Just how expensive is Switzerland?

July 15, 2012 by lauren

Someone recently asked me “how expensive is Switzerland?”. Well, an article this year named Zurich as the #1 most expensive city in the world. Geneva ranked at #3. Just to put it in perspective, New York City is 47th.

I thought I would showcase some examples.

You think US gas is expensive? I see all your Facebook posts. Well, it costs us over 125 francs (150 USD) to fill our car up.

462 CHF = 500 USD. Our yearly TV tax. Nope, this doesn’t include cable. Just for the privilege of watching TV or signing up to pay 100 CHF / month more in basic cable. You don’t even have to have a TV to get taxed….it covers radio too.

Getting your hair done. Gabe pays 85 francs for a men’s cut. This is like 93 USD. One time, he accidentally got a senior stylist and it was over 105 francs. I have a friend who got highlights at the same salon – 350 francs!!!

When people leave their paper & cardboard on the curb, they put it in a Louis Vitton bag.

Drink menu at a bar near our house, prices around 17-19 CHF. Add 10% for the price of the Swiss franc, and you are spending a cool 20 spot for one drink.

12.70 CHF = about 14 USD for a Medium Value Meal at McDonalds.

The average window sign in Geneva. These prices are not unusual on Rue du Rhone: Dress 2230 CHF, Bag 1280 CHF, Scarf 330 CHF, Ties 220 or 180 CHF, Shirt 1500 CHF and Pants 1330 CHF.

One of my favorite sources for expensive deals is Glocals, which is like our Living Social or Groupon.

I know these little Roombas are expensive in the US, but I think its only 200 USD. Here, half off, they are 400 CHF!!

What a deal!!! Half off: Only 69 francs (75 USD) for a mani / pedi!!! I used to pay 25 or 30 USD for both, full price. Let’s just say I have also never paid to have my nails done here.

How do we live in such a city?

Here, we only eat out once a week. Back in the States, we ate out 5-8 times a week between lunch and dinners. However, the average meal out at a low to mid-range restaurant with a glass of wine costs 80 CHF. A nice place is 200 CHF. So, thus the cut-back.

We eat less meat. It’s 3-4 times the prices of the US. So we have more vegetarian meals.

We don’t buy any clothes here. The extent of our purchases are a H & M furry hat for me when it was -20 degrees and a pair of boxers that were half off for Gabe.

We don’t buy “stuff”. The desire is less great here (both their less commercialized way of life and the fact we don’t understand all the ads), but we make due with what we have. We never go out just to shop or pick up something because it looks cool.

Pretty much, we spend all our disposable income on groceries and travel. All in all, we don’t actually mind this change in lifestyle. It will be interesting to see how this changes or stays the same when we return home.

Gratitude Friday: Lots of Profits

July 13, 2012 by lauren

In physical therapy this week, my physio asked if I was going to the pool or beach that evening. I replied I had lots to do. Ironing. Laundry. Grocery shopping. Some marketing work. To which he responded, “Il fait beau…profitez!”

The verb profiter in French sounds like it would mean profit. My American perception immediately associated it with money / business. However, the French tend to use it like “Enjoy” “Benefit” or “Thrive”. Which is in fact, a better definition of a profit.

I love crossing things off my to-do list. So doing things spontaneously can be challenging. But, I was inspired and started thinking about where’d I’d go jump in the lake.

Unfortunately, the stormy skies rolled in which prevented a dip that night. However, I took his advice to heart and decided I would profiter that week. At the women’s club welcome coffee on Wednesday, I announced I’d like to see the sunflowers up close. We had gotten a glimpse of them on the train to Montreux. Miles of them. And they looked marvelous to behold up-close. A friend replied, “Ooo. I have wanted to do that as well. I’ll drive”. And that was that. We were set to profiter of this glorious Geneva summer.

We set off at 7:30 from Geneva armed with my iPhone map but no real plan. We had asked around to find the best place for sunflowers but our initial recommendation for Collonge Bellerive didn’t yield any yellow quite yet. In driving out to Jussy though, we were overwhelmed with beautiful fields, dozens and dozens. The best was across the street from Château du Crest, a winery we’ve been too a few times. We tried to head back to Geneva twice but got deviated by even better fields & vantage points.

