There are two kinds of Swiss restaurants — with and without cooked cheese. The Swiss eat out at a “cooked cheese restaurant” because they don’t want to stink up their house with the smell. But, when eating out, the Swiss carefully avoid a “cooked cheese restaurant” if they are not having fondue or raclette. Also, only tourists eat fondue in summer. I just saw the sorriest sight in all of Luzern: a fondue restaurant in August serving two lonely tourists.
Being just over the border from France and Italy, the Swiss seem to have an inferiority complex about the quality of their restaurants. My Swiss friend brags, “In western Switzerland, our restaurants have the most Michelin stars per kilometer.” I say, “Perhaps that’s because Michelin hides its money here.” My Swiss friend says, “Let’s talk about the weather.”
At an Italian restaurant in Luzern the menu listed everything in Italian and German. The Italian sounded more appetizing than the German to me: I was all set for scaloppini…until I read the German name (Kalbsschnitzel),and went with something else.
I asked the waitress to translate “Autruche”on the menu. She said, “It’s the one that puts its head in the sand.” She was German, from Berlin. I asked how she liked working in Switzerland. She said, “Good, except we get only four weeks vacation here. In Germany, workers all get at least six.”
I bought six liters of water for the crew at supermarket for the cost of three half-liter bottles at a convenience store. Convenience stores all over Europe are convenient…but supermarkets are a far better value.
Driving out of Beaune, in Burgundy, we came to a blight of roadside billboards and it occurred to me: Europe is generally free from highway billboards.
Driving through the Swiss countryside hoping for good weather tomorrow for filming, we notice fields blanketed in fresh-cut hay. The farmers don’t cut hay unless they figure the weather will stay dry. Love to see that cut hay. We’ve been blessed with perfect weather for the production of two TV shows in a row.
As a Swiss fan of yours, I am a little bit surprised about how negative your blog has become since you have set foot into Switzerland. I am not particularly patriotic, and I know that you are a very critical traveler, but I get the impression that you do not particularly like the country, except for Gimmelwald. I am wondering what are the reasons? Is it too sterile? Not friendly? Too expensive? Is it because of the banking industry? And please note that my family has been eating cheese fondue in summer for generations.
That hit me like a block of Gruyere’ cheese. Your comment on no billboards in Europe is spot on. I can’t remember seeing any? Except EU or local election signs depending on the year. Great Blog this summer. I am still following along. Fred in Atlanta.
I have to second Stefan’s comment: Rick’s tone when he talks about Switzerland is not positive. He keeps making snide remarks about the banking industry, and now the food. I have to say that I am a Swiss by marriage, and I absolutely love Switzerland and very proud to have my gorgeous Swiss passport, which is welcome anywhere in the world. And by the way, it has always been considered by the people in the know that the best chefs come out of Switzerland, not France or Italy. Remember who Nero Wolfe had for a personal chef? And he was a big gourmand.
I too have thought Rick’s comments about Switzerland have been somewhat negative. My favorite Swiss cheese dish is rosti . . . the national dish of Switzerland. The price of water is not just in Switzerland . . . also Germany and Austria. Rick is right to Go to a grocery store for the best prices. As an American, I found it really strange that bottled water costs more than beer. One of things I have done since returning home from GAS, is using all my little canvas/cotton bags at the grocery stores rather than having the store use their plastic bags. Didn’t we do this about 22 years ago? Everytime I go to Europe, I find myself adopting a change to my lifestyle. Happy travels and love the blog!
to everyone who thinks so highly of the Swiss, remember this, there is still so much Nazi loot in the Swiss banks. Switzerland Banks should change their name to The Blood Banks of Switzerland. No wonder the banks are hidden, isn’t that what the guilty do?? Bonnie
Yes, there is a difference in tone, but it seems to me that Rick may be reacting to the cost of Switzerland, particularly in the bigger cities (we all know how frugal he is), and Swiss reserve. Just wait till he gets to the Alps and it will change. Of course, only Rick knows why and he doesn’t have to say why. I’m just glad that he’s out there checking things out and giving us straight info. Thanks for all your work, Rick!
