. It has the hotel information in both Engrish (clap...now I'm doing it!) and the crazy (but quite beautiful) looking Thai writing...plus, a map. It's often the only way to communicate with the driver. Case in point...



We went to one of Bangkok's large shopping centers on Sunday afternoon. By the way...this is what Sunday evening traffic looks like in Bangkok. It was right next to a large hotel, so we just had a doorman at the hotel call a taxi for us.
The doorman asked where we would like to go. I told him "...the Metropolitan Hotel" so that he could tell the taxi driver. The doorman looked confused. I gave him the hotel card, and he said "...ahhhhh....The Metloporitan Hoter!" (I kid you not!). He explained to the taxi driver where we wanted to go, and the taxi driver looked confused. I gave him the card, the doorman and the taxi driver had a one-minute discussion about directions, the weather, football, who knows?...Twenty minutes, and 77 Thai Baht, later we were actually in front of our hotel. SUCCESS!!! I gave the driver 100 Baht (this is $2.50 U.S.) and told him to keep the change. He seemed confused (it's not really a tipping society here), and I just waved for him to keep the change. Of course, he then proceeded to put his hands together in a praying position and bowed about five times.
Mrs. TBF told me I shouldn't tip so much. It's not that she was being cheap - she just thinks it offends the locals. I don't care - I'm not walking around with a half pound of change in my pocket that's worth fifty cents. Now that that was resolved, it was time to head up to the room and resume the "battle of the thermostat"!

What Fo'?

We eventually ventured out of our hotel (Here's the view from our window.) on Sunday to check out some of the sights. Bangkok doesn't really have a city center, and there aren't too many landmark tourist sights so we settled on going to see a place called Wat Pho.













The taxi driver was supposed to take us to some public dock where we were to catch a boat to Wat Pho. Instead, he obviously took us to his buddy's little boat dock where we ended up paying some ridiculous "rich American" fee for a private boat. The price was ridiculous by Thai standards, but it wasn't too bad by Western standards.












Wat Pho ended up being a pretty impressive place. I would have said "cool", but it was anything but. It was downright steamy! We saw unusual things like the enormous reclining buddha which was completely covered in gold leaf. Of course the guidebook says you're not supposed to take pictures with both buddha statues and people in the same picture. But...everybody else was doing it so I figured "what the heck"! There were a lot of crazy looking temples and odd cone-shaped structures which managed to actually keep my interest for about forty-five minutes until I noticed that I was sweating through my undershirt and polo shirt (it's pretty much 33˚C and humid here every single day).
Incidentally, in the continuing saga of me running into Finns throughout the world, I heard Finnish being spoken all around Wat Pho. There must have been a tour bus full of Finns there. AND...I ended up doing Thai/English to Finnish translation.
There were three Finns standing right next to me. Before I even heard them speaking Finnish, I thought they looked Finnish, and like me, they were sweating through their shirts. A Wat Pho employee came up to them and said something to them in Thai - the Finns just stared at him. Then, he said "...you must pay!" One of the Finnish men responded (in Finnish): "...but we haven't gone into anything yet!" So, TBF steps in to save the day. I told the men (in Finnish) that "...it is necessary to pay immediately when you walk into the Wat Pho grounds." They thanked me, and then kind of gave me one of those "who the heck is this guy?" kind of looks.






I took a couple more pictures, including a self-portait, and then left for the Royal Grand Palace. At the RGP, we found out that Mrs. TBF was going to have to rent a wrap and shoes in order to go in. So, we took a pass. Besides, I told Mrs. TBF that I could feel my legs sweating under my pants. It was definitely time to head back to the arctic chill of our hotel's air conditioning and resume the "debate" over the room's thermostat setting.

One Night In Bangkok...

...and the world's your oyster. Everybody knows the first line of the chorus of that song, but how many of you know the second line? Huh...HUH??? We've actually been here two nights already, but who's counting.
All in all, it took us twenty-four hours door-to-door from Binningen to Bangkok. It seems like a long time, but the flight seemed short due to the excellent service given by Singapore Airlines. They RULE!!! The food: excellent! The seats: very comfotable! The on-board entertainment: superb! The flight attendants: BABES! Everybody bowed and smiled constantly. The trip was a real pleasure, and I'm looking forward to the return flight home.

