While You're Waiting for Winter

Falls is almost over and the gray, cold winter days are before us and I wish I had something inspiring to tell you. If you're tired of the grey and not really looking forward to the even shorter and darker days, I'll help you out with a few suggestions for things you can look forward to this winter season.

Getting in Christmas Mood:

Glühwein - you'll find a recipe for this tasty hot drink
Home Made Wrapping Paper - an idea for making your own wrapping paper
Swiss Santa - how the Swiss celebrate Santa
Christmas Calendars - make your own calendar

Enjoying Swiss Winter:

10 Fun Things To Do Inside in Winter
Seegfrörni - when Lake Zurich froze over
Turnip Lanterns - explore this Swiss tradition
10 Fun Things To Do Outside On a Snowy Winter Day
Flims, Laax and Falera - go skiing in Switzerland
Winter in Arosa - story of a weekend in Arosa

Swiss winter - Joujou / pixelio.de

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Schätzli, Schnüggel and Müüsli - Terms of Endearment in Swiss German

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To be completely honest, I'm not very fond of hallmark holidays and Valentine's Day is probably the mothership of them all. In my home there will be no cheesy cards or flowers on that day and, personally, I'm happy about it. However, I know that there are many people who like to celebrate Valentine's Day and take it as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation to their loves. Even in Switzerland, there are plenty of people celebrating it nowadays. If you're short on ideas for this years Valentine's Day in Switzerland you might find some inspiration here: Valentine's Day in Switzerland . If you're already set and have the perfect date ready, how about surprising your loved one with a few romantic Swiss German phrases? You should know that the expression "I love you" has only recently made its way into Swiss German from the High German "Ich liebe dich". Swiss people used to simply say "I like you" or "I like

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"You're not from here, right?!" These were the words the saleslady of a small clothes store on a busy Tel Aviv street directed at me a few years ago. I was surprised she had spotted my foreignness so easily. After having lived in Israel for a few years and mastered the local Hebrew, I thought I was able to blend in quite well by then. So, I asked her how she knew. She replied with a smile and said: "You nicely folded the clothes you tried on before bringing them back out!" Oh that! Something I assumed was 'normal' but, apparently, the locals didn't do that. My Swiss background gave me away. A Stereotypical (Swiss) Person As an expat I can usually spot fellow expats right away even if at first they seem to fit right in. Be they Swiss people I encounter abroad or foreigners living in Switzerland. Mostly, I catch a word or a phrase in a foreign language or see clothes or other items that are clearly not local. Here in South America it's very easy t

A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

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