http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fondue
More to come...
:)
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
J'aime la Suisse!
I love Switzerland! Maman et moi, nous amusons tellement ici! Nous apprenons beaucoup de français et nous sommes vraiment plaisir à être avec nos chers amis ici. Aujourd'hui, nous avons dormi très tard et a mangé un petit déjeuner tranquille ... eh bien, le déjeuner. ;) Puis nous avons marché autour de Morges - c'est une ville très agréable avec beaucoup de belles boutiques.
Puis Michel, Hedda, Maman et moi nous avons traversé belle Lausanne, vignobles, et enfin à Morcheaux pour voir le Château de Chillon. C'est magnifique! J'ai fait plusieurs photos. Comme d'habitude. ;)
Nous avons mangé un délicieux dîner à l'Auberge de l'Onde ... nous avons mangé de la salade, entrecôte avec des pommes frites, et quelques mini-desserts. Nous avons rentrés chez à boire un peu d'eau chaude et manger un peu tiramisu.
Nous sommes tristes de quitter et nous allons manquer nosaimables hôtes!
Certaines choses préférées: baiser trois fois, la nourriture délicieuse (y compris les nombreux types de fromages), les magnifiques montagnes, les gens très gentils, le beau temps et plus encore.
Puis Michel, Hedda, Maman et moi nous avons traversé belle Lausanne, vignobles, et enfin à Morcheaux pour voir le Château de Chillon. C'est magnifique! J'ai fait plusieurs photos. Comme d'habitude. ;)
Nous avons mangé un délicieux dîner à l'Auberge de l'Onde ... nous avons mangé de la salade, entrecôte avec des pommes frites, et quelques mini-desserts. Nous avons rentrés chez à boire un peu d'eau chaude et manger un peu tiramisu.
Nous sommes tristes de quitter et nous allons manquer nosaimables hôtes!
Certaines choses préférées: baiser trois fois, la nourriture délicieuse (y compris les nombreux types de fromages), les magnifiques montagnes, les gens très gentils, le beau temps et plus encore.
P.S. http://translate.google.com/ si quiere :)
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Scooter Solidarity
I feel at one with the Swiss for many reasons, but today I will describe our Scooter Solidarity specifically. :) During my brief stay here, I've probably seen 15-20 people riding razor scooters! I've now been riding a razor scooter for 2+ years at OHSU. Several people comment on my ride, and the two thing I hear most is "That's a great way to get around!" and "My kid has one of those!" I'm also called Scooter Girl by passersby.
Most of my scooter sightings have been here in Genève, though I saw a few in Biel/Bienne to my delight. I will soon post some photos. Today was particularly fun as I saw several business men riding their scooters in suits! Tres cool. :)
Most of my scooter sightings have been here in Genève, though I saw a few in Biel/Bienne to my delight. I will soon post some photos. Today was particularly fun as I saw several business men riding their scooters in suits! Tres cool. :)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Bern
Capital of Switzerland. Name means "bear."* Official language is German but main spoken language is Bernese German (there is no written Swiss German, just high German). Historic Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Michel and Hedda picked us up from Bienne and drove us to their home in beautiful Morges by way of Bern, where we spent the afternoon and early evening. The tall buildings of Old Town, with their uniform rooftops and chimneys, seemed packed efficienctly and compactly together. Looking at Old Town from afar was quite a site. It seemed like one only needed to cross the curve of the river to take a step back in time. Really quite stunning. We spent several hours wandering the cute streets and beautiful arcades, enjoying the unique boutiques all along the way. We also saw the impressive Federal Palace, bustling street market, huge chess game (apparently a common past time in CH), abundance of darling flowers, and much more. We also experienced some delightful homemade hot chocolate at a hotel whose name escapes me.
Following our Bernese adventure, we drove to Morges and enjoyed a scrumptious home-cooked meal in Michel and Hedda's beautiful home.
