Tips and advice from a local Swiss on how to visit the Jungfraujoch, one of the most popular destinations in Switzerland! Jungfraujoch The Jungfraujoch is located in the Bernese Alps (in German: Berner Oberland), which is in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. It stands at 3,454 metres/11,332 feet above sea level, and it boasts the highest railway station in Europe. From the Jungfraujoch, you will have stunning panoramic views of the Aletsch Glacier,
Your guide to the best restaurants and cafés in Paris, with tips for families with children. Where to Eat in Paris Whilst Paris might be a food mecca for anyone who loves to eat, that’s not to say that a good meal can be found everywhere in Paris; a lot of restaurants and bistros are merely tourist traps, serving underwhelming food with questionable service to match. It pays to research the restaurants and
Whether you are a visitor or a local, the following is a list of some of the best Zurich cafés.
The best cafés and restaurants for brunch in Zurich, with tips for families with children. Brunch in Zurich When I first moved to Zurich in 2006, “brunch” was not quite in the Swiss vocabulary. Only a very few places offered brunch in Zurich on Sundays, and those places were typically always booked out by expats in search of pancakes, waffles, baked beans and the like which were not commonly offered by the more
Information about skiing in Grindelwald for children and beginners. Tips and review of Bodmi, Grindelwald, and the Snowli Kids Club. Skiing Lessons for Children In Switzerland, most children tend to start skiing lessons around 3 years old. Much depends, of course, on their willingness to learn, athletic ability, as well as their physical size. We know of some children who were very eager to learn to ski at 3 years old, but their
Brunni, Engelberg, is a fun place for families with children in summer, especially with their large climbing playground and summer toboggan run, plus the Globi Treasure Hunt. Brunni, Engelberg Engelberg is located just over 1 hour away from Zurich and is an ideal place to visit, whether as a day trip, a weekend getaway, or longer. It is a popular destination for skiing in winter, but there is also a wealth of activities
Earlier this month, I had the delightful opportunity to attend a Manger Workshop hosted by Mimi Thorisson at her home in France. As a long-time follower of her blog, Manger, and an avid cook from her first cookbook, A Kitchen in France, meeting Mimi in real life and cooking with her was a wondrous experience. I have always been intrigued by her background, part French and part Hong Kong-Chinese, thus explaining my strong
One of our favourite cafés in Zurich is the French-inspired Café du Bonheur in the Kreis 4 neighbourhood. Surrounded by old residential buildings and nestled on one side of Bullingerplatz with its impressive fountain, it is the sort of neighbourhood café which everyone wishes was tucked around the corner from their home.
A few years ago when we were in the Napa Valley region in California, we were lucky enough to visit the Stanly Lane Pumpkin Patch with our son who was just shy of 2 years old at the time. It was our first experience of an American pumpkin patch, something which we had only ever seen in movies and TV shows. Needless to say, we were probably more excited than our son was!
This post on San Francisco and the Napa Valley has been long overdue; it was typed up and ready to be published over a year ago, but the arrival of our girl in the interim meant that scrolling through the 1000+ photos from our trip seemed like an unachievable task. But upon hearing that some of our friends will be visiting this beautiful part of the west coast of the US in the
10 Things You Should Know About Staying at an Airbnb Property Hotel apartments are fantastic for families, especially if you might need accommodation for more than a few days as you are more likely to be assured the comfort of a home away from home. But most hotel apartments come at a hefty cost, not to mention that they can be limited in availability depending on where you are travelling.
A stone’s throw away from the busy banking district of Zurich centred around Paradeplatz is Le Raymond Bar, a new establishment catering to the after-work crowd and lovers of coffee alike. Owned by the same group which operates the popular local coffee institutions of Grande and Bovelli, customers will enjoy the offerings by this new kid on the block.
