T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
Posts about travel and life in Switzerland
“Sorry dear, I didn’t get you a present this year. It’s… it’s… those damn Christmas lights on Bahnhofstrasse! How was I supposed to get in the Christmas shopping mood with those ghastly things overshadowing the whole scene? They totally ruined everything. Next year, I’ll buy you something in Chicago. Promise.” And so the Great Zurich … Read more
Mine does!Because what says “Christmas” more than a disco ball?(Despite all this evidence to the contrary, the Swiss really do do a good job at Christmas. I swear.)
The other night we went to a Christmas party thrown by the language school where my husband is taking German classes. The party was held at a Mexican restaurant here in Zurich (in case you’re wondering what Mexican food in Zurich is like, click here), and was attended by around 80 adult students of this … Read more
For the second year in a row, great controversy has befallen the normally tranquil city of Zurich. The offense is so bold and egregious that it threatens to dampen the holiday spirits of anyone who approaches. I am speaking, of course, of the Bahnhofstrasse Christmas lights. Bahnhofstrasse, for those unfamiliar with downtown Zurich, is the … Read more
If there’s one thing the German-speaking world does right, it’s Christmas time. Christmas markets pop up everywhere selling lots of things you don’t need. Glühwein (hot, spiced wine) becomes available on every street corner, as do roasted chestnuts, to warm you on cold days. Twinkling little lights hang above all the shopping streets (OK, the … Read more
How is it possible that I’ve gone this long without ever writing a post about Swiss chocolate? As we all know, Switzerland is The Land of Chocolate. Its claim to fame amongst the other Lands of Chocolate (Belgium, Germany, Holland, etc.) is that milk chocolate was invented here. Makes sense, given all the milk-producing they … Read more
Without Halloween and Thanksgiving to hold it back, Christmas merchandise apparently starts running wild as soon as the leaves on the trees start to turn. Are there really people out there who stock up on chocolate santas two and a half months in advance? While completely immune to the charm of chocolate santas (especially milk … Read more
For best effect, turn speakers up as loud as possible. Read all about our adventure at the Swiss cow parade.
Move over Niki de St-Phalle’s angel, the ceiling of the Zurich train station just got a new tourist-distracter. This evening was the unveiling of NOVA, a three-dimensional LED display that makes trippy patterns and pictures from 25,000 spheres. NOVA uses some of the same technology as the infamous Bahnhofstrasse Christmas lights, which were much complained … Read more
The first time I heard about Street Parade (Striitpareid in Swiss German) was in my Swiss German class. It was listed in the ‘Holidays in Zurich’ section of our textbook, right next to Christmas, Sechseläuten, and Easter. That seemed wacky given that it is, at the end of the day, a giant outdoor rave. But … Read more