As you can see, the Swiss Ms and I are back to blogging and we have a TON of trips we need to share with our readers!
Early last month, we took a trip to Elm, a small, quaint town surrounded by the Glarus Mountains. Since it's not a major city, it took us approximately two hours, with a combination of trains and buses to get there. Why make such a long journey to a small town? Here, we enjoyed one of our favorite uniquely Swiss experiences so far, "Alpabfahrt" (literally meaning Alp descent). During the summer, dairy cattle graze on the lush green pastures high up in the Alps. When autumn comes, before the weather turns snowy and cold, the cows are brought down from the Alps to much fanfare and celebration.
Happy cows munching away!
Rolling green pastures dotted with quintessentially Swiss Chalets.
Surrounded by the Glarus Alps.
When we arrived, we witnessed a parade of locals dressed in traditional Swiss clothing signifying the beginning of the event.
Women wearing traditional Swiss clothing (which differs from Canton to Canton).
Men carrying large Treicheln (cow bells!), which made a TON of noise.
Tired from our long journey, we sat down to a hearty traditional Swiss meal.
We weren't the only ones to make the journey to Elm! A packed tent full of hungry visitors!
Suure Moscht (Sour Apple cider), Zigerhorali (Macaroni with local Swiss cheese), Adler Brau Lager Hell (light beer) and Alper Rosti (potato hash with bacon and onions).
What meal would be complete without dessert? Plum marzipan strudel.
Many local farmers and families had booths selling a variety of beautiful handmade leather crafts, cheeses and delicious baked goods. There were baby cows and goats, as well as sheep shearing demonstrations.
Little ones!
And finally, the cows! Right on schedule, the cows entered town parading down the main road. With their large bells, you could hear them coming a mile away.
Each cow is decorated with elaborate headdresses to celebrate the occasion The Swiss Ms. wonders if the cows get to eat their party hats when they are finished.
These cows are hoofing it.
Some decorations looked like little Christmas trees.
The cows looked healthy and happy. They were good sports about the whole thing.
Welcome home!
Definitely worth the long journey! Thanks for reading!
-Herr Cervelat
The apartment we ended up with is truly the apartment we were meant to have. When I arrived at the open house I was late. When I say I was late, I mean that I arrived at 11:20 when the open house was scheduled from 11-11:30am. When an open house is scheduled in Switzerland, it is assumed that about half of the visitors will visit 15 minutes before the scheduled time and the other half will visit within the first 15 minutes of the actual open house. I arrived just as the last few visitors were leaving. It was my second apartment visit of the day on a Saturday morning. The Herr was attending to another open house, so I was on my own. When I walked in I greeted the tenant with my favorite German phrases: "Gruezi! Sprechen Sie English?" and prepared for the worst, "Nein". Instead, I was greeted with a big smile and a "Yes, I do."
Living/ Dining
Typically at open houses, the apartment is packed with visitors and the current tenant is kept busy fielding questions. If the apartment amenities are obvious enough, I don't try to tackle a conversation. On this occasion, as the only visitor with a willing and able English speaker, I felt at ease. It was only through this conversation that we realized what a good fit the apartment was for us. Had I arrived 15 minutes earlier with the rest of the visitors, we probably wouldn't be living here now!
Living/ Dining
On the visit, I described our frustration with the lengthy apartment hunt and how eager we were to find a real home and settle in Switzerland. Our week to week lease at our temporary apartment and limited belongings allowed to to be flexible with our move-out date and willing buyers of unwanted furniture. I soon learned that the current tenant was moving out to live with her boyfriend and was interested in leaving as soon as possible to save money on rent. She also wanted to sell nearly everything in her apartment to avoid duplicate items with her boyfriend after the move. It was a match made in Himmel.
Kitchen
We applied that afternoon and crossed our fingers. I continued to fill our calendar with open house visits for the coming week knowing that a "sure thing" doesn't exist in the Zurich housing market.
Bedroom
The following Monday afternoon, the Herr received a call from the real estate company offering us the apartment. We didn't believe it and remained nothing more than cautiously optimistic until the contract arrived in the mail a few days later.
Bathroom
After working out the details of purchasing the contents of the apartment, we were all moved in a little over two weeks after our initial visit. Home sweet home!
Hi All!
