on the road (again?!)

Sujean Rim

For those of you stopping by and not clued in, my husband and I have been in his home country of Switzerland for 4 months but will soon be going back to the US.

Its complicated. US immigration rules, that is.

So in honor of this departure (February 22nd) I'm making a little list of the best each country has to offer, sort of an 'I'll miss you/I'm looking forward to you' compilation.

Switzerland/I'll miss you:
1) Artisan bread. Available everywhere.
2) Artisan Cheese. Available everywhere.
3) Artisan Chocolates. Available everywhere.
4) Sweatsuits in public not being acceptable attire.
5) Old, old architecture.
6) Walking to individual shops instead of ginormous centers.
7) Listening to music while sitting in the tram (ie. not always having to drive).
8) European vacuum cleaners. Makes SO much more sense than our two ton uprights.
9) Rich, frothy coffee. Available everywhere.
10) Jeans tucked into boots, the norm in winter.
11) Raclette, Fondue & anything involving molten cheese.
12) Walking by the river Rhine.
13) Nifty windows that close, open inward, crack open just a little at the top with the rotation of a handle.
14) Gas ovens being the norm.
15) Obligatory line-drying.

America/bring it:
1) Giant bookstores where I can read books & magazine all day for free in a huge, comfy chair.
2) Chatting up people in the checkout lane in English.
3) Fuck it. Chatting up people everywhere in English.
4) Driving in the car, windows rolled down with music blasting.
5) Going to see a movie without it being paused in the middle for an obligatory f***ing ice cream/smoke break.
6) Non-smoking in restaurants/concert halls being the norm. Yay for healthy lungs!
7) Screaming at Philipp across the beer aisle ("This one?") without being gawked at.
8) Not being policed at a restaurant for only having drinks in the specified 'eating' section.
9) Strolling around Target, not really buying anything, just looking (especially excited about all the chintzy Easter crap out this time of year---nostalgic memories---).
10) Going out for pizza without spending my life savings.
11) Ordering water at a meal that does not cost more than cola or beer!