Posts Tagged ‘switzerland’

Biking to Mt. Salève

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

We rented city bicycles for the weekend and biked over the border into neighboring France where we then took a (rather scary) cableway up to the top of Mt. Salève (1380m). Mt. Salève is the first ridge of the Alps rising just southeast of Geneva. Fortunately, it was a clear day and from the top we had an extraordinary view for miles over the entire city where we could easily see the lake and even the famous Jet d’Eau fountain! There are also footpaths galore up top (which become cross-country skiing trails in winter), which we hiked along for a bit. We then settled down to enjoy a tasty picnic lunch on the mountain side, where we had fun watching the paragliders run and jump off over the cliff’s edge only to suddenly plummet down… before catching the next breeze and rising high up in the sky.

Paragliders on Mt. Salève looking over Geneva

Paragliders on Mt. Salève looking out over Geneva

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Rolling Green Hills of La Gruyère

Friday, June 5th, 2009

Hello folks! It seems we’ve gone an entire month without an update, and that’s because we’ve been busy traveling around and visiting new exciting places. So in case you were going through PandaBytes withdrawal, fear not! We have several exciting updates on the way.. starting… now!

La Gruyère is a district of Switzerland just northeast of Lake Geneva, where we ventured to for a weekend trip at the end of April. The area is well-known as a popular skiing destination and also a great place to get a peek of Swiss countryside life. And without a doubt, the region contains some of the most breathtaking pre-alpine landscape I have ever seen, and you can easily picture Heidi (from the popular children’s stories) playing about on the lush green mountainsides.

La Gruyère

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Servette FC Soccer Game

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

Last Wednesday we spent a fun April evening at the huge Stade De Geneve (Geneva Stadium) where we watched the local soccer team called the Servette FC play against the FC Saint Gallen. FC stands for “football club”, which makes sense once you realize that what we’ve been calling soccer in the US is more commonly known by the rest of the world as football. And from what I can tell, American football is not very big over here… instead they have rugby, which is basically the same sport, but without all the protective gear and more blood and guts :)

Servette Football Club

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Snowshoeing at Night

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

If you’d told me three months ago I would voluntarily venture out in over 4 feet of snow, at night, in a snowstorm - to walk around for no particular reason - I would have told you that you were crazy.

Turns out, it’s a lot of fun. :)

Last week Adam and I ventured out with 23 of my workmates to Les Paccots, a small skiing village about 1.5 hours outside of Geneva. The group left work around 5 pm and caravan-ed up to the mountain top. The weather forecast called for snow that evening and mother nature delivered!

Once there, we bundled ourselves up appropriately and strapped on our snowshoes. (If you check out our pictures you’ll see that this isn’t a particularly sexy look.) We hiked about an hour up the mountain to the chalet, where we stopped for a delicious dinner of (what else) fondue!!

After stuffing ourselves silly (ok and maybe the wine helped a bit too), we hiked back down the mountain, turned in our gear and headed back to Geneva.

It certainly was quiet around work the next day…



Click Here to view all Snowshoeing Pics!

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Salsa and Pepper

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

There must be something in the water here.. I’m not sure how else to explain it, but there is obviously something at work here that makes these normally reserved Swiss folks want to get out and SALSA! It’s true. I was a bit surprised at first to find out that there were so many Latin clubs here in Geneva, and you do not have to look hard to find a salsa night going down every night of the week. What was going on here? What was this mysterious dance and why was it seemingly so popular? I began to have more questions than answers…

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One Weekend, Three Languages

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

I looked at our blog and realized the last few posts were about food. So I thought it might be time for a little female intervention. I’ve taken over the posting duties for our first weekend getaway to the Swiss cities of Zurich and Lugano.

Friday started out a promising day and we weren’t disappointed. Bright and sunny, it was the perfect day for a train ride through the countryside of Switzerland. Our adventure started with a 2.5 hour train ride from Geneva to Zurich. The route hugs the coast of Lake Geneva then runs across the countryside until it rolls into the vibrant city of Zurich.




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Fondue For You!

Friday, February 20th, 2009

I’d like to talk to you today, about something that has changed my life recently. An experience in culinary bliss unlike anything else in the world. I’m talking of course, about fondue. In Switzerland, fondue is a pretty big deal. The Swiss love it, which is good, because I love it too :)

If you have yet to experience the magic that is known as fondue, or don’t know what I’m talking about, here is what the Fondue Wikipedia entry has to say:

Fondue is a Swiss communal dish shared at the table in an earthenware pot (caquelon) over a small burner (rechaud). The term is derived from the French verb fondre (to melt), in the past participle fondu (melted).

Diners use forks to dip bits of food (most often bread) into the warm semi-liquid sauce (commonly a cheese mix). Heat is supplied by a wicked or gel alcohol burner, or a tealight.

While cheese fondue is the most widely known, there are other pot and dipping ingredients.

Yeaaaahhh, that’s right. A big bowl of melted cheese. You dip bread into it. That’s it. So simple, yet so perfect.

Two weekends ago Paula and I went out for some tasty fondue at a restaurant in Plainpalais, Geneva after venturing around the expansive Parc des Bastions. It was an experience we will not soon forget… and even though I’m still full, I’m looking forward to going out for more fondue again soon!



Insider Tip: Don’t drink beer with fondue or you’ll explode… white wine is the way to go ;)

Click Here to View all Plainpalais and Fondue Weekend Pics!

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First Geneva Trip Pics

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

I’ve posted a new Picasa album full of pics that we took during our first week in Geneva, Switzerland last December. We spent the week looking at apartments and wandering all around the city trying to stay dry and out of the snow. Check the link below for the first pictures of our new apartment in Eaux-Vives, downtown Geneva, Old Town and more!

View First Geneva Trip Pics!

Adam

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Tapas Tuesday

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Last night we ventured out into the cold around 8pm in search of someplace nice to sit down and eat after a long day…. our prospects looked like we would be settling for Italian food (there are a LOT of Italian restaurants in Geneva!). Well, as we lucked out, we came across a decent looking Tapas restaurant down the street called La Bodega that was still open, and much to our surprise was getting more full by the minute. So we sat down and had a look at the menu, but I knew right away that we absolutely had to order what I saw that other guy eating when we came in.. which was an ENORMOUS platter of shrimp, fitters, fried calamari, and various other meats. Mmmm. Tapas.

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