Thanksgiving, it's not about presents or fireworks. It's a day for families and friends to gather and give thanks for all the blessings that we have (usually over a table piled high with scrumptious food).
It was a bit hard for us to celebrate a "typical"
U.S. Thanksgiving in Basel considering grocery stores don't stock stuffing (let
alone a bag of bread crumbs), pumpkin mix, fried onion toppers (for the green bean
casserole) cranberries and the price of turkey is egregious (which you have to
order directly from the meat department). Argh. Anyhoo, we went to the big grocery
store in Germany where we were able to get a nice little ham instead. Matt made a delicious glaze for the ham (had to go to 2 grocery stores to find maple syrup) as well as homemade
onion toppers for the green beans, which were quite tasty and perhaps
even a bit healthier, if that's possible. Since we couldn't make
stuffing, I made a wild rice salad with a lot of goodness added to it (a bit of sweetness, acid and crunch). Yum. We had plenty of other food
as well - green salad, mashed potatoes and German pretzel rolls. To finish, we had an
apple crisp for dessert. All in all, we didn't get as "stuffed" as per usual, but our big spread turned out really really well!
We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! And the Christmas Markets have already begun, so stay tuned!
United Nations. Lavaux. Swiss Riviera.
We drove down to Geneva for the weekend (took approx. 2.5 hours). About half-way through the trip the signs changed from German to French -- "Ausfahrt" became "Sortie" (exit) and "Geneva" turned to "Genève". The city is very cosmopolitan and felt really large, although it's about half the size of Zurich and only a bit bigger than Basel. It also didn't feel "Swiss" at all, I kept thinking we were in France!
It was another cold weekend, but at least there was no rain. We didn't actually see much of the lake since it was so chilly, but we visited the shopping streets, Patek Philippe museum, St. Pierre cathedral as well as the Maison Tavel, which is the oldest house in Geneva (circa 14th century).
The Patek Philippe museum had an extraordinary display of prestigious watches and clocks, many of which are from the CEO's own collection (1869-present). There was also a vast antique collection dating back to the 16th century. Overall, it was quite enjoyable.
The United Nations isn't open to visitors on the weekend, but we drove by on Sunday morning so I could at least take a picture of the rows of flags -- do you see the American flag (hint, it's on the left-hand side)?
We then took a scenic drive along the lake making our way around to the charming town of Montreaux. Along the way we passed through Lausanne (and the Olympic museum) as well as the Lavaux wine region, which is known for its daringly constructed hillside terraces (protected by UNESCO since 2007). It was a spectacular sight -- on one side of the road you have the shimmering Lake Geneva and on the other side you have rows and rows of grapevines climbing up the hill.
Montreaux and the surrounding towns are considered the "Swiss Riviera", and live up to the name. They're beautifully preserved resort towns with swanky 5-star hotels, beautiful 19th century architecture, chic boutiques and of course the true gem, the lake itself. It reminded us of Monaco a bit.
The beautiful vista of the Swiss Riviera (on a much sunnier day).
Our destination was Chateau de Chillon, a few miles past Montreaux. It has an idyllic location, right on the lake! The castle is very old, dating back to the 12th century. We received a brochure in English that provided suggested routes to take through the maze of courtyards, towers, halls and it also gave descriptions of all the different rooms. It was so interesting -- we spent a good hour and half walking through it all.
Beer. Mussels. Waffles.
We spent the past weekend in Brussels and Bruges. Most of the attractions in Brussels are located around the Grand Palace and within easy walking distance (never took the Metro). We ate frites with mayonnaise (not as good as the ones we had in Amsterdam), waffles (fluffy, light and tasty), mussels (delicious) and very chocolate-y hot chocolate (wonderful with the waffles!).
Of course, we also found a few quintessential Belgian cafes where we sampled some local beer.
We didn't find Brussels to be too exciting, but we walked around and saw the Bourse (Stock Exchange building), churches, Royal Palace and Park, Galeries St. Hubert (Europe's first shopping arcade) and last but not least, the 3 "peeing" statues - the Mannekin Pis, which is the famous one, plus a little girl (Jeanneke) and now there's a dog too (Zinneke). Ah, those Belgians and their silly humor!
Statue number 1.....
Statue number 2.....
And statue number 3.....
The highlight of the weekend was our day trip to Bruges (one-hour via train). It was like stepping into a postcard, the city was filled with cobblestone streets, old churches, little canals, and medieval homes. It was gorgeous! We enjoyed wandering around on foot with the throngs of other tourists (it was very crowded to say the least).
There's a very old brewery in town, De Halve Mann (Half Moon) where we took a tour in English (other tours were offered in Dutch and French) - suffice it to say, the place was very popular! They are known for their killer "Straffe Hendrick" which translates to "strong Henry", and is 9% alcohol! Wow. It's been an active brewery since 1546, so they know what they're doing! The guide was very informative and it was a great tour, ending with a pint of their traditional Zot beer.
