Switzerland!!

Tomorrow, I leave Switzerland after spending about a month here.  My reactions to the country and where I have been:

First and foremost (and most importantly): this is the most BEAUTIFUL country I have even been to.  This was, to be honest, something I was not expecting.  But the Swiss really have a way of life that caters to the better things in it, and their cities truly reflect that attitude.  Nice place.

General observations:

- Google Switzerland.  Find out where it is and the rest of this will make more sense

- Four languages are spoken here: Swiss German, French, Italian, and Romanish.  But you can get by everywhere on English.  But no one will approach you speaking English, but responding in English is usually a good indication that you didn't understand what the hell they just said and they'll switch for you.

- The country has something like 7 million people and is about the size of New Jersey.  You can get to one end of it to the other in a few hours (I don't know, maybe 8?).  What's most interesting though is that as you travel through the country, the languages shift from Swiss German to French (or Italian, if you go south).  

- Direction on the train are NOT announced in English.  They are announced in whatever language dominates the area you are in.  Could me just Swiss German.  Could be just French.  But usually, it's announced in both (but again, NOT English).  So you really gotta pay attention to the city names to know when your stop is coming up

- The dollar is worth crap, and this is particularly evident in Switzerland.  If I have understood this correctly, there was a time when the rate was something like 2 CHF for every dollar, so basically their stuff would be like half price for us - BUT their prices and incomes are double what ours are.  So what does all this mean?  Just that once upon a time, stuff in Switzerland costed about what it did in the U.S.  We were about the same.  But when the dollar became less valuable, Swiss money stayed the same but their prices have not changed.  So for example. a slice of pizza costs 6 CHF.  Back in the day, that would be about $3 (which is about average for us now in the states).  But not today, now that 6 CHF is more than $6, making that a very expensive slice of pizza for an American.

- Be prepared to eat lots and lots and lots of chocolate.

- The german in Switzerland is Swiss German.  It is different.  It sounds different.

- Train rides are expensive.  A one way ticket from Bern to Zurich costed my 47 CHF.  But there is this Targeskarte thing (spelling?) that is a 40 CHF all day train/tram pass.  If you know someone who lives in Switzerland, ask them about it.  They are pretty much the only ones that can get it, tourists don't have direct access to it.

- Stuff closes at 6:30 pm but stay open until around 9 on thursdays.  Most things are closed on Sundays.  But the shops and grocery in the RailCities (train stations) are usually open later.

- If you have a big dog on the train or tram, you have to buy them their own ticket.

- Learn as many languages as you can.  Sitting down to dinner and having 3-4 languages going on at once seems to be the norm in big groups.  

The cities I have been to:

BERN

- I stayed here with Jessica and Brian (and Leroy!) and had a FANTASTIC time.  I can't express my gratitude enough to them for taking me into their home and giving me a place to call home while here.  

- This is the capitol for the country, but it is probably the size of Annapolis.   

- Swiss German

- Interesting place, the people act sorta like you would expect German people to act.  

- Salsa dancing - a lot of cuban style (I think) but wait for the monthly Mambo Soul Parties, people come from all over the country for them.  It's On2 and the DJs are AMAZING!  :)

- Quiet hours are from 10 pm to 6 am.  No showers or loud music.

- Really, a quaint city.  Church bells will wake you up on sunday mornings though, they're everywhere.

LUZERN

- They have an incredible lake, it really looks more like a crater, with the alps all around it.  The train station dumps you out on it, you can't miss it

-Swiss German

BASEL

- Really close to France.  But they speak Swiss German.

GENEVA

- Top 10 most beautiful cities I have ever seen.  Right up there next to Arcadia, Maine.

- They speak FRENCH and may as well be French, the city has such a French feel

- The lake is beautiful, the alps are beautiful, the architecture is beautiful

- I didn't do any dancing there, but the Geneva dancers I have danced with in other parts of the country are On2 and SMOOTH.  Very light leads and a lot of fun, in a French way lol

- CERN and the UN are HUGE here.  So you will find that the population is super diverse, but still they all seem to speak French.  but you can get by on English (but I recommend learning French)

- If I moved to Switzerland, I would move to Geneva.  That is a city I would wake up each day thinking, wow, what an incredible place to be all the time.  I get the same feeling in San Diego, beautiful places to live are a plus for sure

ZURICH

- Is actually really international, you will find that almost everyone speaks English and Swiss German, usually French too (I think)

- Zurich is not the most beautiful of Swiss cities, but it definitely has the feel of being a world city (a lot like London and San Francisco) but just happens to be in CH.

