Football

Sarah and I had to decide how we were going to survive in Switzerland without being able to reliably watch football. We decided the best way to deal with it, is by not dealing with it. Instead, we found out that the NFL offers a product called NFL GamePass to people outside of the United States that allows you to watch football on your computer, smart phone, or iPad. Apart from watching live games, you get access to each game after it is over.

So we decided to get it.

This did pose a problem, though. Sunday games start at 7pm, Switzerland time, and any night game (Sunday, Monday, and Thursday) starts between 2am and 3am. It just so happened that the Green Bay Packers opened the season with one of those 3am games.

Normally, when the Packers play, I get so worked up that I have trouble sleeping that night. When I decided to wake up at 2:30am to watch the Packers live, I had no trouble going to sleep that night, but I did have a bit of a hard time staying awake at work. Nothing a few Swiss espresso couldn’t cure, but still…

I know it’s not really embracing another culture, but I’m really glad that I still have football to watch. Go Pack!

September 8, 2011March 31, 2013

Life without a car

I haven’t owned a bike for 12 years. I had one in college, but I rode it so infrequently that it rusted to the bike rack, had the wheel stolen, and was eventually cut off and hauled away, presumably by the Evanston police authority. Much to my father’s dismay, biking was just never really my thing. Even when I didn’t have a car, I preferred to walk and/or take public transportation.

Now, I find myself again in a town with excellent public transportation and no car. But this time, I have a 2-year-old with me all the time, and I have to do grocery shopping for a family of 5. On top of that, Swiss people are big bike-riders. There are literally hundreds of bikes parked near the Münsingen train station, and many hundreds more in the city of Bern. Needless to say, after our first week here, I got a bike and shortly after that a trailer for Henry to ride in.

The bike is a cheap (by Swiss standards), used bike that Joe calls the “Peewee Herman bike.” It squeaks when I pedal, the front brake shrieks like a banshee so I try to only use the back brake, and it has only two gears (down from at least three that it used to have). It also has a front headlight that is powered by the wheels, so when it is engaged, it makes a whirring sound like a quiet electric sander. Lets just say, you can hear me coming!

After the first trip I made to the grocery store, I was actually sore. It was a literal “pain in the butt.” The next day I got back on the bike and I thought, “You have got to be kidding me!” Ouch! But, Joe assured me that the pain would eventually go away. Henry also took some time adjusting to his new mode of transportation. He would struggle getting in and out, and whine and cry during the rides, especially the first couple of times I put groceries next to him in the trailer. But, I pressed on.

I have to admit, that it is good exercise. We happen to live at the lowest point in town, near the river. So, going anywhere is slightly up hill. But, coming back home is a breeze. This is great when I’ve got a trailer with a 40-pound child and another 50 pounds of groceries, and I barely have to pedal to get them home. However, it’s not so great when I show up for music class or church sweaty and out of breath like I just came from the gym.

As we mentioned before, the kids got bikes and learned to ride them without training wheels in just a couple of days. Now they are experts, just like the other Swiss kids. I have ridden all around town with Henry in tow and Emily and James following behind. This includes riding on roads with cars and crossing bridges to get to the grocery store, train station, swimming pool, dentist, playground, etc. Not, that we haven’t had our share of mishaps (The scrapes and bruises on James’s legs were proof of that for a couple of weeks), but all in all we get around really well. Fortunately, bikers (and pedestrians) in Switzerland have the right-of-way most of the time. Because there are so many bikes, it is a high priority, so cars have to wait for bikes at intersections, even wait to pass a bike on a narrow road.

Joe finally got his bike this week. His is another cheap, used bike that didn’t even work when we got it. Fortunately, Joe has become quite the bike mechanic. After replacing the chain and the tires and tuning it up a bit, he rode it to the train station this morning with all the other business commuters riding bikes in suits with their briefcases strapped to the back. And, last night we went on our first official family bike ride. Even though I didn’t have a bike in Milwaukee, and Emily and James could never really get very far, this is something I’ve always wanted to do. And last night, we finally did it! We took the whole family to the edge of town, past many swiss style homes, and by an open field with a beautiful view of the mountains, trains rushing by and even a few cows and sheep.