*To elaborate...from Wikipedia: The etymology of the name Bern is uncertain. According to the local legend, based on folk etymology, Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen, the founder of the city of Bern, vowed to name the city after the first animal he met on the hunt, and this turned out to be a bear. It has long been considered likely that the city was named after the Italian city of Verona, which at the time was known as Bern in Middle High German. As a result of the find of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980, it is now more common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of celtic origin, possibly *berna "cleft".[9] The bear was the heraldic animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of live bears in the Bärengraben dates to the 1440s.
Michel and Hedda picked us up from Bienne and drove us to their home in beautiful Morges by way of Bern, where we spent the afternoon and early evening. The tall buildings of Old Town, with their uniform rooftops and chimneys, seemed packed efficienctly and compactly together. Looking at Old Town from afar was quite a site. It seemed like one only needed to cross the curve of the river to take a step back in time. Really quite stunning. We spent several hours wandering the cute streets and beautiful arcades, enjoying the unique boutiques all along the way. We also saw the impressive Federal Palace, bustling street market, huge chess game (apparently a common past time in CH), abundance of darling flowers, and much more. We also experienced some delightful homemade hot chocolate at a hotel whose name escapes me.
Following our Bernese adventure, we drove to Morges and enjoyed a scrumptious home-cooked meal in Michel and Hedda's beautiful home.
*To elaborate...from Wikipedia: The etymology of the name Bern is uncertain. According to the local legend, based on folk etymology, Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen, the founder of the city of Bern, vowed to name the city after the first animal he met on the hunt, and this turned out to be a bear. It has long been considered likely that the city was named after the Italian city of Verona, which at the time was known as Bern in Middle High German. As a result of the find of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980, it is now more common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of celtic origin, possibly *berna "cleft".[9] The bear was the heraldic animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of live bears in the Bärengraben dates to the 1440s.
Omega
If not for Omega, we probably would not be in Switzerland right now. Thank you, Omega, for playing such an important role in our lives! Omega also brought so many people together, including the Omega Electronics team, which included Dad.
The friends we are seeing during our stay are all former colleagues from Omega. I can picture Dad and Mummy with them some 20+ years ago. I can definitely see how they would all form close friendships. Indeed, each of these men that Daddio has worked with reminds me of him in some way...and in different ways. I've also enjoyed guessing their Myers-Briggs types, but I'll save that discussion for another day. ;)
On our last day in Bienne (I call it Bienne as all of Daddy's colleagues are French Swiss), we had a chance to go to the Omega Museum. The audio tour was fascinating and incredibly educational. I appreciate Omega's rich and illustrious history. I took several pictures and will post a few below. One highlight was seeing all the sports timing equipment, including a camera that Francois designed! Renald said casually, "Francois designed that one you know." :) I recognized some of the equipment from Daddy's photos and book. I also saw that what I grew up thinking to be our egg timer was actually one of the hand-held chronometers used during the Olympics. ;) Again, please consider checking out Splitting the Second by Alex Cheng for tons of great stories and insights about sports timing!
The friends we are seeing during our stay are all former colleagues from Omega. I can picture Dad and Mummy with them some 20+ years ago. I can definitely see how they would all form close friendships. Indeed, each of these men that Daddio has worked with reminds me of him in some way...and in different ways. I've also enjoyed guessing their Myers-Briggs types, but I'll save that discussion for another day. ;)
On our last day in Bienne (I call it Bienne as all of Daddy's colleagues are French Swiss), we had a chance to go to the Omega Museum. The audio tour was fascinating and incredibly educational. I appreciate Omega's rich and illustrious history. I took several pictures and will post a few below. One highlight was seeing all the sports timing equipment, including a camera that Francois designed! Renald said casually, "Francois designed that one you know." :) I recognized some of the equipment from Daddy's photos and book. I also saw that what I grew up thinking to be our egg timer was actually one of the hand-held chronometers used during the Olympics. ;) Again, please consider checking out Splitting the Second by Alex Cheng for tons of great stories and insights about sports timing!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Biel/Bienne
What a delightful city! A city comprised of about 50,000 inhabitants, Biel/Bienne is the only Swiss city to be officially bilingual. It is also home to Omega.
