swiss in san francisco

Stefan's mom is in town this week and next visiting us and meeting little Samantha.  We've got lots of fun stuff planned - stay tuned for details! 

Whenever she comes to visit, she always asks what she can bring us from the Motherland and we always have two very special Swiss items we just can't live without:

Sprüngli - seriously the world's best chocolate, bar none.

And Aromat - the world's best spice, bar none.

perfect for dolling up your eggs, salads, fish or veggies

These very coveted, only-found-in-Switzerland items are two of my most favorite things.  While I'd tell you all to go sample them immediately, you'd be unable because these exclusive Swiss delicacies are only available to the elite Swiss (and those fortunate enough to have inside ties).  

But as we enjoyed some salad sprinkled with this special spice and savored a piece of the Sprüngli (we have a strict only-one-a-night policy around here to make them last as loooooong as possible), I began thinking: maybe it's not the actual substance of the items that allures me; rather, could it be that the exclusivity is what drives my deep and intense affection?  After all, my absolute favorite fruit (persimmons!) also has a limited quality about it, being only available in a few precious fall months.

Our fruit basket these days:

Just a thought.

xoxo
KK

oberhohl

You may remember that I spent of good chunk of last summer in Switzerland learning German.  My time there was well worth it and not just because I got lots of time with Stefan's family and got to do some traveling, but also because by the end of the month I could actually carry a conversation.

Walking the dog with Stefan's mom:

In Berlin with our good German friends Frank and Marlene:

But when I touched back down in the States, my German speaking became - well - non-existent.  I had the best of intentions, but whenever Stefan and I would practice, the conversation would ultimately deteriorate into English.  While I could talk about what I ate or said or did, I couldn't discuss anything of depth, and when you have limited time to conversate each evening, depth is of the essence.

So when Stefan's dad and Edith were here, I expected us to speak mostly English and/or for me to not participate all that much in the conversation.  But surprisingly to everyone (most of all to me!), my German came back fairly easily.  I quickly remembered key words and phrases and was able to partake in conversation (albeit basic and slooooow conversation) without issue.  (Particularly after a glass or two of wine.)

But while my high German was passable, Swiss German (an extremely heavy dialect of German not understandable to high German speakers and the actual language spoken by Stefan's family when they aren't accommodating me) was another beast altogether.  While they mostly spoke high German around me, Swiss German naturally entered the conversation given that it's their true native tongue.  

My ultimate end goal is this secret language.  We're raising Samantha to speak English, Swiss German and high German.  My biggest fear is that her and her dad will be able to talk in Swiss code without me understanding: i.e., "Samantha - your mother's cooking tastes like dog poo tonight, doesn't it?"  "Yes daddy - I could not agree more.  Let's order pizza when she goes to sleep at 8pm."
So naturally I tried to pick up on as much of this special language as possible.

Throughout the weekend, particularly on our hike on Sunday, I heard one particular Swiss German expression used over and over.

I listened carefully for it and noticed it being used in all sorts of different situations.  I was sure I had struck Swiss German gold!  If I could learn this key phrase, I could simply begin sprinkling it into my high German and before you knew it, I'd be a legit Swiss German Heidi-li. 

That night, as we sat down to takeout from the very best Thai spot (that happens to be right around the corner in our new hood)...

...I decided to ask about this golden phrase.

As soon as there was a lull in conversation, I went for it:

"Was ist 'oberhohl'?"

I eagerly awaited glowing compliments on how wonderful I was for learning such a key Swiss phrase.  "KK, du bist so intelligent!  Du bist so perfekt mit deine Schweizerdeutsche!" I expected them to tell me.

Instead I got dead silence.

And then uproarious laughter.

"What is it?" I begged, mortified by a clearly nicht so gut mistake.

More un-containable cackling.

"Is that not a word?" I pleaded.

"No - hahahahahhahaa - it's - hahahahahaha - a - hahaha - word," Stefan managed.

"Tell me!" I implored.

"It means 'unbelievably stupid' like 'the stupidest of stupid'.  Where did you learn that?  Did my brother teach you that?" Stefan continued as his dad and Edith continued to appear to be dying from their never-ending laughter.

"You all have been saying it all day long." I offered sheepishly.

They all looked at each other.

"Us?  We have been saying this word??" Stefan's dad asked as he looked at his wife and son.  They all wondered who had been the one to toss around this not-very-nice expression for my Swiss-German virgin ears to hear.

Eventually, they all calmed down from their laughter, we finished our dinner, and Edith and Urs headed back to their hotel.