Hi, Rick! I look forward to watching the new shows you and crew are making. I have always wanted to try Swiss fondue and chocolate. It all sounds good to me. Happy travels today!
the blog is fun to read (every couple days I go eagerly to the web site to see what is up) because it is snapshots, unfiltered, those first impressions. a few weeks ago a travel help line poster asked, “why do we go to Europe?” the responses were interesting, among them, to see the little differences such as ones listed here. thanks!
Rick thanks for your blog. It helps re-live my travels to europe over tha past 20 years. Switzerland is a wonder country from a scenic perspective, but their beer is like water:) However, their cheese dishes (mountain macaroni) is wonderful. We have enjoyed staying in all your hotel recommendations through-out Europe. Thanks for being our virtual guide. Good travels.
Bonnie– What exactly did the Swiss do? Did they take money from criminals without asking questions?…maybe. did they actively conspire with the Nazis to traffic in stolen property or gold taken from the victims of the Nazis? probably not since there exists no conclusive evidence that the Swiss KNOWINGLY did so. If you are refering the the dormant account issue; a joint commission of the US Congress and the World Jewish Congress found that there was “no evidence of systematic discrimination, obstruction of access, misappropriation, or violation of document retention requirements of Swiss law […] and that in many cases banks actively sought out account holders or their HEIRS, including Holocaust victims, and paid the account balances of dormant accounts to the appropriate parties.” Can the same be said about dormant accounts in the United States or the number of Jewish refugees admitted into the US. Remember the SS St. Louis and lay off the Swiss.
Hi Rick! There’s an interesting article in Radio Prague for Hradec Kralove. I know you’ll be in Czech Republic soon and thought this would be helpful for research on your 2008 book. http://www.radio.cz/en/issue/94200
William–What exactly did the Swiss do? Take this quote from PBS’ Frontline: The Sinister Face of Neutrality “Toward the end of the war, when other neutral states refused to purchase gold directly from Germany, Switzerland continued to carry on this highly profitable trade. That gold generally came from two sources – the gold reserves of the central banks of the occupied countries and gold taken from individuals – including gold dental fillings extracted from corpses.” Let us now move forward to 2007 How about the Swiss financing world terrorism today with the non-stop flood of looted Iraqi antiquities streaming through the Geneva Freeport (without being inspected) and then receiving valid export stamps! One of the largest looted antiquities laundering cities in the world. Terrorists could not sell these looted treasures without the Swiss legitimizing them first. I agree with you on the SS St Louis. It is still a stain on FDR and the Democrat Party!
What I like about this blog is you get to see a different side of Rick – political, opinionated and slightly irreverent. That does not come across much in the television show because it needs to appeal to a broader audience. I don’t think he doesn’t like Switzerland, I think he’s just trying to relay a realistic picture of the day-to-day events of travel. I love Paris, but I can rattle off about a dozen things that really annoy me about it (no water fountains for instance). I think you have to just take the blog for what it is. I’m sure he’ll only talk about the best of your country on the show.
Years ago, using Rick’s tips, we stayed in Lauterbrunnen at the Hotel Jungfrau. Our kids were 4 and 8 years old. Just by chance it was the 150th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation, a huge celebration. We reserved a dinner table for the formal celebratory dinner at the hotel. The dining room and the guests were decked out to the nines, much more than we would do for our Fourth of July. The buffet dinner and the evening was fantstic until the chef started the Raclette. The smell overcame our four year old and he started to gag. Completely embarrassed, we left immediately. You should have seen the faces on the Swiss as I put my son under my arm and headed for the hills. One of our family memories of Raclette and our ETTBD. We are probably one of the reasons the Swiss “avoid the cooked cheese restaurants” Thanks Rick and team for all you do.
It’s funny you talk about vacation time… At least in Europe, they can afford to take vacation and not feel guilty. This is one thing North American’s lack and something that drives European’s stay in Europe…
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