Dear Frau: Swiss Recycling is Confusing!

Welcome to the latest Dear Frau column. It's kind of like Dear Abby, except with an international twist. Don't forget, if you have a question, be sure to contact The Frau. And maybe your little Frage will be in the next Dear Frau.

Dear Frau,

I just stumbled across your blog today. I'm new to Switzerland and I need Dear Frau's help. Can you please explain the recycling situation to me? After some trial and error I have finally figured out my regular rubbish, but recycling remains a mystery. Please help!

Thanks

New and Confused

Dear New and Confused

Welcome to the club. The Frau also spent many months being perplexed by the Swiss recycling system. After confusion, comes clarity: in order to recycle properly in Switzerland, you must become a Bag Lady.

The Frau is also known as The Bag Lady of Baden, as on any weekday (not before 8am, between 12-2pm, or after 8pm) you can find her dragging everything from empty glass bottles to aluminum cans to PET plastic around town in her little orange IKEA cart.

Instead of feeling like a Save-The-Planet Winner, The Frau often feels like a Homeless Loser.

But she digresses.

Here’s why Swiss recycling is confusing: every little thing has its own place and none of them are in the same place. The glass goes to the glass bin nearest to you, the paper gets tied with string and put on your front-step every six weeks, and the apple core goes in the green bio bucket that you must purchase a sticker for at the local grocery store. It’s enough to confuse anyone.

That’s why last year, The Frau wrote, “Tips from a Bag Lady,” for Swiss News. You can read the article here. Be enlightened, dear friends. And hopefully be entertained as the article also includes a sidebar of trash horror stories from expats like you (police going through their trash, people yelling at them for recycling glass during the lunch hour, etc).

The recycling stuff is so confusing that it's too much to handle for little little post. So The Frau is going to list the best resources where you can find help:

Tips from a Bag Lady (by The Frau for Swiss News.)

Living in Zurich (by The American Women’s Club) (This sells for the very Swiss price of CHF 65(!) but might be worth it for all the recycling info--they include a nice chart of every recyclable thing you can imagine and describe where to dispose of it).

Swiss Favorite Pastime: Recycling (by Jessica at Swisstory Blog) (This post even includes a recycling map on Google maps! It’s one of the best blog posts The Frau has seen on Swiss recycling. So she’s not going to compete, just share the wealth and lament the fact that Jessica is now blogging about Australia instead of Switzerland).

Ok, readers, The Frau's collection of PET bottles is about to suffocate her and she really must get to the store to put them in their rightful place. Do you have any trash tips or resources for New and Confused? Or would you like to share any interesting run-ins with Swiss trash/recycling police?

More Americans give up citizenship

This weekend, the New York Times had an interesting article, "More American Expatriates Give Up Citizenship." It discussed banking issues as well as double taxation as the main reasons for American expatriates to give up their citizenship.

Financially, at least, giving up American citizenship can make sense. First of all, as American expatriates, we are treated as suspect criminals by our own government. Every year, Americans abroad must fill out a form stating their foreign bank accounts. Failure to do this can be costly: jail time and $500,000 fines. What? For having a bank account in a country that I live in? Excuse me for living, but every time I fill out this form, I somehow feel violated.

Look, I'm not about to give up my U.S. citizenship because then I would be homeless. But the U.S. government needs to stop treating those of us supporting their country without even living in it a break.

Americans are the only citizens in the industrialized world that are double-taxed. It's taxation without representation and our former tea party throwers would be disappointed in us. No other industrialized nation taxes citizens not living in the country. Yes, the U.S. government allows the first $91,400 of a salary to be double-tax free and this may be well and fine if you live in Mexico or a country with a low standard of living. But as most expats in Switzerland know, a 90k salary doesn't get you a heck of a lot here. Throw in taxes times two, and Americans are at a competitive disadvantage in most of Europe, particularly in expensive countries with coordinating high salaries like Switzerland and Norway.

Here's the thing as well: say an American has a child abroad. Born in Switzerland to American parents, the child would not be Swiss, they would be American. They may never live in the United States in their life. But they would pay American taxes. Please tell me how this makes sense.

In my view, the more Americans abroad, the better for America. Our country badly needs citizens that understand their place in the world, that understand other cultures, that speak other languages, and that can see beyond their 3-car garage. We need people that are open-minded and based on the expatriates I know, this describes many of the 5.2 million Americans abroad. But our government's policies don't make being an American abroad very appealing at a time when it has never been more critical for other nations to see us in a different light.

