Category Archives: Food, Wine & Beer

Famous Swiss Foods: Chocolate

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Post by Lauren

Maybe one reason that the Swiss don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day is that it is it is an occasion for chocolate EVERY DAY here.

General Facts:
-The Swiss eat the most chocolate in the world. The average Swiss eats 25 lbs of chocolate per year compared to the 11.7 lbs consumed by Americans.
-The Swiss eat 54% of their chocolate production, only exporting 46%

Personal fact: Gabe and I eat four pieces of amazing Swiss chocolate every night after dinner. We haven’t gained any weight. In fact, Gabe has lost weight.

I was lucky to get a tour of Stettler last week. I felt like Charlie let loose in the chocolate factory.

It was 100% in French so I caught about half of the information being that I haven’t learned all my vocabulary for chocolate production yet. However, one doesn’t need to catch every word to be blown away.

This “chocolate laboratory” is in Geneva and is just one of the many chocolate factories and tours in Switzerland. If you are a francophone, I would highly recommend checking this particular one out.

Adventures in Zermatt

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Post by Lauren

We just got back from a fabulous trip to Zermatt. Do you know what Zermatt is famous for? It is renowned for the views of Matterhorn….a pointy mountain carved by the movement of the Ice Ages. For a detailed look of what Matterhorn looks like, see S’s blog here or our friend D’s husbands photography from his adventure there here.

You might now ask….Lauren, why do you not have any photos of the Matterhorn if you spent all weekend in Zermatt? Well, they got so much snow there, that it blocked the visibility. What a bummer for all of us to miss the mountain! Nonetheless, Zermatt was adorable. We had a great time enjoying the snow fall and exploring.

Zermatt does not have any cars. You can only access the town by a little train. We arrived around 7pm and decided to find our hotel Blauherd on foot. It felt like we were walking inside of a snow globe.

After checking in our adorable chalet, we set out for some Zermatt nightlife. We dined at Restaurant Du Pont which is known for their traditional raclette, fondue and rosti dishes. It was quite an experience, made more special by an older gentleman in the restaurant.

At first, we weren’t sure if he’d wondered in off the streets but then he came and presented Gisele and I with a postcard of the restaurant….it was the oldest restaurant in Zermatt and ventured back in the kitchen. We then realized he was the owner!

As an appetizer, a broth came out with a piece of cheese on the plate and a basket of bread. We didn’t quite know what to do until the old dude came over and started making hand movements of how to cut the cheese into the soup and then crumble the bread into it. So, it made a french onion soup. He then came over with a bottle of red wine and proceeded to pour a very large splash into each of our bowls. Simply delicious!

It was followed by a salad and then the main course of sausage and rosti. Rosti is a potato dish that it prevalent in the German part of Switzerland, in the mountains. Halfway when we were taking a break he shook his head, grabbed Gabe’s fork and force fed him more of the meal. We unfortunately didn’t get a photo of that!

 

We had heard from S that there was a cool bar near the beaver statue in the town centre. We looked high and low and finally saw the little critter buried in the snow. Elsie Bar was a treat and we were entertained by a group of Swiss Germans having a fabulous time and joking with the guys that they would like to trade wives for the evening. Some francs may or may not have been offered. Don’t worry, we didn’t swap.

 

Finally, we ended up at Brown Cow Pub, a vibrant apres-ski bar that had a continual loop of extreme sports playing. We hung out there and then walked home around midnight as it continued to snow.

Overnight, we received about a foot of the white stuff. The proprietor at our hotel was continually scraping all night long outside on the front terrace.

We had a nice breakfast at the chalet and then set off to explore Zermatt while hoping for the skies to clear up.

 

No such luck seeing the famous peak in person, but it was still a really enjoyable trip to spend some time in this Swiss alpine town.

 

 

In Winter Wonder with Pascal and Giselle

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Post by Lauren

It’s an exciting week in our Swiss household! We have guests Pascal and Giselle, in from Richmond, VA. Geneva has been really behaving, showing its pretty blue sky. We didn’t even know that was possible in the winter here.

