Wow have we had a busy year! Just making the list of events to include in this post made me exhausted. So you might want to grab a cup of coffee or an energy drink before diving in. Here we go:
2011 kicked off with the end of our eye-opening, challenging trip to Marrakesh, Morocco (photos of Wojtek’s bout with food poisoning not included).

At the Ben Youssef Madrasa (Islamic college)

Hat vendors near Cafe des Epices

Motorcycle parking for the main square, the Djemaa el Fna

Marrakesh rooftops
Fun was on hold in January while Wojtek finished work on papers for the big computer graphics conference, Siggraph. But in February we squeezed in a few sledding day trips…

At Flumserberg

At Weissenberge
…before we made a quick decision to move apartments in Zürich, and packing/cleaning/moving took over our lives for a few weeks.

Hi new apartment!
As soon as the last bag was in the new place (though very few had actually been unpacked), we started what ended up being six months of near-constant travel! First was a week with one of my favorite people, in Portugal (we left the guys behind).

In Lisbon with Mary
A few days after returning from Portugal, Wojtek and I traveled to Llandudno, Wales, for the Eurographics conference.

Conwy

Wojtek at the peak of Snowdon, Wales' tallest mountain
Two weeks later, my writing buddies and I hosted the second Zurich Writers Workshop weekend. It was a great success for us and a lifesaver for my own work.
In June Wojtek traveled for three weeks to visit Disney business units in Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

At Delicate Arch, Arches National Park
I took the opportunity to visit my family in Chicago, and Wojtek joined us at the end of his trip for an engagement party for my brother and his fiance.

Brian and Lindsey
A week after returning from the US, we set off for a five-day trip to Prague, coinciding with the EGSR conference.

Prague, with penguins
After Prague, we had about 30 hours to unpack, do laundry, and repack for two weeks in Poland with the whole Jarosz family. We spent time in Warsaw, Krakow, and Zakopane. But the high point of the trip (emotionally and altitudinally) was backpacking for three days in the Tatry mountains in the south of Poland.

Being respectable hikers

Being not-so-respectable hikers
We celebrated Swiss National Day (August 1) in typical Swiss fashion – hiking and eating brunch – during a three-day trip in the mountains of Kantons Nidwalden and Uri, close to where the Swiss Confederation was formed in 1291!

The Swiss mountains

Being more Swiss than the Swiss

It was a tad muddy
After returning from the mountains, we again had about 30 hours to regroup before heading west for a week and a half. First to Seattle to see a few friends, and then to Vancouver, where Wojtek presented a paper at the Siggraph conference.

Dogparking with Neel and Luna

Vancouver in daylight

Vancouver in twilight
September was the finale of our travel whirlwind when my parents visited for three weeks, two of which we spent in northern Italy.

Venice

Florence

Tuscan countryside
By October we were ready to calm down and enjoy the fall. We had a great hike while our friend Chris was visiting.

Wildmannlisloch hike
And in November we hosted a Thanksgiving pot luck for a bunch of expat friends.

Hooray for expandable dining room tables!
Soon after Thanksgiving we geared up for two final bursts of travel. First to Hong Kong, where Wojtek presented a paper at Siggraph Asia.

Wan Chai district

Man Mo temple
And then to Davos for Christmas weekend.

Davos sledding
In the in-between times, Wojtek was working hard, publishing papers and securing patents for Disney on new computer graphics technology. I was working almost daily on my novel-in-progress and keeping our lives together. And we continued several hours of German lessons each week with our wonderful instructors. We celebrated friends getting married, welcomed three new babies into our group of expat friends, bid farewell to friends leaving Switzerland and met new ones.
With that, Internet friends, we bid you a very Happy New Year. Or, as our Swiss banker wished us yesterday, “Guten Rutsch!” Rutsch means ‘slide,’ so we hope you all slide well in 2012!
PS – Haven’t had enough of our photos yet? Wojtek’s been posting all year on his photoblog.