My New Swiss Life

Well its official, I have been in Switzerland for a week now. And today I went and “registered” as a “resident” with the government. In the next few weeks I will get an official Resident ID Card, and all for only ~ $300! Wunderbar! [no, not so much]

So to mark this auspicious occasion, I have decided to tell you about my new Swiss life.

My Apartment

I am very much a nester, so after spending a few days in my room, I decided that Josh needed to move EVERY piece of furniture, because I didn’t like how it was arrange. God bless his soul, he did it [I really did help and didn’t just supervise”].

So here is the new set up: 

 

The second desk/table thing is still by the window, but turned to better face it. Since my bathroom doesn’t have an outlet, this will be my vanity area, once I get a mirror.  It is also where my electric tea kettle is, since there is also no outlet in the kitchen. In fact, the whole place only has TWO outlets...The flowers there are from Josh, isn’t he the bestest. 

So we switched the closet and the desk. I have a huge window, that provides natural light, why in the WORLD would anyone block this with an big, ugly piece of furniture. Crazy.

Yes there multiple wine bottle there...but remember, Josh was here too! And soon there will be textbooks and notepads and the like, right now it just looks a little like a wine cellar, with a big ole cluster of wires.

[And for those who know me, yes my clothes are color-coordinated by sleeve length in the closet...anything else would be madness!!]

 

Finally, we moved the second closet [again: two closets, two desks, NO OVEN!!] to the head of the bed. It gives me some place to put my purse when I first walk in the door, and puts the two closets near each other. Added bonus, my bed is closer to the window!! 

I know my mother noticed the incredible lack of pictures, don’t worry, Josh mailed them out today. Soon my room will be covered in pictures from home!! 

My Diet

So many people were concerned about what I would eat while over here! I mean cheese and chocolate do not a proper meal make. Turns out the only problem I will have in the food department is the prices! I’ve said it before and will say it again, everything here is way too expensive!! But on Saturdays they have a little market set up in the center of town. And its fabulous. Josh and I went last weekend and stocked up on produce for me for the week.

So unsurprising to those who know me, my first stop was the GREEK CART!! Finding this was about the most exciting part of my day in fact.

 

So he had regular feta cheese and these plain olives.

 

And then there was this, on the left in the back are tomatoes and peppers stuffed with feta, then eggplant, then olives, tomoatoes and feta. Then  the back left of the 2 rows of smaller dishes, is what will surely strike my father’s interest most: feta cheese mixed with spicy peppers to make a paste/spread. Yeah, magic. There are other sauces and the like of mediterrean origin, including the most delicious hummus imagineable. Which is one of the two items I bought on this my first of many trips.

 

And then, the marinated olives!! I got the spicy ones, but there were so many choices!! Yeah, I was in heaven. 

Next stop, the fresh pasta cart. You read that correctly, fresh pasta. I ended up getting the spinach tortellini.

Then eggs. They were cheaper from this stand than in the store, and I have now hard-boiled them and they are sooooo tasty!! 

And now the standard market items we think of at a Farmers Market

 

And another fabulous thing I found at the market: 

 

You go up and cut off the head of garlic you want, right from the stem!! SOOOOOO cool!! And the garlic is so strong. MMMMMM my grandmother would have loved this!!

Mama, don’t you love that hydrangea color! 

So after the market and the grocery store, this is what my pantry and fridge look like:

 

Yes, there are two things of Nutella, one was almost empty. Remember Josh was here too!!

 

Yes, that is Tabsco sauce. You can take the girl out of the south . . . , and all that jazz. 

Eating Out

While Josh was here, we also ate out a lot. We went to a couple of Italian restaurants that were, as my dad predicted, fabulous. 

  As good as this pizza was, we are here to talk about Switzerland!!

Fondue

So, we choose the Fondue with Fine Herbs (from a list of about 10 different types). But remember, this is not Melting Pot. There was no meat you had to cook yourself. Or vegetables. Just a pot of cheese and a bucket of bread. En Guete!    

 

 

In Switzerland, they add white wine and 

pear schnapps to the fondue, mm mm good!! 

 

Towards the end of the meal, Josh was getting very concerned about the cheese that was sticking to the bottom of the pot and the poor dish-washer that was going to have to scrub it. Very, very concerned. It was precious. 

Rosti 
 

 

Think hash browns. Its grated potatoes and onions sautéed and topped with a variety of options. This is the one Josh got with tomatoes and cheese.

Spätzli

 

This is often referred to as Switzerland’s answer to Italian pasta and is described alternatively as a pasta or a dumping. Mostly its just a vessel for a good sauce. This is the one I had with Bolognese. I also had one with vegetables and a light cream sauce that was equally as good.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the St. Gallen bratwurst Josh had one night. It was served with an onion sauce and quite tasty!!

And finally, the Beer 

 

This is Schützengarten Lager. There have been breweries in St. Gallen since about 820, which Schützengarten established in 1779. That said, it’s the oldest brewery in the Switzerland. And delicious!! 

Okay, this post is already too long, but expect more later about the fun that is my new Swiss life!!