So, we feel very grateful that while they are here, they can actually see the mountains instead of the perma-cloud layer that hovers above us usually.

When they arrived, we forced them to stay up and took them around to Carouge Saturday market day and then to Annecy, France so that they could be out in the daylight to help with the effects of jetlag*.

Market day was a little quiet in the winter vs. summer, but still very enjoyable as Carouge always is with its simple Italian architecture and colorful artisans:

 

A quiet day at the Carouge market

 

Next, we went to Annecy, France for lunch. Pascal and Giselle had their first savory crepes. Did you know that a crepe can be a dessert and a meal? Kind of like a wrap…with a pancake. They ordered hamburger ones….check them out below. Even though it was about 20 degrees, there were still a ton of people enjoying the Saturday blue skies and even a crew team practicing in frigid Lake Annecy below snow capped mountains.

The next day, we ventured to Chamonix & Mt. Blanc. We took the Auguille du Midi to the top, the world’s highest vertical ascent cable car. Gabe and I had done this back with Henry Birmingham on July 4th weekend, but boy, what a difference winter makes.

Everything was snow covered and beautiful. We were in awe of the off-piste skiiers.

After the dizzying adventure up Mt. Blanc, we had a nice warm raclette meal in Chamonix, the base village. Very soon, there will be a cheese tutorial on The Swiss Watch Blog so you can learn more about this fabulous Swiss dish. It’s soooo good.

The famous French ski town was bumping at dusk and into the evening, full of skiers and snowboarders returning from the mountain.

You are probably wondering why we keep taking Pascal and Giselle all over France when we live in Switzerland. Actually, because Geneva is surrounded by France, the alpine areas of France are much more accessible to Geneva because of the topography. See my ski map, complete with flags, to check this out.

Don’t worry, we’ll take them around in Switzerland soon. Stay tuned….

*When you visit us, we will also do such mean things as to not allow you to sleep and force you to be in the daylight to reduce your chance of jet lag.

Alternative coffee culture

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Post by Lauren

During our three week visit to the US, I consumed more pumpkin spiced lattes that most people consume in a lifetime.

If you have never had a PSL, I feel sorry for you. It is a little gulp of heaven.

There are really three reasons why I decided to overindulge in way more than my fair share of PSLs while in the States.

I love you, PSL!!!

Reason #1 – In Switzerland, there are Starbucks, but NO FLAVORED SYRUPs. This should be a crime. It’s like the movie theaters there that don’t serve popcorn.

All Fall, l had to endure the agony of people posting about PSLs on Facebook. This should also be a crime.

Reason #2 – I can’t afford Starbucks. Its like 10 US dollars for a latte. Since I am not currently working, I have to pass on going. Even when everyone else gets it. But its okay. Because there are no syrups its not as appealing as it would be in the US.

Reason #3 – Switzerland coffee culture. It is definitely a “NO-to-go” country. There are three Starbucks in Geneva and they are the ONLY place I know of that would give you a cup of coffee to go. Even still, you have to special order it that way, or else it comes in a mug. I am pretty sure it also comes with a dirty look.

The Swiss like to casually sit in a cafe and have a teaspoon sized baby espresso cup. It takes them like a half hour to drink it. While I am loving the slower pace, I simply cannot get used to this cultural difference. I like to have mine in a thermos and drink it continually.

How the Swiss do it.

Even when I bring a thermos with me on the tram in the morning, people stare at me. Just imagine the most confused look ever. That is what I get when I carry a coffee thermos. I thought it was because of the no-to-go, but S & S pointed out it also has a lot to do with size. Not that my thermos is large – its normal sized, but it is bigger than a thimble.

A few weeks ago, I saw another person with a thermos. Its the first time I had ever seen it so I decided to capture it as I surely will never see it again. I gave her lots of smiles on the tram as I wanted to show my support.