Here is evidence of our profiting :

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So, I ask you….how do you plan to profiter this week-end? Bon weekend, everyone!

*If you decide to go take photos of any sunflowers or any crop, it is wise to wear long pants. Just take it from me. My legs didn’t profit too much after traipsing through the fields 🙂

More Summer Fun at Montreux Jazz Fest

July 10, 2012 by lauren

We went to Montreux this weekend for the 46th annual Montreux Jazz Festival. Even though I had taken Twin & Solid while they were here, I still wanted to go back. This marks my fourth time and Gabe’s 3rd time going to the festival.

A round trip train ticket from Geneva costs 25 CHF each for us to go, but it is a fun summer activity.

A very pleasant ride from Geneva – an hour total and 25 CHF with your half fare card and 10% SBB discount for attending the JazzFest (no ticket required).

Everyone thinks we are weird that we don’t buy tickets for the shows. My physio gave me a very quizzical look. But, the free music is lovely. You just simply show up to the park, find a spot and listen to your heart’s content. The shows start about 3:30 on weekdays and 2:00 on the weekend and play back-to-back with 1/2 hour or hour breaks in between.

Taking in the scene, listening to a South African band.

Pants optional. Dogs are allowed. As demonstrated by this gentleman. To his credit, the lake is right there.

If you feel like walking around, there is plenty to see and do. There are a ton of vendors selling handcrafted goods.

Also the food is pretty yummy. Gabe and I justify our expenditure on 25 CHF train tickets + festival food = cheaper than a low end restaurant in Geneva.

Image courtesy of Henry Birmingham from last year. The paella guys were back again this year.

Some people wander to the end of the festival to enjoy the swimming. This is one of my favorite docks.

Lovely dock on Lake Geneva – Montreux.

This year, you could watch the gliders come in and try to land on the orange pad.

Coming in for landing….

Approaching…

Boom!

Freddie Mercury even enjoyed watching them a time or two.

Freddie Mercury tribute statue in Montreux.

The festival runs until this Sunday, July 15th – I’d encourage you to check it out!

Captain Gabe

July 8, 2012 by lauren

When BuyClub came out with their motorboat vouchers, we scooped one up. We thought it could be fun to take the parents out while they were here. We knew it would be our only chance to take a boat out on Lake Geneva. It’s apparently pretty hard to rent a boat / get a boat slip and any combination of having to do with driving a boat unless you are made of Swiss money.

So, the little four seater was about our speed. And price range.

We made a reservation for the latest spot of the evening, 6:30-8:30. We planned for Gabe to join us after work.

However, he was having a hard time getting away. We waited until about 7, but didn’t want to let any more time pass since we had a hard stop at 8:30. My idea was that we could hang in the little harbor, pick him up, and swap drivers. I surveyed the two passengers and asked if anyone was comfortable driving a boat. After all, I never had. And…..crickets.

So, I ended up behind the wheel. Let’s just say, it wasn’t pretty. I might have rammed it into the dock before we even took off. The guy who was helping us cast off gave me a horrified look. And we set off into the wild blue yonder of Lake Geneva.

My mother was audibly scared. They can’t swim. Solid checked to make sure there were life jackets on board. We watched the cell phone. And waited.

Finally, we had saw via text that he’d parked and was on his way*.

We sailed back to the dock. I may have forgotten to put the boat in neutral when we got him which may or may not have resulted in another scare by my mother and a new little skipper guy on the dock who was trying to help us.

Once Gabe became captain, it became much easier. My mom chilled out. We opened a bottle of wine. And we cruised…

Twin, happy to see Gabe behind the wheel instead of me

She is laughing now. She was not laughing earlier.

The monks like to ride the boats too. This was a little bigger than ours.

Sun setting during our evening “cruise”

These people were real sailors.

Aye aye Captain Gabe

*We’d advise against driving & parking to do a lake front activity during rush hour. Just take the bus. It’s much easier.

The Little Train That Could….Drink Wine.

July 7, 2012 by lauren

We love the Lavaux region. The wine terraces are magical. Twin had read my blog before their visit and had really wanted to stop in because of our rave reviews.

There are many options for seeing Lavaux. If you have a car, you can drive through leisurely. I do warn you that it is difficult. S may have accidentally driven on a wine road not meant for cars. Gabe found it challenging when we drove from Chexbres down to Rivaz with Couch Surfer.

