T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
Posts about travel and life in Switzerland
This weekend we grabbed our perpetually-packed suitcases and headed to Zurich to visit friends. The weather was what most people call “gorgeous”, and we made the most of it by spending time in and around the lake (and on the roof deck). Lake Zurich is the part of Zurich I miss most, especially during the … Read more
Jul – I’ve spent the last hour or so being super jealous of you, sucked into your old blog entries about Switzerland and happening across Chagall exhibits, big cows, and castles and such. Man. I’ve got to get out there. Could you please tell me a couple cities in Switzerland you think are the cutest? … Read more
Today’s post is a guest post from a friend and former blogger in Switzerland. Enjoy. I was browsing in the local Coop and came across something which made me do a double take, a drink with the logo “plan b” in large letters on the label. I can see how the name came about, the … Read more
After two years here, I finally made it to the Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate factory in Kilchberg, just outside of Zurich. You can’t actually go inside the factory (which may or may not be run by Oompa Loompas), but you can (1) walk by it and breathe in its insanely chocolaty smells, and (2) visit … Read more
Midsummer Night’s Knitter asked me a while ago if I had any advice for someone moving to Zurich. While I certainly don’t feel like an expert on the subject, I suppose I might have some useful things to suggest after 2 years here. At least I should, shouldn’t I? I mean, it would be pretty … Read more
In this part of the world, you’ll notice that many people’s mailboxes sport stickers that say things like “no advertisements, please”. That’s all it takes to avoid a box full of Werbung (ads and leaflets). Mass mailings from political parties and charities still come through, but nothing else. Less junk, save a few trees… who … Read more
Do the Swiss more resemble each other or their respective language groups? Despite speaking German, French, Italian, and Romansh, surely the Swiss have some common thread that binds them to each other culturally? Their fondness for yodeling and cuckoo clocks? Their love of melted cheese, perhaps? These are questions that keep me up at night. … Read more
SBB*, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… I love thine extensive, inter-connecting network of trams, buses, trains, boats, funiculars, and donkey carts (ok, maybe there aren’t any donkey carts) which whisk me away to any corner of Switzerland with the greatest of ease. I love how very very clean and pleasant-smelling … Read more
OK, so I’ve noticed that I’ve been getting a lot of traffic from people searching the web for how to say things such as “Merry Christmas” in Swiss German. I thought I’d help you out by posting this little nugget of information, but then I realized that I didn’t know the answer. So I had … Read more
We went to a second Swiss Christmas party last week, thrown by my husband’s company. The owner of this company loves to force his employees to endure spring surprises on his employees, even though the Swiss ones (ie, everyone except my husband) seem to not be too fond of being surprised. I, on the other … Read more