Category Archives: Life in Geneva

Gratitude Friday: Swiss Water

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Post by Lauren

One of my favorite things about Switzerland is the abundance of free yummy water.

Whether you are in an urban area, a small town, or the middle of the countryside, you are sure to find a babbling spout, as can be seen below. You can easily fill your bottle up no matter where you are.

In the US we have things like this but you wouldn’t dare drink out of it. However, here is is 100% safe and super tasty. I have been told the water supply is monitored three times a day to monitor for any abnormalities. From the swissworld site, they quote:

The drinking water that comes out of Swiss taps is as pure as bottled mineral water – and 500 times cheaper.

In a country where everything is expensive, I am grateful for this natural perk.

Bon weekend, everyone!

 

Our very own bomb shelter

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Post by Lauren

Switzerland might be the safest country in the world.

It’s a requirement that every Swiss building have a bomb shelter, back from the days of WW2. However, present-day code still requires that new buildings are built with such provisions.

So that means we have our very own bomb shelter. They call it a cave (pronounced, “cah-v” meaning basement ). Actually, we keep our wine and suitcases down there instead of hiding out waiting for disaster.

But good to know that its there in time of need.

So come visit….you’ll be safe.

A page from the Swiss rulebook: Visit and Thank you specifics

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Post by Lauren

When moving to Switzerland, I read quite a lot about how to properly thank people and what to bring when you are invited to a true Swiss person’s home. All these books advised that it would be quite rare to actually get invited to a Swiss home as an ex-pat, since they only invite trusted long term friends vs. folks who are only here in two year stints. ( See more on this and tu and vous on Schwingen in Switzerland )

However, I thought we better be prepared, so I have noted the following:

Rule #1 – When going to a dinner party, you should bring a gift for the gentleman and a gift for the lady. So, perhaps a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers. Or chocolate for her and whisky for him.

We saw this when Gabe’s co-workers came to pick up the large items we had included in our shipment for them, after they found out it wasn’t possible to buy in Switzerland. They brought him a very nice bottle of champagne and me this gorgeous orchid that has been adding so much color to our home this summer. They obviously read the manual and I was impressed by their gesture.

Sub-Rule 1a – if there are children, you must also bring something for them like a chocolate or a toy.

Sub-Rule 1b – if you bring wine, it is noted to make sure it is of high quality.

Check. Good to know not to bring the Boones farm to the nice gatherings.

Sub-rule 1c – if you bring flowers, they should not be carnations, or lilies which mean death or yellow roses.

Sub-rule 1c1 – do not ever bring an even number of flowers. Only odd. Its bad luck to bring even.

Glad to know about the even/odd thing. I’ll make sure to note this.

However, I am concerned that they had to put the clause about buying carnations in this book…who is out there buying carnations anymore?

Rule # 2 – Always wait for your guest to offer a toast such as “Santé”* before drinking. Don’t clink your glasses like American’s do. Make sure to stare deeply into everyone’s eyes before taking a sip.

Check. I can handle that. We have actually been practicing the “santé” quite a bit. Except everyone seems to interpret “deeply” as “creepy”. See A executing the creepy santé below.

Rule #3 – leave by 9pm.

Check. When I lived in Charlotte and went to the gym at 5am, I can appreciate this rule. Most of my Charlotte friends have witnessed me falling asleep at my own dinner party. That was usually their signal to leave.

Also, we have heard that we shouldn’t make noise between 8pm and 8am. So, no running the dishwasher, washer/dryer and certainly no footsteps. We haven’t had any issues with neighbors so far, but our friends have had neighbors approach them and tell them that they won’t think twice about calling the police if they hear a peep from them after 10pm.

Rule # 4 – never ever show up at someone’s door unannounced. The Swiss are very private people.

Check. Every building has a door code anyway. I don’t plan on breaking in to crash on new nonexistent Swiss friends.

So far we have only done Canadienne Buffets at friends homes, more in the style we are used to. We like this as everyone just brings a dish and we don’t have to buy each other gifts ever time we go over to each others houses. But now we are prepared in the case of Swiss friends. We shall keep you posted if we ever need to use such rules! I’m not banking on it….

*Santé means “to your health” and is pronounced sonn-tay! You should try it at home.

 

Our version of dry cleaning

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Post by Lauren

I miss the dry cleaners. Not that they don’t exist here, but that it is highway robbery to get anything professionally cleaned. In the US, a typical businessman in an urban area can get his shirts cleaned and pressed for 99 cents a pop. Here it runs about 8 CHF or 10 USD a shirt. A piece of ladies’ clothing is around 15 or 20 CHF for a cleaning.

So, no dry cleaning for us anymore.

I hand wash my dry cleaning items, and I wash & iron Gabe’s workshirts. Here is what our apartment looks like every 3 days. I just look at it that I am saving $200 by turning the apartment into a laundry sweat shop.

Unfortunately, I learned the iron can’t be on at the same time our TV can be on or it shorts the entire apartment’s electricity. I do it in my office with music or a podcast.

