A close-up and personal look at Switzerland
Or, as my husband says, “How I got cultivated”. Am I American or Swiss? Looking closely, but not too closely, I can see I have changed. Some things I do now are just so Swiss. Here’s a nonfinite list of… Read moreHow I Have Changed, I’m Swiss
Think ‘windmills’ and Don Quixote comes to mind. The moving sails are imaginary dragons. But that was back in 1605 and things are different nowadays. Windmills Windmills are somehow romantic; so much so that even songs have been written about them…. Read moreWind Power: Windmills, Wind Turbines and Pinwheels
We didn’t have anything planned for the summer except to enjoy our home and the homegrown fruits and vegetables. Amidst doing all this nothing, we ended up taking a trip and being tourists for a day. Lemonade Shortly after our… Read moreTourists for a day in Switzerland
Back in the days when I was learning German I came across many words that sounded similar to English words. I usually only had to use a word wrong once to learn the German meaning. It’s lots of fun seeing… Read moreSimilar Words with Different Meanings in English and German
I don’t smoke and never have but I do have relatives, loved ones and friends who smoke. For health reasons I would prefer they not. Nonetheless I try to be tolerant of their habit and let them weigh the facts… Read moreSmoking in Switzerland and America
When I came to Switzerland I fell in love with the geraniums on the windowsills. They are epitome of Europe, history and tradition for me. In my mind they are warm, inviting and are always red. Although I think they… Read moreGeraniums in Switzerland
Homophones are two or more words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Homo- is the Greek root for ‘same’, and phon- is the Greek root for ‘sound’, so homophone means ‘same sound’. These are words that can sometimes… Read moreEnglish Homophones
“If that happens then I can call myself ‘von’”. I’ve heard many people make such exclamations. That means that you’d be somebody, somebody important or as they say in Swiss German you’d be “more better”. To be sure, the Bernese… Read moreA Point in Time: 1980 – Madame de Meuron
Gnomes (pronounced ‘nome’). Some people love them, trust them, talk to them and others hate them. Personally, I had never even heard of them until I moved to Switzerland. I found out quickly my mother-in-law was not a gnome-lover. My… Read moreGnomes in Gardens Everywhere
As I’ve mentioned before, German is a descriptive language. Some words just bring up a visual. Here’s my certainly not finite list of descriptive animal names [along with the English direct translation]. I knew the majority of them. But I… Read moreVisual Animal Names in German and English
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