Europe has been stuck under a shroud of depressing temperatures and clouds this spring. We have only had a handful of sunny, warm days and of course they tend to occur on weekdays while we are tucked into our cubicles. News reports have been saying that this is the worst spring weather Europe has seen in 10 years, which means that we aren't able to enjoy the best that Switzerland has to offer -- the mountains and great outdoors. At least when it was snowing we could go skiing! So we have been using the weekends to relax, hang with friends, plan future trips and our wedding, drink wine, FaceTime with friends and family from back home, and dream of sunny skies...
Switzerland better get its weather act together before my vacation (and Sarah's visit!) at the end of June...
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Monday, May 20, 2013
My favorite topic, SHOPPING
Living in Switzerland is slowly turning us into cross-border shopping experts. Although we do still buy quite a lot of things locally in Geneva and around Switzerland (chocolate, cheese, and wine happen to be the most frequent of these things of course), over the past few months we have started to take more advantage of shopping options outside of Switzerland to take capitalize on lower prices.
Shopping in France
Because France is only 5 miles away, we often find ourselves crossing the border to purchase various goodies. For example, we needed new sneakers for our upcoming half marathon training and rather than purchase them for 300 CHF (approximately $300), we crossed the border into France to a shopping mall and bought the same shoes for 160 EUR (approximately $200) (still expensive for sneakers I know, but better than Switzerland!). Its so intriguing to me that the second you cross a border (and the shopping plaza we went to literally was right across the border), prices drop immediately. The difficult part about shopping in France however is that the border patrol officers may or may not be at the border at any time and they may or may not stop you and ask to see your receipts and open your bags to make sure you haven't purchased over 300 CHF in goods and to make sure you are not over the required limit of meat and wine. This has happened quite a few times to us (particularly when Ryan slows down at the check point and starts looking suspicious, at which point they ask him to stop and start asking us questions) and resulted in us having our groceries laid out on the pavement while the officer added up the number of grams of meat in your grocery purchase. Its intimidating and just plain ridiculous to go through this experience, so this often discourages us to make shopping in France a weekly occurrence.
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| Blurry picture, but this is a picture of one of the border patrol stations, you go through lanes and the border patrol officers stop you if you look suspicious. Non-residents and newbies often get stopped because we slow down and don't know whether we should say hello or just wave and nod.... we have since learned saying waving and nodding gives you a much better chance of not being stopped. |
Online Shopping
The other day one of our friends had on a jacket that I loved and asked her where I could buy it. She gave me the name of the store (a popular European brand), and I was about to purchase the jacket online when I decided to just quickly check what the price would be if I switched the country listed on the online store to the UK. Instead of it being $180, the jacket was $100 if I simply bought it through the UK store! Bingo! Saved $80 buy just changing the country of the online store, crazy Switzerland.
PS, shopping in online US stores doesn't work because the shipping and customs costs required to get purchases from the US to Switzerland is just cray cray.
"Visitor" or "Travel" Shopping
I will apologize that many of you have (or will be) subjected to "Visitor" shopping while we live abroad. It involves having visitors from the US bring things over to us when they come to visit. Not only is this cost effective, but it also means we can enjoy some of our favorite brands from back home. So far visitors have brought peanut butter, Frank's hot sauce, garlic salt, Reese's peanut butter cups, Sour Patch kids, Tom's shoes, toothpaste and the list goes on. While it is often obnoxious to visitors that they have to use up room in their suitcase with these goodies on the way over, I like to this that it makes room for souvenirs and purchases in their suitcase on the way back :)
"Travel" shopping involves Ryan and me bringing things back with us after we visit in the US. I have found that the best way to do this is when going back home on a business trip because a business class ticket means that I can check two bags for free. So I arrive in the US with only 1 bag packed and then bring along another empty bag to fill with purchases. Voila!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
The Ascension holiday
Spring seems to be the time for holidays in Europe. It started with a 4 day weekend over Easter and continued with the long weekend for the Ascension holiday this past weekend and continues next weekend for Whit Monday. Essentially all of the holidays are related to Easter in one way or another (check out the links above to get more information). The holidays have been a nice way to do some semi-local traveling around Switzerland this month. This past weekend, we spent our time in the canton of Valais (outlined below in purple), which is about 2 hours from Geneva and contains some of the largest mountains in the Alps.
