Long time no BLOG

Hi all,

as you've probably guessed, I have been pretty busy lately, and I can't say that all the work has been successful. A bit frustrating to work hard without getting the results :(

I haven't really had much motivation to update this blog, but I can tell you that at least I have updated the Dutch one!!!

So, check that one out for some nice pics of the things I have been doing while being on a short break!!

Not sure if I will find the time to translate it all, but I'll give you a short summary now...

At easter (Pasen) friends of Siebren came to davos to do some sledging. Loads of fun!!

The last week and a half the European Football championships take place in Switzerland. We went to one game, and went to Berne to enjoy the party the Dutch fans had over there!!

Also we went for a short break to Milan!!!

Sorry to have kept you uninformed for so long, but if you were here with me, you'd understand....

So, even though I haven't written anything here, just check the Dutch BLOG for some pics!!

Work, work, work

Ok Saturday morning 7.30 and I am sitting at my desk at work... Well, I want to finish in time with my experiment before Siebren gets to Davos!!

I am working on my last two experiments and I am trying to do them simultaneously. Not always easy, but I have to finish at some point... Especially the cell loading experiments take up a lot of time as I have to put them into the bioreactor every day, and also take them out again at the end of the daily 4 hours of loading...

Let's hope the results are reproducable!!! That would be great!!! Fingers X!!!!

X-mas dinner

In December we had our group X-mas dinner on Stafelalp!!! We had to walk up there first and then we were welcomed with some nice tea :)

After we warmed up we had some great fondue!! I think it might be the best fondueof Davos, or maybe it just seems like that after the hike up :)

We had plenty of cheese, some wine and of course the 'house coffee' as dessert :)

After the food and drinks we played some cards and Jerome taught us how to 'just undertake it' !!!

Then is was time to sledge down... Always fun after such an evening!!! The slope was faster than I had expected (based on earlier experiences)...

Loads of fun!!!

Snow!!

Winter is early this year!! Two weeks ago, it was already cold with some flurries, but now we have REAL snow!!! I drove down to Zug yesterday, but by then we already had about 50cm!! It was still coming down when I left, and I don't know how there is now, but I think it snowed a lot still. Siebren heard on the radio that there were nop trains between Klosters and Davos because of the snow!!! Next week ski season will start!!!

A weekend Arsac

last week my dad turned 60!! We have celebrated this with the family at my brother's in Arsac (France). We've had a nice weekend with of course a visit to a chateau and good food:)

Siebren and I aarived on Saturday and we have visited Bordeaux in the afternoon. It is an old and beautiful city with a beautiful waterfront which they are still developing!! Parts of the city are now pedestrian zones, and a tram will take you from on side to the other side of the city center. We took a bus backl to Arsac, I am still a bit curous how often this bus is supposed to go... We had to wait quite a while!! In the evening Rogier has BBQ'd some meet local style. First on a super hot fire of grapebranches (?), and then cooking it on charcole. It was very yummie!!

Sunday was a quite day. My parents arrived in the afternoon and Siebren and I cooked for everybody. We spend some time playing with the Wii, and watched Rogier and Ivan do some bikecrossing! In the evening we watched pictures of the new appartment of my parents.

On MOnday it was super nice weather and instead of going out for lunch we decided to have lunch in the backyard in the sun!! Afterwards we visited a chateau of which I have forgotten the name... We had a nice tour and at the end we had the opportunity to try a wine from 2003 which shout be a great year because of the hot summer that year. Unfortunately, that wine was still a bit too young... Maybe in two years it will be great!

Tuesday we went for a ride through the region on the other side of Bordeaux. It was beautiful there. It reminded me a little of Tuscany. It has more hills than on the Arsac side. In Saint-Emilion (a very pretty town where you should not want to wear high heels) we had a warm wine with cinnamon! After that we went back to Bordeaux via one of the most famous and expensive chateaus, chatueau Petrus.

In Bordeaux we had a Birthday dinner in a very noce restaurant Rogier picked. On weekends it is full of people and they have musicians performing, and it ends up in a wild party! During the week, it is not very busy at all, but very nice and cosy. We had good food and a privat concert!! The host was a great singer!! So, all in all, a great birthday!

Viamala

A short while ago, my mum, aunt, uncle and me have walked the Transviamal walk&run!

On the 21st of October we went to Thusis to participate in the (nordic) walk through the Viamala canyon. I planned to do the run, bit I had caught a bladder infection a week before and had to take antibiotics, so I decided that it was probably better to do the walk instead. In the end it was great that I did the walk, because now I had the opportunity to take a lot of pictures:)

We all made it ti the finish without injuries, and that was our goal! The route is really beautiful!! I had already participated 3 times before, but when you're running you don't really take the time to look around you. So, I was quite happy to take some pictures!

Vacation in Italy

I finally put some pics of our vacation in Italy on my Dutch blog. First, we went to Bocca do Magra. It was great to have sun, sea and beach:) We had a room in a cute hotel with view on the harbour and close to the beach. There was also a walking trail to Monte Marcello, a small town. We walked this trail, and ended up at a very small and beautiful beach where yo9u could only come on foot or by boat. The hotel also had bikes for the guests which we used for a nice bike ride along the coast, with some beautiful views, and again we went to a nice beach for a break and a swim. In the evenings we had some very lovely seafood dinners with great wine! I even enjoyed a cappuccino!!

After two beautiful days the weather changed on the morning we left for Florence. We took a detour though Pisa and Lucca! Despite of the rain we did see a lot:) Lucca is beautiful, and yes, the tower in Pisa is leaning a lot!! Florence is a beautiful city, and I'd love to return there. Even with the rain we really enjoyed it :) Also there we had lovely food and wine :) We also shopped a bit, can't help it :p. On the last day we went to an indoor market where we bought some cheese, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

From Florence we went via Marinello (Ferrari) to Lugano. In Marinello we went to the Ferrari musem. It was a bit disappointment. There were quite a bit of beautiful cars, and they showed the history of Ferrari, bit we expected a bit more. You weren't allowed to touch anything :( On the way out we found the test circuit. They were driving a nice F1 type of car with passenger seats. WOW, that was impressive, that acceleration!!! I took a little film!!

Lugano is a beautiful city, but unfortunately, also there rain :( It is very obvious that a lot of rich people visit this place... The centre of the city is pedestrian area with very nice patios, some of them were heated :) I've also seen some nice houses :)

The drive from Lugano to Zug was nice and touristic :) We went over the Gotthard pass instead of though the tunnel. I had been over the pass before, but couldn't remember much. It is an impressive road, and there was quite a bit of snow up there!

despite of the rain, we really enjoyed the vacation:) It could have been a bit longer (of course)

Quiet week

The last week was a quiet one, which was good bacause I had a couple of migraine attacks during the week... Now I am feeling much better again:)

Saturday, Siebren and I went to an outdoor outlet. Very dangerous... Of course I had to buy new sports cloths. OK, I kind of need new cloths for running and X-country skiing in winter. Siebren bought some nice hiking cloths.

I've been running a bit last weekend as well, and I have discovered some nice roads for running around Cham. The environment is quite beautiful:)

Saturday night we went out for drinks and food in Zug with friends of Siebren's. Reto who lives in London was in Zug for a visit. We had a nice evening during which I listened to a lot of stories in Swiss German. I have to say that I really understand more and more, but speaking is still a bit of a problem. I have to think too long before I say something.... Keep practicing I guess.

Next week Siebren and I will be in Italy for a short vacation!!!