The Neutral Zone

Zug, Switzerland - Dear readers, I write to you today about trains and train stations in Switzerland. These are two things Hannah and I have become very familiar with you in our brief time here. The Bahnhof Exception Switzerland closes down on Sunday. Department stores, grocery stores, pharmacies, and even most restaurants are closed. In posting their hours, many stores will simply put "ruhetag" (rest day) next to Sunday, where as other days they might be "geschlossen" (closed). Sunday is the day of rest here and that's taken rather seriously. To illustrate the point, the following things are outlawed  (in some municipalities)   or otherwise frowned upon on Sundays*: Recycling Mowing the lawn Doing the laundry Washing your car * This list is likely incomplete. But, for H and I the biggest challenge is the inability to engage in basic commerce on Sunday. Meal preparation is the primary concern, but discovering a scarcity of any basic household go...

Zurich, Switzerland - Yesterday was mostly logistics. First, we met with a friendly Swiss accountant and lawyer named Patrice in Zurich. Patrice's office is located in a nondescript business park near the airport. Hannah and I were ushered into a conference room, where we were each treated to an espresso, a small Swiss chocolate, and a small biscuit. Patrice gave us a high level overview of how we would be taxed and what information we would need as the occasional plane rumbled overhead. I will spare you the details, except to say that Patrice's nonplussed demeanor reassured us that our taxes were simple and straightforward - perhaps disappointingly so for poor Patrice.  We left Patrice's office and headed to the bohemian Werd district in Zurich for lunch. Before lunch, we quickly stopped in at JB Labat - a liquor store operated by a middle-aged hipster who has resuscitated an older retail space. Hannah and I enjoyed the vermouth selection here and picked out a Swiss labe...

Zug, Switzerland - We arrived in Zurich last night. In keeping with best practice for avoiding jet lag, we avoided sleeping on the flights (connected through Lisbon), which had us awake for 30 hours straight. This is hard. I find it's best to drink coffee and watch action movies non-stop - the intermittent explosions, screaming, yelling and fast-paced music help to keep you stimulated. After we arrived, we went for dinner at Kin , which describes its food as "Asian infused wonders with local and seasonal ingredients." Kin is a cozy (aka cramped) restaurant located on a corner in a more bohemian part of town. We got the chicken laap salad, tsume-style miso salmon, yuzu mushroom salad, a beet and caviar dish, and the mystery dish. In ordering our meal, Hannah asked the waiter what the mystery dish was, and she was told it's a mystery. We got it anyway - it was a mung bean with Brussels sprouts and fried shallots. For dessert: miso cheesecake. Thumbs up for Kin - we li...

Sebastopol, CA - Happy turkey day! H and I are in Sebastopol, getting in a final hurrah with our families. We are t minus seven days to departure. Chaos and confusion reign as we prepare to embark on our one-year European adventure. In one of our finer moments, Hannah - overwhelmed both by the enormity of the impending change to our lives and the amount of work still ahead of us - sat crying next to an open suitcase while Mike fumed over the inefficiency created by this moment of reflection and introspection. The complications of moving to a idiosyncratic European country, protective of its culture and economy are numerous, but here are a few highlights: There is no common language. Most Swiss speak German (~60%), but large numbers speak French, and Italian. Romansch is an official language spoken by <1%. Hannah and I are attempting to learn some standard German via duoLingo. This is slow going for three reasons: (1) we are busy/lazy, (2) the Germans appreciate linguistic co...