Author Archives: lauren

Nous avons des velos! (We have bikes!)

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So its official – we have moved into our new permament apartment. Since our stuff has been on an ocean liner for the past two months, every time I opened a box, it was like receiving treasure.

Some of my treasures were:
-food storage ( I had been saving tin foil & baggies and reusing them to Gabe’s disgust)
-our own silverware
-the rest of my clothes since I’d been wearing the same thing for 8 weeks solid

Some of Gabe’s treasures were:
-the Apple TV
-the wireless router (yes, a treasure for me too!)
-our bikes

In fact, when they pulled the bikes off the truck, he went for a ride before they could take into into our apartment. And, on Monday, it was a Swiss holiday for Pentacost, so his office was closed and he worked from home. We went on a bike ride mid-morning for a break.

One of the coolest things we saw was a windsurfer park his car, assemble his apparatus, and then set sail on Lake Geneva. It was pretty chilly this day although you can’t tell from Gabe’s attire.



We look forward to many great rides and me hopefully not getting hit by a car, since I am not the most graceful on a velo!

Swiss Made

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A few of our readers have been concerned about us getting e-coli poisoning from the recent scare with the produce in Germany. Have no fear fair readers….it is actually very hard to find produce from anywhere but Switzerland, here in the local markets and groceries.

One of the things we noticed off the bat was that all goods are labeled with their country of origin. Whether it be meat, produce or even cereal, its clearly marked where all ingredients were sourced. In the later case of cereal, it lists where every single grain came from. Same with menus…all meats have their country listed.

The Swiss take a ton of pride into buying local goods. In reading, one of their reasons is that they are less dependent on others, stemmed from the wars of this past century. Whether or not that is actually true, I find three personal benefits from having Swiss made items:

1- I think it is pretty awesome that they support their local agriculture to such a degree…their pride and commitment is a neat thing to see amongst a nationality.
2- the goods have to travel from shorter distances which is better for the environment and usually means they are fresher.
3- in most cases, their meat and produce is already organic. It’s top notch and of upmost quality and you don’t have to pay more for this feature. In fact, the best strawberries I have ever had in my life are the Swiss berries at our neighborhood Migros grocery.

I have to admit that most times, I had no clue where my food came from in the US. But, here I take more notice. Take a look at a kaleidoscope of Swiss goods from this week’s shopping basket, all clearly labeled with “product Suisse” or a flag:

A collection of Swiss items from a trip to the store

Gratitude Friday: Curiosity and Learning

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This week’s gratitude post goes out to curiosity & learning.

This is top of mind because we traveled to the U.K. this week. So, after 3 jam-packed days of absorbing everything we could culturally, visually, and culinary about London, I did what I always do when we go on a trip that involves a historical destination….search for all possible books, movies, wikipedia articles, etc. to learn even more about where we just were.

When Gabe and I went to Greece last May, even before arrival back to the US, I was watching Alexander in our hotel room, shortly followed by 300 and Troy. Much to my happiness, my bible study group was also starting a study on the book of Esther the week I returned and so that whole 2 month study included more snippets and context about Xerses & the Persian Empire around the Grecian times. I think I may have driven the ladies crazy trying to encourage them to watch 300 & Alexander to get a better picture in their minds of that day & age!

Exploring Greece, 2009

So, in London this week, we learned a ton about the monarchs, particularly Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria and Lady Jane Grey. So they are on my list to absorb all literature, information I can about female monarchs and the wives of Henry III. Last night, I watched Elizabeth for the second time – it put our Tower of London visit and the story about her time in captivity there into vivid picture vs. my first viewing. I also need to re-watch The Other Boleyn Girl…its been a few years.
Also, another fascinating area for me was the devastation to London during The Blitz and the stories from those who lived through it. This was started in the US, when my book club read The Postmistress and The Gurnsey LIterary And Potato Peel Pie Society last year. We had also read Sarah’s Key that shed some light on that horrific time. Reading historical fiction helps me have more empathy and understanding for what the people who lived through that time went through. Both Gabe and I really wanted to go see the Churchill Museum (recommended by our friend Nick) but we didn’t have time this trip.

I also added Oliver Twist and The Canterbury Tales to my must read list too based on seeing some of the streets in our touring. I particularly felt more compelled to read some of Dickens work since Gabe and I enjoyed a few beers in the pub basement which he frequented. Just kidding…but still, its time to re-read some of these classics, especially since many times the classics are free on Kindle.

Seeing a show at the Globe was a highlight for me. I must re-watch Shakespeare in Love as it provides a fun look at this Elizabethan era, while not historically completely accurate.

