"Switzerland is beautiful, Switzerland is fine..."

... I like Switzerland, I visit all the time.

I think my Mom may be the only person who's going to catch my very obscure reference to a children's song about sandwiches, but Switzerland is quite a nice place, even if it's not very exciting, and slightly irritating some of the time. For example:

Everyone is very friendly, but serious in a certain way, and believe in doing things correctly. There's the right way, the wrong way, and the Swiss way to do things; and the Swiss way is the right way, but faster.

The speed limits here are about 20 kph slower than everywhere else in Europe. I got (will get) my first ticket for going 94 in a 80 zone (58.4 mph in a 49.7), and my fingers are crossed that's the only one, and it won't cost me more than $150.

The pastries are pretty lousy; for that matter, most of the food isn't very good. And everything costs maybe 20% more than it seems like it should. And the quantities are maybe 20% smaller than everywhere else (eggs are sold by 10, rather than the dozen, and we bought chickens that looked like Cornish Game Hens). There is some great Swiss wine (surprisingly, mostly Pinot Noir), but a lot of it is pretty terrible, and only people "in the know" can find the good wines. I'm not one of those people.

But it is beautiful, and there are some lovely wildflowers and waterfalls and everything is green and the lake is surprisingly blue and there's still snow up on the top of the striking, craggy mountains. And one night we had raclette, which is wonderfully decadent and a rare indulgence even within Switzerland, and almost never consumed elsewhere, since it's hard to find 6-8 people who are all willing to consume their fair share of a 6# 1/2 wheel of cheese, melted over potatoes.

We were able to see some local friends, and spend some time with Julianna's family, and it's been a very relaxing stop. I feel very lucky to have such a charming, comfortable, foreign home-away-from-home. Mark and I had an impressive winning streak at cribbage, the local Rugenbrau is a light, tasty lager, and there are occasionally cow bells in the distance. And with a fire burning in the stove, my quibbles with Switzerland seem very slight, indeed.

From France, etc. '10

From France, etc. '10

From France, etc. '10