During a weekend visit to Zurich a few weeks ago, my cousin made a comment about how green the city is: trees, flowers, potted plants, grassy lawns, woods, and yes, even the occasional weed, overlooked by the city’s diligent gardeners.

She also pointed out the fact that even on one of Zurich’s most famous and busiest streets, the Bahnhofstrasse, you can find large trees providing shade for the throngs of shoppers, tourists and bankers that march up and down the road each and every day. (more…)

One of the more surprising aspects of Geneva for the newcomer or the resident of other Swiss cities, is the sheer, un-Helvetic messiness of the place.

Piles of black-bagged garbage often appear stranded on the sidewalk, at times malodorous. And when the dustmen pick them up, not infrequently the remains from a torn bag will languish on the pavement until rain or an zealous burgher clean it up. (more…)

The colourful boiled eggs you can buy in Coop have always made me smile.

It’s not easy to differentiate in the egg department these days, nor to bring ‘fun’ into dairy but these succeed on both fronts. (more…)

Visiting a friend of mine in another canton, I was struck by the architectural mix in her village. Futuristic cubes, split-level villas, modern chalets. Flat roofs, pointy roofs, tiered roofs. Wooden walls, purple walls, concrete walls.

I mentioned how striking the houses were. “I like them too,” she replied, “but my husband and mother-in-law don’t approve. They don’t think the different styles fit the village.”

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It‘s only the beginning of May and I have nearly used up the bottle of sunscreen that I bought only a few weeks ago.

And after almost 17 years of living in Switzerland, I cannot recall ever having such a good tan and getting so much use out of my sunglasses and flip-flops so early in the year. (more…)

Before becoming a parent I had no idea that a pair of Wellington (rubber) boots are an absolutely indispensable piece in a child’s wardrobe.

They are needed all the time - to conquer muddy puddles, play in sandboxes, explore forest footpaths, and to ‘help out’ in the garden. (more…)