So, we arrived at our hotel. And...here's how we looked after the 24-hour journey. We were tired, but I wasn't too tired to notice that the weight limit of the elevator is: "11 people / 750 kg." Uh...wait a minute. I may have been groggy, but if my math's correct, that comes out to 68.18/150 lbs. per person. I guess the people are a little bit smaller here than I'm used to. Even though I've lost quite a bit of weight lately, the elevator weight limit is still just over "7 TBFs".
We decided to take a nap before dinner, and our two-hour nap turned into a four-hour nap (we slept through the alarm). We went downstairs and had dinner in the hotel bar (where all the "kids" hang out, and the music is loud!). We had Thai food (surprise!), and it was...TERRIFIC. I was surprised to find that it tastes exactly like Thai food tastes in Chicago. So, I'm glad to know that the Thai food in Chicago is fairly authentic (or else our hotel food is Americanized!). Plus, it was really cheap. As a matter of fact, everything is pretty cheap here. You take a 25 minute taxi ride, and it costs something equivalent to about $2.50 U.S. A main course portion of Pad Thai at our hotel cost about $6.50 U.S. (cheap for hotel food!). It would cost WAY MORE in Switzerland - especially the taxi.
When we got back to the room, I couldn't fall asleep. I tossed and turned, and then I decided to take a sleeping pill (my first one ever) that our friend Tom gave me a couple of months ago. I took the pill at 2:00 a.m., I felt it beginning to work at about 2:03 a.m., and the next thing I knew it was 8:15 a.m. I woke up with Mrs. TBF standing next to the bed with the "where's a bucket of water" look on her face. It was time to go downstairs for breakfast where afterwards about ten people pretty much simultaneously bowed at us (in Thailand they bow while putting their hands together in a praying gesture in front of their chests). It makes me feel pretty God-like - and I like it!
It was time to do a little exploring. It was time to explore the heart of Bangkok...

POW-WIENER!!!

Yup...we're going to Bangkok, and we leave tomorrow morning.
I'm excited. This will be my first time in Asia. Mrs. TBF? It's old hat for her. She's been to Asia several times THIS YEAR!
A couple of months ago she asked me if I'd like to accompany her on a business trip. Before I said yes, I made one demand. You guessed it....BUSINESS CLASS! I'm sorry...I'm 6'5" tall and there's NO WAY I'm flying coach for thirteen hours. I am a Travel Diva, but only out of necessity. The worst part of it is that Mrs. TBF wasn't able to get me BC with miles, so...I made her BUY me a ticket. OUCH!!!
We're going to be flying on Singapore Airlines - which everybody (including Mrs. TBF) raves about. Apparently they serve satay, noodles, and a bunch of other stuff that Mrs. TBF says I'll love. First we fly to Singapore, and then we connect for a 2+ hour flight to Bangkok.
I'm going to have a fair amount of time on my own in Bangkok since Mrs. TBF has meetings. I've been telling people that one of my goals is to never have to bathe myself. No...I'm not talking about never bathing. What I'm talking about is having other people do it for me. You know...soapy,soapy-washy, washy! Is that just a Japenese thing? I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Stay tuned. I'll be posting pictures and commentary from Pow-weiner (a.k.a. Bangkok).

Sneaker!

I didn't walk with Mrs. TBF to the tram this morning because she "sneaked"! This is what we call it when she allows me to sleep in.
Normally I'll wake up when she's in the shower, or when she brings me a cup of coffee, or whatever. However, on mornings when she "sneaks", she'll come give me a kiss on the cheek and say: "I'm sneaking." Usually I'll offer some minor protest like: "Noooooo...zzzZZZZZ!"
I had big plans for this morning. I was going to get on the tram with Mrs. TBF and go to the gym for 8:00. Instead, I woke up at 9:30 a.m. Doh! What's worse is that I then fell back to sleep and woke up at....10:30 a.m.!!! Slug!!!
But, I'm happy to report that I'm back on track. It's noon, and I've already cleaned the house. Now, I'm going to go walk Sam and George. Then, I'll go to the gym at about 2:00.
I have to step it up a notch and get into high gear. We're leaving for Bangkok tomorrow. More about that later...

Ich Bin Ein Basler!

"What da Hell is dis ting???" That's what King said (Bob is having a seizure right now!) when we arrived at our home on Sunday evening and placed the Kennedy head (probably the most highly-prized acquisition from our trip to Chicago) on the floor for his review.
The Kennedy head is about forty years old. Mrs. TBF's parents had a liquor store on Grand and Menard in Chicago for many years, and they sold these Kennedy heads in their store in the mid-60s.
When I was in Chicago this past spring, I noticed the Kennedy head collecting dust in Jo's closet, and I asked her if I could have it. Unfortunately, my suitcases were too heavy and I had to leave it behind. But, this time I was able to fit it into a carryon bag. Let me tell you, it was a big hit going through the x-ray machine at O'Hare. The lady at the x-ray monitor called over her co-workers, and the had a good laugh about it.
I'm happy to report that "the head" made it safely to Basel, and now it has a place of honor on a shelf in our T.V. room.
The Chicago chapter is now officially closed! Whew!

Going...Going...Gone!

We've already been back in Basel for a couple of days now. However, I thought I'd post a few more pictures from Chicago.


