Gearing Up For Winter

Really like the colours in this picture

Experiencing fall for the first time has been great! I just love seeing all the different hues as I walk past on the way to work every morning. The weather has held up well so far and the browns, reds, yellows and greens really complement each other and stand out. I'm just trying to enjoy it as much as possible while it lasts. Having said that I'm now really excited for the winter season, not only because I have never yet experienced snow but also because I'm dying to try out some outdoor winter sports. I've done some research and talked to some friends and finally I've decided I know what I want to try out - snowboarding!

So the other day I visited a Snowboard Flea Market in Oerlikon with my friend Karen and managed to get a decent amount of second hand and unsold items from last year's stocks for real bargains. Just as in every flea market we didn't resist the opportunity to haggle and we did manage to some extent. This flea market happens once a year and entry is against a 5 CHF payment which goes to support youth snowboarding clubs. Once inside we saw various makeshift stalls belonging both to shop owners who would want to get rid of last year's stock (sometimes for prices as low as 15 % of the original price!) or other snowboarders looking to sell their unwanted gear. After an intense 5 hours of racing from one stall to another I came out with a grin on my face having managed to buy a beginner's snowboard together with binders, a helmet, goggles and ski pants all for practically nothing. The only thing was I was really gutted that I didn't manage to find a nice pair of boots too but they didn't have my size! If I don't manage to find an affordable pair, I will most probably rent them out, although renting gear can be quite expensive and you really are saving money when buying second hand items at flea markets such as this one (reason why I actually bought gear). Second hand items are also great for people like me who don't want to spend too much money because they aren't really into the sport as yet; plus I am only staying here for a short while anyway, with the chances of taking the equipment back home by plane looking pretty slim.  

My snowboarding gear

A few tips about buying a second hand beginner's snowboard that I've been given by a couple of friends and which I looked out for when buying my board are:

• The correct board length is chin high
• The board must also be flexible enough and be raised to leave a gap in the middle to allow the snow to pass right under
• Scratches around the sides are normal but the board mustn't have excessive damage
• Binders on the other hand must have a rigid back heel to keep your legs steady

Now I can't help but feel really proud of it sitting pretty in my room, whilst trying to come up with a cool name for it! 

My snow shoes (thanks Diego!)

Additionally, I had already bought an 'Ice Peak' ski jacket from Migros back in September at half it's original price since it was also part of last year's stock. I also got a pair of snow shoes thanks to my friend Diego who has gone back to Brazil now which will surely come in handy as they have a nice insulating layer inside. 

So yeah, ready for the winter season when it hits! 

(At least as ready as any Maltese not used to a harsh winter can be!)

Work is not half as bad walking past this every morning

Three Months In

Three months into my traineeship today already. So I guess it's fitting to dedicate this post to the organisation responsible for such traineeships, and why you should also consider going on one yourself. This blog post was originally submitted as part of a competition, if you enjoy reading it, I would really appreciate your vote! Thanks!

Change your life forever – Go on an IAESTE Traineeship today!

The Matterhorn in the distance

That’s what I decided to do when I applied to go on a traineeship to Switzerland back in late 2012. I was nearing the end of my studies reading for a degree in Chemistry and Materials Science at the University of Malta, with no idea as to what the future would have in store for me once I finished my studies; Being faced with the feeling of not being a student any longer and suddenly having to “grow up” to face the real world of work was a terrifying prospect. I still remember my initial hesitation when I came across the job offer to spend a year in Zürich, Switzerland; “But Switzerland is such an expensive place to live, there’s no way I will be able to afford it!” or “I don’t know if I’ll manage to live on my own for an entire year without getting homesick. What if I don’t make friends and end up being miserable the whole time?” were just a few of the questions which were running around my head. Almost 3 months into my traineeship I now realize that I couldn’t have been more wrong (well the part about Switzerland being so expensive is true) and I would like to do my best to inspire you with this short blog post to help you overcome your initial fears or whatever is holding you back so that you may also get the opportunity to go out and experience for yourself the wonders of being part of this IAESTE family!

When in Switzerland...hike

For those of you who may not yet know, IAESTE is an international organisation made up of a large number of member countries (more than 85 if I am not mistaken) which exchanges traineeships around the world for technical students i.e. students studying in the areas of the physical and life sciences, engineering, IT, architecture, materials science…the list goes on! And for every student which is sent abroad, a foreign student is accepted for traineeship by the host country. Such traineeships are a great way of gaining valuable work experience in an international environment, something which is held in high regard by employers because it teaches you the principles of tolerance, acceptance and team work which are critical values to have in the work place. What’s more, these traineeships are paid! That way, you get to learn how to manage your finances in a responsible way because you need to balance rent, groceries and leisure expenses thus gaining independence along the way.

