T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
Yesterday we went to Art Basel, a large 5-day exhibition of art in – you guessed it – Basel. Around 300 galleries from around the world come and bring work from their hottest, shiniest art stars to display and sell for insane amounts of money. We arrived at 11 AM, just as the exhibit was … Read more
Last week this clock went up in the Zurich train station. It counts down the minutes to the kick off at the first game of the Euro 2008, a year away. 5.4 million soccer fans are expected to swarm into Switzerland for this event (which the Swiss are co-hosting with the Austrians), coming close to … Read more
On Saturday I rolled my jetlagged behind out of bed and headed out to the Christopher Street Day (CSD) celebrations that were taking place in downtown Zurich. CSD is the local version of a Gay Pride parade, and gets its name from the NYC street where a major police raid took place in 1969.
I was in the US for so long that a lot of changes happened back home in Switzerland. For one, Switzerland lowered immigration restrictions for western Europeans. The Germans are coming! Well, even more of them than there already are. Migros started carrying a vegetarian version of Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, the local veal and mushroom sauce … Read more
That’s right, boys and girls, it’s that time of year again: Spargelzeit. The celebration of asparagus is in full swing in Switzerland. Thanks to a tip from Jack at Laughing Lemon, some friends and I headed outside the city last Sunday to check out the Flaacher Spargelfest (an asparagus festival held on a family farm … Read more
Today I was wandering around Coop, minding my own business, when suddenly something new and different crept into my field of vision. There on the shelf, looking all dark and handsome, was this package: Lindt 70% cacao dark chocolate filled with a gooey center of cherry and chili. I’m not sure how long this stuff … Read more
Last year I wrote about the inauguration of the NOVA 3D light sculpture in the Zurich main train station. This marginally entertaining installation has become a lot more interesting since then, now that its interactive capabilities have been enabled. By touching a glass screen on the side of the groups meeting point sign, you can … Read more
It’s official, there’s a new Mr. Switzerland (and much to my surprise, it’s not this guy). I learned this from watching the local news yesterday. It was the second story, following close on the heels of a very important piece about Paris Hilton’s first trip to Basel (or Zurich, or somewhere… how am I supposed … Read more
Easter in Italy is always marked by the omnipresent giant chocolate eggs. No bunnies, no peeps, just big chocolate eggs. If you’re lucky, there’s an exciting surprise awaiting you inside your giant chocolate egg. These surprises can range from cheap plastic toys to fine jewelry, depending on where your egg came from. They’re kind of like giant Kinder Surprise eggs.*
Obviously ‘availability of delicious and affordable food’ was not one of the metrics for this study, but perhaps ‘prostitutes per capita‘ was? Nonetheless, I’m proud of our teeny tiny city.