Quintessential Switzerland

A few weekends ago, Zach, a LGO alum living in Switzerland, took us on a haphazard Swiss adventure straight off the set of a movie.   Seven of us including our favorite 200 cm pal Donovan, precariously fit into a Peugeot van and embarked to the Emmental region which is the famous cheese and dairy region of Switzerland.  Our first stop was a cheese-making shop where we saw the cheese-making process and sampled an abundance of cheeses.  Everybody bought their favorite cheese for the ride to Baar for a Jodeling Festival.  Wow do the Swiss take their jodeling seriously!  The picture below is one of the smaller groups pre-performance.

Each group had traditional costumes, jodeled a unique tune, and underwent an elaborate judging system.  T the festival included bratwurst and beer vendors surrounding the town square with alphorn playing below.  

I befriended an alphorn player who let me try out his horn a few times – doesn’t look like a very promising career change.  Next we headed to Alps gateway town of Engelberg and wound up at a cheese-making monastery.  Here we are walking through the foothills surrounding the village.

On Sunday we were up early to begin the journey up Mt Titlis via a system of cable cars and our legs.  To get to the top requires three separate gondola rides; the last of which rotates 360 degrees during the ride.  Wow the view was definitely worth the effort!  Mt Titlis is well over 10,000 feet and was covered in snow even in July.

Before entirely descending, we set out to unearth a “whey spa” we heard whispers of.  Whey is the remaining liquid in milk after all the fat and cream is extracted for the cheese.  After a few wrong turns through cow-filled pastures, we found the farmer who will make visitors a whey spa.  I was ambivalent about getting in essentially a tub of smelly, yellow liquid in a random farmer’s backyard but Asvin went first and didn’t immediately appear to suffer ill-effects so we all hopped in.  It was quite an experience lathering up with whey with a natural soundtrack of cow bells and mooing, staring out into the Alps.   

Our last activity was the local Via Ferrata – a mountain route with fixed cables, ladders, bridges, etc.  Jodi - Who knew those skills we cultivated in KY would be put to good use again?  The route was fairly challenging in a number of spots and I had a great time scrambling up rock faces but don’t worry Mom, I clipped in and wore a helmet. 

On the way down the mountain, a few interesting things happened.  Zach and I got surrounded by cows below.

We also encountered a small lake with a walking course around the shore.  You walk over stones, pine cones, wood, through mud and sand and it is a therapy for your feet after hiking.  It felt great after a weekend of hiking around and I didn’t want to get out, put back on my hiking shoes, and continue home. 

Contrary to popular belief amongst my readers, I do work, so we regretfully had to leave the Alps and return to Basel.  Another unforgettable weekend exploring my new majestic homeland.

Top 10 Swiss Faux Pas

Yes I realize that it’s early to already have a Top 10 list of blunders I’ve made ranging from the mildly amusing to the mortifying but here it is.  Might as well pass along the laughs!

10) Jaywalking

I never realized what a horrible jaywalker I was until I moved to Switzerland.  I absentmindedly cross the street outside of crosswalks, walk when the sign is red, and gasp have even crossed the street in a bike line.   

While I couldn't find a picture of one of us jaywalking, here's Donovan demonstrating how not to properly use one of the beautiful drinking fountains that dot the sidewalks.

9) I smile at people on the street

Unlike Southerners, the Swiss do not smile without reason.  I thought the embassy was kidding when they said you had to bring a non-smiling head shot.  They were not kidding and as Nimisha and Gerry know, I had to have my picture taken three times at CVS before it was properly stoic.    

8) I make jokes at work

While the expats always appreciate a laugh, the Swiss do not find my jokes funny and I’m generally met with blank stares.

7) I forget to pre-weigh my produce

In Swiss grocery stores, everybody weighs and tags their produce prior to check-out.  It took me three trips to the grocery store to realize why the cashiers kept talking to me sternly in German and wagging their fingers.

6) I attempted to steal somebody else’s grocery cart and grocery bag within the same shopping trip

Swiss grocery carts require a ~ $2 deposit even though you’re just walking around the store with it.  If a grocery cart releases when you tug on it, this means somebody else paid for it.  Ooops!  Likewise, the Swiss bring their own grocery store logoed bags to haul the groceries home and do the bagging themselves.  If you see a bag lying around, it’s not for the taking.  Double ooops!