A visit to CERN

I am currently working at the Swiss Federal Labs for Material Science in Dübendorf some 8 minutes away from Zürich by train. I really feel at home because my supervisor and colleagues are really patient and helpful. My specific project deals with improving the mechanical properties of glass-fibre reinforced composites through modifying the constituents of the polymer matrix, and my duties are varied, ranging from mixing and casting of batches of different compositions into molds and curing, sample preparation for materials testing, carrying out the materials test, and analysis of the raw data, which means that I have acquired a broad range of skills which I did not acquire during my studies. There is always something to do, and work is challenging. Apart from that I am constantly learning new things every day and have had the opportunity to operate lots of different machinery which I otherwise would have not been able to do back home.

But going on an IAESTE traineeship is not just about the opportunity to work in an international environment. By going on an IAESTE traineeship you are automatically opening up to a world of whole new opportunities to meet new people and make friends, friends from different backgrounds and cultures who are also here on a traineeship just like you are, and speaking for myself I just love getting to know more about another person’s country, heritage and cultural background. Thanks to IAESTE I now have many friends from all over the world and it has also made me realize that the world is a small place; a reunion in some other country is never too far away and I’ve already visited some friends with many more still left to visit!

Despite the very high standard of living in Zürich, I found that Switzerland is a very cool place to live and this definitely helps make the experience more worthwhile. I’m also trying to start learning some German while I’m here as it will definitely come in handy in future, despite the fact that here in Zürich they speak a variant called Swiss-German, which can be really confusing! Grüezi Mitenand (That’s ‘Hello everyone’ to the non-Swiss people!)

Happy after a weekend biking around Neuchâtel

The local committees found in different cities across the world are usually made up of students or young people who dedicate their time voluntarily to organize activities for the trainees and it so happens that LC Zürich is one of the biggest and most organized LCs organizing weekends all over Switzerland giving me the chance to do what I love doing best – travel! I’ve also been doing tons of cool stuff be it bungee jumping in Ticino, hiking across Graübunden, climbing up mountains in Valais, cycling around lakes in Neuchâtel or swimming in an ice cold river! The odd party here and there never disappoints either! Now I can’t wait for the winter season to try out some outdoor winter sports for the first time.

Going on an IAESTE traineeship really has changed my life for the better.  I feel that it has helped grow as a person, becoming more independent and learning how to deal with situations without the help of parents, even it simply means doing the laundry or cooking a meal (though I must admit nothing compares to my mum’s cooking!). My IAESTE experience so far has also compelled me to join the Local Committee so that I may repay IAESTE in the little way that I can, with my time and energy.

An IAESTE traineeship is the perfect opportunity to gain vital work experience, learn new things you would never have learnt at school, meet new people and make new friends, have a great time and travel around. So go on what are you waiting for, apply to go on a traineeship today!

IAESTE! One big family

The Perfect Travel Companion

Note: The blog post below is merely my opinion and written to the best of my knowledge. Naturally, everybody is  free to think otherwise!

Traveling is a great way to see new places and experience things you would never have experienced back in your home country, but more often than not traveling (particularly budget traveling) involves long hours spent in the back of a night bus or train, as many of you very well know. For this reason, I've been looking for what, in my opinion, is the perfect travel companion - a tablet. After reading many reviews and lots and lots of indecision, I finally managed to get my hands on my own second generation Nexus 7! The new Nexus 7 is a 7-inch Android tablet sold by Google and manufactured by Asus and comes in three versions; the 16 GB and 32 GB Wi-Fi version, or the 32 GB LTE version (which has additional internet options). I went all the way and got the LTE version and I feel as though Christmas came early!

Image courtesy of Google images/mikeshouts.com

You could argue that a 7-inch screen is very small for a tablet and is not much bigger than most smartphones which are consistently being made in the 4.8- 5.3 inch screen bracket, so it would have made more sense to get a proper 10-inch tablet. However, the Nexus 7 is indeed the perfect tablet for me for many reasons. It easily fits in one hand and is much more comfortable to carry around when on the go, and I plan to use it for watching movies, reading books and playing games while traveling; not to mention being able to access Google maps and getting directions without getting lost (if you don't already own a smartphone). I am also currently trying to learn German, so having an electronic dictionary with access to internet to instantly translate a word, as well as some ebooks in German, will definitely help make my life easier and the learning process faster.

