Norway: Oslo

Our trip to Norway was 10 days long, and we split our time between its cities, fjords, and islands as we made our way up and down this comically long, skinny country. We visited Norway's three largest cities, all of which felt tiny and adorable compared to, say, Munich (which feels tiny and adorable compared to, say, Berlin or New York). Much like Swiss cities, they were all very clean and safe, and full of friendly yet reserved folks who tended to speak English better than I did.



We flew in and out of Oslo, so it got to be our first and last impression of the country. We enjoyed walking around and getting a feel for the city, exploring the different neighborhoods and admiring the views. The highlight for me was definitely Vigeland Park, home of Olav the Babykicker and hundreds of other wacky sculptures of naked people in various combinations and poses. Although the park itself was free, it cost us a good 12 euros in public transport to get there and back. That was one of our first hints that Norway might not be quite so afjordable.*



Another fun activity involved walking around on the opera house, a delicious piece of interactive architecture located on the water. We found that almost everything in Norway is located on water of some sort. Take our first-night hotel, the MS Innvik, a boat parked in the harbor near the train station (location was key, since we had a 6:30am train to catch). Although the boat's cafe was fun (and featured the least-expensive beer we saw the whole trip), our room wasn't exactly fabulous. The teeny-tiny cabin featured bunk beds, a private bathroom with shower, and a porthole with a gorgeous view of the opera house. It was my least-favorite accommodation of the trip (despite the novelty factor), but given that my first choice for a hotel was rumored to have bedbugs, I think the MS Innvik was a good place to stay.

For most of our trip to Norway, we attempted to save money on food by picnicking or eating take-out. This strategy was in sharp contrast to our usual vacation eating, which tends to involve gorging ourselves on all the finest local cuisine available, not paying attention to the fact that we are never going to be able to retire because we are spending every penny we earn at restaurants. But that's because we usually vacation in places (Italy, Japan, New York) where the food is one of the main attractions. Not so with Norway, whose regional specialties include pickled fish, smurf candy, and various organs of game animals. Given that I'm a vegetarian, I was more than happy to skip the pricey restaurants serving these things in order to have more money left for black licorice and 10-euro beers.

On our very last evening, we decided to actually have a nice meal out for once, and splurged on dinner at the Grand Cafe (whose prices seemed entirely reasonable after a week in Norway). The atmosphere was a little hoity-toity, but the food and service were good.

For our last night, we stayed at the Bondenheim Hotel in Oslo. It was entirely respectable, in a good area with lots of stuff around. Good breakfast buffet, too (which on this particular day happen to be full of Americans wearing cowboy hats and speaking in funny accents between sips of their breakfast beers). It was a pretty good deal compared to our other accommodation in Norway. My only beef with them is that the hotel's website claims that the airport bus stops right outside the hotel, which is simply not true. It was a short, easy walk of several blocks. Liars.

I really wish we had had the chance to visit the Munch Museum in Oslo, but alas our time in the city was too short. I bet it would have been a scream.

Next up... fjords!

* Scott came up with this word during our trip, and was extremely proud of himself for it. Extremely proud.

Italy trip highlights: Eating Tuscany

After Rome, we rented a car and headed north to Niki de Saint Phalle's Tarot Garden (a definite highlight) and then continued on to Tuscany. While I'd been to Siena and Florence before, this was actually my first time out into the small hill towns of Tuscany. Now that I've had a taste, I can't wait to go back.

We spent our days exploring a series of little Tuscan hill towns, each more adorable than the last. And naturally, we ate very, very well. The regional specialties of note included pici, a thick home-made spaghetti-like pasta, and local pecorino, a cheese made from sheep's milk which seemed to be absolutely everywhere we looked (including at breakfast). It is milder than pecorino romano, and is sometimes enhanced with truffle or other flavors. I think every single thing I ate in Tuscany was delicious. The restaurant highlights:



Borgobuio (Montepulciano) - the google-translatored English menu outside had us in stitches, but since it came on a good recommendation, we decided to go inside anyway. Borgobuio's decor is fabulously over-the-top, as is its owner Pier, who provided the dinner-time entertainment. He spent time with each and every table, chatting, joking, boasting about his food and lamenting the lack of guests. I was called on from across the room to help interpret for a couple from California who spoke no Italian. Pier has every right to be proud of his food, which was just fabulous. I forgot to take notes this evening, but I remember starting with a scrumptious chick pea and broccoli appetizer and then some sort of pici. And a side of baked radicchio, I think it was. All scrumptious.