This is me with a couple of my old work buddies - Ed (left) and Dave (right) after we had a nice "meaty" lunch at Wildfire. One time in the office, we were horsing around, and I managed (in a five-second burst of energy) to tear Ed's rotator cuff AND send Dave crashing into the wall with a nasty "Big Finn" stiff-arm. Of course, I was about forty pounds heavier back then.




Here's a picture of me with my parents - Kirsti and Leino. As you can see, I'm quite a bit taller than they are. I guess you could say that I'm an example of what happens when you eat U.S. beef injected with growth hormones your entire life.
By the way, my mom's birthday was a couple of days ago (October 16th - of course I called her!). My dad's 70th birthday is this December - of course I've already booked a return trip to Chicago for December to celebrate that milestone!


We went out for a nice Mexican dinner with Bob and Jackie at one of my old haunts - Taqueria Fiesta - on Friday night. Here's a picture of them with their sons Marty and Brian, and their dog Zoe.
Bob admitted to me that he HATES (I think he actually said it makes him cringe and shake with fury!) when I write on The Big Finn's Big Blog about how our cat King's "voice" has a heavy Chicago accent and that he has businesses all over the world. Look for a lot more from King in the future!



Finally, a picture of Perry and Jo. Perry (with the same expression that he has in just about every picture I've ever taken of him) turned fifty in September, and Jo turned seventy-five yesterday! Perry was four, and Jo was twenty-nine, the last time the White Sox went to the World Series (that means nothing to the Europeans reading this blog). DAMN!!!

Chicago Has a New Official Flag!

Here it is!!! I saw it all over Chicago this past week.

More Chicago Stuff...

I went out to eat with Mrs. TBF and her work colleagues last Wednesday evening at a place called Roy's. During dinner, a few of her colleagues asked me what I had planned for the next day. "I don't know...the schedule's not out yet..." was my typical response. When we go somewhere, I prefer not to plan everything down to the last minute. Instead, I like to "go with the flow". There are many factors to consider - weather, how I feel, what time I wake up, etc.
So, Thursday morning rolled around, I looked out the window and faced beautiful blue skies, and I decided that a boat cruise on the Chicago River to take in Chicago's great architecture would fit the bill.


The verdict??? Excellent! It was 90-minutes of blue skies, great scenery, and tons-o-info from a tour guide that had to be pushing ninety years old. I just can't believe how much the city has changed in the last five years since we moved to die Schweiz!


After the tour, and still being in the tourist mindset, I walked a few blocks, and parked myself at an outdoor table at Pizzeria Uno for a little deep-dish pizza. Mrs. TBF HATES their pizza - and I have to admit that it's not the best Chicago has to offer - but it was convenient. And, I was kind of into the whole "taking in Chicago through the eyes of the tourist" thing.
About one-minute after my pizza had been plunked down in front of me, I heard some mumbling over my right shoulder. I turned to find a very gaunt homeless man saying something to me. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?". All he said was something like: "MMMM-mmm slice-a pizza." "You want a slice of my pizza?", I asked him. He nodded. It was too much for me to eat anyway, so I handed him a slice. He took a bite, thanked me, then proceeded to flag down the waiter...TO ASK HIM FOR A NAPKIN. I guess he didn't want to get grease on one of the three winter coats he was wearing.


A couple of hours later, we checked out of the hotel and took off for Dave and Shannon's house for dinner. We even made it in time to see little Stella before she went to bed.

A Three-Hour Tour...

I just spent a good three+ hours FREEZING MY ASS OFF (look at that look of disgust on my face!) on one of the Chicago Double Decker tour buses. Please don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed it, and I'd do it again in a second. But...it was TOO DAMN COLD! Naturally, I toughed it out by sitting upstairs instead of sitting inside - but I could have used a coat. Thank God I at least had a fleece vest and a long sleeve shirt.


It didn't help matters any that the little piece of paper the turndown service maid left on our nightstand last night showing today's weather forecast predicted that it would be 67˚F and sunny. Wrong, Wrong, WRONG!!! It was actually 58˚F and gloomy. But...I still thought the tour was excellent.


Isn't it funny? You live someplace for almost forty years, and it takes moving away to really appreciate what was under your nose the whole time. We were kind of lulled into the suburban mindset of rarely venturing into the city. Too much traffic...too expensive...too much of a hassle...blah...blah....BLAH!!! I'm telling you right now - if we ever move back to Chicago, we're going to live downtown! I'm talking 312 area code!

From The "Small World" File...

