October - the month of family, festivals, food and non-stop activities.
Back in the Good Old U.S.A.
At the beginning of October the kids and I took our first trip back to the U.S. in 10 months. Larry and Nina were especially looking forward to hearing English in public and watching some American TV – namely, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon (the lack of which did not adversely affect mom and dad for the past 10 months). The kids’ excitement escalated as we flew over Manhattan and they saw an American flag. As we disembarked from the airplane I had to pull Larry up before he completely dropped to his knees to kiss the ground. Obviously, I had been depriving my children of their homeland for far too long.
Needless to say they were in heaven. The simple pleasures of Twizzlers, frozen waffles, Chips Ahoy, Teddy Grahams and Drumstick ice cream cones, made the long journey home worthwhile. But it was the royal treatment they received from our families that really made them happy to be back in the states.
Despite my argument with a New York City cabbie and the F-bomb-dropping local who yelled at my friends in Time Square, my own homecoming was full of pleasant moments. On my first morning back I sat in a small diner and reveled in the fact that I was having a bagel with cream cheese and endless cups of coffee all for $3.82! Nothing that cheap exists in Switzerland. In fact, the Manhattan fine dining prices actually seemed pretty reasonable to me. I believe I was the only one in my group of 7 friends who felt this way during our girls’ weekend in NYC.
I don’t think anyone really believes me about the exorbitant prices here until they actually come to Switzerland. ($20 for sunscreen, $10 for a bottle of soy sauce, $50 for kids’ mittens!) I’ve never thought of myself as a cheap person. But after living in the land of insane prices, I have buckled down on the spending. (n.b., Ken might disagree with that statement.)
When we moved to Switzerland I didn’t bring along too many of my favorite American household and food items. I wanted to take advantage of our new surroundings and adapt to the offerings here. However I quickly realized, much like the kids, that there are lots of things I miss from home. While nowadays you can find many familiar American products in Europe, you’re going to give away a small portion of your kids’ college tuition for such luxuries (Oreo cookies, Doritos, Dr. Pepper, etc…). Sometimes you might also have to settle for an unknown brand name as a substitute and hope, for example, that the $6.00 you just dropped on a bag of marshmallows is really worth it. And of course there are lots of things that you either learn to live without, or guilt family and friends into sending. Thanks to Hayley and my grandmother I’m set with chocolate chips for life. (Notice that it all comes down to food with me.)
Following the advice of my new expat friends, I returned to the states with two extra suitcases to stock up on much needed supplies (and even that wasn’t quite enough). Strolling through the American stores made me feel like I had won the lottery. For the price of one pair of kids’ shoes in Switzerland, I could buy 3 kids’ shoes at Target. God bless America!
Hostess with the most less
As a hostess, I like to provide my guests with home cooked meals, comfortable lodging, and a fun, and sometimes unusual (just ask my Aunt Karen), sightseeing experience. While I didn’t have any pressure to entertain my mom during her recent visit, I did have a few ideas as to where I wanted to take her and what fun things we could do during her time here. It seems, however, that the travel gods were not on our side.
In Geneva, the town’s two must-see attractions - its pride and joy flower clock and the famous water jet that sprays 460 feet into the air - were both closed. I’m sure the city has many other worthwhile points of interest. However, we were ill prepared for the first cold spell of the season and the brutal winds of Lake Geneva. We spent all of our time seeking shelter from the bitter elements. Consequently, the only part of the city we ended up exploring was the shopping district and cafés. Warm hot cocoa, chestnuts, wristwatch shopping, toys for the kids… On second thought, I’ll count that trip as a success.
Several more outings had me convinced that either my mom is cursed or my hostess skills are slipping. A visit to Alsace started out with unusually heavy traffic and a disastrous attempt at exploring the French countryside. After straying into deserted cornfield-lined roads, I ultimately had to call Ken to save us. (He’s better than a GPS. Seriously, call him sometime when you’re lost.) Several U-turns and dead ends later, we reached Riquewhir where I hoped to take my mother to the “tablecloth man.” We arrived at the little shop only to find that it was closed. When I asked a local about the tablecloth store’s hours, he informed me that the owner opens his doors only on Saturdays and “whenever he feels like it.” Oh, those laid-back Alsatians. Taking a cue from Mr. Easy-going shopkeeper, my mother and I tucked into a cozy restaurant for a typical Alsatian lunch of tarte flambée and a glass of Riesling. Now I truly understand why the French are so relaxed and happy!
