Happy Swiss National Day!

Happy Swiss National Day you all! For those not from this part of the world, 1st of August is what 4th of July is to America, or 15th of August to the Indians. Also known as Schweizer Bundesfeier(German) or Fête nationale(French) or Swiss National Day to us lesser mortals with poor language skills!

I would not bore you with the history or speeches..the latter always making me shout Run!! Run away! But just for a bit of trivia, this was the day in 1291 when Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden - 3 Alpine cantons swore the oath of confederation, an act which later came to be regarded as the foundation of Switzerland.
It is a national holiday, but alas, this year it happens to fall on a Saturday, so no extra holiday. Tough luck!



As for the celebrations, there are some fireworks in some cantons, but in most villages and towns, people light a fire, and enjoy Bratwurst, Büürli and beer - which is basically sausage, bread and beer :-)

One thing I really like is that around this time of the year, you can find the swiss flag almost anywhere - right from mugs, T-shirts and fondue pots to eggs, bread, even cheese and meat!
I picked up this bread which is specially made for the 1st of August, and has cute little Swiss flags, along with a '+', again from the flag - simply called Swiss national day bread. Nice, isn't it. Have fun again y'all Share

Belgian Waffles and chocolate ice-cream

Waffles! Who doesn't love them. Served with warm chocolate sauce and if you like it even more chocolat-y - some belgian dark chocolate ice-cream! Whoa..somebody's mouth is watering, and then somebody's jealous..lol!

Anyways, on my trips to the different countries in Europe I have almost always managed to spot a Häagen-Dazs at some touristy place (much like the forbidden McDonalds always peeping out of every nook and corner of every city). Not that I go looking for it - I much prefer eating at the local trattoria or brasserie than a Häagen-Dazs. But once there, I just cannot ignore those enticing pictures of a bed of waffles with icecreams and nuts all over it! Also, being in Zurich doesn't help. You see in my almost 3 year long quest here, I have not been able to spot any decent place serving belgian waffles. Crepes, yes, pancakes too, but no waffles.
On my 2 day trip to Brussels, I had waffles for breakfast, lunch, snacks and then I think I wanted it for dinner too until my husband intervened!

So imagine my happiness when just walking past Bellevue (the lakeside) at Stadelhofen, I spot a picture saying 'Neu'(german way of writing 'New') at the Movenpick outlet. There they were - belgian waffles with ice-cream. Hubby and I tucked in a plateful each :-) Share