TRAVEL
My favorite quote of the month comes from Larry who said, “When are we going on a trip? We haven’t been anywhere!” Apparently France and Germany do not count – they’re right next door. Does that mean Italy, Lichtenstein and Austria won’t qualify as destinations too? What exactly is the standard of a nine-year-old for going somewhere? Children are a mystery…
Here are some photos of places we “haven’t been.”
DISCOVERIES
Every now and then I encounter a situation that makes me realize, “Oh yeah, I’m in Europe. “ The other day I was walking along the Rhine when I noticed a man in a Speedo. He appeared to have just finished taking a nice little dip in the river. As I contemplated the insanity of swimming in 45° F weather, the man casually stripped down naked without a hint of embarrassment. Hello! Welcome to Switzerland!
Another European curiosity that I’ve had the misfortune of viewing first hand: men peeing in public. I can’t understand why everyone else in my family misses these sightings. It’s not as though they’re hard to find. You see, rather than step behind a conveniently located tree or bush, the men here prefer to get the act over with in full view. I can only assume it’s because fussing with public restrooms adds some stress to an already urgent moment. After all, in Europe you never know what kind of toilet you’re going to encounter. I’m not talking about the occasional squatting variety. I mean the weird modern contraptions – coin operated stalls, self-cleaning pods, rotating seat liners, mysterious flushing devices. But my favorite example is the spinning toilet seat. After you flush, (if you can find the flusher) the entire rim spins around through a sanitizer. I was tempted to take a quick video for the benefit of readers back home, but when I told Ken he quickly shot back the look of disapproval. That was probably for the best.
SIGN LANGUAGE
Language barriers still pose a problem for me, especially when I am forced to communicate beyond my comfort level (i.e., “Hello,” “good-bye,” “thank you,” “How much is that?” “A glass of red wine, please.”). The latest challenge occurred when my son broke the basement window. Ken was conveniently out of town, which meant that Larry had to endure my uncontrolled wrath. Not about the window, about forcing mom to speak Deutsch!
Thank goodness for Yahoo Babel Fish, the online translator. Reading back instantly translated text over the phone can give the impression that one actually knows how to speak German. I know I did something right because the glass company appeared at my doorstep two hours later. If only I could have used Babel Fish while trying to converse face to face with the repairman. Fortunately, pointing and making hand motions like a crazy person still works rather well in any language.
MONEY MATTERS
One thing that my improved charades skills could not help with was the big communication gap regarding money matters. As the glass repairman started to walk off with my window, I stopped him and asked “How much?” He looked at me as though I had just offended him, then he shrugged his shoulders and left. Two hours later the man returned with a brand new window. Again I asked “How much?” He pointed to the mailbox, said “post,” and walked away.
This is a typically Swiss way of doing business. Whether it’s the plumber, electrician, or doctor, one rarely pays right away for services here. Instead, the people promptly fix your problems and talk money later. Well, they really don’t “talk money.” They just send you a bill. There are no price quotes, no negotiations, no ballpark figures. They simply come, do the job, and pop a bill in the mail a few weeks later. You are completely at their mercy. Am I going to pay $30 for the broken window, or $300? Who knows! I’m living on the edge.
Fasnacht
Basel’s famous Fasnacht celebration did not disappoint. We limited ourselves to three out of the four parades, skipped the traditional flour soup (Doesn’t that sound appetizing?), passed on the late night music, and still gained enough from our experience to say that Fasnacht is a truly special event. The kids loved catching the treats tossed into the crowds by the masked characters called Waggis. When I say treats I really mean treats. Waggis threw candy, flowers, stuffed animals, toy novelties, plastic bottles of soda, fruit and other goodies. Some lucky onlookers even received mini bottles of alcohol! (Not us.)
Fasnacht does have its ugly side. As the crowds thicken, the more seasoned parade-goers get aggressive in their desire to receive treats from the Waggis. Grown women push and trample small children for the mere thrill of catching a flower. I was happy when one lady received a bumpy potato and a hair full of confetti after she barged in front of my kids. Swiss justice is nice!
Besides the parades and music, the Swiss use Fasnacht as an opportunity to comment about current affairs through their costumes and lantern designs. Most of the political and cultural statements were beyond our comprehension, but this message seems quite clear:
BEYOND FONDUE AND RACLETTE
Nina was initially nervous about moving to Switzerland because she thought she’d have to eat fondue every day. Luckily for all of us, that is not the case. Here are some local specialties that we’ve grown to like:
Schoggiweggli – rolls with chocolate chunks (if only I could pronounce it!)
Läckerli – Basel spice cookies with a hint of ginger, citrus peel and sugar glaze
Rösti – shredded potatoes that are pan fried until brown and crunchy
Spätzle – little dumplings made from flour and eggs and boiled like pasta (then sautéed in butter until golden and crunchy)
Carac – tartlet filled with ganache and covered with green icing. These are divine.