Trattoria Diva e Maceo (Montepulciano) - highlights included the tortellone con fonduta di pecorino e pepe (melted pecorino and pepper) and the pici with porcini mushrooms. Even the side dish of beet greens was delicious!

La Porta (Montecchiello) - small, cute locale serving heavenly food. Friendly staff. Polenta with melted pecorino and mushrooms, sformato di zucca (kind of like a souffle with squash and cheese), canellini al fiasco (beans with olive oil). Sooooo good.



Antica Osteria da Divo (Siena) - this place was our second choice for dinner in Siena, but unfortunately our first choice was closed for a private party that evening. Osteria da Divo was an interesting little place. Very elegant, inside a very old, grotto-like room. The food was the high-concept small-portion (a little pricey) type. It was slightly disappointing, but only because other restaurants had set the bar so high.

Man, I'm hungry.

Italy trip highlights: Eating Rome

We had no specific goals for our 1.5 days in Rome, except to eat well and relax. My last several trips to Rome were on business, so it was nice to reestablish this city as a place of leisure. There wasn't any advanced planning involved beyond the hotel. It was nice. Especially the food.

All three restaurants we ate at this time came via an old copy of Fodor's Italy. I'm usually not one to rely exclusively on guidebooks, but Fodor's did us quite well on this particular trip.

Ditirambo - near Campo dei Fiori, we were a little skeptical of this cavernous locale when we arrived to find the only other patrons were a large group of old German men. Skepticism soon gave way to marvel; my appetizer of burratina (a soft cheese sort of like mozzarella) millefoglie with sundried tomato pesto was insanely amazing. I will remember that dish for a long, long time.

Arancia Blu - the first thing that struck me was the gorgeous, cozy interior; the second was the elaborate vegetarian menu. From our experience, the tasting menu is the way to go. So many delicious flavors. It was a bit of a hike from Termini, but the neighborhood was quite vibrant with nightlife.

Margutta Vegetariano - Italian vegetarian restaurants two nights in a row! Could life get any better? Margutta seemed to be having some service problems the evening we were there, given that we overheard complaints from the tables on either side of us. Although a couple of our (many) courses took a little too long to arrive, we otherwise found the meal itself to be fabulous. Each dish on the extensive tasting menus we ordered was delicate, artful, and yummy. The chic modern decor was also quite impressive. But what I really want to know is, who spends so much time and effort on a restaurant's food and presentation, but then can't be bothered to put a seat on the freakin' toilet? Seriously, people. Despite the menacing unseated peeing arrangements and slightly slow service, our overall experience at Margutta was quite stellar.

In contrast to the guidebook-recommended restaurants, the gelato we ate was chosen purely based on my gelatodar (like gaydar, but for gelato), a skill I have honed through much practice, and which almost never fails. Subtle cues such as the colors, the signage, and the number of locals in line are all part of my elaborate system for sussing out the best gelato around.

Gelateria San Crispino - if a gelateria is so cocky as to not even pile its gelato up for display, there's a good chance that the flavor speaks for itself. The shiny covered containers at Gelateria San Crispino drew us in, and the exotic flavors got us pushing to the front of the line. Flavors like honey whisky, ginger cinnamon, and pear sorbet. Mmmmm.

Fior di Luna - here I went for my old standby gelato order: chocolate and pistachio. Pistachio is a very hit-or-miss flavor. Done well, it's heavenly; done poorly, it's not even worth my time. This is why gelatodar is so important. Fior di Luna passed the pistachio test.

name unknown - on the Isola Tiberia in the middle of the Tiber river, this gelateria looked unassuming, but offered up a solid version of my all-time favorite flavor: dark chocolate chili. Mmmm again.


Did we do anything in Rome besides eat? Yes, a little. Mostly we wandered around, soaking up the atmosphere. The Pantheon was a treat as always. And given that La Dolce Vita is one of my all-time favorite movies, a swing by the (insanely tourist-overrun) Trevi Fountain was practically predestined. We considered going into St. Peter's, but given the long line we opted for people-watching in the piazza instead (easy to do when you've been inside multiple times before). I love vacations with no obligations!

Italy trip highlights: First impressions

I better get blogging about the details of our Italy trip before I start to forget them...



Let me preface this post by saying that I know Italy well. I've spent approximately two and a half years in the country. Since moving away in 2005, I've gone back many times. But still, my perspective is ever-changing. My brain constantly compares places to each other, and the reference point keeps shifting as I move about. Things that used to be normal parts of life now strike me as odd. Take my first impressions from this most recent trip...

