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Posts Tagged ‘Switzerland’

A 5 Year Reject

19 Jun

 

Today marks the 5 year anniversary of my arrival in Switzerland.  Five years seems like a life time ago.  I can’t believe it.   As with most anniversaries it seems like a good time to do a bit of reflecting.

So lets look at 5 things I didn’t expect to accomplish but did.

  1. Learned to speak enough German to get by.
  2. Learned to play The alphorn.
  3. Visited most of the major cities in Europe.
  4. Learned to enjoy the European concept of vacation, sit in one place and take it all in.
  5. Got an additional promotion or two at work .

Not a bad list when I look at it.

No what about the failures?   I think the single most depressing thing, is that I got rejected for a C residency permit.  It was kind of disappointing but I am not surprised.  I think the main reason I got rejected is just that I wasn’t quite prepared to apply, and for once the Swiss did something pro-active.

At the begining of April I got a note in the mail about reapplying for permits at the end of the month since my permit was expecting.  I went through the standard process for applying and had expected to get my B permit in a couple of weeks.  Then the Swiss did something that threw me for a loop.  The did something proactive and asked that I just apply for a C-permit early.  I wasn’t expecting that at all.

Before you can apply for a C Permit you must reside in the same town on a B-Permit for 5 years. The C permit application also requires more paperwork and at the same time I got the application I had to travel for business.  If you are in the permitting process that can mean you need to apply for travel visas if your permit hasn’t been delivered.  So after asking a Swiss friend to help with the application I submitted the packet of forms and left of a 10 day trip, part business and part vacation.  Of course while we were out the immigration office sent a letter saying they needed something else. I was of course were out of the country and did not respond in the required timeline.  What gets me is they knew we were out of the country because I had just applied for a travel visa the week before explaining I had to travel for work.

Instead of a C Permit, I got a nice rejection letter, telling me I would not get a C Permit, but I could pick up my B Permit at the rathaus.    You can bet I ran over quickly to pick up that permit not to risk another issue.

But that aside it has been a fantastic 5 years.  Looking back I made a good decision to spend some time living and working in Europe.  It has given me a world view that I just didn’t have before.

 
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Posted in Moving

 

First Week On The Job

07 May

This week was the first week that I was officially on a local work contract.  I was sad that my expat contract is over but my limit had come and it was time to either make a commitment to stay or go back to the U.S.  As you can see we have decided to stay a little longer.

I was thinking about all the things we had to think about and prepare before making the switch to a local Swiss contract. Here is a short list of things we considered.

  1. Negotiate your local contract, understand the complete package
  2. Make sure you have local Swiss health insurance for your entire family
  3. Clean up any lose ends on our expat contract like housing security deposits or vacation balances left over from your previous contract
  4. Review your work permit status, make sure you get all your residence permits up to date for then entire family
  5. Think about your budget, your income will change so consider the impact it will have.

Do you have any other tips or things to think about? Leave a comment.

 
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Posted in Daily Life

 

Big Decisions

19 Mar

It has been a busy couple of weeks around here. Ever since fasnacht I have been doing a lot of traveling for work. It seems like spring always brings a rush of new activity both at work and home.

While all that has been going on my wife and I had also been debating what to do about our expat status. The fact of the matter is we are fast approaching the end of our 5 year stay and we needed to decide if we we wanted to go back to the U.S. or continue in Switzerland and give up our ‘free ticket’ home by switching to a local contract here.

We had a lot of long discussions and debates and looked at both sides. But in the end we are enjoying ourselves here, work is for the moment going well for both of us and it seemed like it made sense to stick around a bit longer.

It will of course mean that when we do want to go back, it will take a bit more effort because the responsibility will now be on me to find a job, and a ticket home. But that is a risk I am willing to take. I still believe the experiences I have gained over the last couple of years will make me a valuable candidate on the job market anywhere I should want to go. That may be a little bit of my American cultural background saying that, but hey, that’s who I am.

So for now, we stay.

 
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Posted in Daily Life

 

Hot Air Balloon Over The Alps

13 Feb

Balloon Over Chateau D’Oex Switzerland

Today I spent some time going through some more photos from our trip to the Chateau D’Oex balloon festival.  I liked this balloon a lot.  I guess it is a bit stereotypical in its style compared to some of the more elaborate balloons we saw.  But sometimes I think simple is good.

 
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Posted in Swiss Day Trips, Travel

 

Choking on A King

06 Jan

Plastic King From a King Cake

Today was King Cake day (Epiphany).  In Switzerland that means the office is filled with king cakes.  A delicious and dangerous (to an American) tradition.

The tradition starts when a baker puts a small, approximately 1 inch piece of plastic shaped like a king into his cake.  The cake is then sold to the  unsuspecting  citizenry together with a cheap paper crown, a-la Burger King but not as big.

Office colleagues gather during their coffee breaks each taking a piece of the cake and gulping down their espressos.  As soon as someone starts choking on the dastardly horse pill shaped like a king the others rush forth, paper crown in hand, and adorn the head of the new king with his symbol of superiority.

Fun, yes.  Recommended for children under 4, certainly not.