Later that night as Stefan was changing Samantha's diaper, I heard him say my not-so-golden phrase.
"THERE!  That's it.  Did you just call our daughter the stupidest of stupid??" I asked him appalled.

"Lueg emol!  Not oberhohl." He replied as he began laughing again and went to text his dad and Edith the debunked mystery of my new word.  "It means 'have a look here' or 'look at that'!"

Oh.

Well lueg emol, I guess I may be a tad bit oberhohl myself. :)

xoxo

KK

a win in wetzikon

While I spent most of the month of August going to German classes and doing German homework and taking German exams, the real test came when I spent an afternoon, evening and night with Stefan's dad and his wife.

Talking only German.

We started with a light summer lunch of gazpacho, prosciutto with melon, and mountain cheese with fresh apricots.
(Demonstration of kitchen cutlery and foodstuffs vocabulary - check!)

We then went for a long walk along a nearby lake, stopping by the oldest tree in the village.

Did you know that the church is the highest building in every Swiss village

(Demonstration of basic chit-chat phrases and past tense to tell all about what I've been up to month-to-date - check!)
We then made our way up to an adorable little family farm that is open to visitors to explore.

a hand-painted sign gives you the lay of the land

like any good farm, this one included an adorable little shop 

with all-organic, homegrown or homemade products 

that I obviously had to check out

the Swiss love to buy local and will pay double the price 

for a product grown in their home country

the shop's labels were simple, clean, efficient perfection

just with the family's name (Jucker) and Hof for farm

even the toilets in this place were gorgeous

After a quick tour of the animals,
(Demonstration of farm animal and equipment vocabulary - check!)

and then a leisurely coffee overlooking the lake, 
we headed to our evening activity: the Chilpi! 

(Wetzikon's equivalent to a state fair.)

Switzerland's XXL Pommes (French Fries) - see upper left corner

equates to an American size small and costs five times the price

Since Urs is mayor of the town, it seemed as though the crowds parted for us - everyone knew him and Edith and wanted to say hello.  Wherever we walked, someone wanted to hear how they were doing or treat us to a beer.
(Demonstration of get-to-know-you questions and phrases - check!)

After quite a bit of socializing, Edith and I headed up in the Ferris wheel to get a look at the idyllic surroundings.

(Demonstration of city vocabulary as I asked where the Krankenhaus/Hospital, Schule/School und Kirche/Church were - check!)

We enjoyed some bratwursts and cervelats (traditional Swiss sausages) before retiring home early. (I did have class the next morning.)

And at the end of evening, after we had all finished a pot of tea, Stefan's father said the sweetest three words I could have imagined:

"Ich habe verloren."
"I have lost."

As you might guess, I slept quite well that night. :)

xoxo

KK

a swiss bet

The first time I was ever in Switzerland was three years ago this past August.  

Stefan and I had just started dating, and though things were still quite new, we knew it was a fantastic idea to take advantage of some time in between jobs to spend a month together in Venezuela (learning Spanish and how to kite surf) and then a month together in Switzerland.  
In Switzerland, we did all sorts of very Swiss things (like take long hikes in the Alps and eat Swiss sausages and visit cheese factories tucked away into the mountains).  But on one particular day on this trip (one we spent in Davos with Stefan's father), I made a bet that I would be able to speak Swiss German by the end of 2011.  

(It was summer of 2010 at the time, and a year and a half seemed like more than enough time to learn a language that requires you to learn an entire other language (High German) before you can even begin to learn it.)

here we are on that faithful day

Well, as I'm sure you already know, I lost that bet long ago.
But once I paid out for my loss (a nice dinner out for the four of us), I signed on for another: Hoch Deutsch by the end of 2014.

And so while I spent August in der Schweiz going to class and doing homework and taking tests every single day, the real test for me was when I spent an afternoon, evening, and night with Stefan's father and his wife.  
Talking only Deutsch.

The story on how it went comes tomorrow.
Stay tuned.

xoxo
KK

A 1-year anniversary “surprise”

Because we weren’t able to be together for our 1-year wedding anniversary, we agreed we’d celebrate it at some point during our little getaway in Italy.  Mr. Fischer (being the killer husband that he is) offered to plan our special day.

Stefan and I had our very first date at A16 – a fabulously simple Italian restaurant (with to-die-for pizzas and a book for a wine list) in San Francisco. 

from here

The restaurant is named after a very famous highway in Campania wine country that leads to the region’s best vineyards and therefore specializes in Campania wines.  A16 is one of the only few spots in the US where you can find all of Campania’s best wine labels (many of which we had tried on our various dates there since that faithful first one) under one roof.