Concluding this coffee post, I am happy to report that we imported a 750 ml bottle of Pumpkin Pie syrup. No clue if it is anything like Starbucks, but one can hope. There is already an army of fellow ex-pat PSL fan friends in Geneva ready to try it out.

 

Heineken redeems itself

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Post by Lauren

Prior to going to Amsterdam, all I knew about Heineken was from Gabe. I noticed at Montreux Jazz Fest that he had a certain scale on whether or not he would buy a Heineken or not. For instance, if it was 10 minutes to the next beer stand, either in distance or with time spent in line, he would go for the Heineken stand (as a sponsor, they were all over the place) versus what he really wanted. Then and only then. So, I supposed I had a slightly negative vibe.

We heard from friends that the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam was pretty cool. These friends know a lot about beer tours, so we figured a nod from them was a good reason to check it out.

Here is what I learned:

Heineken started as a family owned business. Leadership was passed from father to son, through the generations, and now a daughter runs the massive International company. Because it is a family name, they are very protective of the quality and have a laboratory to make sure that the beer tastes the same no matter where it is sold in the world, to protect the brand and their name. Pretty cool.

No matter how hard the Great Depression was, Heineken didn’t lay off a single employee. In fact, they were the only such company who gave pensions during that time. They really believed in their people and their propensity to make it a great company. Very admirable.

 

During the “experience”, they like to have fun. They let you touch the ingredients and do each step as it was done in “the old days”.

They have animals. Who doesn’t like animals on a tour? Kidding aside, we thought they ripped this off from Budweiser but learned that horse & carriage were the way that all beer was delivered in the olden day. They still keep these chaps around for parading the beer trucks through Amsterdam.

They give you lots of free tastes along the way. We learned how to do a proper beer tasting as well, similar to how you taste wine. The star shaped bar was pretty sweet. We were starting to grow in fan-ship at this point.

They also had tons of other interactive parts of the experience. We went into a 4-D room where we were a piece of barley made into beer. Gabe made fun of me when I put my camera away due to the sign warning it could get wet. But no joke, the floor dropped when we were “dropped” into the tank and the ceiling sprayed as well. We also experienced lots of breeze when we were “bottled”.

Other activities included games to fill a pint glass perfectly with the tap, a spot where you could make your own bottle with your name on it, and a place to do your own Heineken music video.

Another room contained screens playing movie clips for which Heineken had gotten product placement so you got to see James Bond, Brad Pitt, and John Travolta popping open a cold Heineken. It makes me wonder how much they paid for these

Next was a lounge area where you could lay in leather chaises and view all the old TV spots from the 50’s and 60’s. I like this one:

 

Finally, they gave you two free beers in the really animated World Bar, showing all over the world where Heineken was sold.

Gabe was reluctant to say whether he likes Heineken any better, but agreed that a Heineken in Amsterdam tasted better than any Heineken he had previously. However, I am now a super fan, mainly because I thought they did a brilliant branding job in the experience. It was definitely the best company tour I have ever done.

 

 

I want to live in Amsterdam

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Post by Lauren

You know how there are some cities where ten minutes after arriving, you exclaim, “I could live here!”. I said this in Amsterdam even before our cab arrived to the hotel. And after spending a great weekend there, I decided I must live there…someday!

Here’s are just ten reasons why:

One: Bike-friendly, not lots of cars. Not that I am good at biking (I had a near death experience with a tram in Amsterdam) but I do appreciate how everyone bikes everywhere. There are 700,000 residents in Amsterdam and 700,000 bikes!

Two: Romantic canals, perfect for strolling or biking leisurely. The canals in Amsterdam were just as beautiful as Venice, just in a different way. It feels magical when you are there.

Three: Cozy bakeries & cafes. Quaint adorable restaurants. A highlight for us was an Indonesian rice table on our first night, captured in the second photo, taken by A. Note that our “good food” measuring stick is off since everything in Geneva is so bad. But the cuisine of this city would have wowed us pre-Geneva as well.