We flew into Rome. The airport was run-down, hot, and dirty, and it took what felt like an eternity to get our luggage. It seemed like we had arrived in a 3rd-world country. Well, 2nd world, at least. The impression did not improve as we made our way through dirty corridors with broken glass where advertisements would normally be, nor when we arrived at the airport's train station and found an abandoned, graffiti-covered old train parked on one of the two functioning tracks. Having a few minutes to kill before a real train showed up, we wandered into the bar for a coffee.

The second the dark, thick espresso touched my lips, all was forgiven. So what if Swiss airports are modern and spotless? Who cares how efficient the Munich S-Bahns are? When has any other country produced anything so delicious in the history of the world? My mood was suddenly elated, and my mouth watered as I anticipated all the other flavors to come on this trip...

Fondling food in the darkness

Last night we crossed another item off the things-we-should-do-in-Switzerland-but-haven't-gotten-around-to-yet list: dining in the dark. Apparently dark restaurants are becoming quite trendy these days, but Zurich's Blinde Kuh (German for 'Blind Cow') was the very first of them.

I found myself giddily excited while anticipating the evening, something which almost never happens to me. We arrived at the church-like restaurant and placed our bags, umbrellas, and cell phones (anything with a light is banned) into lockers in the entry way. In the (well-lit) foyer, we were told to choose our food from a menu projected onto the wall. We were also told our server's name (Elisabeth), and instructed to call out for her if we ever needed anything once inside. We then lined up conga-style to be led into the darkness.

We were led through one set of heavy curtains to a slightly darkened area, where our waitress and guide paused to let us adjust a bit and talk to us (she started in Swiss German but was happy to switch to High German or English for us). She reiterated that we should call her name and wait for an answer if we needed anything, and to let her know immediately if we didn't feel well, and she could lead us out. The suggestion that I might be going into a situation that would cause me to feel unwell set my brain into a little panic - why wouldn't we feel well? Do lots of people not feel well inside? What's not to feel well about? Do I feel well now?

And then we went onwards, through a couple more sets of heavy curtains, into the dark. We could hear the noises of people eating and chatting away all around us as Elisabeth led us to our table and then one by one to our chairs. We giggled nervously and got a feel for where each of our dining companions were sitting based on the locations of their voices. We felt the table in front of us to discover silverware and napkins (which we all tucked into our shirt fronts to avoid losing - since no one could see how silly we looked, anyway). I kept expecting my eyes to adjust, but of course they never did. The darkness was so all-encompassing that it made me feel claustrophobic, like I was trapped under a heavy blanket that I couldn't escape from. But just for a second or two. After that it was fun. And dark.

We ordered into the darkness and waited for our food to, well, appear. I could smell the wine as it was put down in front of us. Plates came next, with a few words of description from Elisabeth, but it was awfully daunting to actually start eating. Some people gave up on their forks right away, and just used their hands. I managed reasonably well with my fork, although every once in a while I'd get a little freaked out by the mystery food it delivered to my mouth. I was halfway through my dish of mushroom ravioli before I realized that there was also steamed broccoli and roasted tomatoes on the plate. Surprise!

Once we were ready to go, we had to call out for the waitress several times before she appeared to lead us out. While waiting for her, we came up with various theories as to why she wasn't responding... was she collapsed in a corner somewhere, but nobody could see her? Had we inadvertently offended her, and as payback she was going to leave us there all night? We decided we wouldn't start panicking and trying to crawl our way out until we stopped hearing the voices of the other guests around us.

I found myself grateful that we were at this particular style of dark restaurant, where the wait staff is actually blind (and not wearing night-vision goggles so they can watch your feeble attempts to get your food into your mouth) and the room is actually dark (had we just been blindfolded, the temptation to peek at the food or the room would have been irresistible).

The experience didn't come cheap - our bill came out to around CHF 70 per person for two courses, wine, and water. The food was reasonably tasty - nothing fabulous, but certainly edible. I'd definitely recommend trying it once. Go with people whom you don't mind touching. Or whom you're looking for an excuse to touch.

Despite rumors about months-long waits, we were able to get dinner reservations at Blinde Kuh just a week in advance (perhaps because it's vacation season?). The website also says that lunch reservations are easy to get on the fly, and there's even a Blinde Kuh bar for those interested in the dark thing, but not ready to commit to a whole meal. There's a second restaurant in Basel, too.