It just so happened that Positano is a meer hour and a half away from the real A16, so Stefan figured we had no choice to go.  And since wine has always played a special role in our relationship (we got married on a vineyard and our entire wedding ceremony was about how marriage is like making wine), we figured a day of wine-tasting fit the bill for the big 1 year.

(Much better than personalized stationary in my book.)

While the whole thing was supposed to be a surprise, Stefan knows me oh-so-very-well and therefore knows I (like so many of the Krieg clan) need to know what the “plan” is.  
For example:
For my mom’s 50^th birthday, my dad gave her a romantic trip to Hawaii.  But he didn’t just tell her about the trip, he presented her with an entire booklet outlining every single thing they would do (where they’d play golf, what they’d eat, when they’d work out) down to the minute: “A Plan with Activities” as my dad titled it.  She absolutely loved it. 

Stefan took a cue from my father and did the same for me.  A few weeks before this day, he “surprised” me with a booklet outlining exactly what we’d do on this special, celebratory day: which wineries we’d visit (along with the history behind each one), where we’d eat dinner (with sample menus might be), and where we would spend the night (along with pictures of the spot): a surprise that I knew all about –  I was in heaven.

To get us out there, he rented a classic, red Fiat convertible which we picked up first thing in the morning and drove along the scenic Amalfi Coast.

While gorgeous, the curves on this road made California's Highway 1 look like a cake walk.  That combined with insanely narrow streets, huge buses with no regard for what else might be on the road, jaw-dropping cliffs the entire way, and crazy Italian drivers without fear of death made for one hell of an exciting drive.

After a good hour and a half of excitement, however, we had arrived at our first locale: Montevetrano.

This stop was so good, it requires its own post.  Tune back in soon.

xoxo
KK

back in the US of A

I’m back! 

After Stefan joined me in Switzerland and we enjoyed a weekend at home with his fam, we headed off to the Amalfi Coast for 5 days of relaxation – just the two of us (and all sorts of interesting people Stefan befriended along the way of course).  We then headed back to Zurich to spend the past few days with his fam before hopping on the long plane ride(s) home. 

We had the most wonderful time in Switzerland and Italy, enjoying (as per usual) copious amounts of amazing, amazing food.  (I know people say the Italians like to eat well, but I had no idea just how well!)

An apero on our balcony overlooking the sea in Positano:

fresh Parma prosciutto, divinely doughy bread, 
and the most juicy, delicious tomatoes and olives ever – 
we had to eat them at least twice every day!

(and a bottle of very good Campania wine of course)

A stop for a quick breakfast in Amalfi on our little road trip (more details to come):

the most amazing hazelnut croissants 

I have ever tasted (sorry La Boulange!) – 

I am STILL dreaming about them

A real Italian dinner at a very local, totally no-frills, but extra delicious spot (C’era una Volta - highly recommend it if you find yourself in Positano!):

Every meal in Positano required a tomato-mozzarella salad 
with cheese that tasted like it was fresh from the cow

glass (or rather: bucket) of wine for 2 euros

Every trip to Italy requires at least one pizza to be eaten!

And you can’t go to the Amalfi Coast without trying some Lemon Granita:

And some Limoncello:

And – of course – some Gelato:

While I’m sad this adventure is over, I am excited to get back into the swing of things of here (and eat a few more salads).  
Stay tuned - lots more stories from Switzerland and Italy to come.  

xoxo
KK

positano bound

Stefan is finally here!

here he is on a walk with the dog Friday afternoon

It's been an exciting few days around these parts, starting with picking Stefan up from the airport on Thursday, my last German class on Friday, and lots of family fun this weekend.

Friday afternoon, we kicked the weekend off with a leisurely lunch and then a river-side walk in a neighboring village with Stefan's mom.

their "größten Salatteller" (biggest salad plate) really hit the spot

Saturday morning, we woke up to the smell of freshly baked Vanille Brötchen, which Stefan mom was making for Stefan's sister's birthday.

We spent the day celebrating with her at the village flight show, where we saw lots of old, classic planes and chatted with neighbors.

We obviously also had to get ourselves some ice cream.

That night, we took Stefan's mom out for a fancy dinner at her fav Italian spot nearby.

with the bill came espresso and grappa, on the house

And tomorrow we're headed to Positano, Italy for a week of relaxation.  

We could not be more excited!

from here

We'll be lounging on the beach by day and eating pizza and pasta by night, but I've got some pre-prepared blog posts from July coming your way to hold you over until we're back.

xoxo

KK