Geneva and the Most Amazing Meal of my Life

The evening of May 10^th, Justin and I set out on a train across Switzerland to the city of Geneva so Justin could take the Project Management Professional Exam, also known as the PMP. This does not stand for “Pimp”, as bad ass and scandalous as that would be.  Thank goodness.  It is simply an additional certification that an individual can receive that shows they fully understand how to manage projects.  In much of Europe, titles after your name are considered very prestigious and the PMP certification should open some doors within his specific profession.  There is an extensive application that one must go through to be eligible to take the exam.  Justin had to be able to document at least three calendar years experience in project management, including at least 4,500 hours of experience within the five recognized project management process groups, and document at least 35 contract hours of formal training in project management. So, by the time Justin went through all the aforementioned, paid the large fee to take the exam, and took a train across Switzerland, he did not want to fail and have to do it again. Yikes!

Well, we didn’t do much the first evening except relax in the hotel room and get a head start on sleep.  Over the last 2 months Justin studied regularly for this exam and was studying as much as 5 to 6 hours a day during the last 2 weeks.  He wouldn’t admit it, but he was a little nervous and he and I said a nice long prayer that evening. Justin and I woke up at a reasonable time the following morning, did a small workout at the hotel’s “gym”, and ate the most expensive and disgusting hotel breakfast of our lives.  Justin’s exam was scheduled for 1:30 and my plan was to walk to the test site with him so I could wish him good luck right before the exam.  I even changed into a cute dress because Justin swears I never wear dresses (this is actually pretty true).  The funny part is that I wore the dress long enough to go to the test site with him and then immediately went back to the hotel and changed into jeans.  Justin is allotted 4 hours to take this exam; he took 3 hours and 15 minutes. Definitely good to take your time and I was proud of him for that.

I waited impatiently for him to finish.  While he was taking the exam I went back to the hotel to change my clothes, went for a walk to see some of the city, read about a hundred pages in a book, and had a small snack. But, the entire time I was tremendously antsy and finally decided to walk back to the test center.  At the exact moment I walked inside Justin was finishing the exam.  He walked out with a huge smile on his face and I knew instantly that he had passed.  Not only did he pass, but he blew it out of the water. Thank goodness!!! 

 

We were so incredibly relieved and it made our evening plans seem even more exciting than they already did.  We met up with Betsy and Kol that evening (you may remember them from our Villars post) who live in Geneva. They took us for a walk around the city; where we saw one of the largest fountains in the world at Lake Geneva.  

They then brought us to an Italian restaurant called Chez Remo.  OH MY GOODNESS!  It was the perfect way to celebrate Justin passing the PMP exam.  This Italian restaurant was 100% legit. We started off the meal with a salad covered in slices of pizza! Woohoo!  That is what I’m talking about!  It was scrumptious. 

Then, Justin ordered the Chef’s Special Pasta and it apparently changed his life it was so good (he ate so much he didn’t eat until the following evening).  I ordered a delicious pizza with fried eggs on top of it. Yum! And Betsy and Kol ordered the most bizarre thing I have ever seen in my 26 years.  They ordered a pasta dish that was served from an enormous wheel of cheese!  The picture does not do it justice. We finished off our meals with some Limoncello shooters. I highly recommend that if anyone is ever in Geneva they go there. The food and service were great; and of course spending time with Betsy and Kol is always a blast. They are so incredibly nice and welcoming.

 The next day Justin was able to enjoy the train ride without studying and we heading home from our successful and fun weekend. The End.

MORE Culture Shock!

So, we had a lot of positive feedback from our last "Culture Shock" post, so I thought I'd add to it since we've discovered many more things since we've been here.

Unfortunately, hotels here don’t really understand that air conditioning is supposed to make the rooms cooler.  Justin and I crank the air on as low as possible and swear it never gets cooler.

When you want to stay at a hotel be aware that by “queen bed” they mean two twin beds shoved together with an adjoining sheet. Makes cuddling uncomfortable.

Occasionally a restaurant will serve an “American Breakfast”.  My experience each time has been soggy bacon, tasteless sausage, powdered eggs, and cold potatoes.  I think the Swiss should just serve their own breakfast and stop attempting ours. The Muesli, sausages, croissants, and hash browns are plenty delicious, so just stick with what you know.

I can NOT get used to clothing and shoe sizes.  I finally figured out I wear a size 41 shoe… who knows what size pants I wear.  Something like a 38?

Yea… nudity is acceptable in certain areas near the lake.  Awesome!

Toddlers ride the most adorable little bikes that have no pedals and require them to push their feet along the ground like the Flintstones. It is so cute!

Scooters and Mopeds are actually “cool”.  I am totally serious right now.

A comforter here is a duvet stuffed into a sheet-casing that can be unzipped so you can wash it.  Actually, it makes a lot of sense.

At restaurants you don’t have to tip much at all.  In fact, the general rule is to just “round up” your tab to the nearest dollar and that is how much you tip.  So, even though the meal is more expensive, it almost evens out by not having to tip much.  Almost.

The Swiss are oddly wary of the German neighbors. 

People don’t really lock the doors to their house and just leave stuff out in the open. The are so incredibly trusting.  I would compare it to 1950’s America.