The new Nexus 7 happens to be the tablet with the best screen resolution so far at 323 ppi which will definitely improve the viewing and reading experience. it also comes with a 5 MP camera which also has cool features such as photosphere which lets you take photos at 360 degree angles, and also has a great battery life (around 10 hours). The similarity in size to a smartphone means that most Android apps configured for smartphones work very well for the Nexus 7, something which Android 10-inch tablets lack because there is a much poorer app ecosystem (compared to the app ecosystem for Apple tablets) since not enough apps have been configured for that size yet. Personally I believe the Nexus 7 provided me with the best compromise between the superior reading display of a kindle and the versatility of a normal-sized tablet. When compared to its Apple counterpart, the iPad mini, I guess the fundamental difference boiled down to price; the Nexus 7 is way cheaper. In addition, you either love Apple or you don't, and as my friends can vouch for me I fall into the second category. A second generation iPad mini is still in the pipeline though, so I guess it will be interesting to see if Apple steps up its game to compete with the new Nexus 7.

Funnily enough, electronics in Switzerland are probably the cheapest you will ever find in Europe. However, as I happened to be going to New York city I ended up buying it from the States since you won't find cheaper electronics anywhere else. My two main concerns when buying from the US where the difference in the mains voltage output (120 V in the US as opposed to 240 V in most of Europe) as well as the issue of non-compatibility with European 4G network providers. After some online searches I came to the conclusion that neither would be a problem. Most portable electronic devices such as laptops, mobiles and tablets (and other devices which require a charger) usually convert AC into a DC output and are tuned to operate in a range of voltages typically 100-240 V. If you do intend to buy from the US just make sure it is written down on your charger before you purchase it. The pins of the plug are obviously different but luckily it's a micro USB cable so I can actually charge the device with my phone charger or through my computer. Either way, plug adapters are readily available from any hardware store. As regards the second concern, as long as you buy an unlocked device (from BestBuy for example), you should be fine.

Below is the product's advert called 'Fearless' and I have to admit has got to be one of Google's best adverts ever. I just love how they managed to combine their marketing which such a sensitive topic and common problem. I also found this review posted by the Verge really useful when deciding whether to buy the tablet or not, and the fact that it got a Verge score of 9 (a very rare occurrence) really did tip the scale in its favour.

The tech specs for this device as well as more information can be found on Google. I really hope you found my opinion helpful if you are also considering buying a tablet!

Now I have to go and continue discovering what this device has got to offer! Take care!

Liechtenstein - A Country With Numbers Disproportionate To Its Size

A couple of weeks ago I spent a day in Vaduz, the capital city of the Principality of Liechtenstein. I was always intrigued by this small state and it had been one of my places that I had to visit. Liechtenstein is a country landlocked between Switzerland and Austria whose area measures a tiny 160 square kilometres (that's half the area of Malta!). This makes it the 4th smallest state in Europe and the 6th smallest state in the world. Considering that the population of Liechtenstein is only 36,000, you can imagine how eager I was to meet my first native. The landscape is identical to Switzerland and you do not even realise you are in a different country when you get there. This is unsurprising because Liechtenstein has a great relationship with Switzerland, sharing its language, currency and also its railway line among other economic and trade agreements. 

The Prince of Liechtenstein winery with a view of Vaduz castle in the background

Vaduz is a very small city and it doesn't take much time to go around it all by foot. We started our day by visiting the Prince of Liechtenstein Winery where we got to taste some good wine. Liechtenstein's wine is not exported (they do not produce large enough amounts for export) and therefore it is quite rare! And if you still believe in finding a prince and live your own fairy tale happily ever after, then Liechtenstein might be a good place to start looking - it is governed by the Prince who also enjoys administrative power together with parliament members and has the veto, giving him the power to block any motion from passing. The people of Liechtenstein really love their monarch and I remember reading somewhere an episode where a referendum was called (Liechtenstein is a direct democracy like Switzerland) to remove the Prince's veto, yet the people still voted strongly in favour of the Prince keeping his authority. The Princely family is also a very young family and they lead normal everyday lives like ordinary people so it is not unlikely for you to bump into a member of the royal family whilst out shopping, and probably not even realising it. The only difference is that the Princely family resides in a medieval castle and is filthy rich, owning wineries, banks, palaces in Vienna and a 22,000 masterpiece collection among many other things (estimated worth at $5 billion).

