I'm 28 and feeling great! Happy Birthday to me.

This weekend just past Jace and I went to Prague as a bit of a birthday present for us both... I was itching to go. I will post photos this week so stay tuned!

Another birthday abroad. Looking back, I think I have had more birthdays abroad in the last 10 years than birthdays at home. Adding it up, I have only had 3 birthdays in the States in that time. Wow... and this is my second birthday in Switzerland, as I celebrated here last year!

Apart from the mini-break to Prague I am celebrating at work - I brought in an American specialty that also uses some of my garden finery: zucchini bread (which I have realized after much commentary is really zucchini cake...) and a few chocolates. It is my duty as the birthday girl to do so - such is the tradition at my work. In addition to all the birthday greetings and kisses (3 on the cheek) I also got a lovely card from all of my co-workers and a gift certificate to Orelli Fusseli. I think that is really quite a nice gesture!

Thanks for following the blog and for sharing my 28th with me! :)
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Dear Swisstory - Shipping your stuff to Switzerland

I figure if Pioneer Woman can do it - so can I - so what if I am lacking creativity - some of the best ideas are copies, think Warhol. I get enough fan mail (hi Kristi!). I make hundreds of dollars from my blog ads... (ok, so I made a dollar last month)... I can do a bit of Dear Abby, Dear Swisstory... you name it. Let's go!

Send me an email already, I will give you an anonymous identity if you would like (yes, please let me!) and let's get this show on the road - I will post them as I see fit - no rules. Let's start with this one:

Dear Swisstory,

My hubby and I are moving to Switzerland and I was wondering if you had any recommendations regarding shipping personal property to Switzerland. We've looked into getting boat containers and even with paying on a per cubic meter, it is still expensive. Perhaps you have found a better alternative or other businesses you could refer me too?

Best regards,
Shipping Susie

Dear Susie,

You are right. It is darn expensive (get used to saying that though if you are moving to Switzerland) to ship your stuff back and forth across the world in tiny boxes with meters of bubble wrap. We used a company called Crown Relocations when we moved to Zurich, mostly because it was paid for and recommended by Jace's company (thanks again!), but I will tell you: they were super professional and all of our junk, er, personal items, made it in one piece, on-time, and I never felt confused or misled - like you will hear if you read some of the forums on this topic.

They were not cheap, but I will say that when it comes to moving you do get what you pay for and there are hidded costs with the ones that look uber cheap so do your homework (eg. what is the charge if you go over your estimate (oftentimes the extra square feet/meter are charged at extra high rates), what is the delivery fee, do they charge for storage before delivery, etc.

If you absolutely cannot afford to do it professionally, you can post in the forums and see if someone is moving from the same area and perhaps share a crate or shipping container. If you want to ship it partially yourself, you can also - I believe - still ship books at a cheaper rate via sea post. Ask the post office.

All in all - do ship some things across if you cannot afford it all. You will be glad you did because the replacement cost in Switzerland is probably more than you are anticipating. Go ahead and add up those dishes, linens, cds, and more - it all comes out to a lot more than you think and will cost a lot more to replace. So good luck finding the right company at the right price, and when in doubt go with the essentials and rough it until you can get to IKEA. ;)

Good luck with the move.

Best regards,
Jessica

I look forward to comments here from readers that have alternative experience.

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How I drank 50 francs worth of mojitos... otherwise known as Caliente

Um... so as far as photo journalism goes - this time, I was totally rubbish. I will tell you that right now, up front. We are keeping it real here at Swisstory. I mean, I do have a very, VERY valid excuse, so let's just get it over with... Why didn't I get really good shots of Caliente, the Latin festival that took place in Zurich this last weekend? Um, Ahem..., did you read the post title? Yeah. Um, that's why.

So instead of taking photos of all the Latin music tents and food stands (and holy bejezus was there some great food on offer - I'm talking barbecue, steak sandwiches, Thai food, Mexican and all kinds of international fare the likes of which Zurich has never seen - um... can you say tamales? Yeah, it was that good...), I have about a dozen pictures of me taking photos of... myself...

and Andrea... and Jace and Christian... and the mojitos... and more pictures of myself... and before everyone thinks I am a big drunk, let's just get a few things straight. 1) I never drink mixed drinks in Switzerland. Why? Well, because I like to have a positive bank balance, thank you. They are that expensive. They were CHF 12 each and tiny at Caliente (so CHF 50 worth of dixy cup mojitos is not that many really...) but if you got the right booth they were magical and I realized how much I missed them and how much I wished my mint plant would grow and that limes would magically appear from behind my ears and ...

2) it was Caliente. You have to drink mojitos so it was my civic duty. Yes, MY DUTY. So much so that I think below Andrea was telling Christian that I needed another mojito. She is a good friend. She understands the law of the land when it comes to Caliente. ;)

The day was awesome (but expensive... then again, what is not when it comes to special events in Switzerland?!) and pretty low key, which was great, as around 10 pm it was as though everyone in Zurich came out to lambada all over me and you inched from bar to bar and could barely breathe. They need to do a better job of spacing the events out next time - so if you have kids, I say go in the afternoon for the food (can you say ribs?! and perhaps 1 mojito... it's ok, I won't tell..) and get out before the crowds come into town and just after you get a bit of salsa in ya - that's dance I mean, not dip, but you can do both, I said I won't tell.

Did anyone else go and get to experience more than a bit of lime, mint, rum, and summer loving?

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Art or Advertising Gimmick? Gardencity Zürich 2009

Click photo to enlarge

If you have been in the city of Zürich at all this summer, you will have seen these decorated pots all over the street. They are a part of the 'Gartencity Zürich 2009' or Garden City Project - a scheme by the tourism board to beautify the city and it is actually just an addition to a long line of themed decorations taking over the streets each summer.

