Skiing

When I first arrived, the sun was so sunny and it was so warm that I thought Summer must have arrived with me. As a consequence I left my winter coat in the car heading home to Sweden. This was slightly optimistic. As my Swiss flat-mate said "April macht was er will" (trans. April [weather] does what it wants). After those Summer-y days I have experienced snow, a mix of rain and fog, more snow, more fog, more rain and today it has snowed most of the time.

This has had one major consequence. Skiing. When there is precipitation in SG (elevation 600 m) it is almost guaranteed that it is snowing at the alp tops. And since there is no sweeter combination than ski slopes covered with fresh snow and free of tourists (we are now in the post-season) I am one happy (and now slightly tanned) exchange student.

But besides hitting the slopes every weekend so far I have also done other things, like...after-ski. Local beer is good and the view is just terrific. It really does help me find the energy needed for my studies.

Last week also entailed an episode that gave me some deeper knowledge of the habits of my host country. At the university canteen I saw a bottle of the local brand fruit juice. I checked the label and it said something about blood orange. Since I was feeling sleepy I thought this might be just what I needed. I was right in my assumption that I would get a jolt from this drink but pretty much wrong about everything else. As I began to drink my newly purchased beverage I quickly discovered my mistake. I had bought Molke, which is not a fruit-based drink but one whose main ingredient is a bi-product of cheese making. Even though it is supposedly extremely healthy I will wait a long time before sipping that stuff again.

Of widerlüge!