I have to admit, I actually enjoy getting on my bike now. I won’t be doing long distances any time soon (sorry dad!), but it is no longer a pain in the butt, literally or figuratively. Even Henry has learned to enjoy his new ride. Most of the time, when we pull into our driveway and I get off the bike he says, “That was a great ride, mom!”

September 7, 2011September 5, 2011

Swiss Banknote Series: 10 Franc Note

Charles Edouard Jeanneret (1887-1965)

Known as Le Corbusier (a pseudonym), Jeanneret was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland (in Canton Neuchâtel). Though he become a French citizen later in life, he was honored by the Swiss National Bank for being a well-known architect and pioneer of modern architecture. He was particularly interested in using architecture to provide better living conditions for people in crowded cities.

His most well-known project was the planning and implementation of the Indian city of Chandigarh. He was commissioned by the Indian government to develop the city as a new capital of the Indian state of Punjab. Of note, he also designed the stadium that was to become Saddam Hussein Stadium in Baghdad. He also designed a number of private homes, including one called “Villa Schwob” in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

He died at the age of 77 while swimming in the Mediterranean sea near Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France.

Today, the banknote bearing his image will buy you two coffees, and two gipfeli at Migros Take-Away.

September 5, 2011

Swiss Banknote Series: Introduction

It feels like almost everyday I end up going to an ATM machine to withdraw my hard-earned American Dollars as Swiss Francs. We’ve mentioned before on this blog how expensive things can be here, but it is more than just the expense that makes me look at Switzerland’s money in a different light. Certainly Switzerland is a world financial powerhouse and daily updates from the newspapers detail the complex policy-making issues within the Swiss National Bank.

But living here has given me the opportunity to really examine the issued notes that make up the money. It’s not something we usually think about in America, but maybe that’s because I know who George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin are (not to mention Sacajawea), but who are the people on the Swiss Currency, and what did they do to get immortalized like this?

Part of this interest has been prompted by the recently publicized Swiss Franc New Banknote Project. In 2012 the Swiss National Bank will start printing new currency whose design was the result of a contest. So for a few posts over the next several weeks, I was going to look at who was on each Swiss Franc Banknote (10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 1000 – never seen that one), and find out a little about them. And if I’m feeling up to it, I’ll throw in a bonus post about the coins if you’re lucky.

September 4, 2011March 31, 2013

Thun, the Tanzschiff, and Ten years

So, as I noted before, September 1st, 2011 was our tenth wedding anniversary. Sarah and I decided to get a babysitter this weekend (no small feat in Switzerland), and go out for the evening. Sarah had been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time, as she had already decided where we were going for our anniversary.

We took the train down to Thun, a lovely city just 10 minutes south of us by train, that also lies next to the Thunersee (Lake Thun) right where the Aare river exits. In fact, a portion of the old city is essentially an island in the middle of the Aare river, connected to the rest of the city by pedestrian and motor vehicle bridges. On one side of the old city is the bahnhof, and on the other lies Schloss Thun.

Sarah and I walked around the old city, visited Schloss Thun, and had drinks at several outdoor cafes while strolling through the town. We also saw preparations for a festival in the middle of the old town called the Langer Tisch, a festival that involves one long eating table that meanders through the old town.

While this was all lovely, it was by no means the highlight of the day. Sarah had a special plan in mind. There are a number of boats that sail on the Thunersee, “cruises” if you will, that have any number of themes associated with them. There are simple tourist boats, lunch boats, fondue boats, fish boats, wine boats, almost any kind of boat you could imagine. And Sarah had her eye on one particular boat for some time: the Dinner-und-Tanzschiff (Dinner and Dance Boat). She had made reservations for us on this boat, which only rides about once every two weeks or so, when she noticed that one set sail on our anniversary weekend.

