A close-up and personal look at Switzerland
The word barber is derived from Latin and means “beard”. There was a time when barbers were not only expected to shave and cut hair. They were also expected to do healing, medical procedures like bloodletting, extracting teeth and leeching… Read moreBarbershops in Switzerland
Ben’s dad had a basement full of wine that he bought so it could age. That was cool. Some were really old, too. Although Ben and I both don’t have any major wine knowledge we thought we could try, too…. Read moreBuying Wine from Giordano
A whisperer is a person who understands and can communicate with dogs and cats. They can get to the bottom of and reverse behavior or training problems. They can spot problems and give tips as what to do to solve… Read moreDog and Cat Whisperer
Remember the Christmas song “12 days of Christmas”? Many stores want you to believe the 12 days refer to before Christmas. Time to go out, buy gifts and crank up that economy. Thing is, the 12 days start on Christmas… Read moreEpiphany or Three Kings‘ Day
Switzerland likes to be on time. Trains, buses or fundamentally anything that has a schedule is dependent on being on time. Indisputably clocks and watches are an important part of daily life. Clocks Some people like the tic-tock sound clocks… Read moreClocks, Watches and Time
The Swiss call December 31st Silvester. Sylvester?! Stallone or the Looney Tunes cat? Those are the only two Sylvesters I know. Still, I’m pretty sure New Year’s Eve wasn’t named after either one of them. So why is New Year’s… Read moreTraditional New Year’s Eve
I’ve always associated Christmas with warm, family time and yes, always somewhat magical. For me it’s candles that do it. As I’ve mentioned before I had never seen real candles on Christmas trees before I came to Switzerland. Year after… Read moreMagical Christmas Moments
While going to work in Berne I often stopped at a local bakery. You always had to have something to eat at the 9 o’clock break. Those were the days when I could eat bakery goods including doughnuts without worrying… Read moreDoughnuts and their Names
What sounds good and has meaning in one language is often not understandable when directly translating into another. Soon after I learned Swiss German, Ben and I realized how silly some sayings sound when translated directly into English. Sometimes even… Read moreTranslating German Sayings into English
Betty Crocker was like a member of our family. I remember Mom always cooking from a Betty Crocker notebook-cookbook. Betty Crocker came into being in the 1920s and by the 1960s was in full swing. When I moved to Switzerland… Read moreCooking Wherever You Are with Betty
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