5)  I’m boisterous, some would say loud

Without fail, our group is the loudest on any train ride or in any restaurant. 

Here we are at our quietest - smiling for a picture

4) I dislike the local beer

Every Swiss canton (their version of state) has their own local brewery.  Basel’s is Feldschlösschen which can only be described as bad Miller.  I love the local wine however Novartis serves Feldschlösschen at every company event.

3) I offer to help people in need

Continuing along the theme of a Southern upbringing, I generally try to help others who look like they could use a hand.  In Switzerland, the more mature generation would prefer to stand than take my seat on the tram and mothers would prefer to perform acrobatics than allow me to assist them in getting their stroller down the stairs. 

2) I talk to random people

Do not talk to Swiss people unless you know them.  Do not make idle small talk in the line at the grocery store.  Do not breathe a word if they’re sitting beside you on the train.  Especially do not compliment unfamiliar Swiss on their pets, babies, or fancy-looking cars.

And the #1 gaffe I’ve made in Switzerland is …

1)  I kissed my boss*

 *Disclaimer – The kiss was accidental.  The Swiss typically kiss on the cheek alternating three times.  My French boss went for two as is the French custom while I went for three like I’d learned and well the result was unfortunate. 

I’m enjoying living in Switzerland, social faux pas and all.  Hopefully I won’t be unseating the #1 mistake above any time soon or really ever J

A European Sports Saturnalia: Le Tour de France

As World Cup fervor recedes, Europeans are shifting their attention to Le Tour de France.  During morning coffee, we now debate whose countryman will not only emerge in the yellow jersey along the Champs Elysees but also who will clinch the polka dotted jersey (apparently this is awarded to the “King of the Mountains”).  As an aside, my co-workers found it hilarious that I had no idea there were other competitive facets of the Tour de France  After consulting the route map, I realized that the 2010 Tour passed within a kilometer of Geneva and hastily organized a LGO reunion (my dual degree program) there for last weekend.  Pictured below are Karla (Turgi, Switzerland), Chris (Liverpool, England), Kevin (Basel, Switzerland), Dannielle (Sienna, Italy), me, and Todd (Marburg, Germany).

We spent the bulk of Saturday sightseeing and aimlessly wandering around Geneva.  While we were taking an afternoon rest with our feet in the lake, we heard a great deal of commotion.  Turns out our trip to Geneva coincided with their annual Lake Parade which can best be described as Mardi Gras coupled with a gay pride parade.  I won’t sear anybody’s eyes with pictures so instead here’s one of our customary MIT shots with Geneva’s iconic Jet d’Eau water cannon.  By the time I graduate, I feel as though I’ll have a coffee table book’s worth of these poses.    

Sunday marked Stage 8 of Le Tour; the alpine stage between Station des Rousses and Morzine Avoriaz.  I had strategically booked rooms literally on the Swiss – French border (France was 1/3 cheaper) so all we had to do on Sunday was roll out of bed and walk 10 minutes to the Tour route.  The group looked a bit skeptical when I had us all plop down under a tree in the middle of a roundabout in the French countryside but within 30 minutes we were joined by a hundred or so other spectators.  A hour before the first riders come through, an endless caravan of sponsors whizzed by throwing out everything from water to gummy bears to hats.  

We got decked out to show our Tour spirit and cheer on Lance.

I was surprised by the speed of the first group of riders.  The lead sprinting group of five or six riders was a good ten minutes ahead of the peloton.  Unbeknown to us at the time, Lance had fallen at the beginning of the stage but by our position had recovered to leading the peloton with Team Radio Shack.

We cheered our hearts out for Lance however he suffered two crashes later in the stage and is effectively out of the running for the yellow jersey and plans to retire at the end of this year’s Tour at least according to BBC aka the only English television channel I receive.  Who knows, maybe we witnessed a little bit of cycling history?   

World Cup Delirium

I'm a little ashamed to admit that I don't remember the 2006 World Cup.  I was living in the bustling metropolis of Towanda, Pennsylvania at the time where life revolved around hunting, chewing tobacco flavors, and caravaning to the town's high school football team away games.  In Europe, the World Cup has been the only thing that matters.  Country flags adorn nearly every window and balcony in Basel.