Also, for more regarding the last century, Notting Hill, Alfie, Love Actually and Bridget Jones Diaries. Mainly, just so I can continue to hear more British accents (love them!) and potentially see familiar scenery from London.

Anyhow, back to gratitude:

-I am just very fortunate to be able to go on these trips to historical sites to inspire me to keep learning more and more.

-I am grateful for living in a day and age where travel & the quick dissemination of information is possible. Building on that, I am thankful for Wikipedia, iTunes and Amazon for letting me feed my habit from Switzerland. If it wasn’t for that technology, I’d be impatiently waiting for my first trip back to the US to stock up on knowledge in the English language. And I’d have less room in my suitcase for enchilada sauce.

-I am grateful for still having the love of learning. I love being a “sponge”.

-I am also grateful for my husband putting up with my habit and not minding too much. Thanks, babe (didn’t you want to see Young Victoria this weekend??)!

-A bonus “shout-out” to my book club ladies in Charlotte, NC for contributing by recommending these great historical fiction novels!

Book club at my house, circa 2008

My last Book Club @ Tara’s April 2011

So, what do you love learning more about??

Reason I Wish I Knew French #23

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Today I am starting a new series entitled “Reasons why I wish I knew French,” in order to bring some humor to the language barrier.

We now have 4 large mattress/bed parts in our teeny shoebox of an apartment.

I think that they are renovating the apartment and this is part of it? Although I am not quite sure as the building guy (who I have seen before, so I do know I didn’t accept some random mattresses) only speaks a little English and I basically speak only a teeny amount of French. It would have been better if he asked me things about food or farmers markets, or ordering at a restaurant, as I am getting better at this part 🙂

Anyhow, I think they are coming back to do something with these in an hour and I am supposed to stay put until they return because they don’t have a key. If only I knew for sure….I kind of wanted to go to the gym today before it closes at 5pm so if my French were better, I would really understand!!!

On the bright side, Gabe got an email from the customs/moving people and we are supposed to move in to our new place on Saturday…..yippee!!!! I wish you could see my smile right now!

Loving London

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Our London weekend was quite lovely. Here are a few highlights from our trip that we wanted to share:

The Tower of London

We really enjoyed seeing the Crown Jewels and the Beefeater Tour

Pubs & Pub Fare

We loved Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese – it was rebuilt the year after the great fire, in 1667. We happily noshed on fish & chips in the 700 year old wine cellar, and tried to imagine what it was like when Dickens, Mark Twain, Alfred Tennyson, Sir Arthur Conon Doyle were there.

We also hit up a few pubs in Mayfair and I got to try a Pimms.

Evensong service at Westminister Abbey

This was a really cool experience.  We sat and enjoyed the Evensong Service and the magnificent choir of Westminster Abbey.  We sat right next to the altar where William & Kate were married just a month before. 

Shakespeare’s Globe

We thoroughly enjoyed Alls Well that Ends Well in the replica of Shakespeare’s Globe, as he intended his shows to be displayed – open air (yes, it was raining) and without acoustics.  We imagined what is was like in the original, just yards from the new version.

General Site-seeing

It was nice just to see some of the beautiful landmarks of London and true to form against the stony grey sky!

Lauren ventured off on her own on Monday when Gabe’s conference began and here is the quick recap:

Buckingham Palace (Guard rainout!!)

The Tate Modern Art Museum ( I was in heaven and I think Gabe was too that he didn’t have to stay 4 hours with me here)

 Abbey Road (Beatles studio site and scene from their famous photo.  Quite funny to watch all the tourists almost get hit by cars and buses not amused by the traffic hold-up.

 Regent Park & Queen Mary Rose Garden, recommended by friend Andreas who went to school in the park

The British Museum – I saw the parts of the Parthenon that were “saved”.  We heard in Athens last year that the British stole these artifacts from them in a bailout and refused to give them back. Quite interesting to hear both sides of the story.  Also, the Rosetta Stone was a highlight.

 

Thanks to all our friends for the great tips!

Keeping change in check

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Most readers know I am OCD in terms of organization. So, I always had to have to a billfold that had separators – a divider in the larger cash section – one for bills, one for receipts and lots of little side pockets for keeping various things separate. I never fully took advantage of the dividers in the change section of the billfold though….until now.

Since Switzerland doesn’t use Euros (they aren’t a part of the EU), we use Swiss Francs day to day. I also keep a small amount of Euro change since we are on a border town of France, and in case I need a bus ticket there, etc. When we arrived in London this weekend, the pounds and pence added a third dimension. I surely have to keep them separate as you can’t tell the coins apart at a glance (or at least I have not become that skilled yet). So, I have my little change purse divided up with all the different currencies.

I can’t imagine what is was like before the EU & one monetary system for most of Europe!