Anyhow, enough with this little raclette rant. What do you think? Do you think Americans abroad have taxation without representation? Have you had trouble getting a bank account in Switzerland because you're an American?

Travel as a Political Act

I'm just finishing reading Rick Steves' Travel as a Political Act. He makes a lot of good points about Europeans, Americans, and travel. I particularly love the quote Steves gives from Muhammad: "Don't tell me how educated you are; tell me how much you've traveled."

So true.

While repatriation will be tough for many expats, I think it gives us an opportunity to impact our home countries from our learnings abroad in a positive way. And from that standpoint, when my time comes, I'll be looking forward to going home.

For instance: Steves discusses the European joy for life. I see this too. Most Europeans are happy to make do with less. They live in apartments. Many don't own cars. But they do have time off–and many aren't willing to part with that for more money and more stuff.

I've written about American work ethic before, and I don't think we will ever see protests in the street like you would in France if someone tries to take away your vacation time. But after living in Europe (and also working my butt off American style), I feel strongly that Americans have an opportunity to become less materialistic in exchange for a better work/life balance. I know Americans that work two jobs just so they can buy that fancy house with the three-car garage even though there are only two family members old enough to drive.

I didn't think I could go from living in an American three-bedroom house to living in a Swiss two-bedroom apartment, but guess what. It's great. There's less to clean, no grass to cut, and I have time to do other things instead: like travel and get educated.

Anyhow, for those interested in how travel (and living abroad) can help you improve your own country, I highly recommend Travel as a Political Act.

Sechselaeuten: A Men's Holiday

Today is Zurich's spring festival, Sechselaeuten. Trust me, you want to see this. A snowman is going to be burned to oblivion and then how quickly his head blows up will forecast our summer weather. It's a twisted version of Groundhog's Day, but it becomes even more twisted when you consider the women involved. Yes.

Because the women aren't allowed to be involved.

I wrote a feature this month for Swiss News on women's rights concerning the Sechselaeuten festival. For over 21 years now, a group of women have been asking for equal rights to participate in the Sechselaeuten Parade and have not been able to obtain it. 21 years. That's how slow things are to change in Switzerland. To read more about the battle between tradition and modernity in both public and private Swiss life, click here to read, Sechs-ism, Beyond the Böögg.

Vote for One Big Yodel on Expatica.com

Hi Yodelers,

If you read this blog regularly and sometimes enjoy what you read, then please hop over to Expatica.com today and vote for your favorite Switzerland blog post. My post, "Four Ways to Save Money in Switzerland," has been nominated and naturally I'm competitive and would like to win as well as save you money in a land where a plate of Chinese food is $25 (come on, Chinese food?).

Thanks for your support in making One Big Yodel the one of the loudest yodeling blogs out there.

Click here to vote.

The Night Train

It took me almost four years to finally take a night train in Europe but I decided I couldn’t properly call myself European without at least doing one overnight train trip.

Anyhow, the problem with trains in Europe is that depending on where you are going, they can cost as much or more than a flight. Our round-trip from Zurich to Bled on the night train, "The Balkan Express", cost CHF 728 total for 2 people. In second class. With GAs. Yeah. Not so cheap. Even when paying with REKA checks. I might not have bought the tickets at all, except that I had gone through the whole transaction while speaking German and was not about to have done it for nothing. Even when told the price.

The advantage of the night train is that you potentially “save” money on a hotel night and have more time at your destination.

So what’s the verdict?

The time part was good. We could leave late on Thursday night from Zurich and arrive Friday morning at 7.30am in Bled, Slovenia, only a 10 minute bus ride from our actual destination. Only problem? We arrived jet lagged and wasted our extra “saved” time by taking a nap.

Then we could leave Monday night and still get back to Zurich by Tuesday morning in time for work.

However.

Sleeping on a night train is kind of hard. Even if you have a private room with beds and a sink like we did. The train stops and starts constantly all night. It squeaks. It squawks. And people are boarding and blabbing pretty much all night long.

My advice? Nyquil. Benadryl. Or a big bottle of wine (yes, Americans, you can).

Or just take a flight.

How about you? What do you think about night trains in Europe?

Dear Frau: Why are the Swiss so rich?