For the ladies - the Prince's nephew has just turned 18 and is third in line to the throne, just putting it out there for you).

Here's some more awesome numbers for you. Liechtenstein has won 9 Olympic medals (all in alpine skiing) making it the country with the highest medals per capita. There are also more companies registered in Liechtenstein than there are inhabitants (almost 80,000), due to the country being a tax haven and having very strong financial services (there are also 16 banks in the country!). The country specialises in manufacturing high-end products and has a very strong industry making it an extremely wealthy country with a very high standard of living. Our guide also told us that there are 46,000 jobs which means that they actually need people from Switzerland or Austria to fill them up and unemployment is one of the world's lowest at 1.5 %. But you can't just decide to move to Liechtenstein unfortunately; the only way to get a residence permit is to marry a local, so what most foreigners do instead is cross the border every day to work.

What perhaps fascinates me the most is how Liechtenstein has somehow managed to remain an independent country and not been ruled over by anyone else, or if anything merged with Switzerland. Apparently the territory of Liechtenstein was purchased back in the 18th century so as its owners could acquire the power and title they desired (you needed to own land to be able to achieve that). Liechtenstein's sovereignty was then awarded by Napoleon as a result of the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in the early 19th century. Sounds pretty complicated to me and still doesn't quite answer my question as to how the country managed to hold its own and remain neutral throughout the world wars which ensued but that's all I understand.

Not something you experience every day!

We then spent the rest of the weekend in nearby Konstanz in Germany, where we also spent a day at the Bodensee Thermal baths, part of which involved us having to strip naked in mixed changing rooms to enter the sauna, a very normal German practice and it served as a real test of friendship for all of us. Although it was not my first experience at such baths, it was understandably a bit intimidating for the others at first. Now I can assure you we will be best friends for ever and that we know each other a little more closely than we perhaps would have ever imagined.

Tschüss!

Today Was A Good Day

It's amazing just how much receiving mail can change your mood. I'm not someone who receives mail often (actually I barely ever receive mail) but today was different...I received two separate mails from friends one of which was a post card from a Brazilian friend of mine that had been on its way an entire month. My 'lederhosen' (typical Bavarian costume worn by men) which I had ordered from eBay to wear this weekend at Oktoberfest in Munich also arrived today just when I was getting worried that they wouldn't make it in time! Now I can't wait to go!

Oh and to top it all, my previous blog post on my visit to the Clandestine Absinthe distillery got tweeted by their official twitter account! Awesome!

Val-de-Travers: The Creux du Van, Gorges de l'Areuse and The Land of Absinthe

I've fallen behind on my blogging lately because of a lack of time and energy but here's something else I got up to recently. Sorry for the long post!

A few weeks back we spent the weekend in the canton of Neuchâtel in the so-called region called the Val-de-Travers which is also located close to the Jura mountains. After arriving in Neuchâtel we made our way straight to the village of Fleurier where we would be spending the night in a small scout's hut by the river. The hut had a kitchen with pots and pans and all sorts of cutlery, two small toilets and a large room with big tables and chairs to eat in. There were plenty of mattresses and we had our sleeping bags with us since there were no beds. Nevertheless, I didn't mind this at all as it was not the first time I had slept in similar huts back home and I also consider it part of the experience and the adventure!

Our lodging for the night

We left our things in the hut and left immediately as we had to pay a visit to an Absinthe distillery, which produces Absinthe under the brand Clandestine Absinthe. Absinthe is a strong alcoholic beverage (45-75 %) made from aniseed which has an interesting past and story behind it. I was already a bit uncomfortably familiar with the drink and its effects as we had passed through an Absinthe phase back in our hard partying days in Malta but I was curious to learn more about its production right here at the very birthplace of the drink, the canton of Neuchâtel. 

We were welcomed by a middle-aged man who started babbling away in French before switching to English so that we could all understand him. He introduced himself and started telling us a bit about the history of the drink throughout the ages. He then went on to show us the different ingredients which make up Absinthe which comes in two forms, the colourless spirit and the Green version, also nicknamed the 'Green Fairy.' The base ingredient of Absinthe is wormwood, which has good digestive properties but is very bitter - in fact in the past, people used to drink wormwood tea but the taste was too bitter to be enjoyable. Thanks to a little experimentation here and there it was discovered that the addition of aniseed and fennel enhanced the medicinal properties and also made it more enjoyable to drink, and this resulted in the birth of Absinthe in the late 18th century.

