Two Years and 24 Weeks - Grocery Shopping in France and Short Trip to Ticino

K and C at Castello Montebello in Bellinzona, Switzerland

A few weekends ago, we decided to make a trek over to Morteau, France, just over the border, to go grocery shopping.   We've heard the prices are much better than Swiss prices, plus they have a different selection of foods.   This was C's first trip across an international border, but it was rather boring as no one appeared to be manning the borders.  Although it doesn't make sense to go every week due to the cost of gas, we definitely had some really good finds, which included Comte cheese, lots of pastry items and frozen macarons.  (The macarons must be thawed before eating, but they were delicious and relatively cheap.)  Unfortunately, we needed to move quickly through the two stores we visited as C was being fussy.  We'll definitely be going back to Morteau (or another border town with grocery stores) in the next month or two, so we can restock.

M and C in Ascona, Switzerland

This past weekend, we went on our first overnight trip with C to Ticino, the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. Upon the recommendation of a colleague, we decided to take the pass both ways and forego the Gottard tunnel. The drive was really beautiful although rather long. After crossing the pass, we headed straight for Bellinzona, a city well known for its three castles. We visited the middle castle Montebello, which gave us a great view of the Castello Grande in the town below. The castle had a fair number of nooks and crannies to explore, and there was a lot of room to run around the grounds. As C was fussing, we decided to call it a day and head to the hotel.

We spent the night in an albergo/restaurant in Mugena near Lugano. We had pizza in the restaurant downstairs for dinner and then turned in. The next morning after breakfast we drove to Ascona, a cute town next to the Ticinese capital of Locarno, on the shore of Lake Maggiore.  We parked the car and had a brief walk along the lake before we started our journey back to Neuchatel.

M and C on bridge near Gottard Pass

Lessons learned:

1. You can buy frozen sweet peas in France. Score!

2. You can also buy Nacho Cheese Doritos, green split peas (pois cassés), yellow orange American cheese (called burger cheese), condensed and evaporated milk, and Cheerios in France.

3. You are more likely to be able to go shopping in Ticino.  We were amazed at all the clothing stores open in Ascona.

4. A colicky 13-week-old in a restaurant still doesn't work...

Two Years and 20 Weeks - Visitors

Jardin Botanique

M's parents organized a trip to Switzerland to meet their granddaughter in person, whom they had only previously met via Skype.  They arrived just shy of C's six week birthday and departed almost 2 weeks later.  It was nice having them here to help out with C, who had turned into a bit of a fussbudget.  Except for a day excursion to Annecy, France, they pretty much stuck around Neuchatel.

Even though, we had received C's passport and residence permit just before the grandparents visit, we decided to stay relatively close to home due to Miss Fussy.  Around town, we visited the Neuchatel Botanical Garden and the Latenium archaeology museum.  We finally took a 1-hour boat tour on Lake Neuchatel, the first time we had been out on the lake ever (not counting being on the Coop wine boat); the boat started at the Neuchatel port, chugged over to Portalban, and then to Cudrefin before heading back to Neuchatel.  It was a sunny day, so we enjoyed the weather on the top deck with the inappropriately-dressed (think MTV Spring Break in Cancun) teenagers sipping beer and sucking on popsicles.

Old Roman Wall with Watchtower; M's dad at Gate

Since M's parents' previous trip had included Rome, we decided to drive over to the Roman ruins in Avenches, to give them some familiar scenery.  We stopped first at the amphitheatre which was set up for another play, and then drove over to the Roman theater.  We walked from the theater up to the old gate to explore the watchtower.  We also went on the walk/hike to the Areuse waterfalls.  M and C visited the Natural History Museum and Fine Arts Museum with the grandparents as well, while K was at work.  

Lessons Learned:
1.  Not the best idea to try to go out to a sit-down dinner with a colicky 7 week-old.  Thankfully there were a sufficient number of adults at the table who could take turns outside with the screaming baby.
2. Cloth diapers seemed like a good idea, but without a personal washing machine they mayjust be a pipe (poop!) dream.
3. US passport generation outside the US is much faster than inside the US (at least in Switzerland).  Got C's passport in about 2 weeks!

Areuse Gorges

Two Years and 16 weeks - Prague and other stuff

It has been an embarrassingly long time since our last post.  Since last time, we had one trip together (to Prague), K went on a business trip to Puerto Rico, and we added a new member to our family.

Call it an early Valentine's Day weekend, a babymoon, Beercation 2012 or just an opportunity to explore.  We decided to book a long weekend trip to Prague via the night train in mid-February.  Yes, we knew it would be cold in Prague in the middle of February.  What we didn't know was that Eastern Europe would be hit by a deadly cold snap.

