Unfortunately I don’t have much content for creative story telling or inspiring words, but I wanted to share a few random updates from our first few weeks. I promised to post often so here’s the latest rundown:
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost four weeks since we moved to Switzerland. The days and weeks are flying by as we’ve been busy figuring out how to live thrive in our new world.
We love our new apartment - We’re in a modern high rise nestled in the heart of the city and I’m loving the proximity to the daily essentials. Walking to the market, gym, train station etc. is such a refreshing novelty since I was deep in suburbia the last few years. When the sky is clear, I have mountain views from my apt/office windows which always brings me joy. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m so grateful for the power and beauty of the mountains.
As you can imagine, the food has been pretty delectable. There’s been no shortage of cheese and chocolate consumed, and of course, the breads… ummm, delicious! Let’s just say this is not the place to be gluten, dairy and/or sugar free.
To help offset all the delicious foods and to continue with my movement filled lifestyle, I’ve discovered great outdoor running and hiking trails. I’ve become a member of a great gym and also found a couple of decent swimming pools. I’m still waiting for my bikes to arrive but once they do I know I’ll be spending plenty of time exploring on two wheels.
KY’s office is about 3K from our apartment, so I typically join him for the walk in the morning which has been a nice way to kick start the day. Its extremely satisfying to be outside first thing and when the sky is clear as I get to salute the Queen of the Mtn (Mt Rigi) on my walk home.
The CY Coaching business has been operating in full swing - I now have a full athlete roster for 2015 and after leaving my job with Lifetime Fitness it’s been great having more time to devote to my athletes. Those athlete relationships have been a wonderful way to stay connected with the tri community and with other humans in general. I find myself mute most of the day since it seems everyone around me is speaking german. Although most people can speak english, its tough to strike up conversation or join a conversation when all you hear is german. I’m working hard to learn the basics, but with swiss german and regular german being quite a bit different, the learning process is significantly more challenging.
We had our first visitors last week - What a wonderful treat to explore and catch up with Julie (and Brian)!
We travelled to a few nearby cities, and also enjoyed a couple of amazing days skiing in Zermatt. We had perfect bluebird conditions, and lift passes for both the swiss and italian sides of the Matterhorn. We knew Italy would be the place for lunchtime fuel and it certainly lived up to the expectations - It was hands down the best pizza I’ve ever had. SO fresh and real.
We travelled to a few nearby cities, and also enjoyed a couple of amazing days skiing in Zermatt. We had perfect bluebird conditions, and lift passes for both the swiss and italian sides of the Matterhorn. We knew Italy would be the place for lunchtime fuel and it certainly lived up to the expectations - It was hands down the best pizza I’ve ever had. SO fresh and real.
In addition to items above, I’ve been doing more reading and getting much more involved with mindfulness training and creating time to dig deeper into that aspect of my personal development and health. It would be easy to just go through the motions every day since life is pretty great, but I want to ensure I’m working on my authentic purpose and really identifying what it is that drives true satisfaction. I feel like I’ve done a decent job so far, but it’s a work in progress to stay authentic and true to what makes me feel alive and not to be afraid to be a different.
I’m also working on adding meditation to the daily routine. If you’re interested, here’s a handy “how to” guide I used to get started:
It’s hard to read and watch this stuff without soul searching and asking yourself the tough questions. This big transition and move to Switzerland has been such a blessing for many reasons. Aside from all the lovely opportunities to explore incredible destinations and experience this new culture first hand, it’s been a powerful catalyst to take time to read, research and practice new aspects of healthy and inspired living.
Live Big!
xoxo
xoxo
~CY