You can also take a train. I knew of two tasting spots accessible by train. One is Vinorama nearby the Rivaz stop (bottom of the hill). It has a lovely tasting room featuring hundreds of Lavaux wines and also a really well-done video which gives you more information about the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The other is called Le Deck. We haven’t been there but A & A raved about the magnificent terrace. You can reach it by car, or by train via Vevey at the Chexbres-Village stop (top of the hill).

You can also hike the region. The women’s club hosts a magnificent hike every fall during harvest. I did it and enjoyed it, but it was 5 hours from St. Saphorin to Lutry, which is a little challenging for me. You can design your own hikes by researching distance and picking a starting and stopping train station.

Lastly, I had recently heard about the Lavaux Express touristic train. Before E-dawg came, I had listed it as an option since my feet were still recovering and I can’t drive our car, Frau Hilda. However, we ran out of time. I had honestly forgotten about it until I read Swiss Wife’s blog and saw her pictures.

So, Twin, Solid and I decided to try it out. The little train schedule can be found online. It only goes at certain times and actually on differing days it switches between Lutry and Cully. Since we did it on a Wednesday, we left from Lutry, which was adorable in itself.

Port at little town of Lutry

Driving through Lutry’s cute streets on the Lavaux Express

Starting our ascent

The terraces are what Lavaux is known for

Rolling vineyards into Lake Geneva

The Swiss Wife had warned us that the daytime trains didn’t serve wine. There is a 6:30pm weekend one that includes a taste, but we were going during the week. So, we were prepared so that we wouldn’t be disappointed.

However, surprise, surprise….halfway through, the driver pulled off and their was a little hut with a lady offering tastes for 3 CHF. So, we decided to partake.

Twin tasting Lavaux Pinot Noir

Solid exploring the vineyards with his glass of wine

The train was 13 CHF for adults. We considered it a great value in order to get to see the vineyards without a car (and if you aren’t up for hiking super steep terrain).

Gratitude Friday: Musique Gratuites

July 6, 2012 by lauren

This Friday, I want to express my gratitude for all the free summer concerts that take place in Switzerland. The summer is filled with awesome music.

While Twin & Solid were here, they got to experience three neat musical experiences:

FETE DE LA MUSIQUE – Geneva – late June – takes place over Friday, Saturday & Sunday in Old Town and stages throughout the city

We grabbed a table in the park across from the Art & History museum and enjoyed our own bottle of wine listening to International music. We heard two acts and then S & S met up with us. From there, we walked around taking in drums, Indian melodies, and settling at a stage overlooking Parc des Bastions where we met up with A & L.

Listening to Music from all over the world at the Fete de la Musique in Geneva

I really enjoy Fete de la Musique. I don’t know if I would plan to stay in town for it, but if you are around, I’d encourage you to go a day or two.

CULLY CLASSIQUE – week long festival on the banks of Lake Geneva in the adorable town of Cully

This one was a surprise. We picked up a brochure earlier in the day and once we saw an act started at 6:30pm, we impulsively hopped on a train to check it out. A band called “Old Shit” from Switzerland was playing tropical music. Since the band was francophone, it was pretty neat to see the talent the singer had singing in his second language. It was so good that we changed our evening plans and stayed right in our cozy lawn chairs.

A great spot at Cully Classique

What a view at Cully Classique

Dusk falls on the band and Twin & Solid (to the left of the stage)

MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL – first two weeks in July, encompassing three weekends.

The Montreux Jazz Fest is Europe’s biggest jazz festival, and attracts a lot of mainstream acts. Alanis Morrisette, Van Morrison, Tony Bennett, Pitbull and Bob Dylan included a few of the shows. However, they have a continual line-up of free music. We checked it out Monday, the day before their flight back to the US. It was raining, but didn’t stop the shows.

Before the storm

Prepared for the weather

We found some cover….

Umbrellas galore. I was thinking of my poor USA friends with 100 degree temps as we shivered in the rain.

And, it’s not over! Montreux Jazz Fest is on for another two more weekends.

Also, in July & August, there is more music during the Musiques en été (Music in the Summer) festival. You can find the line-up here. Our favorite is the Ella Fitzgerald Stage – its free and a short walk or bike ride from our flat.

