A close-up and personal look at Switzerland
One of the unique Swiss pastimes is playing cards. Their favorite game is Jass (pronounced yahss). The deck consists of 36 cards (6 to Aces) using either the French cards or the German cards. There is also a special mat you… Read moreJass and Hearts are Trump
In “early August” 1291, during the late middle ages three cantons in what is now central Switzerland, swore an oath of alliance, and I suppose with that, a nation was conceived. Who were they uniting against? Here, my very short,… Read moreSwiss Independence Day
After Ben and I were married, we moved into the same apartment building as his sister and her family and his parents. Or, to put it another way, I moved into Ben’s apartment because he was already living there. I… Read moreLunchtime
The Swiss telephone company once had a monopoly and could and did charge anything they wanted for a phone call. Long, long ago, when I was still in America and Ben would call me, you could hear a light, steady… Read moreRing, Ring, Telephone!
There are times when an American shakes someone’s hand but very rarely, if ever, do they kiss an acquaintance or friend. Here in Switzerland you are forever holding out your hand to shake someone else’s. They start learning these manners… Read moreTouchy, Touchy
Eating something new might be a challenge, but how you eat can be equally challenging, too. It wasn’t hard to miss, I was always the last one to finish my meals. Always. People were getting bored, sitting tapping their fingers… Read moreOf Forks and Knives
No, the title isn’t a euphemism of some sort. This post is really about doing the laundry! A heck of a lot of people live in apartments in Switzerland. I did too for the first 36 years I lived here…. Read moreDoing the Laundry
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