This post has been a long time coming...we have a HAUS! We moved in mid-September and couldn't be happier with our new home. Why the delayed announcement? Well, after such a long, painful process, better to wait until you can look at the experience with humor! Here are some stats: Length of housing search: Roughly 2 1/2 months To be fair, we didn't start our housing search in earnest until we returned to Switzerland in July. The Herr and I both needed to have all of our documents in order before we would be considered serious applicants for any apartment. In addition to providing our work contracts, we also had to obtain a special form (betreibungsauskunft) from our local Geminde (town office) stating that we don't have any outstanding debts. In typical Swiss fashion, you must pay for the form (17 CHF/person) stating you are debt free.
Zurich is organized into 12 districts, or Kreis. (See title reference)
Number of apartments visited: 45-50 With a country full of renters, it's estimated that approximately 1% of apartments are ever available at one time. Apartment open houses can draw upwards of 100 visitors leading to registration restrictions (see below). I put off counting the number of open house entries I had on my calendar because I thought the sheer number would make me want to cry. It still does make we want to cry a little bit. Now imagine the time it took to travel to and from these visits, actually view the apartments, and try lamely to make yourself standout as a good candidate while not being able to speak German.
Sadly, rejection was common.
Time spent combing listings online: Approximately 1-2 hours daily This became an obsession. Apartments can be listed for an open house as little as one day in advance. Some apartments require that interested parties sign-up to attend an open house and will only offer a limited number of appointments for prospective renters. Some apartments require you to call a real estate company or current tenant to arrange a visit...when you don't speak German. Time required to complete and submit an single application: Approximately 2 hours By the end of our housing search, the Herr and I had this down to a science. All our documents were scanned into the computer. The only items remaining were the application and cover letter. In the USA, apartment procurement follows more of a first come, first served model. If you express interest first, the apartment is usually yours as long as your employment info checks out. Not so in Switzerland, where apartments are few and renters are many. Rental companies and landlords, can collect tens to hundreds (a real estate agent verified this) of applications for a single apartment before making their selection. If none of the applicants are suitable, additional open houses are held until an appropriate candidate is identified.
About 90% of Zurich residents rent their homes.
Apartment offers received: 2 Ironically, we were offered the first apartment we visited. It was in the old part of Thalwil, in a beautiful old building with stone floors, exposed beams, and wooden balcony. Horses and chickens would have been our neighbors, and the white washed fireplace could have made for cozy winters. It would also take the Herr 20 minutes to walk to the train station on top of an additional 30 minute train/tram commute. Storage space was limited to the under-stair crevices, the kitchen was cramped, and the previous tenant was a smoker. The pictures would make you swoon (or make you sing the "Little Town" song from Disney's Beauty and the Beast), but the reality was that while the apartment would have been perfect for one person, it would have been too cramped and inconvenient for two.
Deutsch Belle sings in German, but greets her neighbors with bonjour. An interesting dichotomy, but so very Swiss. Perhaps her little town is outside of Biel/Bienne?
Stay tuned for a post all about our new home! -The Ms
We had our first Zurich visitor around mid-July, Rob! He has been spending the summer at Grenoble, France, doing an internship at Minatec (Micro and Nanotechnology Innovation Centre). He decided to make the long trip to Zurich for his cousin's rowing competition and to visit family in town. Oh, and maybe spend some time with us! Since it was his first time here, we went for two signature Swiss items: Sausage and Chocolate!
Rob posing for a picture. He reluctantly complies.
For chocolate, it's off to Confiserie Sprüngli. On the way, we walked along the famous Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich's main downtown street and home of some of the world's most expensive and exclusive shops.
A white peach tea, cafe latte and a cold glass of chocolate milk for me. By the way, that glass of chocolate milk was 6.50 CHF (Yikes! Rob got a nice introduction to Swiss prices quickly)
Rob's uncle was kind enough to invite us over for dinner at his fabulous home in Altstetten (Zurich Kreis 9). We were so humbled by his family's generosity and had a wonderful evening.
The next day, we met with Rob for Sunday brunch at a new restaurant, Gran Cafee Motta!
Motta is a Milan-inspired coffee house sitting right in the middle of the Limmat River.
No meal is complete without coffee. Rob and I were supremely jealous of the cafe latte in comparison to our tiny espresso shots.
Open-faced sandwich with roasted vegetables in a tomato sauce.
Open-faced sandwich with ham and egg.
Rob has been very patient with all of my photo taking.
We made our way to three different churches in Zurich: St. Peter's Church, Fraumünster and Grossmünster.
