The day I almost cried over snow chains

by

Post by Lauren

We are going skiing today. Luckily, we already had snow tires. In Switzerland, you have to switch out your tires twice a year. So everyone owns two sets – a summer and winter. It seemed fair to me, but friend S pointed out that he grew up in Michigan where it snows just as much as Switzerland and they weren’t required to have snow tires or snow chains. Good point. I am sure that someone in the Swiss government has a friend in the tire business who has earned a fortune.

We are lucky that through the arrangement with Gabe’s company, they provide a place for us to keep our extra set of tires. Gabe takes the car there, they swap ‘em out, and we are good to go. This all happens in quasi-Franglish but its relatively easy for us.

We have other friends who have had to do the swap themselves – on the street – and figure out how to store the tires in their tiny cave. What a pain!

We thought we were ready with our snow tire ownership, but recently were told that we may need snow chains to drive up to the ski resorts. The women’s club has a ski group and they require all volunteer drivers to have a set in the cars at all times. We also have some friends who haven’t needed them so far, but others advised them that they hear its required. Apparently, as the snows increase they do checks to make sure you have them.

Simple enough. Just go buy some chains. Gabe was away in Belgium all week and wasn’t set to return until late last night. So we chatted on the phone Thursday night about what to do and Google searched how to select snow chains. We learned you just need to note the numbers on the tire to know which you need.

I started my chain adventure in the morning at MParc. I can take a tram then a bus to get there. MigrosParc is like the Walmart of Switzerland. Except its not. You can’t find everything you need. You can also be damn sure you are not going to get the lowest price. But it is the only thing comparable to the US “one stop shop” since they have a grocery store, home store, appliance store, ski store and a sports store in one parking lot. They also happen to have a Migros DIY+Garden there.

I didn’t have a hard time finding the chains:

Snow chain aisle

However, I couldn’t understand how my tire numbers translated to a package. I searched for a sales associate. I finally found one. “Bonjour! J’ai une BMW X3. Je voudrais chaînes à neige, sîl-vous-plait.” And I thrust forward my little paper. He took me to a little chart nearby.

“Deux cent cinq soixante cinq….hmmmm. Pas possible!”

“Pas possible?”

“Trop grande, madame!”

Okay, MParc didn’t have our size. I had heard that Jumbo might have them too. I knew that Tram 14 got there. I connected on Bus 21 then Tram 12, then to Tram 14. An hour later, when I was almost there, i realized my stop wasn’t listed. I had taken a Tram 14 with a different deviation than my destination. Crap. I hopped off and waited for the next CERN train which was scheduled for 8 minutes. A tram arrived and I hopped on. I glanced up and saw that I had hopped on the same stupid tram that didn’t go my direction. So I got off the next stop, waited, trammed backwards and waited again for the CERN tram. What a rookie mistake.

Wrong Tram

Right Tram

30 minutes later, I got off at the correct stop and walked the rainy 10 minutes down the side path to the entrance of Jumbo DIY.

This time, I found the chains and the chart myself. I grabbed a pack of 80’s – what it said I needed from the chart with a 205-65. However, I saw an associate nearby and asked him and showed him the package I’d selected to get his confirmation that was right.

“Non,” and he lead me back. “Deux cent cinq soixante cinq….hmmmm. Pas possible!”

“Trop grande?” I asked. “Oui,” he replied.

I walked back to the tram. This time 15 minutes until the next one back to town. I was freezing. I didn’t wear enough clothes for a 3 hour tour.

Okay, I photoshopped this hand photo. But it was how it felt out there!

 

I got the brilliant idea to go to the BMW dealership. I found it and figured out the best way to get there on public transport. Go iPhone!

I arrived and was greeted. Apparently, I didn’t look like a BMW shopper in my yoga clothes.

“J’ai une BMW X3. Je voudrais chaînes à neige, sîl-vous-plait.”

“Oui. Le département des pièces s’ouvre en une heure.”

I looked down. It was lunch time. Momentarily forgot that retail takes lunch breaks here. “Oui. Je reviendrai.”

