Usually, one does not worry about faucets during short international trips. A bucket (balti) and mug can be managed at most hotels, airbnbs and homes. It does become an issue when one happens to shift abroad for a longer duration. In our case, we relocated to Switzerland, a country like many more in the rest…
Category: Blog
Inversing my brain, to learn French
This is the second part of my French-learning experience till now, in Switzerland. I think Eliza Dolittle was lucky to learn English from Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady. Amitabh Bachchan, in Namak Halal, would have found French to be a much funnier language to master compared to English. First up, the part that I…
Story of my Swiss Driving License
Recently, I became the proud owner of the lifelong Swiss Driving License. The process of procuring one, however, was not easy. Back in India, I learned how to drive by the time I was 12-years old, courtesy drivers who worked for my father. Of course, all of them were not so easygoing and cool. But…
I am, therefore I run in Switzerland
Diet, exercise, health care, clean air and water are big factors that make the Swiss among the longest living populations in the world. Having lived in Switzerland for over nine months now, one does get a sense of the importance attached to exercise in the country. During winter months everybody is skiing and during summer…
Thank you Switzerland, I can cook
If your maid can cook, so can you. Well, it is not so simple, as we found out after shifting to Switzerland nine months back. There can be no maid in Switzerland, unless you belong to the super rich SEC. We hired one, during our naive initial days here from India. She arrived in a…
Fruit freebie in Switzerland
Plum, peach, cherry, loquat, pear, apple, even walnut. Take your pick. No need to buy. I don’t know whether this is a carefully planned exercise (everything in Switzerland is thought through thoroughly), fruit trees abound anywhere, roadsides, along lakes, rivers, hills, plains, valleys. And, summer is the season when the trees are laden with fruit…
Swiss Cats are no Kittens
In India stray dogs and cows freely roam the streets. In Switzerland, one can spot cats. Seven or eight, black, blue and grey coloured felines, regularly trespass our house. Maybe, we have infringed their territory. A couple of them are friendly and allow themselves to be petted, few are cautious and some saunter through nonchalantly,…
Say Cheese in Switzerland
There’s a lot of cheese available in Switzerland. The local regions, referred to as cantons such as Fribourg, Bern, Valais, St Gallen, produce their trademark fromage. Le Gruyere, Emmental, Appenzeller, Raclette are some of the patented cheese varieties. Surrounding countries such as France, Italy, Holland also have a rich tradition of producing cheese that find…
Siddharth Srivastava 