Built in 1534, St. Peter's Church apparently has the largest church clock face in Europe (8.7 meters = 28.5 feet). Currently owned by the Swiss Reformed Church (Reformed branch of Protestantism in the 1520s).
Beautifully detailed interior.
The church organ and ceiling.
Fraumünster is built on the remains of a former abbey for women aristocrats. We could not take pictures inside, but this building has 5 large stunning stain glass windows designed by Marc Chagall.
Grossmünster is a Romanesque and Gothic-style cathedral. According to legend, it was founded by Charlemagne. The twin towers are a recognized landmark in Zurich. Photos are not allowed inside, but for a small fee, you can climb the tower and get impressive views of the city of Zurich.
To end our quick tour of Zurich, we took a water taxi back to the main train station so Rob could catch the return train to Grenoble.
Such a squat boat! Why, you ask?
Because it travels up and down the Limmat River and has to go underneath very narrow bridges!
While it was a short trip for Rob (he arrived Saturday afternoon and left Sunday afternoon), we hope he will revisit with Xiaowen and stay a little longer! Thanks for reading!
Up until recently, the Swiss Ms. and I have been sharing an apartment in Thalwil with Kevin, a fellow post-doc in my group. We had hoped to find a place before Kevin's family moved back from the US in early August, but it proved to be but a dream. Finding housing in Zurich is extremely challenging, time consuming and competitive. Fortunately, there seems to be no shortage of business apartments in Zurich. Since we had become accustomed to the rejection from so many housing applications, it was a pleasant surprise to get the first one we wanted.
Vision Apartments: They say yes when others say no.
We settled on a cozy thirteen meter squared apartment in Aussersihl, located in the city of Zurich in Kreis 4. We do miss the view of the mountains and the lake, but there are many more things to do in Zurich than in Thalwil. Multiple restaurants and cafes are within walking distance, and a short tram ride can take us anywhere downtown. It's certainly a much different neighborhood than before, but we welcome the chance to explore a new place.
The apartments come fully furnished with a bed, full bathroom and kitchen (with sink, cooking utensils, stovetop, microwave and oven). How do they do that? Swiss efficiency.
Everything you need in the kitchen, packed into that small, vertical space. Note the all important espresso machine!
Fully furnished kitchen.
A small refrigerator with a tiny freezer compartment.
Surprisingly posh bathroom, which comes with soap, shampoo, and conditioner.
They even replace the bath towels twice a week.
Bedding is replaced once a week. (That bed takes up a good portion of our precious floor space).
She can't believe how small everything is packed in here. (For reference, she is 5 feet 4 inches tall). Now imagine this space with our 6 suitcases.
Given such a small kitchen, I wondered how we were going to manage meals on a daily basis. Well, leave it to the Swiss Ms. to make the most of the situation.
small kitchen = daily quick fire challenge
You can't stop her!
She continues to deliver!
Polenta and ratatouille? Yes please!
Glamour shot of the beautifully made meal.
Nothing like a warm bowl of oatmeal with fresh peaches.
We also received a little help from my cousin, who sent us a care package from Korea to help tide us over when we're craving something spicy and instant.
It's a mix of dried squid, a variety of instant noodles (Japagetti, Shin Ramen, Naengmyeon), Marinated Sesame Leaves [Ggaenip” (깻잎)], dried anchovies [Myeol-chee (멸치)], and different Korean cookies and sweets. Thank you Youna!
Preparing some Japagetti (짜파게티), courtesy of Youna's care package.
A delicious combination of dehydrated 짜장 (Jajang, a black fried sauce) and 스파게티(spaghetti). I swear it tastes good. (Swiss Ms: BRAINS!!)
I will confess that the "oven" has given us some trouble. It's an odd combination of a microwave/grill/oven. It can't decide what it is and sucks at all three.
The rare occasion I buy meat in Switzerland, when it's heavily discounted!
While living at Kevin's place in Thalwil, the oven cooked the meat beautifully.
The "oven" at Vision Apartments? Not so good. I even had it on the "grill" setting! As such, we have not been able to bake anything, which really saddens the Swiss Ms.
On the bright side, my commute to ETH in now shorter! While living in Thalwil, my commute would range from approximately 30 to 40 minutes. However, in Aussersihl, my commute is never longer than 20 minutes!
Meanwhile, the permanent housing search continues...