Welcome to the seventh edition of Dear Frau. It’s kind of like Dear Abby, except with an international twist. If you have a question, be sure to contact the Frau and maybe your little Frage will be in next week’s Dear Frau Column.

Dear Frau,

Why are the Swiss so rich?

Curious

Dear Curious

Let me count the ways.

First of all, the smallest Swiss bank note is a 10. The next smallest denomination, the SFr 5 coin, is so heavy you can’t wait to get rid of it. The Swiss planned this and price their bottled water accordingly.

Then there’s the 50-cent piece. These things are so small they tend to get lost and can’t be bothered with. Score another one for Switzerland.

And did I mention the smallest coin is 5-cents? This is a country where pennies are not worthy. Round-up, say the Swiss, round-up!

Another reason the Swiss are rich has to do with loyalty. The Swiss support themselves by being willing to pay more for Swiss Made. They even get weird about stuff like strawberries. One of my Swiss friends once wrinkled his nose at the poor little berries from Spain saying he would wait to buy strawberries until the Swiss ones arrived. Imports are shunned here. See photo above--even tattoos are better Swiss Made.

The Swiss are a cash society. People pay with actual money. Not the illusion of it. So use a 1,000 SFr bill to buy a Coke and you’re fine. Try to pay for the same Coke with a credit card? Forget it.

They charge a lot for water. They charge a lot for Chinese food. They charge a lot to throw out trash.

When your wallet gets stolen (yes, there is crime in Switzerland and it’s big business because you have a pay a lot to get your Swiss cards replaced (SFr 30-40 a card)). But American companies replace stolen cards for free. Suckers.

Customer service phone numbers aren’t free to call because the customer is never right in Switzerland.

It costs three times the price to call Switzerland from Switzerland as it costs to call America from Switzerland.

The Swiss make a lot of money on foreigners by making them renew their permit every year and then they purposely take as long as possible to renew it so they can charge SFr 20 for a piece of paper that states the permit is in the process of being renewed.

Whew. There are many more reasons the Swiss are rich, but the Frau is feeling a bit stingy with her time today. Anyone else have a good reason why the Swiss are rich?

Hello, Wife

Guten Tag, yodelers (oops, how High German of me),

Hope everyone had a great holiday. While I recover from my first Nachtzug experience (more on that later), I wanted to share an essay that some of you might be able to relate to--especially if you are a trailing spouse.

I think most of us Fraus and Hausmanns know that in the end, it's worth a little identity confusion for the opportunity to live and travel abroad. But that doesn't mean it is always easy.

After all, the first time I translated what was on my Swiss permit, I practically had a heart attack. It was something like: "Only allowed in country because of Husband. Not worthy otherwise."

Thanks, Switzerland.

Read my essay, Expat, in Skirt! Magazine this month for more on identity at a (European) crossroads.

Dear Frau: What to do in Zurich?

Welcome to the sixth edition of Dear Frau. It’s kind of like Dear Abby, except with an international twist. If you have a question, be sure to contact the Frau and maybe your little Frage will be in next week’s Dear Frau Column.

Dear Frau,

I'm gonna be in Zurich on the 18th, en route to Amsterdam. I managed to get a 12-hour layover. Since you're practically a local, what would you recommend? I'd love to get some tips. I want to make the best of my 12 hours in der Schweiz.

Thanks,

Pimp My Layover

Dear Pimp My Layover,

Good for you. If you’re going to do the layover thing you might as well go all out and get as jetlagged as possible. Twelve hours is plenty of time to see most of the highlights in Zurich—even in your delirious state.

Number one: put your stuff in a locker. There are lockers right above the train station at the airport.

Number two: buy a Zurich Card (see below) and take the train to Zurich HB. The HB means “main train station”. It should only take 10 minutes from the airport. Don’t get off in Oerlikon unless you want to go bowling.

Number three to infinity: Walk down the main shopping street, the Bahnhofstrasse. Smile at some Swiss people and see what happens (not for the faint at heart).

Eat at Hiltl, Europe's best and first vegetarian restaurant. While you’re eating you can grab some food for thought in the form of a Hiltl cookbook, or Swiss News, a magazine The Frau writes for.

Stop in Sprüngli, a chocolate store and café, for dessert or an edible souvenir. The Swiss eat 12 kilos of chocolate a year without getting fat. Now’s your chance to try it and see what happens.

Look at the Marc Chagall windows in the Fraumünster church. Just don’t ask The Frau to come with you. She's seen these windows about fifty times now and is going through withdrawal.