 
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Posted in Daily Life, Festivals

 

Hiking In Adelboden

21 Dec

Hut on a winter hiking trail near Adelboden Switzerland

I had a chance to use a gift certificate for a hotel stay recently.   The gift was given to me this summer by some friends and I hadn’t had a chance to use it.  My wife and I were waiting for some good weather this fall to use our Smartbox gift certificate but the weather just never cooperated.  Seeing that the certificate was going to expire in February 2011 we decided to take our chances and book a weekend in Adelboden.

It was just the start of the ski season in Adelboden.  Although I didn’t manage to make it to the slopes we had some fantastic weather on Saturday afternoon and did some winter hiking.

We also had a chance to meet with a work colleague and friend that has a small flat in Adelboden.  It was a nice opportunity to see the local side of the town culture.  We meet a few of her friends and visited a few local watering holes.  It was interesting to watch the locals.  From what I understand the locals are really just getting ready to go into hibernation.  From some of my conversations I learned that as the tourist season ramps up the locals don’t go out much.  Places are too crowded and it just isn’t worth the trouble.

What I also learned was that many Swiss in this local resort towns only have jobs for about 8 months a year.  They work for the summer tourist season and then the winter season.  In between the seasons there isn’t much going on so many of the hotels, stores, and resturants close.  What also struck me is that sometimes the locals don’t even know where they will be working during the next tourist season,  jobs are guaranteed and it is common to move around.

If you think about it working only 8 months a year means the locals have to practice an extremely good form of financial planning and discipline. Not that I wouldn’t expect anything less of the Swiss.  The reality is these seasonal works are still paying rent, utilities and buying food even during 4 months of the year when the are not getting any pay check.

The hiking and scenery in Adelboden were fantastic but what was really interesting were all the little things are learned about the local Swiss culture from my friend.  Hopefully I’ll get to go back someday and have another chance to mix and mingle with the locals.

Finally to the guys that gave me the gift certificate, thanks, it was perfect and we had a great weekend.

 
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Posted in Swiss Day Trips, Travel

 

Swiss Church Bells

22 Nov

Bells are an integral part of Swiss life. Cow bells, clock bells, and church bells. Where ever you are in this country you are surrounded by the sounds of bells. So what do they sound like? Here is a sample of our local church bells.

Swiss Church Bells

The church bells are run at 6:25-6:30 pm every Saturday night and 9:20-9:30 am every Sunday. That isn’t really that bad compared to the salute we get every 15 minutes from the clock tower just across the street that seems to like to remind us that it’s still there.

 
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Posted in Daily Life

 

Fall Hike In Apenzellerland

25 Oct

A Small Creek Along Swiss National Hiking Route 44

Last Saturday we took a hike along the Appenzeller Weg hiking path number 44.  My wife and I had thought this would probably be on of the last weekends to enjoy the fall colors so we got up early, and I sue that term loosly and boarded the train to Urnäsh.

The hike was billed as a 3.5 hour easy jaunt through the fields and woods between Urnäsh and Appenzell.  Knowing my obsession with the camera and the fact that we hit a detour or two we ended up taking about 5.5 hours to complete the hike including a lunch break.

The hike was beautiful and something I would like to try again in the summer.  While the fields were filled with trademarked swiss milk cows, the trails were strangely deserted.   I didn’t even see any of the now famous naked Swiss hikers associated with the region, how disappointing.

We ended the day in s’ Tübli resturant in Appenzell where I order one of my favorite versions of Alpener Macaroni.  The dish is called Tüblimaggarone.  It is a house special and the secret is substituting the traditional bacon (speck) with small slices of Cervelet sausage.

I highly recommend s’ Tübli.  They have a great menu, great food, and reasonable prices.  My wife and I escaped with drinks and dinner for two for 39 CHF, which is a steal in this country.  Most dishes are priced between 18-25 CHF if you eat off the daily menu.

 
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Posted in Food, Swiss Day Trips

 

Alpabzug Photo Week 1

22 Sep

Leading the Heard Through the Streets of Urnäsch

This week I am designating as Alpabzug photo week on the blog.  The the next 7 days I’ll be posting 1 photo a day from my trip last week to Urnäsch for the 2010 Alpabzug festival.

Hope you enjoy.

 
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Posted in Daily Life, Festivals, Photography, Uncategorized

 

Alpabzug in Urnäsch

19 Sep

Urnäsch Alpabzug, Bringing The Cows Home

This year marks the second year in a row I have attended the Alpabzug in Urnäsch.  The traditional fest marking the parade of farm animals down from the high mountain pastures in the alps to the farms in the valleys.

The colorful event is by far one of my favorite traditional swiss festivals to photograph, and this being my second visit meant that my photographs were also much improved.  I knew how to shoot the parade to get the best angles.

Much of the time attending these cow parades is spent waiting.  Just sitting by the side of the road until the next farm family wanders through the town with their heard.  In between people file into out door garden restaurants to pass the time, only to run to the streets when they hear the approaching ring of the cow bells.

If you missed Urnäsch and are still looking to visit one of these festivals you are in luck.  There are still a few left in the coming weeks.  There is a nice list of cow parades (alpabzug)  for 2010 on the the Swiss expat blog on the ACC site.

This years highlight, almost getting run over by a cow.  Luckily, my friend caught the entire thing on video.  There are plenty more photographs to go through.  Maybe I should set up a week long series.

 
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Posted in Festivals, Photography, Swiss Day Trips

 
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