Bon weekend, everyone!!

Clouds Don’t Ruin The Golden Pass

July 5, 2012 by lauren

When E-dawg was here, it rained a lot. I tried to brainstorm ideas for activities in the clouds and rain and one we considered was a scenic train. However, I wasn’t sure how this would be. On one hand, you don’t have to get wet at all in order to see the magnificent Swiss countryside. On the other hand, would the rain ruin the view & visibility?

I Googled it, but didn’t get much information. Luckily, when we took the Golden Pass, the sun came out for E-dawg and I. Unfortunately, I never found out the answer.

Twin & Solid knew they wanted to take a scenic train, so I recommended we take The Golden Pass back from Lauterbrunnen, since Gabe had to return earlier to Geneva to get back to work. That way, we could take our time going back and stop in towns that looked intriguing. However, the forecast was dreary. Rain was predicted in every town we were to pass through. The scenic trains aren’t cheap, so I posed it as an option to them that we could all ride back with Gabe if they preferred. The downside would be a 5am departure to go back in the car with him vs. a relaxing and leisurely wake-up.

They decided to roll the dice on the weather. And, remarkably, we had a great day. So, for those traveling on Golden Pass, worried about the weather, I’d recommend you just go for it.

Here is a recap of our journey, starting from Lauterbrunnen–>Interlacken Ost–>Spiez–>Zweissimen–>Montreux–>Geneva:

Lauterbrunnen valley. Not promising.

Thunersee….still ominous

Solid admiring the view after Zweisimen

Twin checking out the view before our stop in Château D’Oex

Clouds over Lake Geneva, but still pretty

Wow. The cloud cover showcases varying blues in Lake Geneva. Maybe the clouds were a good thing after all?

The overcast Golden Pass train ended up being one of our guest’s favorite days.

Natural Beauty in the Bernese Oberland

July 3, 2012 by lauren

Bernese Oberland is a region surrounding Switzerland’s capital, Bern. It is a large region, and in my personal opinion, contains some of Switzerland’s most beautiful landscapes. Although, I’ll admit, its hard to find parts of Switzerland that aren’t breathtaking.

As we were driving, we pulled over to find this valley.

Approaching Interlacken on the way from Luzern

One of my new favorite Swiss photos.

Loving the beauty of Bernese Oberland

It was a great warm-up view for us as we continued on through Interlacken, and into the Lauterbrunnen Valley to park our car. From there, we took a little train up to Wengen, where we planned to spend the night at 1400m.

Lauterbrunnen Valley and its waterfall

Wengen, like other car-free towns we stayed in…. Saas-Fee, Zermatt, and Murren, was peaceful without the roar of motors. A ten minute walk had us at Hotel Edelweiss. The little chalet was family run and we couldn’t have felt more welcome. A very pleasant gentleman personally walked us to our rooms to make sure all was okay.

Hotel Edelweiss in Wengen – we’d highly recommend it

After checking in, Mom ran into a lady whose job it was to prepare fresh bouquets for the hotel. She had gathered Edelweiss as well as some florals from her personal garden to prepare the tables for the evening dinner service and the next day’s breakfast. It’s all about the personal touch, isn’t it?

View from our balcony at Hotel Edelweiss

While relaxing on our terrace, Gabe & I did some quick research into what to do in Wengen. We found a few spots that were well recommended and then headed to meet Twin & Solid.

Checking out the view

Our second trip to Bernese Oberland. Last time was in the distant mountain, in Murren.

Twin and Solid on their first Bernese adventure

The first recommendation, Hotel Caprice, didn’t disappoint. We enjoyed beers and wine with this view in the background:

Drinks on the terrace at Hotel Caprice

After a few rounds, we headed to Hotel Bernerhof for some traditional Bernese fare. Gabe and I ordered raclette so that they could get a taste. Twin ordered veal sausage & rosti, another famous mountain dish. Solid went with spaghetti. The waiter was super hard working guy, running the entire place single-handedly. We really enjoyed our meal there.

We are convinced that the folks in Wengen are some of the nicest we’ve met.

Who couldn’t enjoy life with a view like this?