Walk to the lake and enjoy the views. Take a boat ride if the season allows.

Explore Niederdorf, a section of Zurich’s old town. It’s less stuffy than the Bahnhofstrasse and has lots of cool shops and bars.

If you're interested in museums or the weather sucks, you could check out Zurich's Kunsthaus, its art museum, or the Landesmuseum, a history museum.

Another alternative if the weather is nice is to go up to Uetliberg, nicknamed "the top of Zurich". It's the highest point in Zurich and you can get there in about 20 minutes from Zurich's main train station. There are lots of good hiking trails up there as well. If it’s foggy or raining though, you won’t see much.

Tip: If you plan to take public transport and visit a museum or two (or go up to Uetliberg), buy a Zurich Card for CHF 19. It’s valid for 24 hours and includes free entrance to most museums and free public transport within Zurich, including to and from the airport, and including a boat ride on the lake. Buy it at the airport and that’s all you’ll need all day. It’s one of the best deals in Zurich. Trust The Frau, after you see the prices here, you’ll know what she means.

Ok, the Frau has run out of ideas. Come on, all of you Zurich locals out there, what’s great to do in this city? The Frau wants to know what she forgot. Let’s help Pimp A Layover. And Happy Easter to all.

Don't Leave Switzerland Without...

Hi Yodelers,

Yesterday I was over on ACC sharing my take on the 10 Things You Should See Before You Leave Switzerland. They were inspired by reading the book, 1,000 Things to See Before You Die. But often (especially in the Switzerland section) this book tends to focus on exclusive hotels and restaurants and I don't necessarily think those always define the best things about a place.

Anyhow, from the narcissus fields above Montreux (see picture above) to riding in a Slow Up event to yes, even one grand hotel, I'm curious what you think about the list. What should no expat living in Switzerland miss?

Dear Frau: Where are the Swiss soccer fans?

Welcome to the fifth edition of Dear Frau. It’s kind of like Dear Abby, except with an international twist. If you have a question, be sure to contact the Frau and maybe your little Frage will be in next week’s Dear Frau column.

Dear Frau,

Budweiser is casting a World Cup reality series and we need fans of Swiss football who would want to travel to South Africa to represent their country and team at the World Cup this summer. We’ve found fans from other countries already but are having problems finding people in Switzerland. Help! We are still searching for that one lucky fan who will represent Switzerland in the Bud House. He or she will be flown to Cape Town, South Africa, for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and enjoy luxurious accommodations, thrilling excursions, and the opportunity to have the kind of access few fans ever have. If you could help us find that elusive Swiss fan that would be great.

Sincerely,

Find me a Fan

Dear Find me a Fan,

The Frau was once at a U.S.A./Switzerland soccer game in Basel and it was kind of sad. The stadium was maybe 1/3 full. Maybe. But the Frau didn’t care because she hadn’t come for the football—she had come for the VIP box—and was busy stuffing her face with foods she can't normally afford in Switzerland–like steak.

Anyhow. It’s hard to see many Swiss get excited about much in public—especially a soccer game where they lose to a team as pathetic as the Americans. But still. There must be some die-hard fans out there.

Any Swiss football fans out there that want to travel to South Africa this summer? (Hmm. All I heard was an echo).

Ok yodelers, it’s time to act. Ask your friends, post this on Facebook, tweet it, whatever. We can’t let Switzerland be fan-less on the world reality stage. That would just be sad. We know the Swiss love reality TV. Just watch Bauer, ledig, sucht and you'll see what I mean.

If you’re interested or want more information, you can contact Find Me a Fan directly at rebecca.snavely@gmail.com. She doesn’t mind. In fact, she looks forward to hearing from any and all yodelers.

Deadline to apply is March 28. Good luck!

Why do you think it’s so hard to find Swiss football fans? Is Switzerland too small of a country? Are the people here too private? The Frau wants to know what you think.

Swiss Survival Kits

Hello Yodelers,

Tomorrow, stay tuned for another sorry soul who needs your help. I mean, stay tuned for the Dear Frau column. Thanks to all who gave advice last week on what to pack when moving to Switzerland. But in the meantime, some news and links for you:

Last week, I was over on Expatica giving advice on how to save money in Switzerland. Yes, it's possible.

Yesterday, I was over at ACC talking about the 25 ways you know you're in Switzerland. For instance, does every other country you visit now seem cheap?