The herbal constituents of Absinthe

Absinthe suddenly became really popular among the Parisian artists between the 19th and early 20th century because it was believed that Absinthe could free your mind enhance your creativity, and it became strongly associated with a Bohemian lifestyle. This is not completely untrue because wormwood (and thus Absinthe) does indeed contain trace amounts of Thujone which is a hallucinogen. Notable drinkers of Absinthe included Vincent van Gogh, Ernest Hemmingway and Oscar Wilde. Our man then went on to say that popularity of Absinthe at the time seriously irked the many wine makers who found themselves losing business, and they started a conspiracy to get Absinthe banned due to its psychoactive effects. They succeeded and as a result, Absinthe was banned for most of the 20th century, only becoming legalised once more in the European Union in the 1990s and as recently as 2005 in Switzerland! There was no justifiable basis for the ban, as the amount of Thujone present in Absinthe is so low that it does not make it any more dangerous than other forms of alcohol ("The alcohol will kill you first", joked our distiller). 

As a result, the ban led to the distilling of Absinthe illegally and leading to many variants of the spirit since the brand was not protected, mostly in the Czech Republic (our man made sure to let us know just what he thought about the Czechs and their Czech "Absinthe"). At this point I asked him about Black Absinthe, since this was one of the popular drinks back home and he immediately dismissed my question with a "fake Czech crap". The production of Absinthe involved the refluxing of the herbs together with pure alcohol and its subsequent distillation. This gives a distillate which of around 72 % alcohol content which can be diluted to 56 %. Green Absinthe is then produced by mixing green extract from the wormwood into the colourless spirit, and this also makes Green Absinthe more bitter and stronger. 

Our own distillerer bragged about having started distilling Absinthe illegally in Switzerland in 2004 (hence the Clandestine nature of it), but since pure alcohol is heavily taxed, the authorities would often close an eye to this activity (typical Swiss mentality, if it generates revenue it can be tolerated). He also showed around his small distillery and then then tasting began.

Dissolving a sugar cube when consuming Green Absinthe
thanks to a fancy contraption and a special spoon (both sold separately)

We were first shown the correct way of drinking Absinthe, which I have unsurprisingly been doing wrong (or apparently the "Czech way"). Absinthe is not meant to be drunk as a shot but rather it is to be diluted with around 3.5 parts of ice cold water to around 12 % alcohol and enjoyed sip by sip. In the case of Green absinthe (which is more bitter) a sugar cube is balanced on a spoon on top of the glass and the water allowed to dissolve it into the alcohol. I personally didn't enjoy it at all, mainly because I hate the taste of aniseed and there was just too much volume to consume. When drunk in this way absinthe can actually aid digestion. We were also allowed to taste some Eggnog which also contained Absinthe and that was delicious.


It was then time for us to visit the La Presta Asphalt mines where we were shown about by a lady who spoke English in a really strong French accent and was saying all sorts of random things whilst we barely understood anything she said, but she made us laugh quite a lot with her mannerisms. Back at the hostel we then cooked a traditional Swiss meal called Älplermagronen which is a dish consisting of pasta with potatoes and cream and served also with apple puree.

Next day we off early as we were going to hike up to the Creux du Van which is a sharp natural rocky cliff in the form of a crescent found in the Val-de-Travers at around an altitude of 700 m, that was formed by water erosion due to a large glacier. As soon as we began our ascent, I immediately started regretting bringing such a heavy rucksack with me as the climb was quite steep.  The rain made it bearable to hike but also rather tricky to navigate the rocks without slipping or stepping in a deep puddle of mud, but at least it eased up closer to the top and after one final steep ascent we were on top. The view was spectacular despite the rain and the bad weather.

Going up

An Ibex! 

The Creux du Van (photobombed by a cloud)

The Gorges de l'Areuse

Hiking back down was even more interesting as it started raining heavily, and despite a lousy idea I had of taking a shortcut which resulted in me sliding down a hill and getting my bum and rucksack covered in mud we got back down in one piece! The hike took us around five hours from start to finish, however as we got back to the train station and people began to leave a few of us had other ideas. After a short break and a cup of tea at Noiraigue train station, four of us decided to hike back towards the direction of Neuchâtel through the beautful Gorges de l'Areuse which took around a further three hours. Going through the gorge we saw waterfalls, raging rivers and plenty of greenery and the rainy weather somehow made everything more magical; I actually found this second hike more beautiful than the hike up the Creux du Van which was meant to be the highlight! We would have taken our time walking, but we had to change course a bit and hurry to avoid missing our train back home. Tired and exhausted, we finally reached the train station at Bôle just in time to catch the train and ended another great weekend in style.

