A year ago I went to the Polyball for the first time. I didn’t know many people here in Zürich at the time, so I went alone. I quickly found the salsa dance floor and started dancing with an energetic girl named Elisa. She and I danced many dances together and exchanged numbers before the end of the evening. We’ve kept in touch in the past year, but hadn’t managed to go dancing again because she lives in Ticino and is in Zürich only occasionally.
This year I went to the ball with Lilian and Daniela, two lovely women I met at Linea Salsa almost exactly a year ago, one week after last year’s Polyball. As last year, I gravitated toward the Latin music. I danced a couple of dances with Lilian and Daniela. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw someone waving to me. As luck would have it, Elisa—the girl from last year’s Polyball—was about two meters away from us! It’s a small world indeed.
I introduced Elisa and her friends to my friends, and we hung out together for most of the rest of the night, dancing disco, swing, and even a few Viennese waltzes. Throughout the evening, I also ran into many other people I know, including several colleagues and folks from the rowing club. It was a really fun party, and we left only around 4:30 in the morning. I am already looking forward to next year’s Polyball!
2009-12-07
Polyball 2009
2009-02-09
Party at Kubilay’s place
On Saturday night I drove down to Horgen on the West side of the lake. It had begun to rain and the streets were slick and shiny. It was cold too, and as I neared Horgen the rain turned to snow. Kubilay's place is near the train station in a modern block of flats. He fixed lots of food including little kebab-like meat snacks, grilled Halloumi cheese, and Turkish candies flavored with pistachios and rosewater. It was a fun group of folks and a good time was had by all. Naturally, I brought my camera and took a bunch of photos of the fun. I gave several folks a ride back up to the city around midnight and by this time the snow was falling in thick, wet clumps. The party apparently continued somewhere in the city, but I was feeling a bit tired, so I dropped the others off and returned home early.
2009-02-04
Shrubbery gig on Sihlquai
Wednesday night I joined some ZRL colleagues downtown to watch Shrubbery, a band whose members include a couple of Googlers and one of my colleagues, Jan. I enjoyed the performance, and had fun watching this normally staid researcher rock out! Several photos of the gig are online for your enjoyment.
2009-01-16
Housewarming party in Zürich
Friday night, after just a couple of days back in Switzerland, I threw a housewarming party at my new place in Zollikon. I invited a mix of folks from work and friends I have met since moving to Zürich several months ago. About thirty people came, and it was a lot of fun. Andrew & Gordana were there, as well as Anke & Rupert, Lilian, and Franke & Martina. Gordana helped a lot with the party, preparing snacks cakes the day before. Thanks, Gordana! Here are more photos from the party.
2008-12-19
Nina’s 30th birthday party
Gordana’s friend Nina turned 30 this week and Lilian and I went to the party. We started at Valzer, a bar near Kreutzplatz with subdued brown decor, dim yellow lighting, and loud music. The place lacks a sign outside so I guess they depend on word-of-mouth for business. After a few hours we continued the party at Diagonal, a subterranean club behind the Baur au Lac hotel. The music was loud there too, and before long, everyone was letting loose and having a good time. We met some fun people there too.
2008-03-01
Drinking with Linda & friends after climbing.
After the boulder open competition, a bunch of folks retired to Judit & Bertil for a few celebratory beers. Linda and her friends Anna and Carolina came too, and I felt damned lucky to be in the company of such lovely and charming women. Here are twenty-two photos of the night’s revelry.
Linda’s off to warmer waters this week for a scuba-diving vacation, and I would be jealous if not for the fact that I’m bound for Andermatt in the Swiss Alps in less than a week. I haven’t been skiing in the Alps since I visited Andrea in the winter more than a decade and a half ago. It should be exciting!
2008-02-03
Boulder open #61 @ Karbin
Update: The results from the boulder open #61 have been posted. Andreas and I tied for fifth place.
I arrived late at the competition, and as a result, I didn't have much time left over for taking photos. Still, I managed to get a few. In this shot, Isabelle conquers one of the problems on the back wall. I posted thirty-five photos from the competition.
After the competition, I joined a bunch of climbers at Judit & Bertil near Hornstull, for a few beers. The bar has Samuel Adams Boston Lager on tap, so I was happy. Here are twenty-three more photos from the pub.
2007-10-07
Exhausting but fun weekend
Saturday morning I awoke with a sore throat and felt like I was coming down with a cold. I got a message in Facebook from a girl named Kajsa I had met climbing at KC 14 months earlier. She had apparently seen my downhill photos from Åre because her message was an invitation to come biking with her and three friends in Hellas. I wasn't really in the mood for biking, or even going out of doors. I felt more like making a hot cup of tea, sitting on the couch, and reading a good book. But the idea of turning the day into a challenge appealed to me, so I looked up Kajsa’s phone number and gave her a ring. There was no answer, and I initially felt relived that I would be able to stay home after all. But then I decided to pick my butt up off the couch and go biking by myself. I figured I might even run into Kajsa and her friends on the trails.