And today I'm over at Two Fools in Zurich, trying to explain why Americans are so creative in German class.

Finally, I just started offering a Swiss Survival Kit, in other words, specially chosen items of interest for Yodelers on Amazon.com. Any items you order directly from this site will get me a profit of 4%. I can't wait to get rich. I might even make enough to buy a ketchup packet from the Swiss McDonald's! But mainly, I want to help, and these are the items that helped me survive this crazy country. If there are other items you've found helpful that I should know about, please leave a comment and I'll add them to the survival kit.

What is wrong with Swiss hotels?

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were trying to plan a trip with our Swiss neighbor. We were going to spend a weekend in Arosa. Together. The 30-something Americans with the 70-something Swiss.

Problem was? There were no hotels in Arosa for the weekend of March 19.

Well, let me put that another way. There were no hotels available for less than CHF 370 a night, and most were over CHF 1,000 AND wanted to charge us an extra CHF 25/per person/per night for--heaven forbid--asking to stay over a weekend.

Excuse me for being a guest.

Even my Swiss neighbor thought it was all ridiculous. Swiss hotels seem to think that we should thank them for allowing us to stay with them instead of the other way around. In the last few weeks, I've received hotel brochure after hotel brochure from places like Grandhotel Giessbach, Belvedere in Scuol, and Hotel Schloss Ragaz. In addition to prices that look sort of reasonable until you realize they are PER PERSON and not per room, they ALL want to charge up to another CHF 60/night for staying on a weekend.

Well I have news for them. Instead of staying in Switzerland, I'll be leaving on a jet plane to other European countries where hotels can still be found for $100, including breakfast, including shampoo, and including a bit of gratitude.

How about you? Has a Swiss hotel ever scared you off? Where will you be spending your upcoming holiday weekends?

Dear Frau: What should I pack?

Welcome to the fourth edition of Dear Frau. It's kind of like Dear Abby, except with an international twist. If you have a question, be sure to contact the Frau and maybe your little Frage will be in next week's Dear Frau column.

Dear Frau:

I’m moving from the USA to Switzerland soon. Are there things I should definitely pick up here before moving?

Thanks,

Soon in Lausanne

Dear Soon in Lausanne,

Is Obama the U.S. President? Is Switzerland full of chocolate? Is this blog worth reading? The answer is yes.

Yes, you should definitely pick up things before moving to Switzerland especially if (1) you have a paid move and (2) want to save money.

It’s not that Switzerland doesn’t have stuff, it’s just that the stuff they sell is overpriced compared to its U.S. equivalent. And if you plan to go car-less like me and many expats living here, it makes living great, but buying things a hassle. (This comes from someone who knows hassle—she brings her six-foot Christmas tree home on a Swiss bus every year).

If there are certain non-perishable foods (and let’s be honest, in U.S. grocery stores that’s pretty much all there is) that you crave, make sure to stock up on those.

If you are moving American beds, it might be smart to buy an extra set of sheets because European bed sizes are different and if you soil your sheets, well, you don’t want to end up having to buy an entire new bed because of it.

If you’re a book-a-holic like the Frau, stock up on English books you want to read because they go about $30 a paperback in Switzerland. Planning on traveling around Europe? Buy a few guidebooks in advance. What about a French-English dictionary, n’est pas?

Shoes are another consideration to bring, especially athletic shoes, which in Switzerland can run $150-200 for a basic pair of running shoes. The Frau does not pretend to understand Swiss prices; she just tries to avoid paying them. (She recently discovered that Intersport sells sweatsuits for the reasonable equivalent of $150. Wow. No wonder Swiss people don't wear these things).

Cold/Flu medicine, aspirin, these would all be smart to bring since Swiss colds are nasty and the amount of foreign languages thrown around this little country can often cause headaches.

If you’re not being moved, that sucks but you’ll survive. And paying for a few extra suitcases on the plane may be worth it. Your best bet for affordable furniture in Switzerland is either IKEA or Interio.

Oh, and if you have room in your luggage after all of this, the Frau wouldn’t mind some Reese’s Pieces. The ones her sister brought her last week are almost gone already.

Now the Frau is tired, craving peanut butter (put that on the packing list!), and has run out of ideas. Anyone else have packing suggestions for our soon to be expat? What did you not bring and wish you had?

Thanks, Fellow Yodelers

One Big Yodel is taking a commercial break to let you know that this blog is now officially worth reading. Whew. Aren't you glad you haven't been wasting your time, after all?