Its doors only opened at the beginning of this year, but Juicery 21 is quickly becoming a popular hangout in Zurich for coffee-drinkers and health-conscious juice-lovers alike. Owned and operated by Fred Jacobi, a Swede who grew up in Brazil, studied in Australia and who recently set up roots in Switzerland, Juicery 21 draws inspiration from Jacobi’s far-flung global travels. In fact, the idea behind opening a juice bar came to him during
Maison Blunt is a Moroccan-inspired tearoom and restaurant in the hip area of Kreis 5, a few tram stops or a short walk from the main train station in Zurich. Set in an industrial building with an unassuming entrance, the interior has been transformed into an exotic oasis; the colourful and patterned wall and floor tiles cleverly work together to create an uplifting ambiance, and the fresh bouquet of garden flowers at every
With the precision of Swiss timing, at exactly 18:00, the Christmas lights floating above the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich suddenly glow and twinkle like a cluster of diamonds sparkling in the night-time sky. Befittingly, the lights are named “Lucy”, after the hit Beatles song, “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”. The crowd below gasp in unison before cheering and clapping; the annual switching on of the Christmas lights heralds the start of the Christmas
Review of the best restaurants and cafés in Stockholm, with tips for families with children. Swedish Food Scene With its arresting architecture, winding cobblestone streets and lush greenery, Stockholm is like a scene from a fairytale. The natural beauty of this city is best appreciated in the warm summer months but, even on the dark, wintry days when daylight peeks through the sky for a teasing few hours, Stockholm is a city which
The Zurich Street Food Festival was in full swing this past weekend, this time along the scenic banks of Lake Zurich with the Swiss Alps providing a stunning backdrop. The diversity of cuisines prepared by the food stands and food trucks was a welcome surprise in a city where the local fare is often limited to cheese, sausages and potatoes. From Austrian dumplings to Yemeni pancakes, with various burger outlets and Asian dumplings
I ought to rephrase the title of this post because there is no such thing as a quick trip to Brittany. Set in the far north western corner of France, there is never a quick route to visit our family and a train journey from Zurich typically takes 12 hours door to door. And making this trip with an 11-month old baby somehow feels twice as long. But the trip is always worthwhile
A (long) while back, I optimistically mentioned that I would be publishing a travel post on London. But when I went looking through my photos, I realised that I had actually very few photos of London. There is one of me standing proudly in front of the Australian Embassy for no apparent reason other than perhaps I was feeling a little homesick that day. And then there are a few shots of my
An easy and delicious recipe for Pearl Barley Soup with step-by-step photos. It is a popular soup in the Swiss alps, called Gerstensuppe in German. The pearl barley thickens the soup as it cooks, making the soup quite substantial and comforting. A Weekend in Kandersteg A trip to the Swiss mountains usually guarantees good, hearty, winter fare. After a day of heavy duty winter sports, the body is likely to crave something substantial,
The best cafés and restaurants in Grindelwald, plus tips for families with children. Grindelwald, Switzerland Anyone who has watched the classic Clint Eastwood film, The Eiger Sanction, will be somewhat familiar with the famous Eiger mountain that dominates Grindelwald.
I had always dreamt of visiting Martha’s Vineyard, though it never quite occurred to me that an opportunity to actually do so would ever arise. The closest we had come once was when planning our honeymoon which eventually took place on the neighbouring island of Nantucket. But last summer, faced with the choice of returning to the idyllic comfort of Nantucket or visiting Martha’s Vineyard as a new destination, we suddenly found ourselves
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have all had a good start to 2012 with lots of fine celebrations, good food and good company. Christmas for us is usually spent with our family in Brittany, a cold and windy region in the north-west of France. Except, this year, it was thankfully not so cold and windy, which meant that my Ugg boots which I had lugged with me on the 9 hour
The mere mention of Nantucket often raises eyebrows, even amongst our geography-bright friends. Most people have never heard of the place, they don’t know where it is or they think it is a fictional town. We first visited Nantucket in 2010 for our honeymoon. Hubby had volunteered for the task of organising this much-needed holiday, before he realised that it was a traditional task of the groom! I left quiet hints about Martha’s
