Cultural Differences...

As I was thinking about this weeks blog, it dawned on me that we have now officially been here for eight months- over half a year!  The time has definitely gone very fast- and every day I continue to learn or observe something new about this unique country I currently call home.  Here are some of the cultural differences that I have noticed since living here.  

Smoking and Drinking:  This is one topic that still continues to amaze me- Europeans are far more lax when it comes to smoking and drinking.  The legal age to smoke is 16, yet it is not entirely enforced.  It is not uncommon for me to see kids smoking at bus stops, outside of the school, etc, who appear to be very young.  Thankfully, it is not legal to smoke in restaurants, stores, any public areas.  Alcohol is another difference that I have noticed while living here.  The Swiss can start drinking and buying wine and beer when they are 16, and 18 to purchase and drink hard liquor.  One would think with lower drinking ages you would see young teenagers abusing their right to drink all around town, yet it is not something we have observed.  Drinking in public is also not a big deal in Europe.  You can have alcohol with you basically anywhere, anytime.  In the summer, people are all along the lakeside enjoying food and drinks, all which they have brought from home.  You can actually go into restaurants and ask for a 'to-go' cup for your drink, or if you are sitting in a restaurant and want to leave, you can also ask for a cup to take your drink with you. 

Kids:  Kids are extremely independent at a very young age in Switzerland.  I recently read a news story about a Maryland couple being charged for child neglect because they allowed their six and ten year old to walk to the neighborhood park by themselves- this made me think about the number of children I observe throughout my day who are independently getting themselves around town.  It is not uncommon for kids to walk to school by themselves starting at age five.  It is also not uncommon for kids to take the city bus and/or trams to get to and from school by themselves.  Our neighbor, who is nine, walks about a mile to the bus stop, takes the bus to the tram station, and then takes the tram to school all by himself. This is the norm.  Parents are not judged- they are praised for raising such independent children.  You also see many more kids on scooters and bikes at a young age versus being pushed in strollers.  I see two year olds cruising along on scooters and balance bikes.  Kids are much more active- many families don't own cars, so they are used to walking or taking public transport from point A to point B.  Children are also taught at a young age how to behave and for the most part are very polite and proper, especially in public places.  Which has turned out to be a challenge for our 'lovely' girls.  They are not always proper, and when this happens out in public places, it is not socially acceptable.  It really is stressful to take them shopping because unless they are acting like angels, which let's face it seems entirely impossible for a two year old, we definitely feel unwelcome.  

Customer Service:  My expectation for customer service has basically been depleted over the last seven months.  When you enter a store, I already have an expectation that I will encounter long lines and very little help if needed.  I understand the language barrier and I am sure the Swiss are tired of dealing with Americans, but I would love for them to at least try.  I will ask for something and basically be ignored as if I don't exist.  In order to get service at a restaurant you have to track down the servers with extreme eye contact- they will not come by every few minutes to check on you.  Also, never order anything not advertised on a menu, or you better be ready to pay the price!  We have learned this the hard way.  Many restaurants will not have prices laid out for their cocktails- which can lead to unexpected prices.  

Fashion:  I always wondered how people knew we were American when we traveled to Europe before, I think I have now figured out one way, our fashion.  Since living here my beloved yoga pants have been pushed to the back of the closet- no longer can they be worn freely around town.  If you are wearing exercise type clothing here, you are likely on your way to the gym or coming back from the gym. That includes tennis shoes- only tourists and expats walk the streets in tennis shoes.  You can also tell by the jeans- people only wear skinny jeans here- I rarely see anyone wearing even boot cut.  I have a few pairs of boot-cut and I feel like I scream "I am American" when I wear them.  Scarves, scarves, and more scarves.  Men and women here love wearing scarves- they are part of the outfit- not just worn for warmth.  I have just started to notice the transition between winter scarves and spring scarves.  Which brings me to the last point, when it starts to get warm- that doesn't mean the shorts and flip flops come out.  It has been in the 60's this whole week, beautiful warn sunny days, and the Swiss are still all bundled up.

Although life as an expat can be challenging at times, we are definitely enjoying living in Geneva.

We are looking forward to Chris' brother's visit this upcoming week- Adalyn has been counting down the days.

Here are some pictures from the past two weeks-

The girls made chocolate bunnies at the Chocolate Festival we visited on Saturday- 

Adalyn insisted that she and Eliza had to wear outfits that looked like chocolate to the festival- 

so this is what she came up with!  

Loving the spring weather!

Eliza ready for the park wearing ski boots- huge struggle to get them off- 

The chocolate bunny aisle in the grocery store- any type of chocolate, any size - no peeps though!  

Eliza turns two!