I am not the first to post about this - Romy did a great write up a few months ago...

I have to admit, I would have preferred a cow (one of the previous themes 'Cows on Parade' - cows decorated all pretty like).

What do you think? Art? Gimmick? Love it? Hate it?

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Living and Working in Switzerland, 12th Edition: A Survival Handbook. This is an essential for anyone thinking about living in Switzerland. Buy it now via Amazon UK or pre-order your Amazon.com copy today! Thank you for supporting Swisstory by shopping on Amazon.

Feeling hot, hot, hot? Caliente this weekend!

Don't miss the Caliente festival if you are in Zürich this weekend - it's a whole lot of half naked bodies dancing along to latin music. I will be there - just spot me as the NOT half naked one with a permanent mojito glued to my palm...

Adios.
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Living and Working in Switzerland, 12th Edition: A Survival Handbook. This is an essential for anyone thinking about living in Switzerland. Buy it now via Amazon UK or pre-order your Amazon.com copy today! Thank you for supporting Swisstory by shopping on Amazon.

Geneva, Genf, or Geneve?

Geneva panorama from the cathedral - click to enlarge

We spent last weekend in Geneva, or was it Genf, or Geneve? Hmm, I can never get it right. I think I will just take the English road and call it Geneva from here on out. But, really, who cares, right? Whatever you call it, it's a lovely place for a weekend getaway.

We arrived on Saturday via train with what will no doubt soon be a much mentioned topic here on the blog - the Supersaver ticket. Truly, again, it was like getting two tickets for the price of one. Awesome. And upon arriving, we were met by our guides for the day... recognize these two?! :) That's right - Rob and Tina from Finding Simplicity (whom we met at the Blogger meet up!) were kind enough to show us around their city on one of their rare weekends in town, and we were happy to follow them wherever they wanted to take us... (psst. they are fabulous guides...)

We started in the old town after a hearty lunch at Manora - great view from the top there - Tina was right! Then after a walk down Geneva's equivalent to Bahnhofstrasse that goes by four different names (one being Rue de Marche) we hit up the beautiful cathedral.

Make sure you duck around to one of the side wings to check out these stained glass windows. Afterwards, we paid CHF 4 each to walk up the tower and see the 360 degree views of Geneva from the top.

Isn't that a fabulous view? The Geneva Jet d'Eau (translated it means 'jet of water'... clever those French Swiss) was especially visible from the panorama views atop the cathedral. Luckily we had great weather to enjoy the view and the day. The cathedral is also an archeological site that you can visit 7 days a week, which we did on Sunday on our own, and it was just as fab as Rob and Tina said it would be... you can see the layers of various churches built atop one another and watch interesting videos about the origins of the city. There is also a full audio guide included in the tour price. I, too, would highly recommend checking it out.

After the cathedral, we stopped by the sight of the signing of the Geneva Convention, this is the door leading outside below. The place where it was signed was historically significant, but I prefer the asthetics of the door...

We then also visited Maison Tavel, a four story old house that has been converted into a museum dedicated to Geneva's urban history and domestic life. Make sure you check out the real, used guillotine and the photo in the kitchen of the 70 year old woman with a full beard. No joke.

We then were in serious need of a heat break (read: ice cream), so we headed to the waters of Lake Geneva, walking down the crowded main streets and passing the lovely waterside park amidst the city's hustle and bustle (watch your purses around these parts, ladies... says Tina).

After an ice cream, we got up close and personal with the jet of water. Did you know that that water is being shot out at over 200km per hour? No wonder they do not let anyone get too close to it. But on a hot day the off-spray from the jet is pretty welcome. And it does make for an awesome feature.

No wonder Zürich has the 'Little Genf' or little Geneva jet on the Zurich See! Everyone wants a jet of water!

Tina and Rob... our awesome tour guides! So glad they were in town!

After the treat we were off to Carouge, the Greenwich Village of Switzerland, or so wikipedia says, a planned city that is a grid of quaintness. We passed this park, Park de Bastions, on the way to Carouge and on Sunday we could not help but return to have a bit of fun with the super sized chess set (near Place de Neuve) after our archeological adventures at the cathedral.

Saturday night we went in search of snails and ended up with an Indian feast - long story - and ran into a spontaneous village festival in France - another long story - but those long stories make for great adventures, don't they? :)

Finally, on Sunday, before heading back with the supersaver ticket to Zürich (just 2 hours and 45 minutes by train direct, by the way), I had the BEST FALAFEL sandwich I have ever eaten on Rue Chaponniere - there are heaps of great international restaurants on this street so check it out. One of the many benefits of Geneva being the home of the UN!

And I saved some room for this very delish Mediterranean dessert - anyone know what this dessert is? It was made of vermicelli noodles and honey. Devine.

While I know you are thinking... what about CERN (drove by it!), the Red Cross Museum (out of the city a bit but perhaps next time), and the Broken Chair Monument (pity I could not force Jace to do weird photos with this...)?!!... I have to admit, even without visiting those hot spots, we enjoyed Geneva - to the point in which Jace wanted to apply to the UN... crazy boy.

It really is a great weekend get-away from Zürich and if you are lucky to have the company of some great hometown bloggers - it makes it even better! Thanks again to Rob and Tina for a great weekend.

Please check out their blog, Finding Simplicity, for more adventures with Rob and Tina! :)

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Living and Working in Switzerland, 12th Edition: A Survival Handbook. This is an essential for anyone thinking about living in Switzerland. Buy it now via Amazon UK or pre-order your Amazon.com copy today! Thank you for supporting Swisstory by shopping on Amazon.