We stayed with Mr. and Mrs. R, as was mentioned previously, in their cute apartment near Vieille Ville (Old Town). We also met with three other couples, who were also close friends and colleagues of my father. It was wonderful spending time together, and they were so kind to invite us into their homes and to arrange for us to meet their families! Everyone has been incredibly hospitable and kind.
We also went on a ferry ride on le Lac de Bienne, which included a delightful brunch. The ferry ride was followed by a lovely walk on the promenade near the wharf. We've been so lucky to have uncharacteristically warm weather here.
We stayed with Mr. and Mrs. R, as was mentioned previously, in their cute apartment near Vieille Ville (Old Town). We also met with three other couples, who were also close friends and colleagues of my father. It was wonderful spending time together, and they were so kind to invite us into their homes and to arrange for us to meet their families! Everyone has been incredibly hospitable and kind.
We also went on a ferry ride on le Lac de Bienne, which included a delightful brunch. The ferry ride was followed by a lovely walk on the promenade near the wharf. We've been so lucky to have uncharacteristically warm weather here.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Bonjour et Bienvenue!
Woohoo we made it to Switzerland! My passport came through on the day of our flight. The passport agency supervisor was superb and über helpful. He jumped for joy when he shared with me that he could issue me a passport. I mirrored his actions and jumped for joy too! Ma and I headed to SFO. Gorgeous airport. Whenever I go there, I'm so impressed by the architecture and spaciousness. Reminds me of HK and London. Checked in and headed to the gate. Per usual, last ones on board. Why change now? ;) Plus, what's the rush? We were going to be sitting for over 8 hours.
We sat by a very nice Scotsman who educated us muchly about Scottish, Irish, English, and British history and matters. BA has pretty good food. Rode food coma into slumber and slept for most of flight. Ma and I arrived in London and spent a few hours there. Was great to be in beautiful Terminal 5! Quite new and rather gorgeous. Plus it had several of my favorites: Wagamama, Pret, WHSmith, Harrods, and more! Wow! Really took me back to my semester abroad.
Arrived in Zurich! Took train to Biel/Bienne. Train arrived two minutes prior to scheduled departure time. Left the station at exactly 9:10. Impressive. The Swiss live up to their repuation. :)
Dear family friend Mr. L picked us up from train station and took us to our BnB in Bienne Old Town. Tres jolie!
After that first night, we moved to R&M's apartment, which has quickly become our home away from home. We've had a chance to see many dear family friends that Ma and Pa got to know through Omega. It's been so incredible seeing them after so many years...some I haven't seen for 20+ years. Everyone has been exceedingly welcoming and kind. More on our adventures soon! Must sleep. It's 9:10PM. Pacific Time. ;P Bonne nuit!
We sat by a very nice Scotsman who educated us muchly about Scottish, Irish, English, and British history and matters. BA has pretty good food. Rode food coma into slumber and slept for most of flight. Ma and I arrived in London and spent a few hours there. Was great to be in beautiful Terminal 5! Quite new and rather gorgeous. Plus it had several of my favorites: Wagamama, Pret, WHSmith, Harrods, and more! Wow! Really took me back to my semester abroad.
Arrived in Zurich! Took train to Biel/Bienne. Train arrived two minutes prior to scheduled departure time. Left the station at exactly 9:10. Impressive. The Swiss live up to their repuation. :)
Dear family friend Mr. L picked us up from train station and took us to our BnB in Bienne Old Town. Tres jolie!
After that first night, we moved to R&M's apartment, which has quickly become our home away from home. We've had a chance to see many dear family friends that Ma and Pa got to know through Omega. It's been so incredible seeing them after so many years...some I haven't seen for 20+ years. Everyone has been exceedingly welcoming and kind. More on our adventures soon! Must sleep. It's 9:10PM. Pacific Time. ;P Bonne nuit!
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