Next thing to accomplish is learning how to do alterations. I took a pair of Gabe’s jeans to shorten them 2 cm and it cost 30 CHF or 40 USD.

Gratitude Friday: Finally! A Phone!

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Post by Lauren

If you ever told US me that I’d be able to live four months without a cell phone, I wouldn’t have believed it.

But, yes, I made it 4 months. Many of you know the story, but for those catching up, you have to be a Swiss resident to get a phone contract.

My first two days I didn’t carry it around as I was afraid I’d hurt it. But, now it goes with me where I go.

Here is why I am grateful for a phone:

-Hands down, its the TPG app that is my favorite thing about iPhone ownership. I can check the bus and tram schedule continually. I love love love this feature. I don’t care if I don’t get another app…this one fulfills me!

-It’s nice to be able to have a communication device when meeting up with friends so if they miss the bus, or something changes. Otherwise, we had to do it old school. Show up at the planned time and if they don’t show, try to guess what happened to them and try to react like you’d think they would.

-It’s nice to have a phone # to give people, like repairmen, delivery people, etc.

-You can now call me! So, let me know if you want my digits…..

Here is why I am grateful I had 4 months sans phone:
-I have felt really free not being tied to a communication device. Working in Corporate America, I had my blackberry at the hip and I feel like it developed a little bit of ADD as a result….checking messages, multi-tasking, and being in constant contact.

-I missed my stop on the tram because I was taking this photo of the really large cello riding along playing music for the passengers. Whoops!

Bon weekend!

 

Swiss Signs: Our apartment

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Post by Lauren

I came home to this sign the other day.

 

My French isn’t that great, but it basically means that you have to be home Tuesday from 8 until 4 to let some people who are going to do something to the windows into your apartment. Or leave a key with your neighbor.

We don’t know any neighbors. We haven’t introduced ourselves since we are afraid our French isn’t good enough. A & A told us a story about meeting their neighbors. They baked cookies, learned how to introduce themselves in French, and then went around to the building. But then the neighbors invited them in and they couldn’t communicate any further with them. We were also told that the Swiss are so independent that they aren’t really interested in meeting you.

So, for these reasons, I was on lock down all Tuesday. I had planned to bring lunch to a friend who just had a little baby. Too bad, friend. It’s now Swiss lock down day.

While my friend was understand and flexible, I wonder if people actually have to take off work when they get a sign like this?

A day at the zoo

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Post by Lauren

I am in a photography group in Geneva. Just like in French class, I’m easily the worst one. Gabe graciously lets me take his fancy camera out so I can look like I know what I am doing. But I don’t. I keep it on the automatic setting. I have no clue what to do otherwise*.

Our leader does a really good job at giving direction and inspiration. Each month we have a theme. This time, we had an outing to the Knie Circus, which is in town. We were during the day so only had access to the zoo part of the circus. At first, I was a little bored. But, with time, I discovered new things to look for based on the enthusiasm of the others. In the end, I wasn’t ready to leave. Here are a few images:

So, moral of story: I have never had so much fun at a circus or a zoo. I think my over-productive OCD personality might finally be wearing down a bit to actually enjoy an activity past a half hour. Kudos to this group and Geneva for finally making this happen.

*If you know how to use an SLR, I’ll trade you skills. Like art skills or making jewelry. Let me know!

A page from the Swiss Rule Book: The Honor System

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Post by Lauren

As you have probably noticed from our blog, the Swiss love to follow rules. Part of the reason I get yelled and honked at is that they assume everyone else wants to follow all the rules, perfectly, just like them. They aren’t trying to be mean, they just assume that others would want to know that we are doing something wrong so I could fix it. In their minds, they are “helping you out”. Sometimes, its okay, when I really do something wrong…I want to fix it. But when I am yelled at for crossing the street, with no cars coming for miles, just because the red man hasn’t turned to a green man, then that is when it annoys me.

But along the same lines, it’s this trait that shapes one of my favorite Swiss characteristics and that is their trust and honesty. It isn’t unusual for the Swiss to leave their doors unlocked, and even keys in the car on the street. Its that same assumption that no one would do anything wrong knowingly.

That is why Swiss bank accounts are numbered, without names in association. It’s each persons responsibility to report their taxes honestly. This is why there was such a big to-do when the US demanded Switzerland hand over the American’s bank account information who might be hiding money. To the Swiss, banking is private, and they believe their citizens will report honestly their bank information when it comes to tax time.

An example of this is the TPG, the transportation system. There are machines to buy tickets, but no one checks your tickets prior to boarding the bus or tram. Yet, they don’t seem to have any problem with this. I have seen two random checks in my 4 months here, and no one was in violation.

Another example is when paying for a paper. You aren’t required to put the coins in before taking a paper. You just drop them in a separate bucket. Its simple….just the honor system.

You never have to worry about someone short-changing you in Switzerland. It would be unheard of. Its a good thing, as my French numbers are still not up to par.

I find it refreshing that they have this must trust in others.