Switzerland: stuff that happened while I was gone

I was in the US for so long that a lot of changes happened back home in Switzerland. For one, Switzerland lowered immigration restrictions for western Europeans. The Germans are coming! Well, even more of them than there already are.

Migros started carrying a vegetarian version of Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, the local veal and mushroom sauce specialty. Finally, I get to try it, too... oh joy.

What else? Let's see... the Swiss were voted the 3rd most liked tourists in the world, behind the Japanese, and... what's this? The AMERICANS. Wow. The Swiss were liked because they are "quiet and considerate", while the Americans were liked despite their poor dress and loudness.

But the biggest news, of course, is that Zurich now has a Hooters. The Helvetiaplatz restaurant is the second Hooters in the country (Interlaken has had one for a while). Do you think the Swiss go the for wings, too?

Grub in New Orleans

I was lucky enough to be accompanied by a native Louisianian, Jami, on my journey to New Orleans. I hit her up for recommendations on everything from bars to local delicacies, and her knowledge did not disappoint. My only regret is that we didn't have time for the drag queen brunch in the quarter.

A lot of New Orleans' culinary triumphs involve meat (muffalettas, po boys, etc.), but I still managed to eat well in this city (at least half the time). I had fabulous meals at Bacco, Slim Goodies, and Sukho Thai.

The one signature N'awlins treat I was able to try was beignets, fried donut-like thingies that come hidden under buckets of powdered sugar. My parents (who came down to see me for the weekend) and I gave them a try at Cafe du Monde.


This is what they look like, served with iced coffee.



This is the plate of powdered sugar you are left with after you have eaten your beignets.


And this is what your leg (or rather, my mom's leg) looks like after you've eaten your beignets.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, there was a lot of powdered sugar involved. And I liked it.

Strasbourg: more than France's Christmas market town

I don’t have anything particularly profound to say about Strasbourg, since I only spent about 6 hours there this time around. It was nice to see it without the massive crowds that were there for the Christmas market. Strasbourg definitely has its charming side, and I wouldn’t mind going back another time.

We attempted to hit a casual vegetarian restaurant called Adan (6 rue Sedillot) for lunch, but alas it was closed for a week of vacation. That left us scrambling to find a suitable lunch place that was still serving (eating lunch after 1 PM = bad idea in France). We were turned away from a couple places which couldn’t be bothered to take our money in exchange for food before coming across the restaurant Le Fossile. Not only were they still serving, but the place was packed and had a great vibe. The menu (which the waitress took time to translate for us) basically consisted of steak and more steak. I had a yummy-but-not-so-filling salad and a bunch of Ali’s French fries (blech). But I still came away liking the place. Perhaps it was the wine?

We basically spent the day wandering around, window-shopping and admiring the views. Like Colmar, Strasbourg also has its share of adorable half-timbered houses. Its cute waterside neighborhood is called Petite France (I was expecting a miniature Eiffel Tower, but no), and makes for some good strolling. Overall I’m giving Strasbourg 3 out of 5 stars. (I don’t know, I just felt like giving it a rating.)

Colmar: France at its most charming

Day one of my recent trip to Alsace was spent in Colmar, an adorable little town full of narrow cobblestone streets and half-timbered houses painted in vivid colors. It's just a 2-hour train ride from Zurich, changing trains in Basel (I'm being nice in this post, so I'm biting my tongue about the cleanliness and punctuality of that second train).

After dropping our bags off at the hotel and wandering around a bit, we headed for lunch at Le temps des delices (23, rue d'Alspach), a tiny Italian restaurant recommended by Ali's guidebook. It offered up some of the best food I've ever had in France, and the waitress was friendly and charming. And it was non-smoking, so one could actually taste the food. Great place!

With our bellies satisfied, we headed towards the Musee d'Unterlinden. This museum is touted for its fabulous altarpiece by some guy I had never heard of. I went in a skeptic and came out a convert - it was a pretty fabulous altarpiece, and the rest of the collection contained some real gems, too. A very good art museum for such a small town, that's for sure.

Then it was off for some more wandering. We roughly followed the walking route recommended by the friendly guy at the Tourist Information Office. (Pretty much everyone we encountered in Colmar was friendly - can you imagine? Way to bust down those stereotypes about snotty rude Frenchies, Colmar.)