The trip started with the night train to Prague, where we shared our "couchette" with two other people.  The train was fairly uneventful except that it broke down a few hours from Prague.  Most people got off, but we decided to stay on.  We started to get worried when the heat had been off in the train for awhile and we were getting cold, but fortunately, the engine was replaced and train was back on its way within 2 hours.

In Prague, it was bitterly cold, and M chickened out on quite a bit of sight-seeing, so K took the lead on scoping out the sites, bringing M back later.

Grounds of Prague Castle, with Cathedral in background

The guidebooks rave about the Charles Bridge because of all the statues that line both sides, and suggest visiting the bridge at dusk.  On an exploratory ramble, K visited the bridge in the daylight and did find it visually interesting.  However, by the time K and M ambled over that evening, at 6-month pregnant walking speed, Prague dusk had passed, and while there are spotlights on some statues, the Bridge is not all that interesting at night.  Plus, it was cold, so we just moved on to dinner.

The next morning, we caught a tram across the river and up the hill to Prague Castle.  Lots of buildings to explore (only a couple of which were heated).   We also visited Golden Lane, full of cheek-to-cheek tiny cottages, which was cute.  One interesting bit in the castle proper is the defenestration window, through which several councilmen were thrown during a time of unrest.

K at Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square) 

Prague is also famed for a 600-year old, still-working, astronomical clock.  At each hour, figures animate, and the apostles make a procession.  An interesting sight. Around the clock tower, the old town of Prague is just what you want from old-world Europe.  Lots of pretty, ornate buildings, narrow winding streets, lots of restaurants and shops.

 Several blocks over in the New Town, Wenceslas Square (really more of a broad pedestrian area with traffic on each side than a typical square) is home to even more restaurants and lots of hotels.  We didn't see any demonstrations; either everyone was too content to protest, or it was too cold for them to be out.

The big, historic Czech National Museum building at the upper part of the Wenceslas Square was closed, but the smaller, newer wing next door was open.  Upon entering, the receptionist informed us that only two display areas were open - however, these focused on science and engineering developments in the Czech Republic, so we were sold!  Who would have known that two Czech brothers developed a better kind of plow!  More impressive for two engineers working with pharma/medical devices, was the erector-set contact lens molding unit that a Czech scientist developed - it looked incredibly primitive by today's standards, but it was clearly functional and repeatable enough to not only prove that the contact lens idea worked, but per the informative sign, this little workcell was used to make production volumes of lenses!  There was also a big poster of Gregor Mendel and his pea plants.  Neither of us remembered Mendel being Czech, but we certainly remembered his name and his contributions to genetics.

One of the big drivers to visit the Czech Republic was the beer.  Czechs are the largest per-capita beer consumers in the world, by far.  According to a nice French book on beer from a coworker, Czechs drink 159 liters per person per year.  Germany, arguably known for heavy beer consumption (think Oktoberfest) weighs in at 122 L/person/year.  The UK, with its pub culture, is at 97 L/pers/year.  And the US is at 84L/pers/year.

There are many large Czech beer (Pivo) brands, and we saw several proudly displayed on signs in Prague.  By visiting different restaurants throughout the visit, and taking some rest-stops in our meanders through town, K had an opportunity to try several different brands.  Pilsner, originating in the Czech Republic, was a common style, but generally clean and well-done.

Traditional Czech fare is not the most vegetarian friendly, but we did find several traditional items for M.  At our first lunch, while K sampled different Pivos and had sausage soup, M had several non-meat sides, including fried bread.  We were maybe expecting something like texas toast, but it was a thick slice of bread fried rock hard in a deep fryer, served with several cloves of raw garlic; really not sure why this would be a regular part of any culture's diet...

However, we did eat at a great Thai restaurant (though K was a little the worse for wear later) and a nice little Italian restaurant near the Czech National Museum.

The night train back to Switzerland was about the same as the outbound train ride, except for one stop in Dresden.  Apparently, a large group of Neo-Nazis decided to stage a protest at the train station, a separate group of counter protestors also thought the train station would be a good venue, and a sea of police officers were present to watch both groups.  Lots of chanting.  Lots of people walking around.  LOTS of police.  The stop took about 2 hours longer than expected, but then we were rolling again.

K had a business trip to Puerto Rico the last week of February.  The heat and humidity seemed a nice break from CH winter - except there was a warm snap that week in CH as well!  K found some time early one morning to walk on the beach and dip his toes in the ocean, but most of the time was spent in conference rooms or at dinner with coworkers.  He did spend one entire evening at a Babies-R-Us, goggling at all the selection, and trying to find everything on the shopping list M had provided - and then arranging, and re-arranging, his suitcase to make everything fit.