Reason # 37 I wish I knew German

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Post by Lauren


Introducing Sven. He is a Volvo. He is our method of transportation when we aren’t using Geneva public transportation or trains. Like in the case of Gruyeres that is best explored by car because of how remote it is. Its only a 1 1/2 hour drive, but via trains/buses, it would be more like 4 hours. Also, sometimes its cheaper to use a car if you have multiple passengers vs. buying train tickets. Of course, it could provide more room for issues in driving or directions, but that is part of the fun.

Sven is always very dependable. Until this weekend. He starting acting up in Vevey, when we stopped for coffee and a peak at the shoreline.

The guys looked under the hood, but we decided to press on to our trip to Gruyeres. After cheese tasting, Sven had some trouble starting. Uh-oh. It was a Sunday, we were in the middle of no-where. And it was raining. We kept on going to the castle, etc. and just kept our fingers crossed Sven was going to be able to be revived upon our return to him. We made sure to leave by 6pm, so we could figure out from an open restaurant how to do the train home if we had to. There wouldn’t be any prayer of an open service station on a Sunday. Questioning why? See a previous post.

We enjoyed our trip and descended down the mountain hill in the rain, hoping and praying Sven wouldn’t disappoint. He sputtered out. After seven attempts, he started.

Immediately after we took off, he displayed this warning:

None of us knew German. We assumed he was telling us he was going to blow up. Oh no, and now we were out of walking distance to assistance for the train route. Andreas hurriedly pulled out his Blackberry and translated. And it translated “trunk open”. We stopped, closed the front hood, and Sven pulled off his warning. We laughed. Disaster averted.

So, thus, another reason I wish I knew a different language. We could actually know what our car needed. But then again, what is the fun in that?

What I have been missing

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Post by Lauren

You may have wondered lately, “why all the inactivity?” Did Lauren drop of the face of the Swiss Alps?

Well, in short, I had to come home to the US get some Visa paperwork taken care of. One way to describe this might have been “avoiding deportation” but those are just semantics. This fun process involved me crying in the Swiss Embassy. It wasn’t my brightest moment. Just ask Gabe how fun it was to receive that call from me.

Nonetheless, it was nice to get back to visit the US and I immediately started soothing my pain of the awful visa stress with Chic-fil-a lemonade and the comforts of home.

What I realized I missed about the US (beyond friends & family, of course):

-Heat and humidity…yes, seriously. Felt good not to be chilled and I enjoyed wearing dresses + shorts vs. scarfs + leather coats in the summer. Found it funny that many people asked me what season Switzerland was in when I was home as they only see me in scarfs and leather jackets on the blog.

-Driving & Parking. Oh so easy. Oh, car, oh parking lot, how I had taken you for granted!

-YogaOne, my hot yoga studio. I went 3 times in 4 days. It was an attempt to burn myself out so that I didn’t want to go in Geneva. Not that this type of yoga even exists there. Regular yoga costs like 45 CHF a class and its not even hot! Globo Gym does offer yoga, but it is in French and not even that good. It isn’t very relaxing to translate your every movement.

-Wearing gym clothes in public and not feeling guilty about it. I even did errands in them after the yoga.

-Prices. I could eat out or get a coffee without having to worry that I may have to refinance my house to do so.

-Nice people. This was very prevalent. At Target, they told me to have a nice day. People smiled. Waitstaff gave me excellent service every meal. I had become accustomed to the Swiss “customer is always wrong” mindset so this was a nice change although i was skeptical of the niceness at first. Funny how being exposed to something can make your original way of doing things seem weird.

-Not getting yelled at, honked at, or pointed at. In Switzerland, this happens to me every single day. It only happened once in the US. And it was in the Swiss Embassy. So, you do the math.

Also, of note, the East Coast decided to have two natural disasters in the same week during my time here. Thanks for keeping it spicy, East Coast. I had gotten complacent about everything being so darn easy here.

These were pretty darned yummy. You can't get these in Switzerland.



I really took note of a few other differences where the verdict isn’t fully out, but maybe I prefer about my new home…..

So, why I am excited to return to Switzerland:

-Natural climate control – I haven’t been used to A/C since I haven’t had any exposure (except for our car) for 3 1/2 months. It was weird to have it tingling my skin here continually. Can’t explain it, but I don’t miss it. It freaks me out now.

-Less exposure to the media – The US media overwhelms me with all the politics for the “news” and sides blaming each other. Even with only three weeks back, I grew sick of it.

-Farm fresh foods, pretty much all organic. Genetic engineering in meats / produce is not permitted in Europe. While I miss prices and yummy things like Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, I feel better all the time, don’t get sick and have more energy there.

-Less choice and consumerism. The urge to buy “stuff” to have “stuff” stronger in the US than in Europe. Sure, maybe its because we can’t afford any of it 🙂 but I do like not being clobbered by ads and pressure to buy in Europe.

-There is nutella everywhere. See the Nutella pizza we got at our favorite Italian place before I left.

Best food on Earth