P.S. My friend Somil was with me for this trip so as you can see all these beautiful pictures (excluding the first and penultimate picture) belong to him!

Keep reading!

Edit: The distillery we visited just tweeted my blogpost on their official twitter page (@LaClandestine)! Win!

Living life on the edge!

CERN Open Days 2013

The ATLAS detector (Google Images, courtesy of ATLAS Experiment/CERN)

Just got back from a massive two days spent exploring CERN (the European Centre for Nuclear Research) in Geneva on the border between Switzerland and France, better known as being the top particle physics research facility in the world and made famous last year by the discovery of the Higgs Boson, which gives more weight to certain modifications to the Standard Model to account for why particles have mass. CERN is currently upgrading its facilities and accelerators so as to enter another phase of experiments at higher energies and speeds and as a result it was opened completely to the general public, who had the opportunity to learn more about the work carried out at this organisation, chat with the scientists and the staff and visit the different premises, all free of charge! This event was also truly a unique opportunity because it occurs only once every 5 or 6 years and it saw over 70,000 visitors some of which came from abroad specifically for this event.  I won't bore you with a long post so here's a summary of some cool stuff I got to experience:

• Rode on a levitating trolley using superconducting magnets
• Operated robotic arms
• Got a photo and autograph on my brochure from the director general of CERN, Rolf Heuer 
• Took a tour of the ATLAS detector, the biggest of all detectors at CERN coming in at a massive 7 storeys high
• Tasted nitrogen strawberry ice cream
• Saw a real life cloud chamber
• Found a road dedicated to my favourite scientist of all time Richard Feynman
• Visited CERN's data centre (they have 10,000 servers!) and Control Centre
• Got my height calculated to the nearest 50 microns (its 1690.11 mm +/- 0.05 mm if you really must know)
• Discussed the standard model, particles moving faster than the speed of light and the latest Higgs developments with scientists and PhD students at CERN.
• Attended several public lectures and site visits to various linear accelerators and labs scattered around the premises.
• Got tons of freebies!

And I didn't even get to see it all!

Knabenschiessen - awesome way to spend a day off!

Just got back from the Knabenschiessen festivities! Knabenschiessen is a half-day holiday for the city of Zurich which is celebrated in the second week of September with a shooting competition for teenage boys and with a big fun fair in Albisgüetli. We went on three really wild rides and it was so much fun but my stomach and head aren't quite in place. Great way to celebrate a day off work!

And Eunyoung of course who is taking the photo! 

Mikiel il-Wikkiel: Recipe Time!

Today I forced myself to cook a decent meal (been having too much pasta with ready-made sauces for my liking). It's an Italian pasta dish called 'Farfalle al Salmone' and happens to be one of my favourite dishes back home (miss my mum's cooking!). It's also very easy to prepare, so I thought I'd share it! Apologies for the low quality pictures from before hand.

You will need (serves 2): 250 g pasta (I prefer to use farfalle for this dish), 200 g smoked salmon (sliced into strips), 1 medium onion (diced), 1 tablespoon caviar, 1 shot vodka (optional), 250 mL cream (for cooking)  

Fry the onion in some olive oil until it becomes slightly brown all over and soft. Cook under medium heat to avoid burning!

In the meantime boil the pasta according to the packet instructions

Add the smoked salmon and cook for 3-4 minutes. At this stage one would also add the vodka and let the salmon absorb the flavour . Season with fresh pepper (no need to add salt, the caviar is already salty enough!)

Add the cream, and bring to boil under high heat. When it does boil, reduce hear and simmer for 5-10 minutes with the pan's lid slightly tilted to allow vapour to escape. This will allow the cream to thicken without making a mess.

Once the pasta has finished, add to the sauce followed by the caviar. Mix thoroughly.

Et Voila`! Enjoy your meal!!

Zermatt, Matterhorn and the Aletsch Glacier

The Matterhorn's distinctive peak from Zermatt (photo taken by Somil)

Located in the Canton of Valais close to the Italian border, Zermatt is the southernmost German-speaking town in Switzerland. It is surrounded by mountains, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the Matterhorn, with its distinctive peak rising at 4,478 m and which has been dubbed the most photographed mountain in the world. However, it is perhaps most well-known as being the mountain found on the wrapper of the Toblerone chocolate (Yum!). 