This past week we celebrated Eliza's 2nd Birthday.  She has continued to develop her own unique personality.  She is extremely strong-willed, everything has to be done her way and if it's not done her way- she will definitely let us know.  It takes her about 20 minutes to get dressed in the morning- I get her dressed and the next minute she is taking it off and putting something else on.  She loves to sing, especially 'Wheels on the Bus' and 'Frosty the Snowman.'  She is very loving and her silliness brings joy to our lives each day.

On Sunday night we had her birthday party.  She LOVES Peppa the Pig, which is a British cartoon,  so we had a Peppa party.  We are so grateful that we have actually made friends that we could spend the special day with- the kids all get along so well and have so much fun together.

SOOOOO happy!

How many girls does it take to open a present???

'Cheese' -she just needs to work on eye contact!

My favorite two year old- 

Best Friends- 

My first attempt at making a cake... if you want a custom cake made here, it will cost about $200 dollars- so this was my attempt at making 'Peppa' 

Silly girl- 

We went out last weekend and this was her birthday dessert- 

On Saturday, we had our final ski outing for the season.  Spring is arriving, so the snow is starting to get icy and slushy.  Adalyn had her fifth and final lesson and we are so proud of her and what she accomplished during those lessons.  From the first day when she was very hesitant to even put her skis on, to this past Saturday when she was so anxious for class to start and see what fun things they would do.

She earned a medal badge- she was sooo proud!  

Have a wonderful week!  

Corey and Kristin Visit!

We just finished hosting my sister and brother in law- we had a wonderful time with them here- the girls love the extra attention!  The visit went by so quickly, with our days full of taking them on new adventures.

They arrived last Tuesday, so after picking up Adalyn from school we headed down to the lake- unfortunately it was a gloomy day- but they were able to see the main attractions by Lake Geneva.

Wednesday, we headed to Chamonix, France.  This is one of our favorite places to visit, so we always want to take visitors there to see the village along with the amazing views.  It was a beautiful sunny day, so we were able to really take in the scenery.  They decided to take the cable car up to Mount Blanc, which is the highest mountain in Europe, 15,767 ft.  Adalyn has no fear when it comes to heights, so she joined them- Eliza and I stayed on land.  You have to be three to ride the cable car, so I gladly offered to stay with her!  They had a wonderful time on the top of the mountain and were able to get some great pictures.  After their mountain adventure, we spent some time walking around the village, and of course stopping at the restaurant with the tasty chicken nuggets before leaving!
We had an awesome day in Chamonix.

Looking down on the village- 

The top-

Adalyn really wants to go paragliding with her cousin Sophia next spring- Although, she did inform me last week that she was a "little unsure, since her and Sophia don't know how to fly!"

Thursday, Corey and Kristin headed to Paris, so we were back to our regular schedule for a couple days.  For people interested in visiting us, it is only a short three hour train ride to Paris- easy destination to take a day trip to from Geneva.

Friday night, they arrived back from Paris.

On Saturday, we had big plans, unfortunately Mother Nature had her own plans.  Where we wanted to go, was predicting 5-8 inches of snow, which makes it difficult to get around, and you don't get to see the views when it is snowing heavy.  So, since it was basically raining or snowing within a 100 mile radius of Geneva, we went bowling in the morning!  There is a really nice bowling alley close to us, so we decided it would be something everyone could enjoy.

Ready to go bowling with Uncle Corey-

Adalyn got a new Elsa braid, so she was excited to wear it out!  

In the afternoon, Chris watched the girls, and the three of us went to a wine bar for a relaxing afternoon, another great way to spend a rainy day.  Saturday night, we went out to dinner - kid free!!!

On Sunday, we named it, "Swiss Sunday!"  For breakfast, I made crepes for everyone, which is a popular French pancake, but since Geneva is so close to France, they are popular here too.  After breakfast, we drove to the Callier chocolate factory, about 1.5 hours away.  We did the tour and of course participated in the chocolate tasting at the end of the tour.

After we were full of chocolate, we all decided some wine tasting was necessary- so we drove to the Lavaux Wine Region, which is a 19 mile stretch of vineyards from Chillon to Lausanne.  We visited, Lavaux Vinorama, which is a wine tasting room which also has a very informative video that we watched that documented the life of a wine grower.  In the Lavaux region, all of the wines are handmade- no machines, which requires much more work.  Since it requires so much more work, they export less than 5% of their wine.  To them, quality is more important than quantity.  It was fun to try Swiss wines, since I haven't tried many since we have lived here, so now I know some good local wines.  After the wine tasting, we drove around the vineyards for a bit and then headed home.

For dinner, we had a traditional swiss meal, Raclette.  Raclette is three things: the name of a cheese, the name of a Swiss dish involving melted cheese, and a type of grill used to melt cheese.  I had just purchased a raclette machine, so we wanted to try it out.  You basically have a table top grill that everyone sits around, everyone has their own tray to put the raclette cheese in to heat it up.  While the cheese is heating up in the pans, you can cook meat/seafood and vegetables on the top part of the grill. You also serve small boiled potatoes with the meal.  The racelette meal was successful, so we are excited to do it more often.  To complete our "Swiss Sunday," we had chocolate fondue for dessert.  It was definitely a swiss filled day; crepes, chocolate, wine, raclette, fondue, the only thing missing was buying a watch!