One particularly charming neighborhood of Colmar is referred to as 'Petit Venise' due to its muddy, dirty canals. One could imagine the patios lining the streets and canals full of tourists on a day only slightly warmer than the one we had; it must be packed in the summer, but we had it mostly to ourselves.

We stayed at a gorgeous, recently-renovated hotel in the middle of town called La Maison des Têtes (um, the head house?). It was a little too newly-renovated, actually - you could still smell the fresh paint. Their breakfast was decent but cost 14 euros extra; next time I'd skip it in favor of finding my own at one of the gazillions of pastry shops around. Seriously, how do the French eat all those pastries and stay so thin?

Overall Colmar was a big hit, and I'd really like to return. Next time I'll go by car so I can explore all the wineries in the surrounding area - Alsace, like many other regions of France, is full of charming wineries. Who knew France could be so much fun?

Seefeld doesn't suck

I'm getting a little better about going out and enjoying this "beautiful" weather we're having. If I just pretend it's summer I can usually stand to leave the house without bitching and moaning to everyone I see about how much I love snow and WHERE DID WINTER GO? I have to admit it is fun to be out and about in Zurich on a sunny, clear day.

The other day I spent the afternoon wandering around Seefeld, a neighborhood along the lake which contains a mix of beautiful buildings, interesting shops, and hip bars and restaurants (well, hip for Zurich, anyway). I started with a little walk in the park by the lake, near Zürichhorn (a horn-shaped piece of land which juts out into the lake), soaking up the beautiful surroundings that I take for granted much too often.

I met a friend for lunch at Ginger, a relatively new sushi bar which is non-smoking. Most Zurich restaurants are so smoky you can't taste your food, so the non-smoking thing is very big (although disappointingly rare). As if that weren't enough to make me love the place, it has one of those mini conveyor belts running around the bar that the little plates of sushi travel on. Who came up with this method of sushi presentation? And why does it delight me so? Moving sushi - does life get any better?

Later in the afternoon I met a couple more friends to try out a new wine bar, D-Vino, which has popped up in Seefeld (next to Yooji's, yet another moving-sushi restaurant - can you believe there are two?). We learned from one of the bartenders that this was a sort of trial prototype wine bar, brought to you by Denner, a low-end supermarket chain which sells lots of wine (it balances out the Swiss retail universe, since another supermarket chain, Migros, refuses to sell wine at all). At least the same people who design Denner stores didn't design this wine bar, since the interior was actually quite nice. And more than half of the bar was non-smoking. So at least I've found a good place to go drown my sorrows about the lack of winter.

Day trip: Schaffhausen and the Rhine Falls

Last weekend we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed north to the Rhine Falls (Rheinfall in German). It’s one of those places that has been on our we-should-get-around-to-going-there-someday list for quite a while, so the trip gave us a nice sense of accomplishment, too.

We took the train to Schaffhausen and wandered around the town a bit in the morning. It’s a small Swiss German town with hit-or-miss quaintness (depending on which street you happen to be walking down at any particular moment) but a generally pleasant and lively old-town atmosphere.

After lunch at the cozy Wirtschaft zum Frieden (which will be closed from October 2006 until January 2007), we started out on the 45-minute hike along the Rhine to the falls. The hike was enjoyable and took us through a couple small towns as well as some forest areas.

We arrived at Schloss Laufen, a castle overlooking the falls, and then paid a franc each for the privilege of hiking down to the edge of the water while enjoying various views of foamy water crashing down around distinctive rock formations. The falls themselves were less exciting than I had imagined, but still worth a visit.

We crossed the river by boat, took a quick bus from Neuhausen back to Schaffhausen, and enjoyed a drink by the water at Rheinhotel Fischerzunft. We decided their dinner menu was a bit too steep for our budget, so we headed back into town to the restaurant Kronenhof. We had a fantastic meal and I can’t recommend this place enough – it was one of the best vegetarian meals I have had in Switzerland, and the meat-eaters were pretty happy with their food, too. Props to our Fodor's Switzerland guidebook for finding us good eats twice in one day.

You have to admit, it's a good reason not to smoke.

Not sure how I managed to miss this sign in the entryway of the Zeughauskeller on our first three visits there.

So is that what this stuff (sitting below the sign) is?

From Badi to Wurst

(Alternate title: more hot, sweaty summer in Zurich, with guests)



The visitor parade is almost over, and none too soon. Don’t get me wrong – I have adored the chance to spend time with each and every one of the dear friends who have come to see us this summer, but I am the worst warm-weather tour guide ever. When the temperatures soar, all I want to do is hide from the sun. Not easy to do when you’re out walking around the city all day.