They listen to a lot of American music.  In fact, Justin and I were at a public ice-skating rink where they were blasting the song “F*** you”. Evidently they couldn’t understand the English in the song and were just playing it because it was popular.  Justin and I looked around at the small children in disbelief.

There are wild foxes in our neighborhood.

Why is there so much graffiti?

Coffee is social event here.  Justin says he will take a “coffee” break at work and many will use this time to network and socialize with others.  They make their espressos and cappuccinos and stand at a table to get to know one another.

The post office is also a bank.

Kids are expected to walk to school and evidently it is frowned upon for students to be dropped off by their parents once they reach a certain age.  They start walking around 8 years old.  

Better to have cash when you go out than a credit card.  Many places still do not take cards, especially small shops and cafes.

Have you every listened to a Swiss person say a phone number?  It is the most confusing thing I have ever heard and I cannot keep up.  For example, they would say something like zero one-and-twenty, three four-and-sixty, nine-and-seventy, eight-and-fifty. You have to write the 0, then leave a gap and write 1, go back to the 2, jump over to the 3, over again to the 4, back to the 6 and so on.  It’s like backwards… I have accepted that I am not smart enough to understand it.

Movie theaters take a 15 minute intermission during the movie.  How rude!  They just like to interrupt the climax of the whole plot so people will buy more snacks (especially ice cream). Grr…

Cigarette advertisements are not uncommon.  Yea, it’s like 1992 all over again.

I have found the Swiss don’t care as much for small talk.  The best example I can think of is the weather.  We would say, “Man it is so cold out there.  I hope it snows!”  They would say, “It’s winter.” 

Everyone knows everything about Obama.  Not that big of a surprise.  Here’s a bigger one for you; most people actually LIKE Obama.  A car parked outside of my apartment right this very second actually has a bobble-head Obama/ surfer dude with an American flag surfboard in the dashboard. Holy Toledo, Batman.

There a 7 people in equal charge of their government.  The government is called the Budesrat (or Federal Council) and is basically a parliament coalition. Each councilor takes their turn at being “president” for the year.  Rather bizarre…., but evidently it works quite well! (I’m basing this on the fact that Switzerland is constantly rated amongst the healthiest, wealthiest, and most eco-friendly countries in the World.  Someone must be doing something right.)

They love to have drinking parties, called an “Apero”.  They literally will have them for every possible occasion.  And no Apero is complete without some yummy drinks, cheese, and bread.

They are SUPER-PLANNERS!  Want to throw a party? You better extend invitations three months in advance.  I am not exaggerating.

Seems like every day is a religious holiday where all businesses are closed.  I still don’t know who is actually celebrating these holidays.  Everyone I know is just down by the lake.

The Swiss are eco-warriors. The recycle EVERYTHING!  Paper, cardboard, bottles, batteries, light bulbs, glass, bags, clothes, etc.  But, my all time favorite would have to be the graves. I’m not joking!!  Grave plots are rented rather than bought and they are usually rented for 20-25 years.  Evidently many families will reuse the same plot over and over again. You are responsible for keeping the plot looking nice and when your time is up, most people will take the headstone and recycle it (for things like gravel). I must say though, the grave yards are immaculately kept and there seem to be far less of them for this reason. 

Prostitution is legal.  I repeat.  Prostitution is legal. There are certain rules to follow like when and where, but for the most part you can drive down to a certain road on any random evening and find a line of prostitutes about a kilometer long. GROSS!

Everyone drinks carbonated water and it really weirded me out at first.  I am slowly getting used to it.  Justin, on the other hand, loves it

Things I didn’t know were Swiss: Velcro, Absinthe, the division sign, LSD, cellophane, aluminum foil, the electric toothbrush, and The Birdie Song!!!  (I read about these things in the book called “Swiss Watching”.)

This is probably my favorite thing. Sechselauten is a festival held every year in Zurich where they burn a fake snowman- Say what?!?!!? Yea. They throw this big event/parade and sit and watch to see how long it takes to burn. This apparently celebrates the end of winter and predicts how much longer it will last. Something like Groundhog Day I suppose?

Heidi is practically a national icon.

Labor Day is actually a big deal and NOT just for cooking out.  Justin still feels dirty from having to walk past a crowd of chanting Communists.  Disgusting.

Swiss cheese? What is that? There are a ridiculous amount of cheeses made in Switzerland.  Why do we think the only kind is the one with the holes?  So not true.  Makes me think of when Justin and I bought “America Sauce” at the grocery store only to find out later that it is actually just Big Mac sauce. 

A tram will take you around Switzerland and feed you Fondue? Oh. Mein. Gott. I need to try this next winter.  They have a tram for sushi and Chinese food too.

White wine should be first at a meal, then red. 

It’s your birthday.  You pay for the meal.

If they say, “Let’s have a BBQ!” they really mean to say “Let’s cook outside!”.  They don’t serve real BBQ and I doubt many of them know what they are missing.

When you greet people they will sometimes give you three kisses on alternating cheeks.  I am slowly getting used to this and know I probably still look a little awkward.

Why does it take 32 years to get the check?!?  Maybe it’s because they aren’t waiting for my tip and to seat more guests?

The playing cards are completely different.

The Swiss sometimes turn off their car at stop lights.  So Green!

Well, that's all I could think of at the moment. I hope you enjoyed reading the list as much as I have enjoyed experiencing it. :)

Love,

Lindsey