On another occasion, I decided to get the family out of the house for a trip to a local museum. Nina argued that the whole point of a “lazy Sunday” is to stay home and be lazy. I should have listened because the museum turned out to be closed and the kids did not snap out of their grumpy states. Nor did they approve of my other choice, the cute Swiss town of Aarau. Again, Mother Nature did not smile upon us on that particular day either. Maybe Nina is right. Just stay home on Sundays like all the Swiss.
NOT SO NICE ADVICE
It turns out that the best moments with my mom were just hanging out around Basel. A little mother-daughter shopping time was the perfect antidote to the disagreeable weather and the unsuccessful adventures. That doesn’t mean I was entirely out of the clear for disastrous decisions. I made a few bad dining choices (which is an easy thing to do in Switzerland). The one that stands out the most was the bakery I chose based on an acquaintance’s recommendation.
This is where I learned a valuable lesson: proceed with caution when taking advice from fellow travelers. What may be a magical experience for one person, may turn out to be far from ideal for another. The particular establishment in question was lauded as a “charming rustic bakery tucked away in a little courtyard.” Tucked away and rustic – yes. Charming – no. The tiny place had a handful of tables squeezed in to accommodate the few adventurous diners. My mother and I literally sat in the bakery kitchen mere steps away from the dishwasher who was sloshing pans about in the sink the entire time. The people next to us had to duck their heads whenever the baker/dishwasher needed to pull the breads out of the oven. My advice: Run from the rickety run-down bakery and the fruit fly infested ‘ambience’.
After the fruit fly bakery incident, I felt I needed to redeem myself. When my dad arrived, we enjoyed drinks at Basel’s famous Three Kings Hotel (well, it’s famous here) overlooking the Rhine. Then we hit the sausage stands in the main market for a typical Swiss quick lunch. A fat grilled sausage on a paper plate with a chunk of hearty bread and a side of mustard. Now that’s a meal! It could have been the jet lag, but I’ll pat myself on the back anyway for the content look on my dad’s face. My hostess mojo was coming back!
food - always on my mind
I wouldn’t classify myself as a “foodie” but I do love to eat. Imagine my joy when I discovered that I live about 40 minutes away from France’s cheese guru, Monsieur Bernard Antony. Numerous people had told me about this man’s small cheese shop in Vieux-Ferrette, France, where he supplies cheese to his president, as well as to many of France’s Michelin star restaurants. Say no more – you had me at “cheese.”
When my parents and I arrived for our scheduled tasting, we were escorted to a small, private room where three place settings awaited us at a single round table surrounded by racks of wine, award plaques, and photos. We each had a plate of thirteen different cheeses to sample under the guidance of the owner’s trusted assistant. With his limited English and my limited French we managed just fine. But for good measure, the cheeses were laid out on the plates in clock formation (the 13th cheese taking a spot in the center of the plate for you horologists). So when we failed to remember all the names and descriptions, my parents and I simply ordered, “the 11 o’clock, ” “the 5 o’clock” and so on. Needless to say, the cheeses were all wonderful and the experience left us all a bit giddy. Or was that the wine?
My father was not the least bit shy about asking for a photo op with the cheese master himself, Monsieur Antony. Thanks, dad!
Here’s more about Alsace’s local hero, Bernard Antony, just in case you happen to be a cheese fanatic too.
http://francetoday.com/articles/2008/11/12/couture-cheese.html
ADVENTURES IN EATING
The Swiss don’t exactly put much effort into making their sweets look appetizing like their French neighbors do. In fact, it seems as if they go out of their way to make their food look downright terrible. If you’re adventurous, though, you’re rewarded with joys like this month’s culinary discovery -- Beggeschmütz (yes, the names are equally unappealing):
If you can get beyond the turd-like appearance, you will be rewarded with a taste treat. Beggeschmütz are soft fluffy marshmallows (except airier) covered in chocolate then rolled in finely chopped coconut. Wow! As my friend said after taking her first bite, “I think I need a cigarette!” Yes, they’re that good. But you can only get them in the fall and they’re best consumed within a day or two. As this is our only autumn in Basel, I may need to buy some stretchy pants to help get me through the remainder of Beggeschmütz season!
