Well, HELLO Switzerland

Things I love about Switzerland so far:

CHEESE! We have been here for just over a day and I have to say, the rumors are true- the dairy here is magnificent! Our local grocer sells huge wedges of Brie for $2!!! Back in DC this wedge would have easily cost at least $7 on sale. It is delicious. Yogurt for breakfast also passed the test with flying colors, even in the flavor of caramel pear. We declare this to be true, DAIRY in Switzerland is the crème de la crème. Pun intended.

Onto another very important topic: CHOCOLATE! Arguably the thing Switzerland is most known for, next to the cheese and clocks, the chocolate here is spectacular. Upon arriving to our new home, our sweet, kind landlord gifted us a beautiful, large box of chocolate. Our smiles could not have been bigger. Nicholas even gave the man a hug! Admittedly, we have not opened aforementioned chocolate box, because we are still working on the one that our dear friends from Zurich gave us for the wedding. Melt in your mouth deliciousness. In interesting flavors and textures. We LOVE it. I had to suppress every urge in my body not to down a few of the decadent morsels this morning before breakfast.

SIMPLICITY. Things here are simple. We do not live in a rural countryside or even in a very small town. This is one of the larger cities in Switzerland, however, things over here are just more simple. For instance, stores close early. Why? No reason, they just do. So figure out what you want and make sure you get it before the grocer goes home. Can I tell you how happy people are for a store that stays open until 9pm? We thought when they said a store stays open late, all hours, meant 24hrs. The IMD administrator Lucy nearly fell over when we asked if she meant the store was 24hrs. She clarified that a store open til 9pm is nothing short of a miracle. I am sure this whole store-closing-early thing will irk the heck out of me later, but for now, I appreciate that people don’t have to work until 2am just to make sure I can get that bag of sugar I forgot to pick up before 7pm.

KINDNESS. How else do you describe the fact that our landlord gifted us a box of chocolate, then invited us to tea in his restaurant, after which he apologized that he had to run into the city for business but to stay as long as we liked in the café? During which time, the manager came over to introduce herself and invited me to always come down and ask them for anything that I may need for our apartment upstairs. After which, we ordered a large lunch and were then told, it is on the house. Welcome! Wow… we sure felt special. And loved. And lucky. Come visit, the people at La Riviera are just like the chocolate and the cheese, spectacular.