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Published: October 5th 2008
Pretzel blasphemy
In Switzerland, we learned mustard complements sausage quite well. Give it some time and the Swiss will learn to appreciate mustard also goes well on pretzels! But, I'll try not to embarrass my Swiss friends again...My trip to Switzerland almost became my shortest overseas trip ever... upon approaching customs, I realized I left my passport on the plane. Drama aside, my passport was found one hour later and just prior to the plane being boarded for its return trip to the USA! Thanks to Zurich airport security and staff for reassuring me everything would be okay. When I finally breezed through customs, I was slightly disappointed because its officers only scan passports... no stamp!
To our slight surprise, we found the US dollar to be stronger than the Swiss franc... but prices were higher to offset the (dis)advantage. We stayed in the countryside where our gracious hosts, Natascha and Peter, spent considerable time showing us around their beautiful region... as they prepared for their wedding that weekend! We enjoyed their home cooking of Swiss barbecue (sausage, potatoes, chips, hefeweizen) and their favorite microbrewery where we sampled white sausage, amber, brown ale, and pretzels. We Americans caused some horrified looks, though, when we put mustard on our pretzels... this must solely be a sporting event tradition in the USA. Although, I thought it was pretty funny that this act angered the Swiss. Haha.
We stayed
at Hotel Engel in downtown Frick - met expectations, single room, no frills, good breakfast - baguette, cheese, espresso, cold cuts. The local grocery (Coop) had an aisle of just chocolate. Of course, you had the more well-known brands... Lindt, Toblerone, et al. but there were dozens of local variations... milk, dark, white chocolate... too much, but WOW!
Following our friends' wedding day, we learned how to play squash, toured ruins in the Rheinfelden/Basel area, and hiked Engelberg and Titlis. Delicious food, great times, made new friends, and consumed massive quantities of chocolate.
Tiptop! (I think that meant "very good"?)
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