Dusk falls on Jungfrau

The Swiss Watch Blog: Gratitude Friday: Travel (our adventures in Murren with T)

The Swiss Watch Blog: Rostigraben

The Swiss Watch Blog: Famous Swiss Foods – Cheese

Luzern: Switzerland’s Loveliest City

July 2, 2012 by lauren

We hadn’t been to Luzern yet, but have had it on our list the entire time we’ve lived in Switzerland. I almost got to go for Carnival with my girlfriends but when my surgery got moved to an earlier date, it fell through.

However, I knew I’d get a chance to reschedule a visit when Twin was to visit. Because my mom loves flowers, I knew she’d goo-goo- gaga over the lovely flower bridge in Luzern. I was right.

First glimpse of the wooden flower bridge

Checking out the bridge

Historical stories than pan the entire bridge

Exploring the waterfront of Luzern

After walking around awhile, we settled at Rathaus Brauerei

Rathaus Brauerei

Solid & Gabe had local beers and Twin & I had some local red wine. We got seats right on the water so ended up staying for awhile and ordering traditional Swiss German dishes – bratwursts, pretzels, frites, and some filet de perche since we were on the water. After dinner, we took a stroll through old town.

Lovely waterfront

Clock tower

Old town – beautiful squares and buildings

Loved the detail on some of the buildings….quintessential Swiss

My map showed a cool view if we ascended so we kept going.

The old city ramparts

Panoramic view of Luzern from the ramparts

After walking the ramparts, we descended to the other old bridge.

The old bridge

The water flow in the river was so powerful. The poor swans had to work hard not to be swept away!

We learned that Luzern has to control the water flow to keep nearby lakefront towns from flooding. In the Spring, as alpine melt rushes the lake, they must really take heed of the flow. As summer progresses, the control can be tweaked to keep lake levels up.

Checking out the river / dam system that Luzern uses to control Alpine water flow

The next day we set a meet-up time of 1pm, so everyone could have free time. Twin & Solid visited The Lion Monument dedicated to the Swiss mercenaries protecting the French king.

Luzern Lion Monument – Image courtesy of Walkaboutphil.com

Gabe & I opted for a old-fashioned Lake Lucerne cruise to fill our morning.

Boat ride around Luzern’s lakes

Boats on Luzern’s beautiful lakes

Sailboats on the lake

We left for Interlacken very content from our awesome experience in this lovely Swiss city.

Discovering Geneva: Jet Lag Prevention

June 28, 2012 by lauren

When Twin and Solid arrived, they were quite weary from the overnight flight. After we got to the apartment at 9am, I made some frittatas for energy. Within the hour, we were off to start exploring. You might think that this is crazy to start touring around if they were tired, but daylight is a great remedy for jet lag. When your body grows tired, the sun tricks it into thinking it should be awake.

I have a strict “no sleeping before 7pm” rule. Also important is diversion and numerous distraction activities.

So, how do you do this in Geneva??

We stared out by climbing Mont Salève in a cable car. This helped because of the sunshine and the unique panorama.

Enjoying the view at The Salève

Next, we moved onto the Flower Clock in Jardin Anglais. This was particularly interesting to the guests because of their love of gardening.

The famous Flower Clock

We strolled along the lake and admired the pianos they had sitting out for the upcoming music festival that was to happen over the weekend. People are encouraged to spontaneously play if they wish. We saw a tourist playing this particular one, and later saw a professional playing Top 40 music near the Molard bus stop.

One of the pianos

We then took a little mouette water boat from Eaux Vives to Paquis and enjoyed an ice cream.

Ice cream break = content travelers

Finally, we went to the Swatch museum. I am afraid being indoors at the Swatch museum might have done them in, as we decided to return back home for a little rest.

We had intended to have a lake picnic, but the weather had another idea. The thunderstorm chased us inside and we had an early dinner home instead before they crashed at 7pm.

Despite my best efforts, there might have been a few premature head nods and sleeping on the TPG. I don’t condone this behavior, so future guests better watch out!!

“resting” on the bus

However, we were nice and let them sleep in the next day. At least our cruelty enforcing the “no sleep” only stands the first day.

The Swiss Watch Blog: The cure for jet lag

The Swiss Watch Blog

Our adventures & anecdotes living in Geneva Switzerland

Category Archives: Switzerland