We ate at Charlie Trotter's last night. It was really, really good. But, it wasn't the best meal I have ever eaten in my life - although it WAS the most expensive! But, what the heck? Our 18-year wedding anniversary is coming up, and we decided to splurge a bit.
We opted for the 8-course "Grand Menu" with the accompanying "Wine Menu" which matched up a different wine to each course. Some of the highlights: Big Eye Tuna with Bok Choy, Young Coconut & Prince Edward Island Mussels; Bison Tenderloin with Brussels Sprouts, Black Eyed Peas & Chanterelle Mushrooms; Arkansas Rabbit with Braised Escarole, Pearl Barley & Thyme Infused Consomme.
My friend Dave told me that I would leave the restaurant hungry, but I was absolutely stuffed. Maybe it's because I've "drawn up my stomach" (as Mrs. TBF says) since I started my Weight Watchers diet on September 5th (OK...cat's out of the bag. I lost 15 lbs. the first month!).
So, here's the "small world" portion of the evening. Our main waiter's (I think we had about eight different people waiting on us.) mother comes from Basel, and the waiter's been to Basel about ten times. It was an unbelievable coincidence!


After the meal, he asked us if we'd like to see the kitchen. Of course we said yes. Afterall, we are cooking/restaurant geeks. It was about 11:00 p.m. at this point, so they were already cleaning up. We were very impressed to find out that they completely scrub down and power wash the entire kitchen every night. I mean there were guys scrubbing the vent hoods.



We even got to go down to the wine cellar where we saw a $20,000 bottle of wine! No, it wasn't one of the wines in our "wine menu".



As far as I'm concerned, the restaurant tour kind of "made it" for me. TBF's rating for Charlie Trotter's?

Bread: 8.5 Circuses: 10

Gloomy, But Still Beautiful...

Here's the view from our hotel room. Mrs. TBF has a couple of days of meetings, and we're staying at the Westin River North in downtown Chicago. The weather's supposed to be a bit gloomy for the next couple of days, but that's not going to stop me from doing a little exploring. First, I'm going to go workout in the fitness club, but then I think I might jump on one of those double-decker buses and just ride around this beautiful city that I miss.

Adventure Travel!

We (me, Mrs. TBF, Perry, Renee, and Jo) made the trek to downtown Chicago this past Saturday night to The Capital Grille to celebrate Perry's 50th and Jo's 75th birthdays. We had a really nice time, but the combination of a 24 oz. steak (something I'm DEFINITELY not used to eating) and jet lag took its toll on me. I slept in the car on the way back to the 'burbs. Fortunately for the rest of the crew, I wasn't driving. Unfortuntately, I forgot to bring my camera along (I'm blaming that on jet lag too). But before you think that it couldn't get any more exciting than that, let me tell you about the even more exciting stuff we've done.

On Monday, Mrs. TBF and I went to the dentist, ate some Italian beef and combo samitches for lunch, and then we went grocery shopping at Dominick's. Yesterday (Tuesday), we went to see my cousin Greg the eye doctor and had our eyes examined. I'm proud to say that at the tender age of 43, I still don't need glasses! I ROCK! However, that doesn't rock as much as all the cool equipment that Greg has in his office. Plus, he's held eyeballs in his hands!!! Now THAT rocks!!!

kids...Kids...KIDS!!!

EVERYWHERE!!! I don't know how my sister does it. Mrs. TBF and I went out for brunch this past Sunday with my parents, my sister, and the kids (our brother-in-law Colm was back at home manning the Open House for the sale of their house). After an hour of the kids using me like their own personal monkey bars while I tried to sneak in bites of corned beef hash, I was spent. As you can see from this picture, I was pretty much ready for a nap.


Speaking of napping...our niece Sinead sure is a pro at it. I saw her with her eyes open yesterday morning for the first time. Here's one of the many pictures I have of her napping. Where the heck did all that dark hair come from?

SASSY!!!

Here's Mrs. TBF with her new haircut. SASSY!!!

Greetings From Glencoe, Illinois!

I'm sitting in a Starbucks in Glencoe, Illinois with Jo the mother-in-law at 11:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Mrs. TBF is having her hair cut, Jo just drank a Frappucino, and I'm blogging away.
I'm happy to report that the flight on BA went very well except for the fact that the business class seats on BA aren't big enough for TBF.
Sorry...I just had to tell Jo to "zip it for eight minutes while I blog"...where was I?
The seats of BA go flat, but if you're over six-feet tall...forget about it! I slept for about 10 minutes, Mrs. TBF slept for about 90 minutes...all is well.
The flight went by very quickly, and without any gastrointestinal distress on my part - which was a very good thing indeed.
The first stop after the airport was my sister Diana's house where we saw my parents, our nephew Finn (I wrestled with him for a couple of hours), and our new niece Sinead. My dad drove me to the car rental place, I negotiated a better deal than I booked on a Chrysler Pacifica (which I had never heard of/or seen before), and then we went to Jo's house.
After freshening up at Jo's, we went to a local mall where we made a few purchases off of our "U.S. shopping list", including: DVDs, underwear, Bose noise-reduction headphones, and some books and magazines.
Then, we went out to a terrific sushi dinner with Jo, Perry (Mrs. TBF's brother) and Renee (our sister-in-law) at an old favorite of ours - Kobe East Sushi Bar. It was FANTASTIC!!!!! Jo thought it was incredibly expensive, but we thought it was incredibly cheap - especially when compared to Swiss prices. We gorged, and it cost $175.00 for five people. Amazing!!!
We went to sleep at 9:30 p.m. with happy tummies, and we woke up at 5:45 a.m. this morning. Not too bad!
So, now, like I said, we're in a Starbucks. After Mrs. TBF's haircut, she'll check her e-mail and then we'll be off for more shopping. Tonight we're going to go out to celebrate Jo's and Perry's birthdays.
More about that...later.