So I threw on my biking clothes, packed my backpack, and went to Hellas. I biked down South through the city, across Södermalm, and into the Nacka Nature Reserve where Hellas is located. I biked for a while by myself, but eventually caught up with a group of bikers, started to chat with them, and rode with them for a while. After a couple of hours we stopped at the café for a fika. As we were ordering our food, My climbing friend Kajsa walked through the door. Her three friends were Niklas, Emil, and Ewa, three folks I also know from climbing. So I said goodbye to my new friends and went to sit down for fika with Kajsa, Ewa, Niklas, and Emil. The guys were gung ho for some hardcore biking and the girls told us not to wait for them. I was out of shape and had trouble keeping up with Niklas and Emil. Of course I have excuses! I was a bit sick, had biked all the way to Hellas and it was my first serious bike ride of the season — I spent most of the weekends this past summer climbing, not biking. My bloodstream was full of adrenaline and lactic acid for the next two hours. The trails were fun and very technically challenging. By the end of the ride I was totally spent and had to muster the last of my strength to ride back home.
Oh, and the whole time I was biking with 4 half-liter cans of beer in my backpack because I had stopped by Systembolaget in the city on the way to Hellas.
The beer was for the evening’s festivities at P.O.’s place. He and his sambo Lotta were throwing a house-warming party at their new flat on Södermalm, and the party was to begin at 19.00. As I biked back homeward from Hellas, I passed over Södermalm. Too bad I hadn’t planned a bit better; I could have left the beer and a change of clothes at P.O.’s place and borrowed his shower before the party. But I wasn’t that prescient, and I had to get my bike back home anyway. So I bought a monthly SL card and hopped on the next Northbound train at Stockholms Södra station, just a few hundred meters West of Medborgarplatsen. I took the train to Ulriksdal station and biked the rest of the way home. What followed was the longest, hottest, most satisfying shower I've had in months. After stepping out of the shower, I toweled off and crashed on the couch. I could easily have remained there, but the party had started a half hour before, and I couldn’t reneg. I hadn’t seen P.O. in a long time, and I had been looking forward to the chance to catch up a bit.
I grabbed the nearest clean and pressed shirt and got dressed as hastily as I could manage. I felt like I was already drunk and I hadn’t had a drop to drink yet! P.O. and Lotta’s place is really lovely: a spacious and modern-styled apartment in an old building on Folkungagatan. They had just finished months of renovations and the results were impressive. As usual, P.O.’s tastes were evident: plain and austere black and white surfaces, stainless steel appliances, squarish leather furniture, and red accents in the form of lamps and the like. The party was a lot of fun too. I saw a few familiar faces there and also made several new friends. When I finally left the party, it was in the wee hours of the morning. Delays in the subway system led to an hour-long trip back home. When I finally laid my head on my pillow, it was after 04.00.
I awoke at 09.00, fully intending to fulfill my promise to go climbing outdoors with Sara. When I rang her number, I was actually glad to discover that I had awoken her, and that she was as tired as I. We agreed to climb indoors later in the afternoon instead — a revised plan that fit my wishes perfectly. I fixed waffles for breakfast, did some cleaning, and then took a nap. Let me tell you: it was hard to get out of bed after that nap. My body would have been perfectly happy to remain in bed all afternoon and through the night as well! But I somehow managed to crawl out of bed and get dressed again, this time packing my backpack full of climbing kit.
I saw Katy online and we chatted for a while. I invited her to come climbing with me. We met at Liljeholmen station and took the bus from there to Karbin. There, I introduced Katy to Sara, Elin, Lisa, Udo and Fredrik. Katy had tried climbing once before, but this was her first time to climb in Sweden. She did a great job and even learned a few tricks on the bouldering wall from Elin. I wasn’t really in top form, and contented myself with a 6a and a 6b.
After I arrived home a couple of hours ago, I did a load of laundry and had a snack. My bed beckons, so I think I will sign off for the night.
2007-04-09
A few beers at Oliver Twist
Last night I joined Matt & Lisa at Oliver Twist, a pub on Söder with a great selection of beers. I had a couple of beers from Mahr's brewery in Bamberg, Germany. I didn't particularly like the pils, but the weissbier was delicious. OT has a big selection of beers from the U.S. too. I asked after beers from New Beligum Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado; unfortunately, these were among the stock. So I finished witha Celis White from my hometown, Austin. Well, it used to be brewed in Austin.
2007-03-24
Zita & Sofia's birthday party
On Saturday night, I went to the birthday party of my friend Zita. It was actually a combined party for both Zita and her friend Sofia. There was an interesting mix of folks there, including graduate students from the same astronomy program in which Zita is studying, and Zita's friends from salsa dancing. By coincidence I also saw a colleague of mine there. I also met a charming biology Ph.D. student named Maria who lives in my neighborhood. It's a small world. Here are the photos from the party.
2007-03-04
Sara & Elena's birthday bash
After climbing, I ran to Solna train station and caught the commuter train downtown. At the central station, I took the red line down to Söder. I was down there to attend Sara & Elena's birthday bash at Chicago. Many of my salsa friends were there, and we danced until almost three in the morning. The party was lots of fun. Happy birthday, girls!