After the post-Jumbo freeze and walk, I was getting light-headed. I hadn’t eaten for a long time and I was still a little weak from my misadventures with Cambodian food. It was a lucky turn of fate that I was nearby another store. And that this store had a food cart out front. Double luck.

We don’t have any budget for eating out this month (we spent it all in Thailand) but I had no choice but to wolf down a delicious 10 franc panini. And it was so nice to be warm and dry in the store for 45 minutes. Got lots of looks. Apparently not dressed appropriately for shopping.

And I returned to BMW an hour later. I walked upstairs. One door locked. The other door opened and I stepped into….a supply closet. I actually looked in it it for chains but only folders and office supplies.

Back downstairs. Guy just wasn’t back yet.

Waited some more. Finally a man came to open it and I went into my spiel.

“Oui. Quand la voulez-vous?”

“Demain” (Tomorrow)

“Pas possible. Lundi – c’est possible.”

He saw the distraught look on my face. He handed me a slip of paper with an address and said “Peut-être….avez-vous conduit?”

“Non – j’ai pris le tram.”

“C’est loin. 3-4 kilometres.”

I was getting desperate, “C’est possible de marcher?”

He frowned. “C’est loin”

I pulled out my iPhone. He said it was too far to walk but I wasn’t going to go home if there was even the slightest chance of this size existing in the canton of Geneva.

So, I walked. 4 kilometers. In the snow and rain. Along a highway.

I walked so far that I passed a train station. But finally I reached my destination. The door was locked. At this point I almost cried. Then, I found another entrance with a sign. They were just closed for lunch. I waited.

The doors finally opened. A young man met me. I think they’d been watching me outside shivering. I did my spiel. He led me back to his desk, consulted a notebook and said. “Oui – quatre-vingt huit franc.” (88 CHF, about $100)

“Oui ????i!!!” I exclaimed. I tried to tell myself not to get excited until he produced the goods.

He came back with one box. I did sign language to try to determine how many were in a box. Two came in a box. A set. “J’ai quatre tyres.” I said. He laughed. Apparently they only had one set to sell me.

Five hours, 14 bus/tram connections, and a hike later, we now have chains for half our car. I desperately hope this is going to be good enough.

Gratitude Friday: Liebster blog award!

by

Post by Lauren

I have been nominated for a Liebster blog award by dear Geneva friend and blogger, Lady J, of Lady J’s Musings. Lady J is an incredible writer and I love checking in on her musings about food (particularly macaroons), fashion, and her travels.

This blog had never meant to be an award-winning venture, but I am very delighted to be nominated and want to extend a big thanks to Lady J.

When Gabe & I moved abroad, I knew blogging would be one of the things that would make it easier for our families and friends to feel close. While we might not be able to talk to everyone everyday, it would show physical evidence that we were safe and sound. A way for everyone to “check up on us.”

And that is how it started. What I underestimated is how much I value it now. I often tell people the blog is like my friend. When I have a “Bad Swiss Day,” as my friend C affectionately calls it, it is much easier to come home and craft a story for the blog than wallow in my own “wish I was back home in the US” or “wish I spoke better French” pout-fest for the entire day.

And it is a great way to share the highlights of this remarkable adventure with those dearest to us as well. We are blessed with this opportunity to travel in the heart of Europe so we like to detail the photographs and stories about where we are lucky enough to get to go on our weekends! Hopefully, it will also serve as a bit of a archive for us as well to look back at this experience.

One of the cool things about this award is that it is encourages nominees to pay it forward. I get to nominate 5 other fabulous blogs with <200 followers. So, here are my blog picks:

The Cleveland’s Pad – This blog, written by sweet friend J back in Charlotte, NC, details life in an every-changing family! The heartfelt letters to her son while she was expecting his arrival are so sweet and makes me look forward to being a mom someday. Plus, she is a pretty incredible photographer.