We first went to a town called Leukerbad, the largest natural thermal spa area in the Alps. A plethora of thermal spas have crept up around town due to the natural springs in the area. The town is surrounded by some superb mountains and scenery as well. It was pretty neat to be sitting in a thermal spa while watching the winter's snow melt into waterfalls and tumble into the valley, it felt very "alpine"!
On Thursday we checked out the 'Alpentherme' spa, which consisted of 2 large thermal pools, a sauna "village", and a Roman Irish bath experience. This spa was very quiet and relaxing and is known for the different spa treatments you can get. The funny thing to us as Americans and likely you as the reader, was that the sauna village and Roman Irish baths do not allow clients to wear any bathing suits or clothing inside. The answer to your obvious next question, is no, we only partook in the thermal pools in which bathing suits were required; but, we did find it amusing how open Europeans were with nudity at these spas and this is also a general theme that we have noticed throughout Europe -- just one of the many cultural differences!
On Friday, we checked out the other thermal spa in town, 'Burgerbad'. Burgerbad had many more thermal pools (10+), but was filled with many noisy kids and locals playing around in the pools for the day as opposed to using it as a relaxing respite. Essentially, this spa went for quantity over quality while Alpentherme went for quality over quantity. We decided to get massages here since the massages at the Alpentherme were all booked. The massages were... interesting. Ryan's masseuse was a nearly 7 foot tall guy that spent more time talking to him and telling him stories about Switzerland than actually giving him a massage. Both massages took place in the equivalent of a high school locker room with makeshift massage tables. Of course, as is everything Swiss, everything was very clean and the people were nice, but overall... not quite worth the money we spent to splurge on massages. Overall, our assessment was that the thermal spas closer to the Geneva/Lausanne area are nicer; but, it would be fun to come back to Leukerbad when the weather gets warmer and melts all of the snow so that we can go on hikes during the day and indulge in the thermal spas after.
After Leukerbad, we went to stay with our friends in the town of Nendaz for 2 days. Nendaz is one of 4 connecting ski resorts that make up the 4 Vallées ski area (one of which is Verbier, which we had been skiing at before). They just bought an apartment in the town of Nendaz and graciously invited us to stay with them for a few days. The view from their apartment is SPECTACULAR to say the least. You can look across the entire valley to the surrounding mountains from their porch. It's fascinating to me to see the snow still covering the mountain tops while spring is in full bloom in the valley below, what a beautiful contrast. I don't think I will ever get tired of the views within this country!
On Saturday, the town in the valley below, Sion, was having a wine festival where you could pay an entrance fee of 30 CHF to taste the wines of some of the local vineyards from the canton of Valais that were gathered at the festival. Since my knowledge of wine is very primitive (but growing at least), this is a snippet that describes the local Valais wine area:
With over 5,136 ha (13,000 acres), 20,000 winegrowers and 700 winemakers, the canton of Valais is not only Switzerland's biggest wine-producing region, but it also offers the greatest diversity of wines, both red and white.
Even though the Fendant and the Dôle are the most well-known terms of origin, the Valais' specialities are now winning more and more importance. These specialities are issued from indigenous grape varieties, which are vinified either separately or in blend.
The smart marketing ploy at this wine festival was that if you purchased 12 bottles of wine your entrance fee was refunded, so collectively, the four of us ended up bringing back 48 bottles of wine after all was said and done. A delicious (albeit expensive) end to a fun day!
On a side note, happy mother's day to all of the mothers out there! Lots of love especially to my spectacular mom! XO
We first went to a town called Leukerbad, the largest natural thermal spa area in the Alps. A plethora of thermal spas have crept up around town due to the natural springs in the area. The town is surrounded by some superb mountains and scenery as well. It was pretty neat to be sitting in a thermal spa while watching the winter's snow melt into waterfalls and tumble into the valley, it felt very "alpine"!
On Thursday we checked out the 'Alpentherme' spa, which consisted of 2 large thermal pools, a sauna "village", and a Roman Irish bath experience. This spa was very quiet and relaxing and is known for the different spa treatments you can get. The funny thing to us as Americans and likely you as the reader, was that the sauna village and Roman Irish baths do not allow clients to wear any bathing suits or clothing inside. The answer to your obvious next question, is no, we only partook in the thermal pools in which bathing suits were required; but, we did find it amusing how open Europeans were with nudity at these spas and this is also a general theme that we have noticed throughout Europe -- just one of the many cultural differences!
