daily – Page 34 – trippingdifferently

November 11, 2012

Step 5 – FINISHED!…

On Tuesday, 6th November 2012, at 9.15am (roughly), i shouted all over my Facebook page that i PASSED! That’s right Step 5 of getting my Swiss Driver’s License, the final step – DONE! i was so happy – still am!

i have not blogged about it till now because… well, life got in the way (so to speak) and i wanted to do an accurate total tally of the amount of time and money spent to be able to legally drive in Switzerland. (Read here for how all this started.)

So first let’s go back to Tuesday – Practical Test Day:

My test was 8am in the morning, which was good because then i would not have to spend the whole morning pacing and worrying. The day before i had my last driving lesson and on the morning of the test, we did a short review about half an hour before the test.

My tester (is that what you them?), Herr (Mr) Niederberger was friendly and greeted us (me and my driving instructor) with a nice warm handshake. i had a good feeling. ( i also had lots of people praying for me – thank you guys – you know who you are 😉 )

So we drove out of the parking lot, down some familiar roads, then into a 30km zone (Switzerland has lots of these, especially in residential areas) where i did parallel parking, which i did well due to good training with my instructor. (i was never so confident about parallel parking before.) Then we drove a little further and he asked me to stop and then reverse along the road (in German: fahren rückwärts entlang der Strasse). i wasn’t sure what he talking about, so i assume it was a 3-point turn (in German: wenden). He stopped the car and i gave him a confused look. He asked what i was doing wrong. More blank looks from me. He asked if i learnt this at my lessons. i said no. Then he heaved a great sigh and proceeded to teach me how to do it there and then. At this point, i thought i had failed the test.

It turned out that in Switzerland, if you have to reverse more than 10km on a stretch of road, you have to switch to the opposite side, so you are going in the right direction of the traffic, then reverse slowly. Now i know.

Anyhow, since i thought i failed, i said to myself, “Might as well enjoy the ride.” So i drove in a quite carefree manner but still keeping to all the rules though.

We got back to the test centre and my driving instructor was waiting for us in the carpark. i parked the car and then we sat in the car and talked. He asked my driving instructor about the reversing part. She said we did do that but only once and near the beginning of my lessons with her. Then he said that besides that incident, everything else was good and congratulated me! i could not believe my ears and you can imagine how my heart leapt.

Sigh! A huge relief!

My instructor was so happy too. And right here, i would like to publicly thank Ms Fiona Croci for being such a wonderful and patient teacher. If anyone living in my area needs a driving instructor, i highly recommend her. (Visit her website here – she has really helpful links and explains clearly all the steps needed to get your license, in German though. Plus she speaks English, High German and Swiss German.)

Now how long did it take me from beginning to end? (Read about the 5 steps here.)

It took me almost 11 months from the start of my first aid course to the day i passed the practical. But it can be done in a shorter time. My problem was that i had to wait till husband was around to look after the boy before i could go attend all the classes. And sometimes the class times just didn’t work out for me.

i’m actually still not quite done yet – i still have to do what they call, “Zweiphrasenausbildung”, second phrase training. You have to do 2 sessions within 3 years of passing the practical test (my current license is provisional and i only get the permanent one upon attending these sessions and of course not committing major offences in those 3 years.) My friend said it is basically like a practice session and they also teach you to be environmentally friendly and a few other emergency techniques. Sounds interesting but it is going to cost more money – sigh!

So how much did it costs in total?

First Aid Course = CHF 140
Eye Test = CHF 20
Theory Self-learning CD = CHF 59
Theory Test = CHF 30
Learner’s Permit = CHF 60
Verkehrskundenskur (Additional Theory Classes) = CHF 200
Materials Costs at VKK = CHF 30
Train Costs to get to class = CHF 80.80
Insurance to take practical lessons = CHF 80
Practical Lessons (13x lessons @ CHF90) = CHF 1170
Practical Test (paid to Traffic Department) = CHF 120
Practical Test Day (paid to instructor for her time waiting & car usage) = CHF180
Provisional Driver’s Permit (valid for 3 years) = CHF 50
TOTAL COSTS to date = CHF 2219.80

This is not including the 2 sessions of the Zweiphrasenausbildung which can costs up to CHF 700.