Given that Zermatt is around 4.5 hours away from Zurich by train, we traveled on Friday evening and spent an extra night there, either way it was going to be the last weekend for some of my friends so we wanted to celebrate it to the full! After a few drinks we made our way to the town centre to look for a bar and randomly ended up sitting down on the pavement stroking a couple of dogs and chatting with their owners the whole night (don't ask how that happened). They were really friendly and even offered us a beer which we gladly took (9 CHF for a beer was too much to ask for from a bunch of students, even though my conscience was kicking me to politely refuse). There was going to be a marathon the next day and we did get shouted at a bit because we were making too much noise in the streets and people wanted to sleep for the big day.

Early next morning after grabbing a quick snack from a nearby Migros, we made our way towards the cable car which would take us up the Matterhorn's little brother, the mountain known as Klein Matterhorn. One cannot actually go up the Matterhorn unless one is an expert climber/mountaineer, and must ideally also have a guide, since it has cost the lives of some 500 people who have tried to reach its peak (including 4 of first 7 people to conquer it) ever since the first ascent in 1865. Luckily for us tourists, the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise situated on Klein Matterhorn offers fantastic views of the mountain practically all throughout the year and sits at an elevation of 3,883 m making it the highest vantage point in Europe. The cable car took us up to Furi station, where we then went into another Gondola and climbed further up.

The Gornerschlucht (Gorner Gorge)
taken by my friend Maebh

Unfortunately we were rather unlucky with the weather and it was all cloudy and our view was obstructed. Thankfully for me, I have plenty of time to visit once again and I definitely intend too! I just loved standing outside taking in the fresh alpine air and feeling the icy wind lash on my face, it's rejuvenating. You mustn't exert yourself too much though, at that altitude I found myself quickly losing my breath as the air is very thin. Inside the complex we also visited the Glacier Palace which was interesting and I had what was perhaps the most delicious Goulash soup of my life.

On our descent it began to rain, but that did not put some of us off from hiking back down from Furi station to Zermatt. Here we passed through the beautiful Gornerschlucht (Gorge), which somehow seemed even more spectacular in the rain! A tasty dinner concluded our programme for the day and made way for the party to begin (which incidentally involved all sorts of outrageous games but more importantly involved copious amounts of alcohol).

The next day, we checked out of our hostel and made our way to the train station where we caught a train to Betten from where we would catch the gondola up to Bettmerhorn. Here we would begin a 4 hour panoramic hike along the Aletsch Glacier, a massive 23 km long glacier covering 120 square km and one of Switzerland's UNESCO World Heritage sites (http://goo.gl/dbnjtt). At one point we even managed to get down close to  the glacier itself and we were immediately dwarfed by its gigantic size. From high above the Glacier does not look that high but down there we were amazed to look up at it. As we were running late we had to take a shortcut through a tunnel in the mountains and finally arrived to Fiescheralp, where we caught the cable car down to Fiesch to conclude our trip and catch the train back home.

Rough estimate of the hike along the Aletsch Glacier (seen on the left)

The Aletsch Glacier captured beautifully by my friend Dong

A small alpine lake (photo taken by Dong)

More stunning photos by Dong of the Aletsch Glacier Park

Dwarfed by the Aletsch Glacier! Thumbs up to Diego for the photo

We decided to catch the longer but more panoramic train back home to Zurich (via Andermatt) and I don't think I could handle any more beautiful scenery. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and I definitely recommend checking this area out if you happen to be in Switzerland, the alpine views are breathtaking! 

Taking it all in (Cheers Diego) 

Farewell!

This week was a sad week as so many of the friends I made here in Switzerland have finished their internship and are going back home. Although saying goodbye is always hard, I prefer to think that it is more of a 'see you another time'. Thanks for all the great memories we had together and I wish you all the best in whatever lies in store for you in future!

Until we see each other again in some other part of the world!

Meersburg and Friedrichshafen

So the department I work in organises an annual excursion in order for its employees to hang out in an informal setting far away from the work place. I was really looking forward to it and being still new, this was a great opportunity to get to know some of my fellow employees better.

