Jail hotel

Literally creepy!! Basement was also a packed nightclub ;) definitely a night to remember...


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Swizerland IS perfect

We just found this outdoor automatic lawn mower. Really? Yes, it stops at the driveway and knows when to turn around near the bushes. Clearly in Switzerland life is too good to spend time grooming the grass ;) lustig!!


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Sales

The summer is the time for sales Europe! Swiss goods are 20-25% more than Germany but the drastic depreciation of the CHF to the Euro has made this even more dramatic. Swiss sales have to plummet to compete ;)


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Raclette

This is a raclette station at the Zurich festival for independence day. Raclette is a summer-ish fondue where you put hard cheese under a burner and scrape off the burned and melted layer onto bread with veggies (if desired).


This was about USD12 for a piece of bread with cheese on top - the Swiss do love their quality cheese and bread mmmm!

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Ellen made it!

Ellen being bashful on the bus to Basel SBB from the airport :) willkommen!!


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Outdoor theaters

All August we have the Orange Cinema that has outdoor movies every night - in English, German, and French.


You can see the screen here next to one of the oldest plazas in Basel. They show some choice ads before (mostly cars) and the area is surrounded by lounge sofas and free aperol and ice cream!

Last week my friend Meric and I saw Midnight in Paris - so fun!

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Office buildings

The Novartis Campus is full of super modern buildings, all designed by famous architects with dramatic gardens and surroundings. This is the one i see right outside my office - covered in glass of all different colors of blues and greens.


I'll post my favourite building soon - it looks like a cloud!

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Knives

Swiss army knives! These are some really cool new models in Zurich that come in fun colors and are USB shaped. The store was closed on independence day but it would be fun to go back and get some as souveneirs :)


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Kantons

Every Kanton in Switzerland has amazing flags that represent the region. This is my favourite one but the monk flag was a close second.


This is from the independence day parade on Aug 1!

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Brown bread

Swiss daily bread is this soft brown bread and really yummy. Can't wait to try some with a fondue soon!


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Dinner parties

We've been having dinner parties about every week since I've been in Basel and they're definitely the highlight of my summer! This is Elisa who made an amazing Italian dinner for us to celebrate her new home purchase - a new flat in Milan!


Elisa is one of my best friends in Basel! We love going out and enjoying the summer nights!

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Tendre Buche

This is my favourite cheese in Switzerland. I think it's French but it's like a goat Brie with great texture and perfect with the air cured meats eaten all the time :)


Soo great to see Didem, Galina and Gabi this weekend in CO! Ellen arrives tomorrow so happy!

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Koi pond

Novartis has a beautiful koi pond I walk by on my way to my building every day. Not surprisingly the is a lot of hype and rumours surrounding the koi pond - the first of which is that the fish are very old and cost a whopping 15-20k each! For example, I heard someone once put food in the pond and killed the fish and was never seen again!


I decided to look up some more broad legends and meaning behind the koi - now it all makes sense!

"According to Japanese legend, if a koi succeeded in climbing the falls at a point called Dragon Gate on the Yellow River, it would be transformed into a dragon. More generally, the Japanese associate koi (also known as carp) with perseverance in adversity and strength of purpose. Because of its strength and determination to overcome obstacles, it stands for courage and the ability to attain high goals."

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Late sunsets

Short and sweet - a benefit of living up North ;) the sun doesn't set in Basel until almost 10-10:30pm. This is such a luxury in the summer time and we spend many evenings walking and enjoying the night by the Rhine!


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Sparkling water

One of the best perks at work is the water on tap in the kitchen - most importantly the sparking water on tap (on right see bubbles). I'm now addicted drinking about 2L per day... for some reason the bubbles seem smaller in Europe than sparkling water I've had in the US and therefore it is more refreshing and goes down a bit smoother.


Many people also have sparkling water makers at home using CO2 cartridges. I have to admit I'm looking into them as they're about 1/3 the price here as on Amazon US.

I also here that some companies have wine flowing on tap in the office too... Crazy! But I have to remember this is Switzerland not France :) hehe

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Wine!

It's hard to argue that Europeans don't have the best and most sophisticated taste in wine. Since I love wine and absolutely prefer it to beer, it is so wonderful that every party has wine or champagne (or sparkling wine as accuracy is appreciated).


This is Arno at one of our dinner get togethers... This time at Elisa's place. After offending Arno earlier because I didn't mind mixing two wines in one glass (oops definite faux pas... especially for the French) I think he's forgiven me as a part of the learning process. Maybe now's not the best time to bring up Charles Shaw habits at school?

Arno is the host of our infamous Thurs night dinner parties and also moving to SF in Aug (yayayayayaay!). He went to undergrad at Berkeley too and I'm hoping to continue our Basel festivities in CA!

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My office

So here is my office in all its glory! We have a very open working environment at Novartis so we can all see and her each other all day long! As you can see below... Hi David! Tina's to his right...


Couple things worth noting here:

Lotus notes - we use this instead of outlook and it stinks (to be kind) I think it limits my productivity quite a bit although I hear they are transitioning to Outlook soon... I tried to convince IT to let me migrate early with little success

Daily beverages - my desk always has a Liter glass of sparking water (usually with lemon although I spent a week experimenting with other fruits and fruit teas), large mug for tea (first thing in the morning), then small cup for coffee late morning and afternoon. I also have some Mariage tea from Paris and decongestant tea from the clinic at work... Which is really into alternative medicine by the way.

