November was the month of flu shots, festivals, parties, Thanksgiving and more food discoveries. We all may be moving a size up in clothing soon!
Let them eat cake!
We held Larry’s birthday party in November at Spiegelfeld, one of his favorite indoor pools. The kids went crazy in the water. The stern-looking pool attendant tried to catch them in their hell-raising act, but his timing was always just a little off. Phew! Scolding averted.
Good thing, too, because we had already been scolded once. Arriving at the pool club restaurant, Larry’s cake in hand, I received a stern talking to by the waitress, albeit in incomprehensible Swiss German with lots of head shaking and hand waving. Apparently Ken failed to discover that outside food, even cake, was strictly “verboten” at the restaurant. I was lucky she even let me keep it on the table. Instead of paying a cutting fee (which would have been much simpler), we had to buy the dry restaurant pound cake just so Larry could blow out candles. This was one time when I was not in favor of quirky Swiss rules. Don’t mess with my cakes!
SWISS CHEESE
Believe it or not, I lived in Switzerland for 11 months without partaking of its signature dish, fondue. This month, I finally got my chance at a traditional fondue lunch with twenty other cheese lovers. While I enjoyed my bubbling pot of greasy melted cheese, I’d have to say that the true highlight of the experience was dining in an old-style Swiss restaurant with beautiful stained glass windows and wood paneling. Fondue is good, but my heart and stomach still belong to Beggeschmutz (see last month’s entry).
Once the cold weather sets in, warm cheese season begins. If you’re not a cheese lover, definitely stay clear of Switzerland during this time of year. The air gets pretty pungent at all the outdoor festivals. I recently saw something called Käsebengels – portable fondue. A hole is made in a small baguette-shaped bread and filled with the warm gooey stuff. The Swiss are serious about their cheese!
Besides fondue, there’s Raclette, Käsewähe (cheese tarts), and my new favorite, Dinette (“Dee-net-uh”). Dinette are pizza-like wheat breads topped with your choice of cheese, potatoes, ham and/or onions. They’re baked in a brick oven to chewy warm perfection. Simple and delicious! The Swiss have many good things to eat that you never read about in travel books --they focus on fondue and raclette. Fear not, I am sampling lots of food so that you will know exactly what to look for should you ever decide to come to Switzerland.
At the end of my Swiss culinary tour I will also be posting a special section on supersize food. Here’s the latest discovery (those are pretzels behind Nina’s head):
Cotton Candy, or Zuckerwatte in German (literally meaning “sugar wad”).
The Germans certainly have a way with words. . .
London Calling
Larry and Nina have waited impatiently all year to visit London. After all, most of their favorite T.V. shows these days are British. They had to visit the country that gave them “Sorry, I’ve Got No Head” and “Transmission Impossible with Ed and Oucho.” Besides, it was a good way for Larry and Nina to hone their British accents (they’re getting smashingly good at it). For me, London was just a good excuse to eat fish & chips!
Our highly kid-friendly weekend included a bus tour around the city, a scavenger hunt at the British Museum, going to a Chelsea soccer game, climbing to the top of the dome at St. Paul’s Cathedral (and testing out the whispering gallery – very cool indeed), taking in the city views at night from the London Eye, watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and fulfilling Nina’s lifelong dream of riding a red double-decker bus.
Seeing the familiar landmarks, hearing the stories of crazy royalty, and going to Stamford Bridge, the stadium of his all-time favorite soccer team (er, football club) satisfied Larry’s British needs. Nina discovered that she loves fish and chips (that’s my girl!) and shopping at Hamley’s, the famous toy store on Regent Street. For me, the high point of the weekend was listening to the kids compare the Parthenon exhibit at the British Museum to the one at the new Acropolis museum in Athens. Could it be that my kids are actually getting cultured?
The best moment for Ken was probably watching Larry slide across the wet Millennium Bridge over and over again:
And to top off a memorable trip, our hotel was located near the “Swiss Cottage” tube stop. Fitting, no?
Larry and Nina are already discussing their next trip back. (Hopefully that will be when they’re old enough to treat their parents!)
CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME
I’m all for teaching kids about charity, but you’d think a fancy private school like the ISB could come up with better ways to raise money. Every year it holds a Winter Market, and all the classes contribute handmade items to raise money for various organizations (Doesn’t everyone need handmade bookmarks, matchbook covers, and macaroni art?). Nina’s class decorated gingerbread houses. Asleep at the switch, I volunteered to bake some of those houses. And guess who has to buy all the kids’ handmade items? That’s right – the parents. So not only did I bake the gingerbread houses, I had to buy one back for 15 bucks! More evidence that the ISB doesn’t like parents.
FIELD TRIP
Once again, against my better judgment (I think I left it back in California), I agreed to chaperone a trip to the Zurich Zoo with Nina’s third grade class. The day would have been fine if not for the painful bus ride that took an extra hour. Apparently men’s refusal to ask for directions is worldwide. Our clueless driver decided to take out his frustration with a lot of pedal stomping. The brake and acceleration jabs made the bus feel like a boat in choppy seas. Luckily, the teacher had a bucket for those poor little seasick creatures in the back of the bus. I, on the other hand, had the misfortune of being assigned the death seat next to one angry driver. Not a good start at all.
