Hiking up Saleve
Through my kitchen window, you can see the bluffs of Saleve. It’s a small hill in comparison with the Jura and Alps, but it makes for a nice day hike. When you get to the top, there’s a small buvette stand and people paragliding.
In honor of World Humanitarian Day (19 August)
A great video project by OCHA.
(ok, I’ll be truthful and say that I wish it was 2 minutes in length, but still very powerful).
More info on World Humanitarian Day here: http://ochaonline.un.org/whd/
‘No, really, anything you need, you can buy there…’
Posted by Amanda in Geneva, This-is-Switzerland (TIS) on August 2, 2010
photo credit: billaday
When you’re planning a trans-atlantic move, you’re always encouraged to under-pack, right? Don’t bring shampoo. You can buy it there. Don’t bring towels. Waste of space, you can buy it there. Bottom line? When in doubt, YOU CAN BUY IT THERE. Or so I heard.
I economized my packing with the best of ‘em when I decided to move from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Geneva, Switzerland. I packed no toiletries. I packed no towels. I packed no linens. I packed no extraneous clothes. I almost didn’t bring my ski boots until I thought twice about the prime Alps locations.
Now, 18 months later, I can tell you what I wished I’d packed.
- Towels. Yep, of course you can buy them in Switzerland, but one tires of Ikea towels after 18 months. Also, think about the efficiency of wrapping your valuables in towels for the moving process (I didn’t).
- Shampoo. Again, you can buy it in Switzerland, but you will pay double the price… Ditto to contact solution, face wash and moisturizer.
- Bathrobe. Seemed so extraneous when I was packing. Remember, you ARE moving, not going on holidays. You’ll want the comfort stuff.
- Favorite pens. Favorite stationery. Favorite drawing stuff.
- Anything technical or outdoorsy. Even if it’s European brands, it tends to be a great deal cheaper in the United States. So jump drives, sleeping bags, camping stuff, hiking boots, etc.
- Specific cooking tools you love. Your favorite paring knife. A favorite spatula. Measuring cups that measure in cups, not ounces (this I did bring from the US and thought it was inspired on my part). Love it all. Have used it all.
What I didn’t need and will be leaving in Switzerland
- Clothing that I rarely wore in the United States, but couldn’t force myself to get rid of, yet determined it looked “European.” Haven’t worn any of it.
- Shoes (specifically four pairs of treacherous heels) that I rarely wore in the United States, but couldn’t force myself to get rid of, yet determined they’d be worn in Europe. Yes, because having no car and walking everywhere leads to you wearing more uncomfortable shoes? No.
Why Geneva is better than Paris
I recently (i.e. 23 hours ago) returned from a weekend trip to Paris. Visiting Paris for the weekend is akin to being swept away in a whirlwind romance because A) you deal with none of the long-term issues associated with living in a busy metropolis like Paris, but B) you get all of the delightful benefits of being surrounded by a hub of 24/7 Parisian activities (e.g. eating macaroons and drinking cafe au laits).
If you have a credit card and a healthy fear of exchange rate math (e.g. who cares what the euro is worth), Paris is a blessed escape from Calvinistic Geneva where I toil away (“toil” being a dramatic exaggeration).
NOTE: If you’re concerned that I don’t know how to correctly use “e.g.” and “i.e.,” you are correct. I had a boss once say that it was the only thing that he’d teach me. Clearly, it didn’t take.
Having returned from the city of lights, sitting in my overheated apartment stuck between an open-air terrace where college kids drink and a bar where, shockingly, college kids drink, I feel I may be romanticizing Paris a bit. Thus it’s time to make a list of all the ways in which Geneva is better than Paris.
ok, GO.
Umm… googling “Geneva” for some quick inspiration. please hold.
Ok, clearly Google is not contributing to this list.
I’ve dug deep, but below are my top 10 shining examples for why Geneva could take Paris in a UFC-style match. Little cities fight harder, and meaner. Paris won’t even be trying when this knock-out is registered.
- Geneva has the loveliest tap water — really! Always fresh.
- I always know what time it is in Geneva. Clocks abound!
- Cheese! lots of it.
- Geneva has one of the more relaxing train stations. No frantic running in circles as you only have two areas to choose from and they’re 50 meters apart.
- You can’t get lost in a city that is centered around a lake in the middle. Everything is on one side or the other.
- Genevans love to help with directions. Really. I’ve been asked more than once if I need help when I’ve stood for too long at a street corner.
- You never see those pesky “50% off designer clothing sales” that Paris is plastered with.
- You’re rarely tempted to buy Swiss clothing so your credit card thanks you.
- Macaroons and patisseries don’t line the Geneva streets so your hips thank you. AND….
- Paris is but a short train ride away so you can always jaunt there, even as you secretively know that it would *probably* be too much to live there.
sigh.
Yep. I shaved Bieber from the web
Posted by Amanda in Uncategorized on May 27, 2010
Ok, it’s imature fun, but I jumped on that bandwagon and hope to never see his name again… 
http://www.gleuch.com/projects/shaved-bieber
- Posted using MobyPicture.com
So, I *should* pack the kitchen sink…
Planning for my upcoming trip to Budapest, I scanned the interweb weather reports. Now, I don’t tend to have great luck with this as I use English-language sites in Europe. Having said that, I can normally guess from a few sites… kind of an extrapolated, combined cast.
Scanning the web for the upcoming trip, here’s what I found…
awesome.
So two sites predict rain on Tuesday, one says “sunny.” One site says rain the entire time, one says rain on Sunday only, one says rain on Tuesday only. ARGH…
Ma’m, ma’m please watch your elbows!
Posted by Amanda in This-is-Switzerland (TIS), Travels on May 16, 2010
After waiting in a 45 minute line, complete with budging Swiss and lots of Swiss-German questions (I *think* I have an open face that begs for questions), I finally got my pass for the “Van Gogh, Monet and Cezanne” exhibition in the Kunthaus museum in Zurich.
Hurrying up the stairs as it closed in a few hours, I was immediately stopped by a nervous man. After I stopped his Swiss-German explanation mid-way, he said “oh, please hold your purse at your elbow.”
“Should I check it?” I say.
“No, no, just hold it on your elbow instead of your shoulder.”
Odd instructions as it’s a small hobo purse, but absolutely.
About 5 minutes later, a concerned woman stopped me.
“Excuse me, but could you hold your purse in your hand, instead of your elbow?”
Ten minutes later…
“Excuse me, but could you keep your elbows in?”
Twenty minutes later…
“Could you not swing your umbrella?”
Finally, as I walked down the stairs towards the modern collection (my elbows in, my purse held in my hands, my umbrella safely put away), a guard glares at me. He takes in my elbows, my correct purse position, my fearful expression and finally looks down at my boots clanking on the wood stairs.
“SHHH!”
Today’s Tidbits May 12, 2010
Posted by Amanda in Web wonkiness on May 12, 2010
Digest powered by RSS Digest
Plainpalais – anything and everything that money can buy
Posted by Amanda in Uncategorized on May 10, 2010
Isn’t that the song from “Bedknobs and Broomsticks?”
Across my street, twice a week, is Geneva’s quintessential flea market at Plainpalais. For a few francs, you can buy a fresh cup of coffee, a used bra, a new toothbrush or an archaic watch. For 500 francs, you could buy a collector’s painting or… a really catchy fake.
Photos by Sir Anthony Dalbec, Nikon D90.
Today’s Tidbits May 5, 2010
Posted by Amanda in Web wonkiness on May 5, 2010
Digest powered by RSS Digest