Let the Loft Hunting Begin...

First, I think you need to know a little bit about our bathroom in the hotel:

~ There is tile all the way up to the ceiling, not just around the shower, but over the entire bathroom (apparently this is fairly common)
~ The toilet is not attached at the floor, it's only attached at the wall. Every time I sit on it I think I'm going to snap it off the wall and live through my own personal "I Love Lucy" skit with water spraying everywhere and soap...maybe even some whipped cream for good measure...
~ You flush the toilet by pushing the button on the wall. And it doesn't really flush like you think it should (clockwise or counterclockwise) water is just dumped into the stool and just about when you think it's going to overflow it starts to empty out.
~ The shower doesn't have a curtain. It has one piece of frosted glass that only goes about halfway to the back wall. It makes for a very cold shower until you can are able to warm up the entire bathroom. Even then, when you get out of the shower you have a small swamp where there was no curtain...
~ You get the water that you get. You can set a temperature but sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's cold, and sometimes it's juuuust right. When the water temp changes you kinda scream then get out of the water, wait a few minutes to see if it goes back to warm and then when it doesn't you tinker with the knob until you get it back. Three minutes later you do it again. I hope that this isn't how it is everywhere...I guess we'll have to see.

On to the 'loft' search...

Of course we started the day off by looking at the most beautiful 'modern' penthouse loft I may have ever seen in my entire life. The floor plan was very open 175 square meters (about 2000 square feet) with 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, light colored wood floors through out, washer and dryer in the unit, very open kitchen with a lift (elevator) from the ground floor to the apartment - in the heart of the city. The absolutely best part is that the loft has three (count them THREE) balconies! One right next to the kitchen, one directly off of the guest bedroom, and the best one is up a flight of stairs to a private terrace. The view overlooks (...ok, barely...) Zürich Lake. The loft is just about completely windows - most of which completely open.

This is the loft that we really, REALLY want. We've put in an application but the tenant that currently lives there hasn't told the management company that they are leaving. Also, apparently in Switzerland they want to give the good apartments to the Swiss. So, if a Swiss-y wants the apartment then there is a more likely than not chance that they will get it (do you like that my accountant friends?). Luckily, the apartment is pretty damn expensive so hopefully not a lot of people can afford it - Thank you living allowance!

The other loft that we have already been accepted to is in the Merriam of Zürich. Which is not bad but if I'm going to live in Zürich for 2 years I want to LIVE in Zürich and be close to all the action. This loft is at the top of a hill (although compared to Kansas standards I would call it a mountain...) and is about 160 square meters. It has all the same things as the other loft but it also has an elevator that, with the key, will take up up into the living room of our loft (super cool!) This loft only has 2 balconies, but the add up to about 100 square meters - that just about doubles the size of the unit; and on a clear day we think you can see the Swiss Alps (you know...no biggie ;) ) To get to Zürich you can either take the 5 minute bus right to the train station and then a 10-15 minute train ride into the city; or you can walk down the 'mountain' to the train station.

One thing that I find odd is that none of the lofts in Zürich have air conditioners - they don't need it. The summers are so temperate that when it gets 'hot' all you do is close your blinds and open the windows. (I'm a little intrigued to see how this works...but if all else fails go shopping!)

We actually saw about 16 lofts in a matter of a few hours but we had some pretty specific specifications and were able to rule out many of the lofts immediately. There were 4 units that Kyle couldn't even stand up in some of the rooms. There was a loft that the trains actually went under the house, everything shook a little but but apparently we would get used to it...

Traditional Swiss apartments are very segregated. The kitchen has it's own room (often with a door), the living area has it's own own room with door as does every other room. This is something that American's (and now younger Swiss people) don't care for very much so as lofts are being renovated they are making them 'modern'.

Another thing that all Swiss houses have to have is a bomb shelter. The bomb shelters are in the keller (no, I didn't spell that wrong) and normally have a couple toilets (they are not allowed to be used unless you are being bombed) and are used for storage. They were mandated during WWII because sometime these poor people had to stay in their basement for days when they were being bombed. The shelters still have to be built today in the new construction homes. Our relocation lady told us that after the foundation of a home is poured that 1/2 of the money is spend in building the house because of all of the laws about how a basement must be.

We should find out sometime next week what loft we will be 'residing in'. Both lofts are very nice and I will be very happy with either one - but I would definitely like to be closer to the city, both for myself and for all of you that come to visit!