The zoo itself was rather nice. Laid out in typical orderly Swiss fashion, “Zoo Zurich” is one of my all-time favorite zoos.
LET’s Talk Turkey
Larry and Nina have not been pleased with holidays in Switzerland. No matter how hard I try to make the festivities similar to our celebrations at home, it’s just never the same. Halloween was fun, but different. Valentine’s Day was acknowledged, but too low-key for their tastes (stores weren’t brimming with chocolate hearts and cupid decorations). Easter was a complete let-down because I couldn’t find plastic eggs (“How can we do an egg hunt without the eggs? This is the worst Easter ever!”). Thanksgiving was no different. “What do you mean we have to go to school?!” Larry and Nina knew that it’s strictly an American holiday, but they figured an international school would at least give them the day off. Never mind that there are far more Swiss school holidays than US ones. Kids looking for an excuse to stay home will never listen to reason.
Despite school on Thanksgiving day, we did have a very nice holiday with some good friends. It just took a little more effort. Tracking down ingredients proved to be the biggest challenge – I visited three countries and seven or eight stores. Had I been a more experienced expat, I would have scooped up the limited supply of exotic ingredients (cranberries, sweet potatoes and canned pumpkin) weeks in advance.
Though turkeys are available in Switzerland, I know several people who smuggled their own frozen birds in from the U.S. Yes, they really did! (And I thought I was nuts.) Turkeys here are not cheap. I know I complain about prices almost every month, so I’ll just get this last thing off my chest. $7.90 for a bag of fresh cranberries, $5.90 for canned pumpkin, and $134 for a turkey! This year it was easy to know what to be thankful for – that we only have to spend one Thanksgiving in Switzerland. Okay, that’s not fair. Though putting out a traditional spread cost a bit more, we certainly enjoyed one heck of a tasty bird (which just about fit in a Swiss Barbie-size oven!).
Christmas SPIRIT
As soon as the Autumn Festival cleared out, Basel started getting ready for its annual Christmas Market. On November 26th, all the holiday lights down the main shopping street were turned on and the outdoor vendors opened their stalls. Every day and night until December 24th, the holiday market provides food, kids’ activities, and shopping in a festive setting. It’s just like the autumn fair minus the crazy carnival rides.
In Switzerland there’s no issue of political correctness when it comes to Christmas. Nativity scenes are displayed unapologetically, and the holiday market is the Weihnachtsmarkt (“Christmas market”). No menorahs, no Kwanza, and no generic “Happy Holidays!” (Remember, the entire country just banned minarets!) The Swiss like what they like and if you don’t like it, go home. Please. That’s the Christmas spirit! You’d think with all the Glühwein they drink, the Swiss would lighten up a bit. I know it does wonders for my mood!
Tree Shopping
Inspired by the holiday decorations proudly displayed all over town, I decided to get our Christmas tree early. Let me tell you, I’m back to loving the Swiss and their efficiency. Buying a tree was easier than we ever experienced before. At the local Home Depot (OBI) the evergreens were all organized by price and color-coded for convenience. We chose our tree, the salesperson trimmed the bottom to a neat and perfect 4-inch wide trunk (to fit into our ridiculously narrow Swiss tree stand), and he wrapped it in a nice plastic netting that kept the tree from bouncing around everywhere. It fit into our car like a glove. At home we popped the tree into its stand without any fumbling and we were done.
Perhaps the hardest part of the whole experience was protecting my find from the other shoppers. One family kept circling our tree like hungry vultures. Even though I had my hand firmly around the trunk, the other interested party started honing in on the tree as if it were still up for grabs. That didn’t sit well with me. Ready for a smackdown I glared at the family and yelled, “Hey, Diese ist meine!” (“This is mine!”) I probably butchered German again, but they got the idea. I can handle a lot of things Swiss. But don’t mess with my cake, and don’t mess with my holiday tree! (Especially when I haven’t had my Glühwein yet.)
LANGUAGE GOOD, MATH BAD
Speaking of German…I’m still going to classes and working on my language skills. I think it’s going pretty well. One day at the supermarket I even braved the meat counter and ordered a pound of ground beef. My German was perfect. My math, on the other hand, was way off. Instead of requesting 500 grams of beef, I ordered 500 kilos! The butcher disappeared into the back room (for what seemed like ages) probably in order to suppress his laughter at the fact that I had just ordered a thousand pounds of meat. Yep, those embarrassing moments just keep on coming.
Next month we’ll be in New Jersey for the holidays. Hopefully that will reduce the chances of more cultural and language faux pas. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
Excerpts from the kids’ journals
During my amazing trip to London we went on a big big ferris wheel called the London Eye. On the London Eye you go on a thing that looks like a bubble. And I mean a big one! When you buy the tickets you can go and see a 4 minute 4-D movie that was so so soo amazing! I think it is a great place to go to in London!!!
Nina, November 23, 2009.
I saw Chelsea play Wolverhampton. The first goal was scored by Malouda. He was dribbling and pow! He put the ball in. Essien scored a header from a corner, and a great strike. Then Joe Cole scored a brilliant [goal]. Chelsea won 4-0. Woo hoo!
Larry, November 23, 2009
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