Kirsh is not your friend

Last night we went over to a couple’s house that just moved to Cary, NC from Zurich – where they had spent 8 years. I was so excited about meeting them and for them to tell us a little more about the culture in Switzerland! They were so nice to have us over for a Swiss Fondue dinner! Katrina, the wife, was awesome! She met us at the door with the traditional Swiss greeting of Gruetzi (not sure how to spell it – Swiss German for Greetings) and 3 kisses starting on the right. She noted to make sure to remember it is 3 kisses – not 2 – or there will be awkward meeting somewhere in the middle!:) She also gave me her “Zurich Bible” – a book given to her from the American Women’s Society in Zurich. She said it had the answer to every question I would have when I got over there!

She also told us that the neighborhood we will be leaving in, Oerlikon, in Zurich is not the best. She said there are a lot of beggars there and some other stuff. We worked with a relocation company to get the furnished apartment and didn’t really have a lot of choices. Most of the places she said to live weren’t even options for us! Also, Nathan wanted to be close enough to work to be able to come home and have lunch with me (how sweet)!:) And the apartment we have will be within a 10 minute walking distance of ABB. Oh well- I mean we will be living in Zurich – how bad can it be – right? And they told us that there is literally no crime in Zurich. You never have to be afraid of walking alone – even at 3 am in the middle of downtown! That will be nice for sure! So I am fine with our living situation – at least the 2 bedroom thing got straightened out!
The fondue was great but another Swiss tradition got the best of me. Apparently, everyone puts a shot glass of Kirsh (the cherry liquor that you make the cheese fondue with) in front of them and whenever someone drops their bread in the cheese everyone takes a shot! During our dinner this happened THREE times – WTF! We weren’t drinking heavily – it was supposed to be a nice couple’s dinner for goodness sake – but the shots were trouble! I didn’t really understand the magnitude of the trouble until the next day when I was still getting “sick” at 5 pm!!!! Damn you Kirsh!:) The other thing that made it worse was that Nathan and Hans smoked cigars until 2:30 am – so I didn’t get a lot of sleep b/c I had to be at Swagger at 10 am! However, by Sunday I was fine so I guess it was worth all the Swiss knowledge we gained!:) Thanks Katrina and Hans – you guys are awesome!