Four: Plentiful open-air markets, including gorgeous flower markets. They are known for their flowers. 40% of the world’s flowers come from The Netherlands. I bought a hand-painted coffee mug of a street scene as my souvenir from a local artisan.

 

Five: Peaceful parks. Wide bike paths, spaces for BBQing, music, and tons of people enjoying the weather.

Six: Intriguing museums, history & culture. We hit the Anne Frank House & Van Gogh museum. Note, I am on a Van Gogh pilgrimage and have now hit 2 of his main residences 🙂 There are also 45 other museums in Amsterdam.

Seven: Sweet “brown bars” and windmill bars. The ones we visited were Van Zuylen and Bouwerij ‘tiJ. Sepia photo by A.

Eight: A unique architecture. I love skinny buildings. I would even be okay with uneven floors as I am sure all these buildings have. Note Gabe standing straight up next to one of the older buildings to show the angle of curvature.

Nine: Delicious beer all over the city and at Heineken. Again, not used to good beer in Geneva.

Ten: The presence of Life. Sometimes I am not sure Geneva has a pulse, so the lively feel of Amsterdam on a weekend was a really much-needed change of pace. Day or night, people are walking, biking, conversing, and enjoying life. They seemed to be all smiling and friendly.

Since A & A, our travel buddies, were staying with a local, we had the added benefit of attending a real Amsterdam party Saturday night for, on a rooftop along one of the canals. It was organized to gather prior to “Museum Night” which we all attended. The great folks we met verified how fun-loving the residents are and we were a little sad when we thought of what Geneva lacks on the fun-scale.

A bonus #11 is that while it is not the national language (Dutch is), everyone spoke beautiful English. It was a great relief to step into English-speaking territory for a weekend. Sometimes it just feels good for one’s self esteem to not sound like a four year old.

The only downside to amazing Amsterdam for me was the RLD. It totally wasn’t what I had envisioned but still seedy and couldn’t wait to get back to the other parts of Amsterdam I had become enamored with.

 

Gratitude Friday: A taste of Thanksgiving

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Post by Lauren

This Friday, I am grateful for the chance to have a little taste of Thanksgiving in Geneva. The cooking group that I am in organized a potluck at A.L.’s beautiful home.

It was lovely to share a Thanksgiving meal with women of many different cultures, including Holland, Canada, Switzerland, Rwanda, Germany, Qatar, Japan, Australia and the US.

Our gracious host brought back Thanksgiving plates, napkins and other goodies from her last trip to the US, so everyone could appropriately experience the typical decoration.

We had such a beautiful assortment of everyone’s favorite treats to share with the group, both savory and sweet.

 

 

Since there are many reasons why Thanksgiving is difficult here in Geneva, I was just so grateful for a nice day spent sharing our American tradition with wonderful women.

Top Reasons why celebrating Thanksgiving is more difficult in Switzerland:
1-They don’t celebrate the holiday at all here, making it impossible to get supplies. At least for Halloween, some factions of the French participate in this holiday, so they do sell limited costumes at a few stores for the ex-pats and French
2-It is nearly impossible to find a whole turkey. They do sell “dinde” here (turkey in French), but it is only in parts….a tenderloin, legs, little chops. So, you have to find a place to custom order it. And if you find one:
3- It’s guaranteed he’ll already be without skin, making it difficult to seal in the flavor
4-You will pay at least $180-200 USD for a small turkey. He is guaranteed to be free- range, organic, etc. since the other types of birds don’t exist here, but a big ouch to the wallet!
5-A whole turkey will likely not fit in your oven. Remember, all Swiss appliances are tiny. It’s like living in a dollhouse. Luckily, our host measured and determined that the whole one wouldn’t fit in her oven, so she just got an assortment of tenderloins and legs to cook so we could have a taste of turkey.
6-On the same note of our oven being the size of a US microwave, so you have a hard time getting side dishes cooked and re-heated at once.
7-No power settings or defrost settings on a microwave. So my typical way of softening butter is out the window!
8-No shortcuts like boxed stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc. And no fried onions in a can for green bean casserole. Everything must be from absolute scratch.
9-You can find canned pumpkin here at the American store, but its 8 dollars a can. Whoa!
10-Luckily our host had a beautiful spacious apartment. But this is atypical here, so a US sized Thanksgiving might have a difficult time fitting into a traditional Geneva flat.