Along with Swisstory, One Big Yodel has received The Expat Focus Recommended Website Award for Switzerland. This award is given to outstanding expat websites (their words, not mine) which provide information that those moving to or living in a foreign country would find useful.

Wow. This blog is useful. And to think I started it back in 2006 with only one reader: my mom.Thanks to all of my fellow yodelers who have come along for a read or a feed since then. I like writing so much, I'd do it even if no one cared, but it's nice to know you're out there. Merci.

The Swiss Chocolate Taste Test

You haven't really lived in Switzerland until you have done an official chocolate taste test. Thanks to my sister, recent visitor and ultimate tourist, my first Swiss chocolate taste test has been completed with the following result: My taste buds suck.

Her test consisted of blindly tasting various versions of dark chocolate to determine my preferred percentage of cacao: 50%, 60%, 70%, 85%, or 90%.

Results: the only chocolate I guessed correctly was 90% but not surprisingly, I liked them all. My favorite was the Lindt 70%.

Have you done a Swiss chocolate taste test? Do you need an excuse? I could use another one. So what are your favorite Swiss chocolates?

Great Reads for Expats

Today, I'm over at ACC with a few of my favorite expat reads. I tend to like memoirs with the universal theme of reinvention abroad since that's been the theme of my life the last few years.

What are your favorite books on expat life?

Dear Frau: I want to be a Swiss journalist!

Welcome to the third edition of Dear Frau. It's kind of like Dear Abby, except with an international twist. If you have a question, be sure to contact the Frau and maybe your Frage will be in next week's Dear Frau column.

Dear Frau:

I come from Sri Lanka and formerly worked as a journalist there. I want to join the media here, but I’ve had problems due to language issues. The government only provides me with German courses, they will not let me go to journalism school or to the university. What should I do?

Danke,

Hopeful Journalist

Unfortunately, problems due to language issues are not a unique situation to foreigners living in Switzerland. Even the Swiss are often confused and speak to each other in non-official languages like English (except the French-speaking Swiss. They may know other languages, but they only and ever speak French).

Despite her 2.5 years of German language training, the Frau has accepted that she will never be able to be a German journalist or German copywriter. No matter how well you learn and speak a language, writing in it professionally is something that very few can do well as non-native speakers. That’s why so many companies in Switzerland seek native speakers for certain jobs.

The Frau knows she is fortunate to speak English as a native language and be able to continue her writing career because there are English publications in Switzerland. Even so, there aren't that many, so she still must look outside of Switzerland for opportunities. Let’s just say the Frau will not be writing for the NZZ anytime soon.

The Frau would never tell anyone to give up, only that as a non-native English, German, French, and Italian speaker, she thinks you have a tough road ahead as a journalist writing for Swiss publications. Competition for jobs these days is tight enough and as a writer, your language skills must be near perfect. Even the Frau worries she might misspell things and this freaks her out.

The Frau’s advice would be to try to continue to work for your former newspaper in Sri Lanka. Do they need international news? Could you be their Swiss or European correspondent? Could you write travel articles about Europe for other Sri Lanken publications? As a writer abroad, you must learn to be creative in ways writers in their home countries don't have to be. Try to think outside the box. The other option is to reinvent yourself completely and think of other things you love and could do in Switzerland with less barriers to employment.

Whew. The Frau hopes she's not being discouraging here, just realistic. Anyone else have advice for our Sri Lankan journalist? Feel free to disagree with the Frau's advice. How have some of you reinvented yourselves abroad?

Not Exactly Easy Cheese

How different is living in Switzerland versus living in the United States? One way to find out is through cheese. Both countries have it. The difference is that one sells cheese in aerosal cans and one does not. But for those whose lives (ahem, moi) were previously processed to perfection, getting used to the real stuff is not without pain.

Read how adjusting to Swiss life is "Not Exactly Easy Cheese" in this month's Expat Adventure column in Swiss News, written by yours truly.

Stop the Press! We sell Coca-Cola now!

Is anyone as amazed as I am that Migros (a large supermarket chain in Switzerland) is running an ad campaign to tell the world that they now sell things as unique as Coca-Cola? Wow. It's like it's news that people in Switzerland do drink things besides Rivella.

Let's see. Coke has been around since 1886, so Migros is only, well, 124 years behind the times. Now that's a thing to advertise.