Bake-it-yourself breads – every grocery store in France, Germany and Switzerland carries these convenient pre-baked breads. Just pop them in the oven for 12 minutes and you have a fresh warm baguette!
Pain de Mie – crustless sliced bread. Thanks to pain de mie, Larry has finally discovered that baguettes are not the only bread that can satisfy his selective taste buds. What a relief for me. For the first couple of months, I woke up every school day to bake bread for Larry’s lunchbox. Okay, pre-baked baguettes don’t qualify as baking. But at least now I can sleep in an extra twelve minutes.
Glühwein – mulled hot wine (a good way to warm up)
Schnitzel – breaded and fried cutlets (our kids’ answer to chicken nuggets while dining out)
BYE-BYE BIRDIE
My dream of retiring in the south of France (or anywhere else in Europe) has been shattered. When I came up with this idea many years ago, I failed to take into consideration the fact that Europeans like to dine on the late side. Whenever we go out to dinner, we’re usually the first or only people in the restaurant at 6:30 or 7:00 o’clock at night. By 8:00 or 8:30 others may start to trickle in. But 9:00 p.m. seems to be the standard time for dining. There’s just no such thing as “the early bird special” in Europe. How can I take advantage of the best part of the golden years if I can’t eat dinner at 4:00?!! Retirement plan ruined.
FREEDOM
Children in Switzerland enjoy the kind of freedom that Ken and I experienced in our childhood. Kids as young as five years old roam the neighborhood unsupervised by adults. Larry and Nina have started to enjoy that same freedom with some of their school friends who live nearby. They head to the park, go to the candy store or run back and forth to each other’s houses with more and more confidence each day. I’m still nervous about letting them roam freely, but they’re more than happy to zip out the door without so much as a good-bye. They grow up so fast…
Young independence can also be witnessed on the trams as small children commute to and from school on their own. One day I overheard a seven-year-old from the ISB talking on her cell phone: “Okay, dad, I’ll text you when I get home. See you tonight.” I just can’t picture Nina saying she’ll text me later!
TV
Even though Larry and Nina miss their American television stations, they have discovered many new shows that they love. If you thought Teletubbies was the wackiest program to come out of Britain, I can tell you that the Children’s BBC channel (CBBC) has introduced our kids to a whole host of weird new shows. Our favorite example is called “In the Night Garden.” Although it’s geared toward the pre-school set, we can’t resist the surreal psychedelic atmosphere and the absurd antics of Ickle-Pickle, Upsy-Daisy, Topplyboo, Ninkynonk, Pinkponks, Ponty-Pines and Makka-Pakke. See for yourself:
MUSIC
This song from Silbermond actually makes German sound much prettier than I thought possible.
ALL THINGS FAMILIAR
It’s funny to think that everything that was once strange and new upon our arrival, now feels comfortable and routine. We’ve gotten over sticker shock at the stores, we are in sync with the supermarket schedules (the two hour lunch breaks and no Sunday business hours), we dutifully walk our kitchen scraps down to the local compost site (and by “we” I mean Ken), we don’t use our cell phones on public transporation, we avoid eye contact while passing people on the street and we try to respect the quiet hours as best we can (considering we have two loud children).
Having traveled out of town a few times now, we’ve come to appreciate some things about living in Basel. Namely, the sound of church bells, long lunches, walking everywhere, the clean streets, the reliable trams, Swiss tidiness and efficiency (okay, I’m the only one who appreciates the last two).
Excerpts from Nina’s Journal
“I found out that traveling does not always come in handy. Whoooo… You don’t want to see me barf. It’s not pretty. Trust me.“ (Nina writing about getting car sick) March 8, 2009
“What is getting a bit too full is mommy’s calendar. Too much stuff! Today this, that, and maybe more. I just feel a bit too planned…I have a busy life.” March 21, 2009
“Today my favorite thing to do was the Alpine Slide…My favorite [part] was feeling the cool breeze. It felt really good.” March 22, 2009
The Alpine Slide in Lagenbruck
Excerpts from Larry’s Journal
“I went to Zurich today. All we did was walk. Mom and dad were mean because they didn’t let me go to the zoo. But I had F.U.N. at the museum…I went to a terrible restaurant. I asked for a PLAIN burger. But they gave me one with not nothing on it!” March 1, 2009
“When I went to Bern I was excited. I saw a huge brown bear named Pedro. 10 years ago, a dude fell in the pit and Pedro ate him. We went to the Paul Klee museum. I made a huge city. There were also blocks. I LOVED IT THERE!”
March 8, 2009
“Today was a great first day back from break. It was really fun to be back at school. I saw most of my friends and that felt great.” March 9, 2009
More moments from Nina's busy life:
Miniature golf in Germany, Toy Museum in Riehen
Butterfly Dome and Jungle Trek in Kerzers, Roller Skating in Neuchatel, Playground in Dijon
Hi Goldman Family!We are a family of 7 (five under 10 yrs!) and planning to go to Rome in a few weeks.
Posted by: Sally | 01/15/2010 at 11:53 AM