I’m having trouble getting used to the magnificence of the Alps

I’m very proud of my adopted home state of Minnesota (I’m not originally from there) and I have always told anyone who asked that Minnesota is truly beautiful with its 10,000 lakes, its rolling hills, the spectacular fall colors, the north shore of Lake Superior, and the pristine Boundary Waters to name just a few of its most appealing features. But there is one thing that Minnesota lacks, and that’s mountains. I’m making up for that now, living so close to Europe’s major mountain range, the Alps. Continue reading

A glorious bike ride and hike, and a reunion with my 2nd grade BFF Leo!

When I found out we were relocating to Geneva, my mom said to me, “Did you know that Leo lives in Geneva?”. Leo was my best friend when our families both lived in Washington D.C. when I was 8 years old, and while we had seen each other a handful of times since (he also has a strong Minnesota connection) we hadn’t seen each other for a good 15 years or so. We recently connected and made plans for me to come out to his home and then, weather permitting, do something fun outdoors. Continue reading

Chris and I make a delightful mushroom lasagna, and I learn some Italian

Neither of us aspires to be the next Chef Boy-ar-dee, but one thing Chris and I said we’d like to do during our time together here in Geneva is to practice and improve our culinary skills. We’ve had many successes so far, including an exquisite mashed potato casserole, a sumptuous chicken cacciatore, and a finger-lickin’ good coq au vin. We have become experts at our traditional ground beef, sausage, and tomato sauce lasagna, so on this day, Chris found a new lasagna recipe featuring a sauce of mushrooms, ground beef, and melted gruyere cheese.   Continue reading

Another hardhitting exposé: There are an awful lot of really small dogs in this town!

Switzerland is well known for its world famous chocolate, cheese, and fine watches.  But there is another, less publicized, claim to fame that becomes immediately apparent.  Switzerland is the world’s undisputed leader in small dogs per capita.  Seems like everyone in this town owns a dog, and everyone of those dogs is really small. Continue reading

We take a road trip to beautiful Mantreux (and you won’t believe the view we had at lunch!)

A couple months ago I posted a piece on my hike up the Rochers de Naye, which featured some video and photographs of the beautiful town of Mantreux, located at the east end of Lake Geneva, opposite of our home in Geneva on the lake’s west end. That day, I had no time to actually explore the city so I have been looking forward to returning. We took advantage of the opportunity during the recent visit of Nancy’s sister Ellen and our brother-in-law Cliff. Continue reading

We visited Arles and Nimes and saw for ourselves how good the Romans were at building stuff

Back in August, we took 9 days and drove across the “Massif Central” of France to visit friends on the French/Spanish border, near the town in the Basque Country called San Sebastian. We had decided that on the way back home, we would take a more southerly route and retrace the path our family had taken 12 years ago in order to visit the towns of Arles and Nimes. Continue reading

We welcome our first American (adult) visitors, Ed and Mary!

We recently hosted our first adult visitors, our friends of 20 years from Saint Paul, Ed and Mary. (The honor of first overall visitor goes to Chris’ girlfriend Holly, who visited this summer.) The primary purpose of Ed and Mary’s trip abroad was to visit their son John who is working this fall for a design firm in Antwerp, but they figured as long as they were on the same continent, why not work in a visit to Geneva!

I know what you’re thinking… “Hmmm, I wonder what they did on their visit, because that would give me/us some idea of what I/we might do for fun if I/we were to visit.” Continue reading

How’s my French? Très bien, merci beaucoup!

One of the interesting things about Switzerland is that depending on your proximity to neighboring France, Italy, or Germany, the primary language spoken is French, Italian, or German. I am not aware of many other countries the size of Switzerland in which there is such a distinct variation in languages as you travel relatively short distances around the country. (To put the size of Switzerland in context, at just 16,000 square miles, it is less than 1/5th the size of my home state of Minnesota. If Switzerland was a U.S. state, it would rank 42nd in land area behind West Virginia and ahead of Maryland.)

We live in Geneva, which is in the western “Suisse Romande” region where French is the primary spoken language. Continue reading

Most Everything in Geneva is Really Expensive. Including a Haircut!

I might not yet have mentioned that Geneva is one of the most expensive towns on the planet.  Dinner out for two at a reasonably nice place starts at about the equivalent of $100.  A decent basketball costs about $50.  And what would run you about $100 at a grocery store in the U.S. (or France, for that matter) costs about $200 in Geneva.  Want to know what else costs a lot? A haircut costs over $40 in this town, and you can call me cheap, but unless I’m having my bangs highlighted and my eyebrows waxed, I simply refuse to pay over $15 for a trip to the salon! Continue reading

Car? We don’t need no stinking car! Look at all these cool things within 2 blocks of our apartment!

There are many differences between our lifestyle here in Geneva and that which we were accustomed to back in the states, but at the top of the list might be the fact that I never have to drive! Yes, we have rented a car to take our various trips, but whenever we are in town, virtually everything we want or need is within easy walking distance or a short bus or tram ride. Continue reading