Kesha compared me to some creature on a sci-fi show that can’t go in the light and just slinks along from shadow to shadow; this basically sums up how I move around in the summer, if I have to move around at all.

Even so, we’ve managed to have a little bit of fun here and there. Boat rides across Lake Zurich are cool and breezy, as long as you are on a big boat and not one of those small, stuffy glass-topped things. The Kunsthaus café is cool and relaxing, even if the top floors of the museum could use some air-conditioning. And if you go to dinner late enough, and sit outside, you might just be able to enjoy a nice meal without having the seat stick to the back of your legs.

Even better than riding a boat across the lake is actually swimming in the lake. While Badi abound on Zurich’s lake and rivers (which charge around CHF 6 admission and provide useful facilities like changing rooms), my new favorite spot to swim is in the park at Zürichhorn, which can be reached by boat, bus, or tram. The grassy areas are packed full of sunbathers in the afternoon, but there’s always room in the water.



The restaurants that have been the biggest hits with our guests (who were almost all disappointed to learn that summer is not exactly fondue season) are listed below. All offer outdoor seating and menus in English (although the daily specials are only listed in German. I am getting good at translating food, even though I still don’t have a clue what most of the meats are).



Zeughauskeller is awfully proud of its extensive Wurst menu (see picture), but also offers a couple options for us vegetarians, as well as plenty of meats of the non-encased variety.

Linde Oberstrass offers big salads and Fladenbrot (sort of like a thin-crust pizza, but swissified), which make good summer foods, along with pastas and a bunch of typical Swiss meat-and-potatoes dishes.

Crazy Cow has traditional Swiss food that tends to be on the heavy side, so save this one for a really cool evening, or better yet, the winter.

Hiltl combines two of my favorite things: a huge variety of delicious vegetarian food, and air-conditioning that you can actually feel. The special summer ginger shandy I had there was pretty yummy, too.

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To all our summertime visitors: please do come back to see us in winter. You will find me a changed person. I love winter, and winter in Switzerland is hard to beat. Snow-covered Alps, Christmas markets, skiing, Glühwein, sledding, fondue, raclette… I will be so freakin’ enthusiastic you won’t even recognize me.

Pizza und Karotten gehören nicht zusammen.

Last night we went to what my friend Ali claims is the best Italian pizzeria in Zurich. Hungry after an afternoon of sitting in a pub watching the US get their butts kicked by Ghana, I entered the pizzeria with reasonable expectations (as an aside – 2 years of living in Italy have kind of turned me into a pizza snob). The pizzas on the menu had authentic-sounding Italian names, and the ingredients listed, for the most part, sounded right (with the glaring exception of quark, listed as an ingredient on a couple different pizzas. I should have jumped ship right then.)

Steering clear of the quark, I ordered a simple pizza verdura. Now you usually don’t know exactly which veggies will appear on a pizza verdura, but chances are it involves grilled eggplant, zucchini, and peppers, and maybe some sort of red lettuce, fennel or arugula. May sound a little strange to people used to American-style pizza, but trust me, it’s always delicious. At least in Italy. Forgetting which country I was in, my mouth watered in anticipation of the pizza.

So apparently there isn’t a lack of baby carrots in Switzerland, as Sara would have us believe. But rather the baby carrots that do exist here are evil and like to show up in all the wrong places. Like on my pizza verdura.

When the Swiss think ‘vegetables’, the only two things that must ever come to mind are frozen carrots and broccoli. As a vegetarian, I am constantly being served dishes with these things. I guess they are cheaper than fresh veggies? Or the Swiss are too busy to prepare fresh vegetables, except to wash lettuce for a salad? The ridiculous part is, restaurant meals cost at least 50% more here than they do in Milan (one of the most expensive cities in the world), but the quality of the food is significantly lower. Even the eggplant slices on my pizza were from frozen! Why do the Swiss put up with this?

When the waitress came at the end of the meal and asked the obligatory ‘did it taste good?,’ I replied simply, ‘Pizza and carrots do not belong together.’

OK, rant over. I think I need a vacation in Italy.

Summer in zee City

Remember how June started with below-freezing temperatures in Zurich? I miss that. I really do. As far as I am concerned, we could skip the rest of summer and go straight to ski season right now. But, alas, I don’t control the seasons (at least not yet), so I continue to suffer along in heat that makes me wish I were sitting in the middle of an over-air-conditioned American theater sucking icy cold ice water through a straw. Our teeny-tiny European freezer doesn’t hold enough ice to get me through the day, and of course our apartment is un-air-conditioned. This is about as close as I get to homesick.