Post-it Note Holder - yep, it's still hanging in there

Hand cream - everyone in Europe knows hands are the new face for women. Swiss hand cream is amazing and this is some store brand from Migros, the other main grocery chain.

Books - these were all given to me by one of my interviewees- Groundswell, Empowered, and What would Google do? Hmmm

Last few - org chart, docked computer, and tons of natural light - we hardy use lights indoors which is great!!

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Trash or treasure?

This was definitely the theme of Art Basel last month where all the exhibits were a mix of super cool, to creative, to strange, to... Is that art? As the largest modern art show in Europe (some say the world) famous celebrities come every year to purchase one of a kinds from the latest available pieces from artists new and old. We spotted Will Ferrel but Brangelina and many others are there year after year some say...


These crazy cows are actually knick knacks you can buy in a shop in Basel but undoubtedly represent the modern art embraced in the region. Plus they love cows in Switzerland and you can buy cow key chains in the tourist shops - that means you Ellen!

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Royal desserts

Let me introduce you to the princess cake! A leave behind of the royal era is a number of references that transcends many aspects of life... Most notably food!



This shockingly green dessert comes from one of our 10 restaurants on the Novartis campus and is super light and filled with not too sugary cream. Dairy everything is loved in Switzerland ;) desserts are no exception!



Now in NY and almost fell over by a 24oz coffee mug at Starbucks! Is that really necessary?? I could fit about 30 espressos inside...

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Bebbi Saggs

Probably the most important thing you learn in your first week or so in Switzerland is the need to dispose all personal garbage in a very special trash bag called the "bebbi sagg." The bag comes in several sizes... The largest shown below is about kitchen sized, and here's the shocker, costs about CHF3 each (about USD4.50)!!





This crazy expensive garbage bag is a work of genius in that it drives all sorts of changes in behavior of Swiss residents. For example, as a sort of tax on personal waste, everyone works pretty hard to minimize consumption / packaging in purchased products and proactively recycles (you can't afford not to!).

I've also been told that it also produces some less anticipated behavior as well - it might not be uncommon to find people sneaking trash to work for free disposal. Either way you must put your garbage bag on the sidewalk on the pick-up days for your neighbourhood (2x per week usually) as shown below.





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(Not girly) beer

I don't usually like or drink beer but Europe has some pretty different and delicious brews. This is one I got in the Berlin airport that's half grapefruit juice and hefeweizen - super interesting and tasty! Bonus also it was €2 compared to at least double that in Basel :) bonus!


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Fancy frames

Everyone loves glasses with fancy frames.


These frames are made out of wood and found in a glasses shop in Marktplatz in Basel. They are CHF1100 each (about USD1375) and probably considered middle range for glasses here. After watches, your frames are the next most important fashion statement.

These are becoming super popular in Europe which means we'll see them in the US in about 6 months. They were all over Paris so watch out ;) round is in!

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Espresso or ristretto?

Part of living in Europe is definitely getting addicted to coffee... or kaffee, espresso, and ristretto as they drink in Switzerland!



This is the machine on our floor at work (and located in almost every office on campus) that allows me to get as many caffeinated drinks as I need to power through the day. The first button doubles any of the drinks below except the kaffee spez. which I learned is already a double coffee (the hard way as it overflowed from the largest available coffee cups).

I usually get a kaffee spez in the morning and then a double espresso or ristretto in the afternoon. One time the Haas interns dared to try a quadruple ristretto and later regretted it (although for some reason I went to bed the earliest of the entire summer that night...?).

You'll also notice there are different beans for the kaffee and the more refined espresso or ristretto (on right). If you ask it's the water quality not the beans that supposedly make the coffee taste better. Who knew?

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COOP

COOP is the main grocery store in Swizterland and much loved for it's high quality, in season produce and staple favorites in the region. While they don't have the largest selection of food you'd find in the US, I enjoy shopping here because I learn some every time about what is valued in home cooking here - for example, LOTS of cheese selection, no out of season fruits/veggies, flax seed and squash seeds are both staples... larger variety of different honeys and... last but not least yogurt. Switzerland has by far the largest and most delicious selection of yogurts. 

Shocker is it's crazy expensive. Chicken is about $5 per breast and many of the air cured meats (also staple) are $70-90/kg. Beef... well that's about $30-40 to feed 2-3 people. I originally thought COOP was a co-op owned by farmers, but it turns out it's a huge company and has it's fingers in several pieces of the Swiss economy. On the good side, they fund a lot of community events as well!

Trams

Trams are by far the first and best introduction to a lifestyle in Europe, especially Switzerland. This is the tram I take every morning and evening to and from work. Basel has both new and older trams all which run as you can imagine perfectly on time.





The extensive tram system can get you within a few blocks of your destination almost anywhere in the city. You can also see the Novartis Campus stop on the 1 line where I work!

Grüezi!

After 6 weeks of living in Switzerland I'm hoping to document the subtle joys of daily life in Europe in a photo diary. So much to share - enjoy!