Schwingen in Switzerland – You hear us talk a lot about S and S, and this blog is their account of living in Switzerland. I love all of the history and background that S puts into her posts and it makes me feel a bit more educated about where I am living by checking in on hers daily. Plus her wit makes it equally entertaining to read….especially because she takes in so much more than all of us with her fluent French!

Vintage 77 – This blog is written by a friend who has taken on the challenge of pulling together a new outfit every week from things already existing in her closet. I’ll be the first to admit, my Geneva fashionista skills are a bit lacking (as well as my Swiss franc budget) so its fun to get inspiration from her style and know that there is hope for me yet!

The Hughes’: Our Switzerland adventure – another great blog that we reference often when we refer to A and A or our friends that we met at a bus stop our first weekend in Geneva. Her posts make me laugh out loud. Especially when she uses her Smart-board talent to sketch up Swiss references or even a pictorial account of the in the Red Light District in Amsterdam. Smart-board is to A is what PowerPoint is to me! When she takes a break from blogging, it always makes me sad.

Perfectly Imperfect – A friend from where I grew up recently started this blog recounting her day-to-day life as a not-so-perfect mom. After reading a few posts, I beg to disagree with her self assessment as I love her gorgeous photography and the thoughtful crafts that she does with her kids. I hope she knows how much this will mean to the development of the girls’ creativity and minds. I sure know that I was lucky to have a mom that was creative as well!

Those nominated, its simple :
1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who awarded you.
2. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog
3. Reveal your 5 blog picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
4. Hope that the people you’ve sent the award to, forward it to their five favorite bloggers and keep it going!

Bon weekend, everyone and happy blogging!

La Poste

by

Post by Lauren

The post office is called La Poste. It’s French for post office. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not your ordinary operation.

Here is what you can do:
-Send mail & buy stamps, of course.
-Pay your bills and fines – just bring the originals in with your payment and they handle the bill paying for you (there are no checks in Switzerland). Don’t ask us how we know so much about the proper way to pay fines.
-Get permits for driving on highways, for your bicycle, etc. It’s 40 CHF to drive on the highway here. Anyone who drives on a Swiss road has to pay this. Think twice about a little joyride in the Alps other EU peeps….it costs a pretty penny here. It’s only 6 CHF for the right to drive your bike on the road here. What a steal! Since I have taken mine out twice, I’m at 3 CHF a pop.
-Pick up a package that is bigger than a standard 8 x 10 envelope or sometimes just a 4 x 6 cardboard envelope that looks important (they won’t leave at your door, you have to walk 3 blocks to pick it up). Oh and watch out. You’ll likely have to pay 30 CHF VAT for the right to pick up your package. Enjoy!

Here’s what you cannot do:
-Do not try to pay by credit card.
-Do not attempt to pick up a package for your hubby without your marriage license. Especially if your last name is different. Not happening.

When you enter La Poste, you take a number slip from a machine. You don’t have to stand in line, you just wait until your number appears . That frees you up for…..SHOPPING! You can buy a ton of stuff at the post office:

Office supplies! Makes sense.

A rather large assortment of wallets.
At least 4 types with Swiss flags.

Lots of tools. Even a 100 pc set!

Need a new cell phone? No worries, there is quite a variety here!

How about Spongebob??

They also have tons of recipe books, gift cards (iTunes, department stores) and small appliances.

It’s really more like a gas station convenience store than what we know as a post office.

Like most things, sending mail is not cheap here. Its $1 for a stamp inter-Switzerland. $3 for one to the US. I had a normal sized envelope yesterday and they said it was abnormally large for Switzerland and charged me $5. This is why a lot of you get photos from us instead of real cards. Sorry.

Sugar Bowl : How the times have changed

by

Post by Lauren

My Hokies played in the Sugar Bowl against Michigan last night. The last time we played in the Sugar Bowl, in 2005, I made it down to New Orleans for the game with a group of friends. That city is definitely the best bowl game destination possible. We had so much fun I think I actually got walking pneumonia from the trip.