Planes, Trains, Trams, Buses and Tubes, but no automobiles

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These are all modes of transportation we took in a 3 hour period while going from Geneva to London. Granted, I’ll take fault on actually using both trains and trams in Geneva instead of a simple bus connection, but that is a really long story and we’ll just leave it at 3 simple tips for our Genevan friends:

1. When you plan a better route and the other bus option rolls up, stick with your pre-planned choice, especially when it involves an early airport connection
2. Never connect in Bel-Air with a 2 minute change unless you really know what you are doing, especially when it involves an early airport connection
3. Don’t rely on the train station always having an instant train to the airport, sometimes it can be up to 20 minutes. While this 20 minute wait allows for a delicious latte and roast beef sandwich train station breakfast for Gabe, its not a comfortable amount of time, especially when it involves an early airport connection.

Nonetheless, we both boarded our 7:30am flights to London, on separate airlines. Upon arrival, we realized we were in different terminals so actually just met in Hyde Park via the Tube. Which, by the way, is awesome! Mind the gap!

It is pretty amazing how we both ended up getting there and meeting without using a single automobile. Its so cool how this is so common all over Europe.

Gratitude Friday: Appreciating Nature

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Last Friday I started a tradition where I dedicated my post to gratitude. This week, I want to dedicate my post to the appreciation of nature. Not just nature (as it has been here all along), but the appreciation…..

-for the extra time that I now have to be outside and experience the beauty

-for the amazing chance we have to live in Geneva which is provides different scenery and panorama than I am used to

-for the public transit system which makes it a snap to take hikes like this, without a car

-for the Swiss, who truly appreciate their land so that they upkeep and value trails and paths for the use of all who visit

-for the hike leaders at the women’s club who take their time to plan 2 1/2 – 5 hour hikes every week so people like me can benefit

Below are some photos from our AIWC hike today.

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Bon weekend everyone!

 

 

Bern Means Bear

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All I know about Bern comes from my friend Randi. As we were considering the move and prior to our final departure she mentioned that one of her two cities she’d been to in Switzerland was Bern and she colorfully added both times she mentioned it, “Bern means bear”.

So today, as S (who is in town for house-hunting) and I walked around beautiful Bern, all I kept hearing was Randi’s voice saying “Bern means bear”. And I am pretty sure its stuck in S’s head as well based on how many times I repeated it to her.

But, nonetheless, the fact is true and this capital city of Switzerland was named for the bear. We were able to see a few walking through the city:

Bern was so beautiful – I loved the architecture and charm. For a 90 minute train ride, it was a nice treat and great way to spend the holiday (Ascension Day is a national holiday and all groceries & stores were closed all over Switzerland). Also, S was a great tour guide as she had been to Bern before and knew all the great things to check out. In fact, one of her favorite activities was the Bern River Float. However, with 40 degree temps, we decided to postpone this until a future trip.

Here are a few photos from today’s adventures:

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Dry Cleaning and Ransom Notes

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Happily, this week I only have one load of laundry. So aside from needing to dedicate my entire morning to monitoring it, all is good in laundry land. Also, I learned our new friends A & A do not have a dryer in their apartment basement so I have decided to be very grateful for shelling out my $15 CHF to do be able to wash and dry.

Since I am mastering the art of laundry in Switzerland, it was time to move on….to dry cleaning. I had done some research on Glocals and found that the chains are best as a lot of clothes can disappear or get ruined in some of the Mom & Pop cleaners and there isn’t really any repercussion. You see, in Switzerland, there is no such thing as “the customer is always right”. Its really more like “get it our way”. In fact, I recently read that the one Burger King had closed down in Geneva. It is probably because the Swiss business owners revolted when they put up the slogan, “Have it your way”. They didn’t want it to become a trend and disrupt the system.

I researched and found a chain that is near our temp apartment and also has a branch near our permanent one. So, I brought in four of Gabe’s work shirts.

“Parlez-vous Anglais?” I asked the cashier.

“Non,” she replied.

However, it’s okay….I whipped out my homemade note (thanks Google Translate), and showed her. She started punching in numbers on the register and $68.10CHF appeared.

I frowned. “Non?” and pointed to the special price….only 4.50 CHF ($6 USD) for a man’s shirt.

She agreed, “Non…” and then came up 22.80 CHF.

“Oui!” I said, “Quand prêt?”

She replied, “Lundi,” which means Monday. So, one week to get shirts back. Yikes, I hope we get access to our shipment soon as now four of Gabe’s shirts are locked down in Swiss dry cleaning jail!

While my note worked this time, I’ll refrain from doing this at the UBS (the bank). I think they might not like my tactic so much there.