M's pregnancy continued well as the weeks progressed, but the baby was in no hurry to leave the womb.   At 36 weeks, M was having a lot of contractions, and we went in to the hospital, but that faded and everything returned to normal.

The Swiss term is calculated at 40 weeks, but at "term day", baby was showing no signs of coming out.  The days continued to pass, and except for M getting tired of being pregnant (and being tired, as sleep was tough for her), no changes from the baby.

At 41weeks, we had another check-up, and everything was fine, but no progress, so we scheduled the induction for 2 days later.  However, the next day, baby decided it was time.  After some late night "cramps", we went back to the hospital early Sunday morning (01:39).  Just under 7 hours later, an exhausted M gave birth to a healthy baby girl, C.  M was relieved.  C was not so thrilled.   K didn't know what to think.

The girls stayed in the hospital until Wednesday, when we all came home to introduce the new addition to Major and Minor (they weren't very impressed).

In the past month, everyone has been healthy, though M is having even more challenges sleeping than during the 3rd trimester (though now the challenges aren't from internal discomfort) - on the bright side, we can walk around town for more than an hour without needing a pit stop.  And, the weather in May was unusually nice, giving some great opportunities to walk around town with C in a carrier.

C is growing well.

We're been Skyping with family quite a bit, and have been astounded at the gifts and well-wishes that keep pouring in from friends and family.

We have a lot to be very, very thankful for.

Lessons learned:

1. The couchette bunks on overnight trains really are not appropriate for 6 to 7 month pregnant lady who doesn't sleep very well.

2.  Tiring easily, having a low tolerance for cold weather, navigating huge icy patches and having to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes makes sight-seeing in Prague not as pleasurable as it could be for a very pregnant lady.
3. It is very common in Switzerland for practically everyone you know (including coworkers) to visit you in the hospital during your stay after you have a baby.  M declined, which wound up being for the best because the hospital environment stressed her out. However, that didn't stop the visitors for her roommate from coming and coming.

Recipes for U.S. Expats - 1 Year and 47 Weeks

We had a rather pleasant and quiet Christmas and New Year.  We originally planned to do some shopping in France, but M caught a pretty bad cold, so we just stayed in Neuchatel, except for a jaunt over to the Ikea in Lyssach to buy some home-organization materials (shelves, boxes, etc).

Things have continued to be quiet, although we've both been busy at work, and M has been going to a handful of doctor's appointments (K comes to the more-fun ones with the ultrasounds).  Everything seems to be going pretty well so far.  We've tried to sign up for a birth class at the hospital and will wait to hear when it's being scheduled.  K has almost figured out what kind of car seat we need to buy, and we found a consignment shop in the next town over that specializes in baby stuff.

With the time at home, M has been trying out some recipes for items that she misses from "back home."  With few other adventures to regale, she thought it would be fun to sum up some of the recipes she's tried:

"Poptarts"

1. Homemade poptarts:  Yes, the first question is what is so special about pop tarts that you'd want to make them at home?  You can hardly even call them food; they are really more of a food product.  However, like many items on the list, one of the things that makes them so special is that you can't get them here.  And let's face it, they are a very convenient breakfast food [product].  I found a couple recipes online, but decided on this one.  I filled them with a mix of strawberry jam or kiwi preserves each mixed with a little bit of cornstarch.  The final 'tarts were about twice the thickness of real Poptarts.  They turned out really well, but I think I liked them better without the frosting, which is not the case for real poptarts.  The icing tasted too much like powdered sugar.  I think maybe a royal icing might taste more authentic.

2. Velveeta shells and cheese:  Yes, yes, we know.  They have such great cheese in Europe; why in the hell would anyone want the plastic-y cheese food?  Well, lots of reasons; it is creamy (Velveeta and American cheese are awesome melters), and it is such a comfort food.  And sometimes you want to just scarf down a big bowl of this stuff.  Nobody wants to scarf down a bowl of mac and cheese, where the cheese was $30/lb+; that is a dish to be savored thoughtfully and slowly, appreciating every cheesy nuance.  So, I have found the best approximation to American mac and cheese so far.  Boil up whatever pasta you like, spoon a good helping of it into a bowl and then break up 2 or 3 wedges of Laughing Cow (La Vache qui Rit) cheese and mix them into the hot pasta.  Add a splash of milk and microwave for a little bit.  The Laughing Cow will not melt like Velveeta, but when it's hot you can kind of smear it around.  Add a bit of salt, and enjoy.

