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Switzerland votes in stronger anti-immigrant laws

Last night we missed yet another riot in Zurich. This time it wasn’t anything as fun as a teenage boy band or an international soccer victory for Switzerland. Instead, it was a demonstration against the anti-immigrant laws that the Swiss voted into effect yesterday. This vote will severely tighten the political asylum laws of Switzerland, … Read more

Jul’s guide to successful living abroad

As a perennial expat, I often get asked for advice about how to survive and thrive while living in a foreign country. For your reading pleasure (and the edification of expats and future expats everywhere), I have composed the following list of my top tips. Don’t leave home without them. Although this advice is primarily … Read more

baskets of foraged mushrooms

Eating and drinking our way through southern France

Wednesday evening we hopped on an overnight train to go visit our friends who live on the southern coast of France. Being on a French train and all, we had a couple of unscheduled delays, but in the end we were content to arrive at our destination a mere two hours late (yay, no strikes). We spent these extra two hours talking about how much we love Swiss trains, and vowing to never leave our country again.

Things only improved from there. Our friends picked us up at the train station and whisked us back to their home by the sea in St. Pierre la Mer, a tiny village of 500 inhabitants which swells to 100,000 during the tourist invasion of the summer vacation months. We spent the morning wandering the outdoor market by the beach, marveling at treats such as fresh almonds (which had furry green coats) and baby artichokes.

The afternoon was spent hopping from winery to winery, sampling everything the region had to offer.

Read moreEating and drinking our way through southern France

Boy Shooting: not as fun as it sounds

Today is a half day of vacation for many of the workers of Zurich. They all have the afternoon off so they can go watch children shoot at things. The holiday is called Knabenschiessen, which literally means ‘boy shooting’ (despite the name, girls are allowed to shoot at things too, at least since 1991). This … Read more

Hello, Sun? I’m ready to make friends…

After spending most of the summer cursing the sun, today I find myself rooting the temperature up for once. With a predicted high of 12˚ c (54˚ f), it’s not looking so good. This afternoon we are scheduled to swim across the lake. In 19˚ c water. I’m not exactly sure how cold 19-degree water … Read more

A little Tuesday afternoon entertainment

Now that I’ve finally figured out how to post videos, I feel obliged to keep my promise and share a clip of the greatest entertainer of all time (or at least the greatest entertainer in all of Zermatt on a particular Saturday night in May). Marco sings Crocodile Rock, or something like it on Vimeo … Read more

Just another market day in Zurich

Friday morning I took a stroll down to the vegetable and flower market at Bürkliplatz, in the middle of downtown Zurich. It was gorgeous weather (for once), and with the summer holidays drawing to an end and the city filling back up, the market was bustling with shoppers. The crowd was about evenly split between … Read more