This year, a trip wasn’t possible. Also, to make matters worse, the 8:30pm kick-off meant it would be 2:30am for us in Geneva. I decided the best approach was to go to bed early so that I could get up at 4:30am to see the end of the game. Or so I thought I was going to see the end. Our Slingbox that was working perfectly last night was on the fritz this a.m. It was too late to call our Slingbox hosts for a re-boot so I tried to watch on ESPN.com watch live. Unfortunately, that didn’t work either so Drive Chart had to do for getting the play-by-play.

I was glued to the posts and Tweets to see how the game changed back and forth to go into overtime. It was actually surprising how suspenseful watching a game on a laptop screen can be!

In the end, Michigan scored a FG in OT and we did not. Since I couldn’t see the game, I couldn’t sum up how it went overall. According to Facebook*, about half of my Hokie friends say it was a bad call and half say it was bad coaching.

From Bourbon street to the laptop. Funny how times can change in seven years.

*Thank you Facebook for all your minute by minute sidelines chatter….it helped me understand what was happening! However, my favorite part of Facebook on Game Day is seeing all of my friend’s kids dressed up for the game. 

Virtually watching the Sugar bowl


Bangkok, Thailand

by

Post by Lauren

This post would have been more interesting had I not picked up a little friend* in Cambodia who dwelled in my tummy during our last stop, Bangkok. I finally made it out of our hotel at 5pm one day and 2pm the next, so a few of our plans in this great city didn’t come to fruition.

Luckily, we’d had a little unexpected time earlier in the week when our connection to Cambodia ran into a snafu. We showed up at the airport at 6am for our 8am flight. We were told by Bangkok Airways, “Oh, the plane is already full. You catch next flight…2pm” After much back and forth, explaining how we had a full day in Cambodia already planned a tour paid for and showed receipt of confirmed seats, we still didn’t have any luck**.

They gave us a free hotel room, but we decided to use the time instead to get an early view of Bangkok. We hopped in a taxi to the Royal Palace. While we still did miss part of our itinerary in Cambodia, this time to see a bit of Bangkok was a blessing in disguise because of how awful I felt later when we returned. Not sure it could have happened then.

Here are a few of the sites at the Royal Palace:

 

 

As mentioned above, our return trip to Bangkok was limited in sightseeing. However, we did manage to catch a drink at SkyBar, Gabe experienced some Bangkok nightlife after I turned in, and we hit the huge Saturday market, Jatujak. And, we got to see how the Thai ring in the New Year with lots of color and liveliness. A bonus was seeing the fireworks from all sides of the plane as we took off at 12 midnight on New Years Eve.

 

We’ll just have to come back to Bangkok to get to see all the things we missed!

This leads us to….

Travel tips for Bangkok/Cambodia:

*We suspect my food illness was actually from our 5-star hotel, not actually local food in Cambodia so don’t let this turn you off.

**Bangkok Air entitles itself the “Asia’s Boutique Airline”. Don’t believe it. This is the worst run airline operation we have ever seen. After having one of our legs “full” at check-in and the other return flight 4 hours late (no weather issues), we were not fans of this “boutique”. On the other hand, Thai Air was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom

by

Post by Lauren

As we mentioned in the previous post, we were shocked how many ruins there were in the Angkor region….about a thousand! That was such a surprise for us as we were thinking it would just be the one…Angkor Wat.

However, Angkor Thom ( Angkor = “city” and Thom = “big” ) had so many amazing sites within its four walls. Not to mention, its four walls were adorned with detail, 2 miles each. Crazy! There were also a lot of sites just outside the deep moat surrounding the walled city.

To top it off, the most magnificent, Angkor Wat, was constructed during the height of the Khmer empire and is said to be the world’s largest single religious monument.

One of the other takeaways we had was how the temples “changed hands” throughout history. They changed back and forth from Hindu to Buddhist depending on the king at that time.

Here is a chronological recap of our three day journey:

Preah Khan, just outside Angkor Thom

 

Neak Pean - where all the healing took place

Ta Phrohm - where Lara Croft Tomb Raider was filmed

 

Banteay Srei - incredible detail work by the artisans

 

Pre Rup

 

Angkor Wat