From The "Too Much Info" File...

T.G.I.N.F!!! Thank God It's NOT Friday!!!
This Friday, Mrs. TBF and I will leave for Chicago! We will take an early morning flight out of Basel and connect in London for our flight to Chicago. Mrs. TBF actually has meetings in Chicago next week so she'll be flying in Business Class compliments of her company. She also has gazillions of miles on British Airways. Therefore (donc in French. It's my favorite French word so far. DONK! DONK!), yours truly will be sitting next to Mrs. TBF in business class. I keep telling ya!: I AM THE TRAVEL DIVA!!!
We're really looking forward to this trip. We're going to see our one-week old niece - Sinead - for the first time, we're going to be celebrating Mrs. TBF's brother's - Perry's - 50th birthday, and we'll also be celebrating Mrs. TBF's mom's - Josephine/Jo's - 75th birthday (DAMN SHE OLD!!!). Also, I'll tag along with Mrs. TBF when she's in the city for her meetings, so I'll get to spend some time in downtown Chicago! A couple of months ago, we booked a romantic dinner for two at Charlie Trotter's for while we're in town, and we are DEFINITELY looking forward to that!
So...why am I glad it's NOT Friday? Well, I'm glad you asked. But first, a fair warning: THIS IS THE "TOO MUCH INFO" portion of this segment. You may want to cease reading at this point.
Last night, I came down with the worst case of diarrhea that was on par with when I had the flu earlier this year in May. I woke up several times during the night, and I read several magazines in "the library". All I can say is: Thank God this wasn't taking place during the overseas flight from London to Chicago. It would have been very distressing for my fellow Business Class passengers - let alone the entire airplane. Afterall, you can't bring matches on planes anymore!
Fortunately, the worst of it seems to be "behind" (sorry!) me. It's after 4 p.m., and I just ate for the first time today. Unless I have a relapse, I think I'll be good to go for Friday.
See? I told you you should have stopped reading. You just couldn't resist could you?

Five Years....FIVE YEARS!!!

Five years ago today, I boarded a Swissair flight at O'Hare Airport with Dominique (our now-deceased dog) and King (our now full-o-piss-and-vinegar-seventeen-year-old-cat) in the cargo hold (I was in business class, and I still have the slightest bit of guilt over that one) to meet up with Mrs. TBF who had already been here for nearly three months.
Originally, the plan was that we would be in Switzerland for maybe "two to three years". I was going to take about six months off of work to get us settled in, and then I was going to look for a job. Well, somehow the job search never began, and here we are five years later.
What does the future hold? Who knows? When people back in the U.S. ask us how much longer we'll be here, I now say "I have no idea!" I've been saying "...a couple more years" for a couple of years now, and I think that family and friends are tired of hearing it. I don't know if we'll live in Switzerland forever, if we'll move back to the U.S., or we'll move to another country next. Ich habe keine ahnung!...aucune idée!!!
A lot has changed in the past five years: Mrs. TBF's job switched from Basel-to Nyon-and back to Basel; we moved from Reinach to Binningen; Dominique is no longer with us (sob!), several ex-pat friends have moved back to the U.S., England, etc.; I now speak passable German and I'm working (believe me...it's going to take a lot of work) on learning French; we've traveled to many European countries (with many still to see), we eat cheese for dessert, we prefer using a duvét to tucked-in sheets, we don't speak loudly in public, etc., etc. And, this doesn't included all the changes that have taken place back at home with family and friends which are too numerous to mention.
So...where will we be five years from now? Stay tuned!

Aren't We Just Soooo Cute?

I've been very negligent in updating the blog lately. I was going to post more pictures from our weekend in Nyon, but one distraction lead to another, and now Nyon is but a fleeting memory.

So, here's the last picture from Nyon. Jeanette took this picture of us on her balcony in our matching Frenchy shirts that we bought at a shop in Yvoire earlier that day. Mrs. TBF's shirt is too big, and mine's a little snug. But that's OK because men seem to wear their shirts a bit tight around here anyway.

