Preoccupied by the Afghan war, health care, the bizarre killing in Dubai and so much more, the situation between Switzerland and Lybia almost escaped us. And yet the tense relation between the two nations has been going on for a while. It all began apparently in 2008 when Gaddafi’s son, Hannibal, was arrested in Geneva accused of having abused his domestic servants. Read the rest of this entry »

While we were worried about the Afghanistan war, the dangers of pirates in the Indian Ocean, or the swine flu, a country we always though as being quiet and civilized surprised the world yesterday. Switzerland, the country of great mountains, chocolate, watches and beautiful countryside but also a country which likes to think is a neutral guardian of human rights, a country where the Red Cross was established and the Geneva convention was passed, voted in a referendum whose results brought fear among Muslims ans shocked the Swiss government. Read the rest of this entry »

Last June President Sarkozy, some say influenced by his wife Carla Bruni, drafted Frédéric Mitterrand – a nephew of late French President François Mitterrand- into his cabinet to become France Culture Minister. Probably Sarkozy could not imagine that a few months after a scandal would broke out with some politicians asking that his minister steps down. Read the rest of this entry »

Forget about North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, foreclosures, … It is the chocolate bunny’s turn in the EU’s court of justice. A rule was handed there today at the request of Swiss chocolate maker Lindt on whether a chocolate bunny can be trademarked. Read the rest of this entry »

Not so many years ago while I was living in Europe, I had to go to get some papers signed at the Spanish consulate in Zurich, Switzerland. When I was ready to leave, being a nice sunny day I decided to walk to the train station cutting across one of the parks just across from the consulate. Read the rest of this entry »

Many of you who visit Europe now and then know that within the European Union there is a passport-free travel zone-the so-called Schengen zone- which includes 24 European countries out of the 27 which comprise the EU. Britain, Ireland and Cyprus have opted to stay out of the zone, while Romania and Bulgaria have yet to qualify. Read the rest of this entry »

Switzerland has always had a special place in my heart. There I met my husband, got married and had my first child. And yet, after years of living in the country I always felt like a foreigner. Not that I ever thought about becoming Swiss Read the rest of this entry »