Wednesday, December 31, 2014

5 Things The Frau Misses About Switzerland

Happy Old Year, mitenand. As The Frau looks back over 2014, she can’t help but miss Switzerland, where she spent nine of the last 12 months (not to mention her last 8.5 years). Here are some of the things she misses most now that she’s back in the US.

The great outdoors. No one does the outdoors like Switzerland. With over 60,000 km of hiking trails, it’s about 59,900 km more than The Frau has access to from Chicago.

Disentis, Switzerland
The weather. Ok. The Frau never thought she would miss the grey Swiss winter. But she does. Because she forgot how cold it is in Chicago. She hasn’t been this cold since, oh, she lived in Chicago over 14 years ago.

The transportation. The Frau hates driving. So much so that she has refused to get a car thus far and has been riding her bike when it’s -8 c outside. Yes. She is crazy. And Swiss. She still can’t comprehend that she can’t walk or take a bus, train, tram, boat, or cable car everywhere.

The beauty. Switzerland is gorgeous. No matter how much she wants it to, the flat American Midwest just can’t compete with Switzerland’s rolling hills, sparkling lakes, and the Alps.

The adventures. There’s something about living in another country, especially when it borders five others, that’s exciting. Living in the center of the US, where Gary, Indiana is further than Germany used to be, is hard to accept after having easy access to the entire European continent for almost a decade.

What do you love (or miss) about Switzerland?

In other small print, The Frau would like to say merci vielmal to all of her readers in Switzerland and around the world. Thanks to you, her first book, Swiss Life: 30 Things I Wish I'd Known, has sold almost 1200 copies since May.

16 comments:

Amanda said...

Congrats on your book sales! Well, I have been back stateside 4.5 years now, and I just miss the lifestyle in general. Though I wonder if we ever had the opportunity to move back (a big dream of ours) if it would be just as magical as the first time around. :)

Kristen said...

I moved to the US a month ago, and to my surprise, one thing I really miss from Switzerland is the recycling. We live in a complex where people throw everything into every bin, regardless of whether it's labelled garbage or recycling, and it causes me Angst every time I go there with my Swiss-sorted stuff!

Ice Charades said...

I'm with you on the car ... I miss my S-bahn. And @Kristen, luckily where I live in NJ they recycle a lot, so I throw everything questionable in the bin. Though I still feel bad that they don't take tetra-paks.

Happy New Year!

Chantal said...

@Amanda. The Frau knows what you mean about the lifestyle in general. She was dreaming of the bakery that used to be right outside her door this morning.

@Kristen. The Frau is appalled at how much garbage the US generates. Most American hotel chains serve breakfast on styrofoam! Not only is it ugly, it is horrible for the environment. Wash a few dishes Americans!

@Ice Charades. The car. Sigh. Still can't bring self to buy one.

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Jennifer @ This Off Script Life said...

I was back in the U.S. for two weeks during the holidays and, although I thought I would enjoy having a car, I found that I missed the convenience of the tram system in Zurich. Parking is difficult in the Washington, D.C. area -- so much better to hop on and off a tram or subway!

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Peggy said...

I agree with 4 of your 5, but I moved to San Diego from Geneva 28 years ago so it's a bit different than moving to Chicago. Being a native Californian, the only thing that saved me during those long, dreary, gray winters there was skiing twice a week up above the cloud cover, where it was usually sunny (and of course shockingly beautiful).

Scott said...

Hello!! Have you ever gone to Colorado, and if you have have you compared their mountains and terrain to those of Switzerland? What's similar/different?

:)

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