As tempted as I am to just go into hibernation until the temperature drops, life keeps pulling me out of bed, luring me with riverside beer gardens, weekend trips to snowy mountains, and non-stop soccer on TV.

I am thoroughly grateful for the entertainment provided by the World Cup this month. We entered lotteries for tickets to a couple matches, but I have recently found myself thinking that it’s much more pleasant to watch them from my couch (with an icy cold drink) than it would be to sit in the sunny, hot stands drinking lukewarm beer. Needless to say, I won’t be too disappointed if we don’t actually get any tickets.

Despite my whining, I am actually trying to make the best of this heat wave. In addition to watching several World Cup matches in various fan-packed bars are restaurants around town, I have been busy sampling other aspects of Zurich’s summertime offerings. One of my favorite activities (if sitting and drinking counts as an ‘activity’) has become gathering up a couple friends and spending the afternoon at one of Zurich’s many waterfront drinking establishments. A favorite is the cool and convenient Bauschänzli, a large beer garden in the middle of the Limmat River in downtown Zurich. With shade provided by giant trees, and a cool breeze off the water, this is a lovely place to escape the heat.

Swimming is another fun pastime for when the temperatures soar. Even on the hottest days, the water in the Limmat and Lake Zurich is cool and invigorating. One can go to one of the various public baths around the city, or just hop in at the many less formal swimming areas. The Frauenbad is right next to the Bauschänzli and offers a pool as well as an enclosed area for swimming in the river itself surrounded by a deck for sunbathing. As its name implies, the Frauenbad is only for women, but there is also a Männerbad in the city, as well as a couple co-ed baths.

Another good swimming area is right next to the Wollishofen boat stop on the lake. The boat to get here is part of the city’s public transportation network, and is free for holders of day, month, or year passes. A short walk down the shore is the Rote Fabrik, a graffiti-covered converted brick factory that contains a restaurant, exhibition space, and a night club, among other things.

While I won’t be turning into a sun-worshipper anytime soon, I am starting to look at the positives. At the very least, Zurich is a whole lot better place to spend summer than Milan (our previous home) was. Not only is Milan a whole lot hotter and muggier, but it has no body of water to speak of (half-dried-up canals don’t count). Hooray for the lake.

Yet another day trip: Luzern

Last Sunday the weather was gorgeous, so we decided to go explore Luzern. We arrived just before lunch and headed directly to the ‘best vegetarian restaurant in Lucerne’, Restaurant Hofgarten. The food was yummy (if a little heavy on the sauce), and we enjoyed sitting out in the plant-filled courtyard.



Then we went over to the KKL (Kultur und Kongresszentrum Luzern), a large, modern building on the edge of the lake which houses, among other things, a museum and a concert hall. We poked around a bit and then enjoyed an espresso while watching dressed-up people stream out of the concert hall. Then it was off to the Rosengart Collection – a private collection of paintings by 20ith-century masters such as Picasso, Klee, and Chagall, assembled based on the personal tastes of a father and daughter who actually knew most of the artists. In particular, I liked their taste in Picassos.





We then spent most of the afternoon wandering around exploring the rest of the city, including its two beautiful wooden walking bridges and the pedestrian-only old town center. We also walked around on the medieval wall that used to surround the city. We climbed one of its towers and were rewarded with gorgeous views of the city and the sailboat-speckled lake.



We then headed back down towards Löwenplatz, which felt like the tourist-trap center of the city, complete with about a million souvenir shops, tour bus parking, and a restaurant called something like ‘Swiss Town’. We went in to see the Bourbaki Panorama, an ‘amazing’ ‘breathtaking’ 19th-century 360-degree painting of the Franco-Prussian War (the marketing was so funny, we couldn’t resist). The painting itself was OK, and we enjoyed the accompanying exhibit, which taught us a little bit of Swiss history in a relatively painless way.

On the way out we stopped at the bar downstairs for a beer and to catch the first half of the Mexico game on their projection TV. At halftime we headed out to see the giant lion carved in a rock that all our guidebooks claimed was a must. It was right next to Glacier Garden, which was unfortunately already closed for the day. It looked like just the kind of cheesy tourist attraction that would actually be fun to see. It has a hall of mirrors!



