Switzerland (Suisse - Schweiz - Svizzera - Svizra): Just like a postcard...

Geneva's glorious Jet d'Eau by sunset.

Ah, yes. Yet another retroactive post.

It seems a bit odd that I spent 4 months in Switzerland and didn't really blog about it at all. Honestly, there is so much and yet so little to say about this country. That's not to sound perjorative! What I mean is that one's stereotypes about Switzerland - clean, orderly, full of chocolate, watches, and secure banking - are not unfounded. At the same time, there are subtleties about the country that make it more complex than an outsider could ever imagine.

I lived in Francophone Switzerland, or, as those "in the know" call it, Suisse Romande. Most of my time was spent in Geneva (Genève), although I actually lived in small villages just outside of the city. Still, I got to brush up my French...and realize how very badly I speak it!

Swiss Independence: From Moola to the UN (until 2002, anyway)
Although it is smack-dab in the middle of Europe and the crossroads of three very distinct cultures (French, German, and Italian), Switzerland has usually walked its own road in history. Some may call it "independent", others say "isolated", but what's sure is that the Swiss are an interesting lot! Is it the four official languages (German, French, Italian, Romansch...and English, which should probably be the unofficial fifth language)? Or maybe it's the conscript army in which all "on-call" able-bodied men can keep their machine guns at home? Or the fact that the country didn't join the United Nations until 2002, despite Geneva being the European headquarters of the UN?

It shouldn't be surprising, then, that Swiss are also not in the European Union. Most people don't know that Switzerland uses the noble Swiss Franc (usually denoted "CHF") instead of the Euro. It's about 1CHF=US$0.70. This exchange rate sorta makes Americans feel better when they buy stuff, because it means that the Swiss Franc price paid is usually less than one thinks. Unfortunately, this joy does not last long, because everything is wicked expensive in Switzerland. Sigh. Small victories, people...small victories!


Swiss food: Cheese - No longer an enemy

Best rösti ever.

Sure, I tried Swiss food! As previous readers I know, there's nothing I don't like to eat (or, at least I haven't found it yet) so of course I shall say that Swiss cuisines is delicious, even if I'm a bit of a cheese hater in the States. Fondue is excellent, but a bit overkill if you find staring down a pot of cheese mixed with booze (white wine) tough (and, believe me, it's tough!). Raclette, however, is a cheesy delight. It consists of raclette cheese that is melted slowly and served over boiled potatoes and pickled pearl onions and gherkins. Yum.

By far my favorite traditional Swiss dish, however, is Rösti. Okay, so it's basically hash browns. BUT it's jazzed up! You can get it a lot of different ways - from plain to topped with all sorts of veggies or even fruit. I like rösti campagnard (country-style), with cheese, ham, and a fried egg on top (yeah, so you've figured out through my food posts that I like things with fried eggs on top...so sue me!). You could say I'm a bit of a rösti connoisseur by now.

I definitely grew to have a greater appreciation for cheese over the summer. I always have a great fondness of cheese that I eat a lot of while I'm traveling and living abroad. So my triumvirate of cheeses shall always remain: camembert (thanks, Bordeaux!), emmental (a.k.a. Swiss cheese), and Gruyère. I guess I can no longer call myself a cheese hater! Julie, aren't you proud?!?!

Real-life postcards

A pretty nifty castle here, Château Chillon in Montreux is the postcard perfect scene for Switzerland.

Sometimes, though, the high cost of living nearly seems worth it, because Switzerland must truly be one of the most beautiful places in Europe, if not the world. The mountains and the great outdoors rule, and some places can't help but scream "Heidi Land". Armed with my trusty half-price train card, I did as much traveling around Switzerland as was possible on the weekend, while keeping a budget. I hit nearly every major corner of the country (exceptions: Lake Constance, which is the country's northeast border with Germany, and the southern border with Italy).

Here are just a few of the glorious sights I was lucky enough to see this summer:

After a climb up the Gornergrat Mountain near Zermatt, we get to see the Gornergrat Glacier. Pretty spiffy, eh?

The view of the Aletsh Glacier is spectacular from the equally impressive Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe and destination of one of the most incredible railway journeys ever.

The quaint Swiss countryside (complete and, indeed, replete with dairy cows) is alive and well in Gruyères.

A short jaunt from my guesthouse led me to beautiful Lake Stadz (Laj da Staz in Romansch) in St. Moritz.

The triumvirate of the Lauterbrunnen valley - a view of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau massifs from Mürren, one of my favorite places in Switzerland.

In Mürren lives one of the coolest restaurant couples ever - Mr. Tham and his wife, Ruth. Good food, great people (Singaporean and Malaysian to boot!)! Mr. Tham used to be a five-star Chinese chef in Zürich but ran away to the mountains to escape the rat race (and get good skiing in the winter!). Shameless plug: visit Tham's Snacks and Drinks if you're ever in Mürren!

You can see some more pictures of my excellent time in Switzerland here.

Swiss Issues (Can I say "swissues"?)
Switzerland's isolation/independence was largely aided by the prevalence of mountains in the country, but that was really in a time when mountains were really hard to climb, doggone it!, and there was not much technological means to overcome the physical and social barriers between countries.

Not so today. Like much of the rest of Europe, one of the major swissues (hee) of the day is that of immigration, both documented and undocumented. As I understand it, Swiss citizenship is alot like Maslow's self-actualization or the One Ring - it's pretty tough to get. There is some contention that "outside" cultures may be breaking down Swiss identity (er, whatever that means), but this gets to be a touchy subject when it comes to using physical appearance to identify threats to Swiss-ness.

One of the biggest controversies when I was in Switzerland was this little sign here, which is plastered all over Switzerland:


Interpret as you will, but I think the graffiti on the sign is probably a hint for you. I won't go on too much, as this article from the UK newspaper, The Independent, does a great job explaining the issue in detail (plus, I am trying to get you to read something intelligent instead this blog...). It's pretty interesting stuff! And quite indicative of a lot of the social pains that Switzerland - and Western Europe at large - is experiencing these days.


In the end...
...can I really complain that it was awful living in an ideologically isolationist, I'm-going-to-go-broke-because-I-want-to-eat, force-me-to-eat-your-darn-tasty-hash-browns, maybe-kinda-sorta-racist country? Nope. I really enjoyed living in Switzerland. The mountain air was delightful (especially now that I'm choking in Seoul and will likely be suffocating from pollution in Beijing), Evian-like water flowed straight from the taps, and the country's dedication to green living was awesome. I really wish we had parts of this in the US.

I don't think I'll miss everything closing at 7 PM and on Sunday, though. Or being broke. :)

Merci, Suisse!