So to get a final, permanent Swiss Driver’s License (after the 3 years provisional period) would cost me CHF 2919.80 (almost CHF 3000). And this is taking into account i already knew how to drive so did not have to start from scratch when taking practical lessons. If you are starting at the very beginning, i would most definitely add a few more practical lessons to that equation.

i hope this detailed account and costs breakdown helps someone.

syc

October 29, 2012

Autumn Holiday Week 03…

Well, the last week of our holidays came and went… the main highlight of that week was our Farmstay, or in German “Ferien auf dem Bauernhof”.

Last year we did a “Sleep-in-Straw” farmstay (read about it here). This year Tobias wanted to bring his best friend along, who may or may not have an allergy to straw so i decided that would not be good to sleep in straw. So we chose a farm where they had a little apartment for us to stay in; it was the Guggishaus (that’s the name of the farm), near Köniz, Bern. We booked it through the Reka website; a travel agency of sorts which handles holiday homes and has travel vouchers which you can purchase as gifts.

i find that these adventures are best shown in pictures so warning this will be a very picture-heavy post.

My beloved husband, who had to work, was unable to come with us but he did drive us there on Sunday afternoon. And the first resident of the farm to greet us was the ever-energetic farm dog – Xenia. She is such a sweetie! Once she gets to know you, she is always coming up to you, asking for a little love and attention.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Xenia – the lovely farm dog… i would love to have a dog like her at home too 😉

Here you can see the farmhouse and the barn. i was told that this farm has been in their family for 4 or 5 generations now. So these are truly people of the land. We stayed in the apartment on the second floor.

It wasn’t a huge apartment and it wasn’t new but it was clean and comfortable, and had more than enough room for me and the boys. Here’s a mosaic of what the inside looks like.

The view from our balcony was lovely as you can see (i was sorry not to have taken a picture when it was sunny).

Once we were settled and had unpacked, it was off to help the farmer with the cows. The boys helped to shovel the cows’ evening feed into the feeding trough. Then they were allowed to walked the cows down into the barn. The farmer gave careful instructions that we should stay clear till the last cow came through the gates, then we could walk behind them. He said the cows will charge down and he wasn’t kidding. They knew it was time to go home and most were already at the gate the moment they heard the farmer’s voice. There was a stubborn one which lingered behind chewing the fresh grass. It was interesting to watch the farmer get each cow into the correct position; they all have a specific place to go to with their names clearly labeled at the top.

There was more shovelling of the feed while the cows were being milked. i didn’t get a good picture of the milking so i can’t show that to you. He had a portable milking machine which could be wheeled around to each cow in turn. The boys helped with moving the machine around for a bit. i also learnt that the cows’ tails had to be tied up with a string attached on a line above their backs. They could still move around freely but when they sat down for the night, it kept their tails out of any poo which may have accidentally fallen outside of the poo drain. The farmer said you really didn’t want tails full of poo swinging around all over the place. And they do swing their tails quite hard; the farmer got smacked in the face several times quite hard!

After the milking, it was dinner time. i took the option of having dinner and breakfast provided so i didn’t have to think about preparing food while on holiday (Not every farmstay can provide this service so do check if you want meals provided). We ate with the farmer’s family. It was a lovely Swiss meal and afterwards we sat around and talked, had tea and ice cream. They have 5 children, 2 girls, 3 boys. The older daughter lives away, doing an internship. The second girl speaks a little English as does the farmer himself. The older boy is a good lad who helps out around the farm. The 2 younger boys are about Tobias’ age which was just great. It was also great to find out that they are Christians and go to the local church when work on the farm permits them to go.

The next morning, the farmer and his wife were up very early and the children left early for school (they start school a week earlier than us). We had breakfast while the farmer read his morning devotion. Then it was off to have a ride in the tractor – this was the favourite part of the whole day for the boys. The corn feed for the cows was freshly cut each day from the farmer’s fields down the road. The boys also spent a good deal of time playing with the farm kitten and the rabbits. Then we helped the farmer and his wife to pick apples which would be juiced the next day. The apple juice they make is yummy! We brought home 5 liters which was gone in a little over a week. i have a good mind to go back up there just to get more apple juice! 😉

i made a simple lunch for us – this was the only meal i cooked on this trip. In the afternoon, it was rest time for the animals. While the farmer took the apples to be pressed and his wife ran errands, we took a little hike up the neighbouring hill to a lookout point with an amazing view. It took us about 25 mins to get to the top so it was a nice walk, not too difficult at all.