Next it was back to the pedestrian area, where we found a cute little bar where we watched the end of the game. By then we were famished, so we headed back to the river to scope out some of the guidebook’s restaurant recommendations. We ended up at a table on the small balcony of the restaurant Zunfthaus zu Pfistern, where we enjoyed the views and the food. Afterwards, we sauntered back to the train station and headed home.



We really enjoyed our day in beautiful Luzern. I’m beginning to wonder if Switzerland has any cities that aren’t adorable.

A Day in Basel

To further my goal of getting to know every corner of Switzerland, I recently rounded up a few friends and took a day trip to Basel, which is about an hour away from Zurich by train (as I’ve said before – one of the big benefits of living in Zurich is all of the cool day trips that are around).

From the train station in Basel, we walked towards the old town. We immediately noticed that, like Bern, Basel was less meticulously clean and orderly than Zurich. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Our first stop was to admire the Tinguely Fountain, a busy arrangement of water-spewing figures that entertained us for at least a good 10 minutes. It also solidified our decision to make the Tinguely Museum part of our day.


Next we stopped for a quick coffee at the trendy café fumare non fumare (Gerbergasse 30). My double espresso was horrible, but the spinach-filled Italian rice ball was delicious.

We ploughed onward through the old town and searched the river bank for the king who was sticking out his tongue at the peasants on the other shore. All our guidebooks mentioned him, but we weren’t having any luck, so we decided to get a little tongue-sticking-out in ourselves. Damn peasants! We really showed them.


Anyway, we finally found the king, and stood mesmerized by his mechanical tongue motions and eye rolls for a couple seconds before crossing to the other side of the river in search of the Tinguely Museum. The walk along the river to get there was longer than we expected, but enjoyable given the beautiful views and charming neighborhoods (not so bad given it was the peasant side of the river).

The Tinguely Museum was tons of fun. I usually enjoy museums, but the squiggly, squeaky, twirly, interactive sculptures that filled this one made it good for visitors with even the shortest attention spans. To set each motorized sculpture in motion, the viewer has to step on a big red button on the floor. The buttons didn’t always work, however, so we always felt special when our step was the one that made things go.


The exhibit left us famished, so we had a quick lunch in the museum’s restaurant and headed out again. We took a tram back towards the center and wandered up to the Münster, which was back on the tongue king’s side of the river. This big Gothic cathedral has a beautiful countyard and a back terrace that offers more gorgeous views across the river.

We then headed down some steep stairs to the river bank for a quick ride across on this little boat attached to a wire which we had seen crisscrossing the swiftly-moving river all day. That brought us conveniently back to a group of riverside restaurants we had passed earlier in the day, so we decided to stop for a beer and to enjoy the view.


Then it was back to the old town again, to explore more little streets and to see the Spalentor, a Gothic gate that dates to 1370. It used to be part of the defensive wall that encircled the city. We were also delighted to come across this guy, who appears to be the beer super hero of Basel.


One of our guidebooks recommended a bar that was sort of nearby, so we headed there for an aperitif. Cargo Bar (St. Johanns Rheinweg 46) was a small, hip, student-hang-out-y kind of place, with a friendly bartender who apologized profusely for his inability to make a proper dry martini (my fault for expecting a dry martini to be, well, not sweet).

Finally it was time for a late dinner at a delicious tapas bar, Spalenburg (Schnabelgasse 2), that we found in the old town. Somehow we managed to eat everything we ordered (which had to have been close to one of each thing on the menu). A mad dash to the train station, and we were on our way home to Zurich. I can’t believe we managed to do all of that in one day. And, we still have to go back to see the many other interesting museums, and to sample some of the yummy-looking (but closed for the holiday) restaurants we saw.

[note: apologies for the formatting. Blogger is being a pain in the ass and not uploading pictures correctly.]

Zurich’s more colorful side

For anyone who’s a bit bored with Zurich’s uniform cleanliness, peace, and order, a stroll down Langstrasse could be just what you need. Although still uncharacteristically clean for a street half-filled with head shops, dollar stores, and strip clubs, this neighborhood feels completely different from the city center, so much so that you may forget which country you’re in.

I’m pretty sure this is the only place in Zurich where I have seen illegal street vendors (apparently a whole lot of bedroom linen sets recently fell off a truck somewhere), but they don’t seem to appear in large numbers (at least, nothing like the quantities found in Italian cities). Even the flea market at Helvetia Platz (on Saturdays) seemed to be well-regul