SOX WIN!!! SOX WIN!!!

The Chicago White Sox have clinched the AL Central Championship. Thank God! They were 15 games ahead of the Indians about six weeks ago, and their lead slipped to just 1.5 games last week. But none of that matters now. They're in the playoffs, and that's all that counts.
Since Expatter's team - the San Diego Padres - managed to somehow sputter into the playoffs with a less than .500 record (the Sox are more than 30 games over .500), there's a chance that the 2005 World Series could end up being Expatter vs. The Big Finn.
Stay tuned!

Telling It Like It Is...

I had to call our Swiss bank today regarding a question concerning our account. When you call the bank here, a recording tells you that "...your call WILL be recorded for security purposes!" I like that. They're tellin' it like it is. In the U.S., the recording says (unless it's changed recently) that "...your call MAY be recorded." Is it, or isn't it? I'd kind of like to know up front. I think it would also help for U.S. over-the-phone customer service. In the past, I've had to say to an especially cocky or rude customer service person in the U.S.: "I hope to God that this call is being recorded 'for security purposes' and that your boss decides to have a listen." MAY??? - They're thinking: "I'll take my chances." WILL??? - "(gulp!)"
Anyway, I called the bank today and selected #4 "...to speak with a customer service representative in English." The man came on the phone and began speaking in German. I began speaking in English, and he told me that he didn't really speak English and that he would find an English-speaking person for me. I told him not to bother and that I would try to ask my questions in German. First, he had to ask me a bunch of security questions in German, and I guess I passed because he then asked me how he could help me. I muddled my way through the questions, I think I understood the answers, we said goodbye, ...und jetz habe ich viel Stolz. I conducted banking business in German, people!!! But don't tell Mrs. TBF. If she finds out about this it might get her to thinking that I could pass the German certification test...and (God forbid)...she'd tell me to get a job...(gulp)!
I would, however, kind of like to have a copy of this history-making phone conversation. I know that the conversation WAS recorded. I wonder if they'd burn me a copy onto a CD so that I could listen to it when Mrs. TBF isn't around.

It's A Finnish Thing.

That's what Mrs. TBF said when I told her that I gave money this evening to an accordian player who was busking near the Basel train station. I don't know what it is, but I just can't pass up an accordian player on the street without reaching into my pocket to pull out a couple of francs.
Maybe it's the fact that I'm impressed by the fact that somebody would openly admit in public that they know how to play the accordian (fairly high on the nerd-alert scale as far as I'm concerned). Or maybe it IS a Finnish thing. Afterall, Finland IS a country where the accordian is VERY popular. Don't believe me? Here are a few pictures that I snapped off of the T.V. at my Aunt Leila's house when I was in Finland this past summer.


These pictures were taken as I sat dumbstruck in front of the T.V. watching the Finnish National Accordian Championships. Yeah, it's kind of amusing. But, I have to admit that I kind of began getting sucked into all of the action. I had to - my dad and aunt were pretty serious about watching the hoopla, and I was just being shushed each time I tried make any comment whatsoever.


OK...OK!!! So what if the winner was announced by a hand puppet? It doesn't take anything away from the fact that great accordian players in Finland receive near rock star status.



And who was the junior Hopeinen Harmonikka 2005 Voittaja (Silver Accordian 2005 Winner)? None other than a young lad with the very un-Finnish name of Joni Stein! I'm telling you...this kid has groupies!! There's no doubt about it!
You might think that this was about all the excitment that the Finns could handle in one year. But no!!!! The Finnish National Tango Championships were taking place the following week. I'd say that that might be the pinnacle of all Finnish competitions. But, alas, that's for another blog on another day.
I need to rest now.

Voila! Nous Allons a Paris!

Does anybody know how to do the backward French accent on an Apple without switching to the French keyboard? I just can't seem to figure it out. Also, where's the damn Euro sign?

We're going to Paris in mid-November. I just booked our tickets on the Air France website, and I did it...COMPLETELY IN FRENCH! At least I think we have airline tickets booked on Air France for this November. It was actually cheaper on Air France than on EasyJet. Isn't it amazing what a little competition does? Plus, we get to leave Basel at 10:45 a.m. instead of 8:10 a.m. which means an extra 2.5 hours of sleep! Mrs. TBF has stated that she'd like to go to Paris at least once per year (TBF: "Who wouldn't???"), and it looks like we're covered for 2005 (...at least I think we are.).
Maybe, just to be safe, I'll bring the confirmation to my French lesson tomorrow and ask Charlotte (our teacher) what she thinks. I'm having three French lessons on my own this week so that I can try to catch up with Mrs. TBF who's currently in New Jersey.
You gotta love the airlines! I know I've ragged on them before, but it's kind of ridiculous. Our tickets cost only 118 Euros. The taxes are 119.08 Euros. And, there's a 10 Euro frais de service - which I think means service charge. If you do the math, I believe our 118 Euro airline tickets just cost us 247.08 Euros. I understand that the airlines have no control over the airport taxes. But, a 10 Euro service charge for an electronic ticket that I booked myself on the internet?
If you ask me, that's a bunch of merde!