We met up at the company premises at 7.45 am and drove by mini-van to Konstanz which is right across the Swiss-German border and along Bodensee (also known as Lake Constance in English). Bodensee is surrounded by three countries namely Switzerland, Germany and Austria and is one of the largest lakes in europe. There we caught a ferry which crossed over to the other side of the lake to the village of Meersburg, Germany. The ferry itself is able to carry vehicles on it (similar to the Gozo ferry back home) which is great if you are travelling by car obviously. The weather was perfect and  after stopping at a cafe to have a quick drink we went for a short hike through some vineyards and back down to the old town. Meersburg is your typical small, picturesque village with many colourful houses and small shops. We then had lunch close to the lake (it was all paid for, what more could you wish for!) before moving on to the nearby town of Friedrichshafen where we visited the Dornier museum.

Lake Constance with a Zeppelin in the distance

Nice name for a boat

Some of the vineyards we passed through (with a very badass looking watch tower in the distance)

Seagulls!

Meersburg Old Town

Claude Dornier (Google Images)

The Dornier museum is an aerospace museum showcasing the development of aircraft and air travel throughout the years and is named after the entrepreneur Claude Dornier (1884-1969) who was a pioneer in aircraft design. He was also the founder of Dornier GmbH which was a leading aircraft manufacturer at the time, particularly during the first and second world wars and the years that followed soon after that. Many of the aircraft designed by Dornier were among the first to be made almost entirely out of metal and the company is now owned by another aerospace company, EADS. We had a guided tour which was in German unfortunately (practically all my colleagues are Swiss so I wasn't surprised), but luckily I could still follow by reading the plaques close to the exhibits which were displayed in English. We even went inside one of the big war planes on display outside! It was baking hot though and there was no ventilation so we were all really glad when the guide finally stopped talking and ushered us out of the plane.

I had never really sat down to consider just how much the development of aircraft has had an impact of our lives and how it has shaped modern society before today. The world wars also had a major influence on the rapid development of aircraft, and the transition from humble flying boats and aircraft which were only used for reconnaissance in WWI, to bomber planes with machine guns in WWII, to jet planes and commercial, affordable air travel was really striking during the visit. I definitely recommend that you visit this museum if you happen to be in the area. More information can be obtained from their website: http://goo.gl/BQO713

Some of the exhibits at the Dornier Museum

After that it was finally time to drive back home. All in all I really enjoyed myself and the excursion was a perfect balance of outdoor activity, sightseeing and educational value.

Until next time!

Parents Coming to Visit

Time to clean my room then.

On the bright side...Kinnie and Cisk!

Meet Brenda

Today was a good day. I managed to borrow a bike for my entire stay in Switzerland from a colleague at work who wasn't using it anymore. It's a mountain bike and has 21 gears and is still in very good condition and I am so happy! I was initially planning on buying one at a second-hand bike market (http://goo.gl/G4o0h5) which usually sells abandoned bikes which have been picked up by police. Anyone can also go there to sell their bikes, however through a casual chat during coffee break and an announcement on the company's internal RSS feed, I was lucky enough to avoid the hassle and only had to pay the train ticket for transporting the bike from my colleague's home. No more long walks to the train station or Migros! 

She has already served me well - I was almost certainly going to miss the train to go to Winterthur today and I managed to catch it with a minute to spare!

Dance For Freedom - Street Parade!

Haven't had so much fun in a while! The Zurich Street parade is a massive annual event celebrating the best of techno and house music all throughout the afternoon and into the early hours of the night - and best of all it's free of charge! It takes place on the second Saturday of August and is one of the biggest techno parades in Europe following the end of the Berlin Love Parade in 2010, with around a million visitors year in, year out (which is no joke considering the population of Zurich is less than half that figure). Although I had already been warned that this was the craziest day in Zurich's calendar, I still wasn't prepared enough for what I was about to experience.

I first went to have lunch at a friend's place and throughout my journey I could already see a horde of half-naked people dressed in outrageous brightly coloured costumes making their way and stocking up on alcohol. I suddenly wished I had some costume or at least brightly coloured costume of my own. Following lunch we slowly made our way towards Stadelhofen where the love mobiles where already parading through the streets. Everyone was having so much fun dancing and being drunk and it strongly reminded me of the Nadur Carnival back home, only with more alcohol and scantily-clad people and much better music. I somehow managed to get back home at around midnight all exhausted after 9 hours of non-stop partying. And let's not talk about the massive hangover which followed the next day...

Laters!

PS. Spot the Maltese 'hamallu' @ 2.05 in the video of Telezueri 'Freakish Pure Nightlife' mag: http://goo.gl/P72gsF

Photo taken by my friend Karen