Co-workers wear country jersey's to work and fill out brackets with an intensity and creativity I never saw in my eighteen years during March Madness living in the heart of ACC territory.  Businesses feature World Cup specials from cakes (see below) to drink specials.

During the earlier rounds with day time games, Novartis set up giant outdoor screens with free food and drinks.  I remember distinctly my second week, sitting outside watching a game eating my free bratwurst as one of the many beer waitresses came around refilling drinks thinking that I had died and gone to work heaven.  Later rounds meant 8:30PM games when all Swiss people have long since left work so we started attending public viewings.  Basel is uniquely positioned to give inhabitants the flexibility to literally walk to France or Germany so we began attending game viewings in their home country.  Below is a German game we attended in Freiburg.

Of course we had to join in the local festivities and made friends to outfit us in German attire.  The picture below features Kevin having a German flag drawn on him.

Here's the end result

Though I may not be living in Europe during the 2014 World Cup, I hope to bring some of the fervor I've witnessed wherever I am.

Paris at Last

Though it's unclear if it stems from my love of crepes, the allure of the Eiffel Tour, or the lackluster Disney adaptation of Victor Hugo's Hunchback, I've always wanted to go to Paris.  That wish was fulfilled with an extended weekend trip last week - that's the best thing about not daily responsibilities, as long as I deliver, they're very flexible on work location and duration.  I met up with a friend who's working in Spain.  He had also never been to Paris and we must have walked a marathon during the trip just exploring the city.

Paris was as beautiful of a city as I always dreamed it would be.  I loved the history, the architecture, the food, and the general air of sophistication.  See gratuitous tourist shot below.

It's hard to pick one favorite spot or activity.  We visited all the major tourist sites, the Eiffel Tour, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, & the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  We sampled the cuisine and wine, went on a cruise of the Seine, watched street performers, rode a ferris wheel on the lawn of the Louvre, and spent hours people watching at a cafe on the Champs Elysees.  If I had to pick, my favorite part is the hours we spent in the Louvre, audio guides in our ears, wandering around listening to the stories behind some of the world's most famous paintings.

Maybe my boss will let me work from Paris a week a month :)

Happy Birthday America

By my recollection, today marks my fifth time celebrating the 4^th of July abroad.  In no particular order, I’ve spent the day lounging at a beach outside Barcelona, begging for a seat and consequently sitting on a jumpseat beside an armed guard between the Lima and Cuzco airports, meandering through the streets of Rome, and swinging champagne and singing along to John Denver with other passengers flying from Sydney, Australia (Qantas customer-service is incomprehensibly superior to US airlines).  Without fail, the day involves consumption of American food even if it’s only McDonald’s, new expat friends, a few listens of Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American”, and time for ruminating what the song means.

Today was no exception as I began my holiday observance in Paris sitting in the garden at the Rodin museum gazing up at The Thinker listening to my favorite American tune (more on Paris trip in a subsequent post).  See photo below.

I enjoyed contraband Budweiser and swapped travel stories abroad the train to Strasburg with a group of recent college grads making the European transition to adulthood pilgrimage.  To cap off the day, I had dinner in Basel with a friendly face from home, Professor Welsh.  He’s one of my MIT advisors and will be accompanying me to work tomorrow to check on my project progression.  Though there were no fireworks, ballpark franks, or Boston Pops, as always 4^th of July abroad morphed into a memorable experience befitting of the occasion.  Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Amerika!

MIT = Disney World?

It's certainly been a banner year for working my way through my bucket list.  MIT is my nerdy version of Disney World where dreams from tromping around Toyota City to meeting Bill Gates come true.

I found out yesterday that another dream may be fulfilled this fall.  My design team is a finalist in the National Design Awards sponsored by the Smithsonian. Wow, I don't know how we got nominated but I'm elated albeit shocked.  As my readers probably know, I was very disappointed to go out in the final round of the MIT 100K competition for our self-inflating bicycle tire invention and business (thanks again for everybody who so nicely took surveys to help me develop a marketing strategy) so this is a great chance for inventor's redemption.  Far and away the coolest part of the competition is the awards banquet at the White House in the fall presided over by the first couple.

For the techies out there, our product is below.

My team partnered with a non-profit to design and develop a cost-effective, robust solution for neonatal jaundice in developing countries.  Glad to see my days spent as a lightbulb engineer have come in handy.  Come on billibed!