Zero Years Old!!!

This is my sister Diana and the new addition to the family - Sinead (Hey kid...you're less than a day old and you're already on the world-wide-web!). She was born this morning around 7:35 a.m. Chicago time, and she weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. which is actually two more ounces than Uncle TBF was when he was born. Mother and daughter are doing very well!
My sister called me from the recovery room less than two hours after Sinead was born. If I remember the facts correctly, Diana and Colm (our brother-in-law) left for the hospital around 7:00 a.m. Diana was in labor, but thought there was plenty of time. WRONG!!! She said she got into the hospital bed around 7:20 a.m., her water broke, and she had the baby about fifteen minutes later!!!
I hope the doctor was wearing a catcher's mit!
This is number four for Diana and Colm. Sinead will be well looked after by her older siblings: Fiona, Kiera, and Finn. Also, Mummo and Pappa (my parents) arrived from Canada this past Wednesday to help out.
Mrs. TBF and I will be going to Chicago a week from this Friday. We can't wait!

More Swiss/French Nautical Adventures...

Here are a few pictures from this past Saturday when Jeanette, Mrs. TBF, and I took a little day-trip from Nyon to Yvoire, France. It only takes about twenty minutes, and it's well worth the effort. Uhhh...I guess it doesn't really involve that much effort. I'll post the Yvoire pictures a little later.


This picture was taken on the way to Yvoire. Jeanette and Mrs. TBF looked pretty happy even though they had to endure my complaining about the fact that this particular boat did not have a first class section (REMEMBER: TBF IS a travel diva!).








This picture was when we were heading back to Nyon. It was actually Mrs. TBF's third attempt at taking my picture. Her first attempt was basically a picture of my sunglasses and nose - you couldn't even tell I was on a boat for God's sake. The second attempt included my mouth and chin - still no water showing. The third time was the charm - you can tell that I'm on a boat!











Finally, this picture is of the beautiful Mrs. TBF. It was sunny, warm for late September, with Yvoire growing ever smaller in the background.

On My Own...

Mrs. TBF and Jeanette had to work on Friday. So, my first full day in Nyon was a spent on my own. After helping myself to a few things out of Jeanette's fridge, I walked to the shores of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) - after a quick stop at the Nyon Region Tourist Office - and boarded a boat. I had decided to head toward Vevey.
The boat took off, and after about five minutes I realized that I had made a major logistical error. I thought the trip to Vevey would take about 90 minutes. However, I mis-read the schedule and discovered that the journey would take....three-hours and fifty-three minutes!!!!! No worries. I wasn't on any sort of schedule, so I just decided that I'd take it all in stride.
I turned on the iPod Shuffle and enjoyed the sunshine and scenery. After about an hour of sunshine and scenery, my stomach began to talk to me - I was hungry! I went down to the restaurant and enjoyed a very good meal. The highlight of the meal came when I actually had to do some French to English translation for a table full of Swedish tourists. The waitress didn't know how to say poireaux in English, and I miraculously knew that it was "leeks"!. The waitress, unfortunately for me, then assumed that I spoke French and I ended up understanding very little of what she said to me for the rest of the meal.
Finally, the boat made it to Vevey. I made my way to the Musée suisse de l'appareil photographique, and spent about an hour or so checking out the history of photography.
After having my fill of all things photographic, I decided to park my Big Finn Butt on one of Vevey's many park benches (something sorely lacking in Basel), light up a cigar (sorry dad!), and observe Vevey's "Walk of Life"! It was the kind of day I enjoy - no plan...no schedule...no hurry. I was just enjoying the experience of the Suisse-Romande. After puffing away for about an hour, I mosied on over to the Vevey train station and made my way back to Nyon.
Mrs. TBF and Jeanette eventually made it home a little after 7 p.m. After freshening up a bit, we made our way into town to a very nice restaurant called Café Du Marché. It was an Italian restaurant, and it was very good! All in all, a perfect ending to a fantastic day!

Here I am on the boat with Lausanne (home of the Dictator Princess) in the background. By this point I had been on the boat for HOURS, and Vevey was just around the corner.
Note to DP: I believe your GA entitles you to ride the boats of Lac Léman for "free"! I highly recommend it!







This part of Switzerland is known as the Cote d'Or - a.k.a Swiss wine country. The wine isn't that great, but the scenery's pretty nice!