3.  Biscuits (au Ken):  We broke into the can of Crisco M brought back at Thanksgiving.  Ken made some of the fluffiest little biscuits thanks to the Betty Crocker cookbook.  They were so delicious that we requested another can of Crisco from a visitor that was coming to town.

4. English muffins:  M was hoping to be able to find English muffins, or at least crumpets, which are pretty close, but no luck.  She had found bagels, but they were more like California bagels than NY bagels (more bready than bagely) - still they were pretty good toasted with cream cheese.  She came across an Alton Brown recipe on Foodnetwork.com and decided to give it a go.  Without good temperature control, most of the them came out "highly caramelized."  Also, she didn't have a scoop so she had to estimate, and the first several were oversized.  They came out pretty close to the "real thing,"
but she thinks tired yeast meant that they didn't have nearly enough nooks and crannies.

5. Coquito/Puerto Rican Egg Nog:  Not normally a huge fan of egg nog, M had a bit of a craving for it during the holidays.  They don't sell egg nog here, nor do they sell pasteurized eggs, so with the pregnancy, M needed to find a "safe" egg nog recipe.  Having always loved the Coquito that Yvette would make for New Years, she searched the internet for a recipe.  She used this one, omitting the rum, save for a tablespoon, for a portion for herself.  (It does call for condensed milk, which we happened to have a can of that we brought back from the US.) It was pretty good and hit the spot, but wasn't quite as good as Yvette's.

Other recipes we've tried in the past:
Texas flour tortillas - Really liked these
Cranberry sauce - Made this for Thanksgiving 2010. Honey was a bit overwhelming, would want to make again with more neutral corn syrup, but I haven't seen corn syrup here.
Stove top stuffing - Not that complicated.  Just need onions, celery, parsley, stale bread, and broth.

Recipes we'd like to try:
1) Asadero cheese - This is also known as quesadilla cheese.  I am also waiting for an entrepreneurial cheese maker to make some American and/or Mexican style cheeses.  Really, they don't know what they are missing here.
2) Reese's peanut butter cups - M brought some back from the states on her last trip, and she is trying to make the bag last, but these really don't seem too difficult to make.  She'll probably try either this recipe or a close variation.
3) Graham crackers - We just don't know if we can find graham flour.  Also, although they sell molasses, it is mostly corn syrup.

Last weekend, while M was making pop-tarts, K walked the Sentier du Temps, where every meter along the path takes you a million years through time, with wood-carvings to represent the epoch.  K started at "today" and walked uphill to Chaumont traveling "back in time" [cue Huey Lewis & The News soundbite with Marty McFly].  Neuchatel experienced some strong wind-storms in early January, so there were a few fallen trees on the trail, but otherwise it was a nice walk on a brisk, sunny day.  Upon reaching the top, K took the funicular and bus back home.

Lessons learned:
1. For how snide Europeans can be about American food, they make a lot of crap food themselves.  It's not that there isn't a lot of great European food; there certainly is.  But just as Americans make some rather low quality food products, cheese in a can, McDonald's hamburgers, Doritos, etc, so do the French and Swiss.  Cases in point: gruyere melty singles (look and feel like American cheese, smell like Gruyere, and do not melt for crap) or Laughing Cow pasteurized cheese food or the famous Swiss mayonnaise salads (seriously it's half mayonnaise and cream and the other half some slaw cut vegetable and I've seen meals where they have two or three of these on one table) or the peanut flavored puffs (think cheesy puffs but with peanut flavor).  And yet, we also know that France and most of Europe also make wonderful food: from wonderful cheese, chocolate and bread to porcini, truffles, and pancetta.  And guess what, so does America. We just happen to mostly export the lower quality stuff.  My opinion is that we need to do a better job in educating the rest of the world about America's wonderfully diverse food culture, in which we make exquisite chocolate chip cookies, handmade goat cheeses, flavorful Tex-Mex burritos, Southern barbeque, New England clam chowder, San Francisco sourdough, etc.
2. There is an international analog to a notary seal known as an apostille.  It can be used between parties that have signed the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, which include the US and most of Europe.  At least some Swiss cantons require that US official documents (e.g. birth certificates, marriage certificates) contain an apostille to be recognized by the local government.   This is quite important to know as the marriage certificate and birth certificates of parents who are foreign nationals are required to register the birth of child in Switzerland.  The birth must first be registered officially in Switzerland before the consular report of birth abroad and the paperwork to declare US citizenship can be submitted to the US Consulate/Embassy.  (By the way, no, birth in Switzerland guarantees no rights at all to Swiss citizenship.)  According to the Swiss US Embassy, a child born abroad to two US citizen parents at least one of whom has resided in the US prior to the birth is considered a US citizen at birth (i.e. natural born).