Chocolate fondue!

On Monday, Adalyn went to school, Eliza went to the ski garderie, and I took Kristin and Corey skiing in the Alps.  It was Corey's first time ever skiing!  He was a bit frustrated at first, but after a few runs, he was able to successfully get down the hill and enjoyed it!  It was a fun day of skiing-

On Tuesday, Eliza and I took them to Annecy, France- another one of our favorite spots.  It was market day in the village, so it was fun to walk around the market while enjoying a Vin Chaud (hot wine)- Corey's new favorite drink! After school, we drove up to the top of Mt. Saleve- it was my first time driving up the mountain, but thankfully the road conditions were great, so we made it!  We explored the area and Adalyn even went sledding.  Tuesday night, we celebrated Eliza's birthday with them, since her birthday is next week-

Lake Annecy

Feeding the ducks-

Reading her new Elmo book- 

We had such a wonderful time hosting them and spending time together  Now, we have Chris' brothers, Chad and Ben, visiting in a month, so we are looking forward to planning their trip!

Other photos from the week-

Happy hour outside!  (We need outdoor furniture)

Adalyn made a card for Eliza- very excited to give it to her- 

Holiday in Lucerne

This past weekend we took a mini holiday trip to Lucerne, Switzerland, which is described as "the city, the lake, the mountains."  Lucerne is located in central Switzerland, three hours from our house.  While living here we have tried to learn about the Swiss traditions and are always looking for ways to experience them.  Switzerland in the winter celebrates their biggest festival, Fasnacht.  I had read that Lucerne had the best carnival celebration, so we decided if we were going to learn about this tradition, why not experience it at the largest one in Switzerland.  We had no idea it was going to be as entertaining as it turned out to be- it totally exceeded any expectations we had.

Fasnacht is a pre-lenten carnival- think Mardi Gras- but no beads and everyone kept their tops on!  It is a six-day all out carnival which starts at 5am on Thursday and ends on the morning of Ash Wednesday.  It was absolutely crazy!  Over 100,000 people come out to celebrate in Lucerne for this celebration- the streets in Old Town were packed with people marching along, playing musical instruments, dressed in elaborate costumes and wearing the most amazing masks we had ever seen.  I had read the celebration in Lucerne is famous for its chaotic "march any direction you like" street parades- and they were not joking!  The marching bands started around 8am on Saturday and when we went to bed they were still marching on.  It was definitely a memorable experience and we loved seeing how much joy and pride the people had while participating in the Fasnacht.
** For some reason I don't think the videos work- but it still gives you an idea of what it was like.

One group parading across the bridge- 

Other groups would stop and play live music anywhere in the street- 

Lucerne- showing how crowded the streets were along the lake- 

Although the carnival was very entertaining, there are so many other cool things to do in and around Lucerne so we definitely took advantage and headed to the mountains both days.  On Friday, when we arrived, we headed to Mt. Pilatus.  We took a cable car up to the sledding area and spent a couple hours enjoying the scenery and sledding down the mountain.  The girls loved sledding- unfortunately, I learned that I am not good at sledding on a wooden sled, and almost went off the side of the mountain with Adalyn, so Chris took the girls the rest of the time while I watched!  After sledding, we went down to a lower point and the girls played on the playground.  It was a wonderful afternoon spent in the mountains.

The sled they took down the hill- typical German sled- 

Eliza's first cable car ride!  Loved it- 

Playing at the playground- 

View from Mt. Pilatus

Friday night, we walked around Old Town and visited the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrucke), which is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe spanning across the Reuss River.  The bridge was originally built in 1333 to link the old town on the right bank to the new town on the left bank.  The bridge is 560 ft long.

Daytime view of bridge- 

Night view of bridge-

On Saturday, it was a beautiful sunny day, so we took a boat to Weggis, which is also on Lake Lucerne.  From there, we took a cable car up Mt. Rigi to the Rigi Katbad stop about 1,433 meters high. The views were once again unbelievable.  After walking around a bit, we took a train back down the mountain, and hopped back on the boat and went back to Lucerne.

Getting ready to ride the boat- 

View of Lucerne from the boat- 

View from Mt. Rigi

They had horse drawn sleigh rides on the mountain- 

Girls on the train- 

On Saturday afternoon we walked around Old Town and enjoyed the joyous ambience- everyone was so happy and having so much fun!  Who wouldn't be happy dancing in the street to live music??

We had such a wonderful holiday- we are so glad that we visited Lucerne and already have plans to go back.

Now, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of my sister and brother in-law who arrive on Tuesday.