Here's what I saw when I arrived in Vevey. I've determined that just about every postcard you see in Switzerland has been produced using trick-photography - vividly blue, cloudless skies. Hah...the mountains are always shrouded in haze! Nevertheless, the scenery was still pretty spectacular

The Suisse-Romande....ROCKS!!!

I didn't realize it until Mrs. TBF and I were on the 5:05 p.m. train on Thursday evening heading toward southwest Switzerland that it had been THREE YEARS since I had last been in Nyon. Sure, I had been in both Lausanne and Geneva earlier this year. But, it had been a full three years since I had been in the town where Mrs. TBF worked (and had an apartment) for nine months in 2002. I'll officially go on record as saying that I miss it a lot, and I'd move there in A SECOND!!! I'll even go a step further by saying that if we moved there I would be perfectly content living the rest of my days as a Swiss resident (sorry Mom and Dad!)! French flair...Swiss safety and security - an unbeatable combination!
Our friend Jeanette picked us up at the Nyon train station. After dropping our bags off at her place, we left for a town called Bogis-Bossey where we ate a wonderful meal with Mrs. TBF's work colleagues at a place called Auberge de Bogis-Bossey.
The meal was great. I felt a little bit guilty about the fact that I was sitting next to Atul (a vegetarian), and I order foie gras for my appetizer and veal organ meat (ris de veau) for my main course. OK...I felt guilty for about four seconds, and then my body was taken over by my carnivorous instincts. We drank some nice French wine, ate some nice French cheese, and had a really nice time.

Simon - Mrs. TBF's boss - doesn't really like being touched. But, I was feeling so elated after the meal that I decided to give him a big bear-hug. Sorry Simon!

New Blog Photo...

IMG_5023
Originally uploaded by thebigfinn.

I'm adding this as my new blog photo. It's a self-portrait that I took on a Lac Léman cruise on September 23, 2005 - 5 years and 2 days after my last day of employment!

On The Road Again....AGAIN?

That's right. Tomorrow, Mrs. TBF and I are heading to Nyon. Mrs. TBF's company has a location in Nyon, and she has to go there for some "bidness". I'm tagging along, and we're going to be staying at our friend Jeanette's house. Since Mrs. TBF is going to be busy doing the "work-thang" on Friday, I'll just be hannging out in the French part of Switzerland.
For those of youse guyses (sorry...slipped into Chicagoese for a second) who aren't in the know - Nyon is located between Geneva and Lausanne, and it's where Mrs. TBF had a apartment for 9 months in 2002 while she was working there. I haven't been in Nyon for a long time, and I'm looking forward to this weekend...a lot! Our plan is to take the 5:05 p.m. train to Nyon tomorrow evening. We'll have dinner in Nyon tomorrow night, Mrs. TBF will do her job-thing on Friday, and then our plan is to take the boat over Lac Leman from Lausanne to Evian, France for a day of exploring with Jeanette.
I really like the French part of Switzerland. I must say that I was rather disappointed when Mrs. TBF's job brought her back to Basel. Her apartment in Nyon was awesome. It overlooked Lac Leman (Lake Geneva), had a view of Jet d'Eau in Geneva, plus a view (when it wasn't too hazy) of Mont Blanc (the mountain...not the pen!). Plus, the difference between the French-speaking Swiss and German-speaking Swiss is like night and day. We'll see if Nyon and it's surrounds are as good as I remember.
On a side note: We're going to Paris in November, and I just discovered that EasyJet is going to begin flying from Basel to Paris on October 31st. They're also going to begin flying from Basel to Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Prague next year. Here's the press release!

Mein Gott!!!

I went to the incredibly inconvieniently located FedEx office in Arlesheim this morning to send an overnight envelope to the U.S. I've been to this office a couple of times before, and this was the first time I was actually able to figure how to navigate my way to the parking spots right in front of the office. The last two times involved parking on the upper-deck of a parking garage and maneuvering down a three-story spiral staircase. Of course, the front door of the office is locked. You have to ring a doorbell, and then a man comes to the door, unlocks it, and invites you in. The man didn't seem to understand my "sehr gut Deutsch", and he didn't speak very much English. But, I managed to communicate what I needed, and things were rolling smoothly. Then, I asked him a question in German, and there seemed to be quite a bit of confusion. That was, until a man who spoke perfect English walked up and informed me that the first man was French and only understood French, Swiss-German, and a little bit of English.
The price for this plain old FedEx next-day envelope going from Basel, Switzerland to Herndon, VA U.S.A.???? CHF 67.30, or U.S. $57.48!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Am I the only person who thinks that's a bit steep? How much does it cost these days to send an overnight envelope from the U.S. to Switzerland? Just curious. To add insult to injury, if you're paying cash, you have to have EXACT CHANGE!!! Although I noticed that they now accept credit cards - something new since my last visit about 18 months ago to this "customer friendly" FedEx office.