Bon weekend, everyone!

Halloween in Geneva

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Post by Lauren

In Europe, Halloween isn’t such a big holiday. Gabe & I had a few friends over so that we could properly celebrate.

First, he carved a pumpkin, which is a necessity for Halloween. By the way, large pumpkins are sold sparingly at the big grocery store, labeled Gros Halloween, or Fat Halloween.

Then, I made a few “scary” dishes:

Then, a few friends joined us for the fun. Note, most of them came on public transport and got lots of odd looks. Including people who were taking photos of them. Again, Halloween is very strange here, especially to dress like characters (see yesterday’s post).

You are probably wondering who won the pumpkin? Well, the big prize goes to The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo.

Congrats and Happy Halloween!

The Price Is Right – France vs. Switzerland

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Post by Lauren

Do you remember the Grocery Game on the show The Price Is Right? I used to love watching this show when I was a kid. So for the spirit of fun, we are going to play the game on this blog with the prices of goods in France vs. Switzerland.

Good luck guessing. A little more challenging than Bob Barker’s version.

The prices are equalized by currency, and I took it a step further to actualize it into American dollars. So, euros x 1.4 and Swiss Francs x 1. 2.

Be a sport. Scroll til you see the product and no more before you guess the prices.

Roll of Pizza Dough:

Switzerland:

$ 6.48 (5.40 CHF)

France:

$ 2.80 (1.37 euros)

500 Grams of Spinach

Switzerland:

$ 7.08 (5.90 CHF for 300 g)

France:

$ 3.50 (2.50 euros for 500 g)

Kronenbourg Beer 10 pack

Switzerland:

$ 10.68 (8.90 CHF)

France:

$ 5.72 (4.09 euros)

 


Guacamole, jarred*
I know, its gross, but beggars can’t be choosers

Switzerland:

$ 6.60 (5.50 CHF)

France:

$ 3.02 (2.16 euros)

Canned green beans

Switzerland:

$ 8.22 (6.85 CHF)

France:

$ 1.33 (0.95 euro)

Coke 4 pack, 1 liter each

Switzerland:

$ 9.12 (7.60 CHF)

France:

$ 6.72 (4.80 euro)

 

So how did you do? I hope you were a winner.

Me, I’m depressed after putting together this game.

Annecy, France

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Post by Lauren

We had to do some shopping for our upcoming Halloween festivities this weekend. Since groceries can be 1/2 to 1/3 the cost in nearby France, we decided to make a trip there to pick up the goods for the soiree.

Instead of picking a close border town, we chose to drive to Annecy, which is about 30 minutes from Geneva. Gabe had been to Lake Annecy before for work, but neither of us had been to the Annecy Old Town.

It was very charming. I loved the reflective colors in the canals that wove in and out of the charming French streets. I know my Mom will love this place when she comes to visit.

 

Our verdict on shopping in France is that it is really only worth it for large parties or stocking up on pantry goods. The Swiss are so strict on what goods you import, it took a lot of brain power when shopping to add up the weights to make sure we were under. In fact, I picked up a small frozen bag of veal meatballs and had to put them back because they were twice our limit.

We know not to push the limits. One of Gabe’s co-workers went to France to prepare for a big American style BBQ at her house. She bought 80 euros worth of meat there…a steal for a party….but ended up with 400 francs of importation fines. Ouch.

Check out Lady J’s blog more on shopping in France, including the limits.