An adventurous palette inevitably leads to a dud or two. For example, Magenbrot. I’ve seen these cookies translated as “sweet pieces of bread.” But the literal translation, “stomach bread,” is more appropriate since they look as though they’ve already been churned in one’s stomach. Despite the weird appearance, the sweet smell tempted Ken into buying a bag of Magenbrot. How bad could something covered in sugar be? One bite of the rubbery mound gave him his answer: certainly not worth a couple of Francs. Leave the Magenbrot, take the Beggeschmütz!
Another flop I discovered is a German bubbly wine called Federweisser. It’s an early harvest wine offered in the fall. Do you remember “Bartles and Jaymes” wine coolers? That’s what Federweisser tastes like. There you go -- I just saved you a few euros and an 80’s flashback. [n.b.: Ken loves the stuff!]
Herbstmesse
Though I’ve stated that Swiss people are reserved and not as free-spirited as the folks of their neighboring countries, I must admit that the locals do like finding reasons to celebrate (even if they do it in their own low-key manner). Yearlong we encounter one festival after another in Basel. Last month was the pumpkin festival and a gourmet food festival. This month was the wine festival, the music festival, and the granddaddy of them all – the fall festival (Herbstmesse).
For two weeks, seven of the major town squares are packed with rides, food booths, carnival games and small merchant stalls. The festival packs in an abundance of delights for young and old. Larry and Nina, of course, gravitated towards the rides and the games. Ken and I focused on the food: potato pancakes, sausages, risotto stands, piadini, fried apples, chocolate covered bananas, waffle and crepe carts, hot spiced wine, fried apple rings with vanilla sauce, raclette wagons, confectionary stands packed with unidentifiable sweets, giant pretzels, and so on. I told you I was food obsessed.
October end
Halloween has always been a highly anticipated event for my kids. Unfortunately, the Swiss don’t celebrate Halloween like we do in the states. It’s odd because the local stores sell decorations and costumes (you have your choice of witch, vampire or devil) for the occasion. But trick-or-treating hasn’t really caught on. For reasons I still don’t quite understand (lack of sleep, too many wine tastings…), I found myself organizing a trick-or-treating event for all the neighborhood expats.
Despite the fact that my jack-o-lanterns practically screamed, “expat lives here,” I went ahead and lit the pumpkins, hung the webs, poured my wine and waited for the kids to come knocking. The night turned out to be a blast. Larry and Nina ran through the neighborhood with their friends and collected a decent amount of treats for the evening. A few Swiss kids even stopped at my door for candy. They seemed nervous at first, but they certainly left excited. Hey, maybe Halloween will catch on in Switzerland after all. It’s the least I can do in return for Beggeschmütz!
Bitte schön, die Schweiz!
Excerpts from the Journals of Larry and Nina
On Halloween I got so much candy. [Trick-or-treating] started with a big group. Then it kept becoming a bunch of small groups. I broke away [from the crowd] turning my group from big to two – me and my friend, Matilde. It was really fun!
Nina, November 1, 2009
Trick-or-treat smell my feet…Halloween was so awesomeistic. First, everybody met up at our house. The big boys wanted to go [trick-or-treating] alone. We did, eventually. At the end, Brendan, Matthew, Max and me did some trading. Then I ate it, had dinner, went to bed, and then it was November.
Larry, November 1, 2009
MORE MOMENTS FROM OCTOBER
Until next month!
[這個好] Your blog has the makings of a great BOOK. The stories about your Pop=Pop are great! Are the pictures of your parents real? They are so good looking! Do you know a good patent/ IT attorney who can copywrite protect your work?
Posted by: Pop-Pop | 11/09/2009 at 11:39 AM
Mary: You forgot to note Nina's performance of HAPPY BIRTHDAY on the violin for her brother. Nina learned the song without benefit of sheet music! Trial and error and true grit! What a GIRL! We were all impressed with the performance.
Posted by: Pop-Pop | 11/11/2009 at 08:43 AM