On Friday, we checked out the other thermal spa in town, 'Burgerbad'. Burgerbad had many more thermal pools (10+), but was filled with many noisy kids and locals playing around in the pools for the day as opposed to using it as a relaxing respite. Essentially, this spa went for quantity over quality while Alpentherme went for quality over quantity. We decided to get massages here since the massages at the Alpentherme were all booked. The massages were... interesting. Ryan's masseuse was a nearly 7 foot tall guy that spent more time talking to him and telling him stories about Switzerland than actually giving him a massage. Both massages took place in the equivalent of a high school locker room with makeshift massage tables. Of course, as is everything Swiss, everything was very clean and the people were nice, but overall... not quite worth the money we spent to splurge on massages. Overall, our assessment was that the thermal spas closer to the Geneva/Lausanne area are nicer; but, it would be fun to come back to Leukerbad when the weather gets warmer and melts all of the snow so that we can go on hikes during the day and indulge in the thermal spas after.
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| One of the thermal pools at Burgerbad |
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| Thermal, spring water flows from the town fountains |
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| Water slides at Burgerbad |
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| Impressive surrounding mountains with snow that is still slowly melting down into the valley below |
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| Our friends' uper cute pups taking in the views from the porch |
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| Sunset over the mountains |
With over 5,136 ha (13,000 acres), 20,000 winegrowers and 700 winemakers, the canton of Valais is not only Switzerland's biggest wine-producing region, but it also offers the greatest diversity of wines, both red and white.
Even though the Fendant and the Dôle are the most well-known terms of origin, the Valais' specialities are now winning more and more importance. These specialities are issued from indigenous grape varieties, which are vinified either separately or in blend.
The smart marketing ploy at this wine festival was that if you purchased 12 bottles of wine your entrance fee was refunded, so collectively, the four of us ended up bringing back 48 bottles of wine after all was said and done. A delicious (albeit expensive) end to a fun day!
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| Enjoying wine at one of the tents |
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| The pups are clearly pleased with our wine case purchases |
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Golfing in Switzerland
Hi everyone, this is Ryan on the blog for a guest appearance to tell you about golfing in Switzerland. Now that the spring weather has arrived, we have been finding ways to continue our golfing habits here in Switzerland (as I have been somewhat addicted to the sport for the last 3 years). At first we thought this might be a pipe dream; but, we managed to find a few suspect driving ranges over the past few weeks and today marked the first day we actually went out and played on a course. Of course we were curious to see how the sport compares to what we are used to and here are some general observations on the differences in Swiss/European vs. US golf:
- To play on any course in Switzerland, you need a special card that essentially certifies that you are not a beginner. This ensures that the pace of play is fast on the courses but presents a difficulty to us because we don't have one. To get the special card you have to pass tests with a golf pro, including a written exam that pertains to golf etiquette and the rules as well as a practical exam that is comprised of 9 holes with a golf pro where he documents your play and scores the round. This may seem ridiculous, but that isn't even everything. Those two exams enable you to play most courses, but some of the courses also require you to have a second golf license with your official handicap. Needless to say, we are embarking on our mission to secure both cards ASAP.
- Driving ranges are generally more numerous (as these are the only places that non-card holders can learn); but, the infrastructure is a little shady (i.e., tires for practice targets, no ability to hit on grass, etc.).
- The courses (well the one that we have been on!) are very nice and actually have some cool features like spray guns to wash off your clubs and shoes at the end of the round. If anyone knows me well, this capped off the round because I would normally come home after and meticulously clean our clubs and equipment by hand. I asked our friend who we played with if the washing machines were common and he said it was the norm....winning!
- Memberships and fees to play rounds are expensive, as to be expected in one of the world's most expensive countries.
- Golf carts are not commonly seen at courses, typically you carry or tote your golf bag around on a little trolley.
- Although we keep being told that golf is considered a bit of an elitist sport in Europe, a surprising amount of people here (and many of our friends) already play or are learning to play.
- Drink/snack carts (beer carts) do not exist on the courses...major bummer!
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| Lake Geneva views |
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| Lake Geneva views |
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| Cows in the background, so Swiss of course |
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| Suspect driving range |
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