On Monday December 21st Christmas came early to Switzerland, when we welcomed the Johnsons and Sandra Zwanzinger to stay with us in our adopted country.  Our day began around 8 a.m. when we left our apartment to drive to the Geneva airport in a rental van.  Driving in Switzerland was a new experience for us, … Continue reading The Swiss Family Johnson, December 21st – Geneva →

We’ve had a great Christmas season with lots of guests!  Since the 21st we’ve been traveling all over Switzerland, and even to Germany to visit Britt Sieber.  Our apartment space was maxed out with seven people staying, counting us, the Johnsons, Sandra Zwanzinger, and Bjorn Lindholm.  The time has flown by and already tomorrow is our last … Continue reading The Swiss Family Johnson →

This week was all about preparing for the Johnsons.  Tomorrow Melissa’s whole family (Keith, Janell, and Kyle Johnson), as well as a former exchange student they hosted from Austria (Sandra Zwanzinger), are flying into Geneva to spend Christmas with us in Switzerland.  We’ve been busy cleaning up our apartment, Christmas shopping, and planning our sight … Continue reading 20 December 2015 – Update →

For the last few months, I’ve been feeling like I have reached a plateau in my French learning.  I can get by in French in most situations (if I practice beforehand), but thinking and listening fast enough to have actual conversations hadn’t been getting any easier. Learning with computer programs, reading the news, and watching … Continue reading Language Exchanges →

The holiday season is upon Switzerland.  Throughout the month of November Christmas decorations gradually appeared in apartment windows and along city streets.  Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Switzerland, therefore there is no clear marker for when it is appropriate to start decorating.  We even  saw a tree go up right before Halloween! We, however, were good Americans … Continue reading Joyeuses Fêtes →

Wow! We’ve already lived in Switzerland one year!  Just one year ago today, December 1st, 2014, we were sprinting across the sidewalks of Lausanne with our 200+ pounds of luggage in tow, rushing to our tiny studio, where we were late to meet our new landlord.  Now we can look back from our comfortably large, and … Continue reading One Year Down →

Two of our friends from Minneapolis, Patrick Smadbeck and Caryn Krakauer, have lived in Europe even longer than us.  A few months before we moved to Switzerland they moved to London for Caryn to take a job with a video game company, and Patrick to take a job as a chemical engineering post-doc.  Ever since … Continue reading London →

Before writing about the process of getting a Swiss driver’s license I need to at least mention the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday.  The whole situation is very sad, and hits close to home because of both our nearness to France, and our studying of French culture.  I think it will be the biggest … Continue reading Swiss Driver’s License →

It’s easy to see castles, cathedrals, and cobblestone streets and think they’re all about as old as dirt, but everywhere we look in Europe we seem to find the remains of an even older civilization. On Saturday Melissa and I traveled 40 miles from our apartment to reset our idea of old to Roman times … Continue reading Avenches →

As Americans it’s part of our duty to spread our awesome culture where ever we go.  On October 31st that meant dressing up and throwing a Halloween party, because we didn’t think the Swiss took the holiday seriously enough.  There were pumpkins, a small section of costumes, and decorations at the stores, but there wasn’t … Continue reading Halloween →