The boat itself was beautiful. The M.S. Berner Oberland is one of the largest tourist ships to sail on the Thunersee. The dinner was delicious; we had apparently been upgraded to a First-Class dining area reservation. The view of the lake shore as daylight faded, and lights lining the lake as darkness crept in was fabulous, and made for a romantic evening.

And what could be more romantic, than two 300-lb guys in plaid shirts, unbuttoned at least half way down, singing German folk music with a pre-programmed Yamaha keyboard? Well, that pretty much describes Duo Barbados, our entertainment for the evening. The beginning of every song sounded like Boney M singing “Rivers of Babylon,” which Sarah got tired of me singing until at one point they actually WERE playing “Rivers of Babylon.” Sarah kept referring to what they were playing as “Muzak,” but to me that seemed like an insult to Muzak.

And if they weren’t entertaining enough (and the video below should clear up any confusion there), most of the other boat patrons (many of whom likely got their tickets as a half-price deal through their local ballroom dance studio) sent the entertainment value soaring into the hilariousphere. Among my personal favorites were: creepy guy who sat alone all night without dancing, The Elizabeth Taylor lookalike (at least from about 1 week after she died) and her “partner” who took turns “dancing” with a man in a boat captain’s uniform, and Mr. Bolo Tie and his lovely companion, who were actually very good dancers and enjoyable to watch.

There are times when sitcoms seem unbelievably contrived, but there are definitely times when you can’t believe that your life has turned into a sitcom. The only thing missing from last night was a laugh track, or a live studio audience. But when you are celebrating 10 years of marriage, you don’t let something like a ridiculously surreal Dinner-und-Tanzschiff ruin your evening. Sarah and I toasted the night away, laughed at ourselves, and, most importantly, hit the dance floor a few times just to say we did it all!

See our photos from our anniversary adventure.

September 2, 2011March 31, 2013

Making Friends

Emily went to her first birthday party this week. Emily and James have had friends here in Switzerland since the day we arrived. There were kids playing outside on our street, and instantly they became friends. They speak German to the other kids, though not at a very high level. But it doesn’t really matter… they’re kids. They just ride bikes together, or play with toys, and *bang* they’ve made a friend.

And now they both go to school where there are plenty of other kids to play with and befriend, so that after only two weeks, Emily was invited to a party.

With adults, it’s completely different. Once you are out of college, making friends, even in my home country, isn’t easy. And Swiss people are notorious for sticking with their childhood friends. Introducing any new friends to their social group takes an extremely long time (i.e. longer than the year we are here). On top of that, the language barrier is a much bigger deal for adults. I can get along in a conversation okay, but I get lost fairly quickly once we are past the basic introductions. And, with adults, talking is extremely important if you want to get to know someone. There is no playing or school-like environment that brings people together. Adults don’t really *do* much, except sit around and talk. So, if you can’t talk very well, it’s kind of a problem.

The other night, Joe and I were watching Seinfeld and there was a bit about this very topic. It was good to laugh about it. But seriously, I’m not sure we’ll get invited to anything the entire year – at least not by anyone who doesn’t speak English.

September 1, 2011March 31, 2013

One Decade and Counting…

While this isn’t really related to our travels, I just want to make note that today, September 1st, 2011 is Sarah and my 10th wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe that we have been married for that long, but I would be remiss if I didn’t note that I have spent the last 10 years with the sweetest, funniest, brightest, kindest, and most beautiful wife imaginable. She has followed me halfway across the world to allow me to pursue my career. And don’t forget that she has given me three wonderful kids, who she has practically raised all by herself for the past seven years.

So we will get you back to your regularly scheduled program, but I would like close by saying I love you so much, Sarah. I couldn’t be doing all of this without you. And I’m looking forward to the next ten decades together!