I'm a Legal Resident!

Hello all, so sorry it's been so long!

Along with exploring Zurich and other fun activities, I've been working on getting my residence in Switzerland figured out. I finally did!

First I had to get my visa--a process that started well before I left the USA, but which only ended a couple of weeks ago when I went to Munich to finally pick it up and have my passport stamped. What a relief! Waiting for something important is really hard when there's nothing you can do to speed up the process. 

Swiss consulate in Munich. Can you tell this is the Google StreetView photo I used to make sure I could find it? I really love screenshots for navigating without a data plan.

The bonus of having to leave the country to get my visa, though, was that I got to spend some more time wandering around Munich, which Kira and Laurel and I had visited on our travels. I hit the daily farmer's-type market for lunch and train snacks, and had a lovely time wandering and picking up little things to munch on the train ride home.

 

I love farmer's markets. Markets of any kind. It's my favorite thing to see when I'm traveling!

Once I had the visa, I had to go to the Kreisbüro (the city of Zurich is divided into units called Kreis..es. I'm not sure how to cross-lingually pluralize that) to give them things like my rental contract and a passport photo and lots of personal information. After that, I was given an appointment at the Cantonal office (Cantons are like Swiss states) here in Zurich to have my fingerprints, photo, and retina scans taken. Seriously, retina scans. There's a reason James Bond villains choose Switzerland beyond the scenery. They promised to mail my permit, and I was back to waiting.

Yesterday I had a certified mail slip in our box, and today on my run I went by the post office and picked it up. I am now a legal resident of Switzerland! This means I can get a cell phone contract, and bank account--no more fees for changing money to Swiss Francs!--and can use my American driver's license to get a Swiss one! I feel like a real person!

Hopefully all of those places are open on Saturday...somehow I don't think they will be.

Love Katie