Gracefully avoiding any marital battles over the quantity of luggage, we left for our 7:55 pm Swiss Air flight to Zurich.
On the flight, I watched Judas and the Black Messiah, read Where the Crawdads Sing and admired my first born’s ability to sleep in any situation.
We landed safely in Zurich, which seems lush and green after our dry, golden California.
A quick car ride to Basel and we are in our new home! The Meret Oppenheim Hochhaus is a modern, glass high rise with a skin of movable, metal gates intended to provide shade, but not enough shade for jet-lagged nine year-olds to sleep. It is industrial and cool and we are settling in.
Quick walk to Vito’s for take-out pizza and wine, a couple episodes of Friday Night Lights and we tried to sleep (but didn’t).
In the morning, we braved a grocery store and I ran to the Rhine. With Germany’s flooding in the news, and I was curious to see it. The river is super high and flowing fast and apparently a few fishing huts from the 14th century have floated away, but the city seems otherwise unaffected.
We visited the Basel Office of the Canton to finalise the visa process, then strolled through town, searching for basketballs, magic the gathering cards and hangers.
I cook my first dinner — after spending 45 minutes trying to turn on the induction stove top — and we lounge on the balcony. I’ve missed summer these past 12 years in San Francisco. Love the sundress-at-night weather!
Swiss Family Lang-Newkirk 
Beautiful pictures and funny captions, Leah!
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