German word of the day: Reformhaus

I know what you’re thinking… it’s where naughty, naughty little girls are sent. At least that’s what I thought the first time I walked past a Reformhaus sign when I lived in Germany. It was only after I had been living there for a year that I finally figured out what they really are: shops … Read more

Bundling

As much as I love doing something good for the environment, I hate cardboard recycling day in Zurich. Every four weeks my husband and I play what amounts to a game of ‘Not It’ when it comes to whose turn it is to prepare the cardboard for pick up. This morning it was me. After … Read more

Zurich raves, part two

We went, we saw, we photographed. We managed to see quite a bit of the Zurich Street Parade without getting stuck in any giant throngs of people, so I was happy with the whole experience. It was basically, as expected, a smaller version of Berlin’s Love Parade, with around 800,000 ‘ravers’ expected this year (fewer … Read more

Zurich raves, part one

The first time I heard about Street Parade (Striitpareid in Swiss German) was in my Swiss German class. It was listed in the ‘Holidays in Zurich’ section of our textbook, right next to Christmas, Sechseläuten, and Easter. That seemed wacky given that it is, at the end of the day, a giant outdoor rave. But … Read more

We’re number four

GENEVA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) — Oslo and London are the world’s most expensive cities, followed by Copenhagen and Zurich, according to a report released on Wednesday. The Prices and Earnings report, compiled by Switzerland’s largest bank UBS, compares the price of a basket of 122 domestic goods and services in 71 cities on all continents. … Read more

Shall we talk about the weather?

After living through the hottest July EVER in Zurich (since they started keeping records 140 years ago), I have been rewarded with chilly, rainy fall weather since the start of August. Unlike many people here (those who actually like summer), I’m not complaining. It’s so nice to be able to leave the house between 11 … Read more