T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
“Sorry dear, I didn’t get you a present this year. It’s… it’s… those damn Christmas lights on Bahnhofstrasse! How was I supposed to get in the Christmas shopping mood with those ghastly things overshadowing the whole scene? They totally ruined everything. Next year, I’ll buy you something in Chicago. Promise.” And so the Great Zurich … Read more
Mine does!Because what says “Christmas” more than a disco ball?(Despite all this evidence to the contrary, the Swiss really do do a good job at Christmas. I swear.)
The other night we went to a Christmas party thrown by the language school where my husband is taking German classes. The party was held at a Mexican restaurant here in Zurich (in case you’re wondering what Mexican food in Zurich is like, click here), and was attended by around 80 adult students of this … Read more
For the second year in a row, great controversy has befallen the normally tranquil city of Zurich. The offense is so bold and egregious that it threatens to dampen the holiday spirits of anyone who approaches. I am speaking, of course, of the Bahnhofstrasse Christmas lights. Bahnhofstrasse, for those unfamiliar with downtown Zurich, is the … Read more
If there’s one thing the German-speaking world does right, it’s Christmas time. Christmas markets pop up everywhere selling lots of things you don’t need. Glühwein (hot, spiced wine) becomes available on every street corner, as do roasted chestnuts, to warm you on cold days. Twinkling little lights hang above all the shopping streets (OK, the … Read more
In the great Milan v. Zurich smackdown, Milan has a lot of important victories in its corner: food, architecture, food, gelato, food, Sunday shopping, food, reasonably-priced wine and water, food… But, Zurich does take a few points hands-down, namely: cleanliness, efficiency of public transportation, and bodies of water. I offer you exhibits A and B, … Read more
8. The smell of the air – seriously, doesn’t fall smell good? 7. Glühwein has started to show up everywhere (you will be hearing a lot about this stuff in the coming months). 6. Beautiful leaves 5. Break out your fondue pot and raclette grill – it’s open season on melted cheese! 4. Roasted chestnuts … Read more
Fellow blogger Ali and I (and our husbands) spent the afternoon checking out Expovina (see here for a little info in English). In case you missed my post about the spring edition of Expovina, here’s a brief overview of the idea: you pay CHF 15 apiece to get into a giant wine expo, where you … Read more
How is it possible that I’ve gone this long without ever writing a post about Swiss chocolate? As we all know, Switzerland is The Land of Chocolate. Its claim to fame amongst the other Lands of Chocolate (Belgium, Germany, Holland, etc.) is that milk chocolate was invented here. Makes sense, given all the milk-producing they … Read more
Without Halloween and Thanksgiving to hold it back, Christmas merchandise apparently starts running wild as soon as the leaves on the trees start to turn. Are there really people out there who stock up on chocolate santas two and a half months in advance? While completely immune to the charm of chocolate santas (especially milk … Read more