Category Archives: Switzerland

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

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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Caves Ouvert!!!

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Caves Ouvert means – the cellars are open! And open for free tastings all day.

Since Gabe had traveled all week, it was a perfect Saturday activity that required no planning and we were ensured to not have to book a plane/boat/train and be able to sleep in our own beds that night (at least hopefully, if we didn’t have too much wine!).

Plus, it gave us an opportunity to try some local wines and learn a bit more about this region’s viniculture. So armed with a baguette and prosciutto in tow, we hopped on the bus full of anticipation.

We were lucky to meet a few Americans on our adventure – D and A & A (who had all been residents of Geneva less than 3 months), and thank goodness, they had actually done their homework with the route and best wines so we happily tagged along with them.

Trying chardonnay and pinot gris at Cave de la Chena

Gabe checking out the scene at Cave de la Chena. We bought some yummy olive spread here.

Next stop: Chambet – awesome band, great looking food, and friendly owners

Gabe and A, inspecting the grapes

A great day in the vineyards

One way to get around was the free TPG bus for Caves Ouverts. Woo hoo!

Happily enjoying wine at biofarm, Domaine Château L’Evêque

More cowbell!

This way to Château du Crest with petting zoo and tons of wine tasting

Loving the Swiss countryside

Our other mode of transportation…..

Overall this day gets a…


Gratitude Friday: Finding Friends and Familiarity

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Today, we are 10 days into our Swiss Living adventure. I wanted to dedicate my future Friday posts to gratitude. This Friday, I am grateful for finding some places to fit in and new friends, especially with Gabe traveling for work half of this past week:

( 1 ) I joined the American International Women’s Club this week and they embraced me with open arms. I took a yoga class Wednesday morning (awesome place to do a down-dog, right outside 17th century windows, above). I can’t wait to do more events. They have a meeting later today and a “drop-in” coffee event on Monday.

( 2 ) Charlotte friend, S (part of S&S) who are joining us to live here in Geneva in a few weeks, introduced me to super-nice Lady J (check out her blog here) who recently moved here from Japan (and prior to that, Singapore) and we spent a morning last week enjoying an Auer coffee and a walk comparing notes on settling into the city. Thanks for the introduction, S!

( 3 ) We joined a gym – yeah!!! It felt great to get back in my routine I had established going to the Dowd Y in the mornings before work over the last 4 years. Yesterday, I was happy to discover that they have a 7am Thursday Disco cycle and happily enjoyed my first Disco spinning experience with lights, music and enthusiastic French instruction. It almost felt like home; however, the main difference being women in full jewelry/make-up in couture working out. i definitely scream American here in the real gym clothes.

( 4 ) I started checking out the four English-speaking churches in the Canton of Geneva and noted their times and addresses. I plan to make a circuit to check them out over the next few weeks to see which feels right. Anyhow, this past Sunday, I went to a Lutheran one in Old Town that meets at 11am. It was more traditional than what I am used to in Charlotte, but what was pretty neat is they had a completely International congregation – I think out of their 80-100 members, there are at least 20 nationalities – pretty cool. The service was Lutheran and music was sung/performed in English, French, and Zimbabwe and Swahili. I was very welcomed by everyone, especially a really nice Singaporean man who helped me know what to do (communion etc) during their service. They had a coffee reception afterwards in the basement full of homemade baked goods. Three women approached me to welcome me and to talk about how I was settling in….most of them Americans who had been in Geneva now over 10 years. I’ll continue to check out others, but they really set the bar high and i know I could return happily here.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

We’re here!!!

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Post by Lauren

We have arrived to Geneva! All is well! As you can see, Spring is in the air and showing its beauty on the flower clock in the Jardin Anglais.

As some of you know, we are in temporary housing until our cargo shipment arrives. We are very fortunate that it is in the city-centre so we can start to acclimate and learn all about our new city.

We miss everyone already! Please send us your Skype names….we are happily loading everyone into our “contacts” there so we can chat with everyone in the next few weeks.

Isn’t it time…..to move to Switzerland?

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Should he move to Charlotte?

Should I move to Atlanta?

What the heck? Lets just both move to Europe!

Gabe and I decided that there really wasn’t enough excitement with the recent engagement. We have more news….we are moving to Geneva for 2-3 years!

His job is with the same company he works for now, but instead of the U.S., he will be doing Finance for the European region. With our love for travel & adventure, this opportunity to live abroad came at the right time and we are very excited. Of course, we’ll miss all of our friends & families tremendously and that is why we decided to start this blog — to keep everyone up to date!

Here are a few photos from our orientation trip we took a few weeks ago:

Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks for more updates!