Other: Switzerland SalsaFestival

- You cannot call yourself a hard core salsero if you have not done an international congress.  This should be on your list

- The bands played dancable songs, the shows were world class (saturday) with a lineup back to back of all the people we youtube pretty much.

- These people are ORGANIZED!  No late starts here

- Huge dance floors, everywhere

- I heard the last 2 years were better, but this one was still pretty badass.

- Considering going?  Then just go, you will not regret it.  We stayed at the Bristol and got first class service there, I would recommend that place again.

Would I come back to Switzerland?  Absolutely!  Would I live in Switzerland?  Only if I got a job.  Incomes are higher here and cost of living is higher here, so I would need one of those Swiss jobs to even out the high cost of everything.  But my career goals do involve at least extended stays in Switzerland (UN = Geneva) so we will see. 

Thank You to all my new amazing Swiss friends and family.  I have had an amazing time...

... but tomorrow, I go "Holm"... back to Stockholm!  The forecast says the weather should be 0 degrees (celsius) and sunny, so it should be a warm day for Sweden!  :)

Til I write again... 

FINALLY my impressions of Dublin and Liverpool

Hello all!

Sorry it has taken me so long to get something on here, I have been quite distracted by Switzerland!  More on this incredible country later though...

LIVERPOOL
I was only in Liverpool for one night.  I stayed at a hotel, which shall remain nameless, and was my first European hotel experience.  It was the dirtiest hotel I have ever seen, it was really "minging" as Lucy Blaze put it.  I don't think it had been cleaned in two decades.  Gross.  Aside from that, Liverpool was ok.  Not a tourist destination, I didn't see tons of Beatles stuff everywhere like I more or less expected, but I'm sure it was there.  Would I go back there?  Only if I had to.  Why was I there in the first place?  For a salsa festival, of course.

DUBLIN
I was in Dublin for almost a week, I stayed with a couchsurfer and had a great time.  A few things about the area though.
- Weather.  Be prepared for 5 different kinds of weather at any given moment.  I thought the wide shifts in weather and temperature were just happening when I was there b/c of the season, but apparently it's like that all year.
-  They use Euros there, make sure you have some before you go there.  Cabs from the port take Euros, not Pounds (even though you are probably getting there from England if you're in the port).
- Make sure you know what the political news is before you go.  When I was there, Ireland was (is) in a recession.  And that bride had just been murdered, that news is in the U.S.  Make sure you know what the people in the place you are going to are going through before you get there.  For example, now would probably be a great time to read up a little on Libya if you are one of the unfortunate people planning to go there...
- Irish pastimes: drinking and... drinking... Guinness is huge
- There is a LOT of green there, I was actually surprised at the amount of green everywhere.  Green buildings, green outfits, green green green
- You can survive in Dublin on a bike for a week.  Believe me, it's actually pretty awesome.  I only took public transportation once and it was to take the hour ride to the airport (2.20 Euro, btw and the bus only takes exact change.  You can't give them a five either, they won't let you on)
- The Irish and the English... pretty much have the relationship you'd expect them to.  It's a good idea to be sensitive to that.
- I'm part Irish, but I didn't really feel any "calling" or emotional connection to the country.  Sorry.
-Oh and how did I get there?  Well, Ryanair wanted me to pay them $300 to fly from Liverpool to Dublin, so I booked train and ferry (together) with raileasy.co.uk and got from Liverpool to the Dublin port for 38 Pounds.  It took about 8 hours, but it was cheaper.  So, I went from the tube (which can be caught from the main train station) for 20 minutes to the train (few hours, I think) through the English countryside (beautiful, btw), to the ferry (an experience everyone should have at least once, it was interesting) for 2 hours I think (from Holyhead) and then arriving in the Dublin port.  There is a bus that will take you to the main bus station, it takes cash.  You can exchange money on the ferry.
-Don't go when it's suppose to snow.  2 centimeters of snow shuts down all the airports in all of the UK apparently.
- Oh and this England, Great Britain, and United Kingdom thing... talk to people in London, they say one thing.  Talk to people in Dublin, they say something else.  I still actually do not know what countries are included in what or what to call the big island that London sits on.  But you do need a passport to get to Ireland so LOGICALLY, it's a different country... hhmmmmm
- Oh and no salsa dancing.  Irish dancing seems to be the only option.
- Would I go back to Dublin?  HELL YES!  I had a great time and would absolutely go back to explore the country more.

:)

Dublin was Great! Now off to Bern!

Just a quick update... I'm at the Copenhagen airport waiting for my connecting flight to Zurich where I will be meeting Jessica and then heading down to Bern.  Liverpool was nice, Dublin was GREAT!  I will update more later!!!