When we got back to the farm, everyone was home already. The boys along with the 2 younger farmer’s boys gathered the water and pellets for the sheep, which were in the field a little way down the hill. Then the boys played some soccer on the street. After which, they went to feed the calves with milk from the evening’s milking. Those calves were hungry little things!

Then it was dinner. The farmer did not join us as he had to go for a fire drill; he was a volunteer fireman. The wife and myself chatted while the boys played games or watched a movie. She made a really nice dessert of baked apples. At about 8.30pm, we (the adults) tried to get the kids off to bed. It took a good half hour before they moved; they got along so well with each other and, i think, were a little sad to say goodbye.

The next morning, our last morning, we watched the farmer clean out the pig pens and feed the pigs. Then it was off for our little trekking outing with the donkeys. First, the boys helped to groom the donkeys and get them ready. Then off we went. The boys took turns on the donkey (only one was harnessed for riding on). On the walk, the farmer showed me the farmlands and which families were still actively farming and which were giving up. It was sad to hear that farmers have to give up on farming because they have no children to pass the farm and land onto. But he did say the land either remained with the farmer’s family till a grandchild can take over or else they sell to another farmer in the area. This way at least the land would likely remain farmland.

We had a quick snack after our trekking with the farmer and his wife, and then the farmer very kindly drove us to the train station. We were tired but we had a good time and learnt a lot. In fact, Tobias is so happy with this experience that he wants to come and stay again, next time for 4 nights!

There are more pictures but too many to share here. So i’ll just leave you with a shot of the happy boys coming back from the donkey trekking outing.

Oh i do want to say, the weather forecast for those 2 days was not looking good a week before we went. We prayed real hard for good weather and thank God that we only had rain overnight and one overcast morning. Praise the Lord for the good weather those 2 days.

Oh and you can find out more details about the farm here.

Have you been to a farmstay? How was your experience? Do share.

syc

October 27, 2012October 28, 2012

More Self-Scanning… and… It’s Snowing!!

It’s October and it has been snowing since this afternoon. Now it’s chucking down big fat flakes with big gusts of wind to boot! My camera is just crap in low light so this was the best picture i could get. Just wanted to have this down on record 😉

UPDATE (evening of October 28th 2012):

We woke up to a layer of white covering almost everything, except the streets. Lovely! There was even more snow in Luzern! Have a look…

Camera 360 — L to R: White covering almost everything this morning. Tobias with one of his many snowballs made today. Love the way the snow sits on those bikes!

Now onto warmer things like food… more specifically, supermarket food shopping!

Back in July i wrote about one of the major supermarkets, Coop, having a self-scanning system. We used it and liked it. Actually, my son loved it. Read about it here.

So when the other big supermarket, Migros, make renovations to install a self-scanning system, needless to say, my little guy was over the moon. In fact, he went as far as to say he would like to come supermarket shopping with me and would stay by me and not go to the toy department. Now that is a big thing for him to give up… 😉

The Migros self-scanning system is called “Subito”. You can read all about it here (in German, French or Italian only).

i actually prefer the Migros system to the Coop one. First of all, the registration is painless; simply scan your Migros Cumulus card (points collection card), no form to fill in (compared with the Coop system). Once the card is scanned, a device lights up and that is yours. Pick it up and begin scanning. Once done with shopping, simply go to the checkout, scan a special Finish barcode they have there. Return the device to any slot. Go to a self-checkout station. Scan your Cumulus card again. Scan any special coupons you might have, make payment and off you go. There is always one staff on hand to help you if you have any trouble at all.

Ok, the differences between the 2 systems are really small but somehow, i prefer the Migros one.

Well, you go try it (if you live in Switzerland that is) and then tell me what you prefer.

syc