Why not take a shower in a parking garage?

The Frau has been in Switzerland long enough now to realize something:

You can take a shower in places that you otherwise wouldn’t consider taking a shower.

For instance, in a parking garage.

The Frau asks you: Is there any other country in the world where you would see a shower in a parking garage and think, “Yes, I might actually consider using that?"

Well, that’s the case in Einsiedeln, where the parking garage comes complete with toilets, showers, and a locker room. And none of them are questionable.

Sometimes, The Frau loves Switzerland.

It’s a place where she can shower without regret not only in parking garages, but also in train stations, her office, and at the lake.

Switzerland is known for cleanliness and it is not without reason. So go ahead, yodelers, The Frau encourages you to discover all the extra special places where you can become as clean as the country you’re living in.

10 books to love about Switzerland

In honor of Valentine’s Day, The Frau would like to share ten books to love about Switzerland and expatriate life.

Beyond Chocolate: Understanding Swiss Culture

By Margaret Oertig-Davidson

Contrary to popular belief, there is more to life in Switzerland besides chocolate (even on Valentine’s Day), and this book helps outsiders understand how Switzerland and its people tick.

There are books to love about CH and then there's
this raspberry truffle from Vollenweider too...

A Moveable Marriage: Relocate Your Relationship without Breaking It

By Robin Pascoe

Are you a trailing spouse or about to become one? Here’s a book on how you and your marriage can survive your first­–or tenth–international move.

Swiss Watching: Inside the Land of Milk and Money

By Diccon Bewes

Want to go beyond the Swiss stereotypes and deep into Switzerland to find out what, exactly Swissness means? Then this book is for you.

Expat: Women’s True Tales of Life Abroad

By Christina Henry de Tessan

No matter where we live as expatriates, this anthology demonstrates that some things about expat life are universal.

The Xenophobe’s Guide to the Swiss

By Paul Bilton

The blurb says it all: This book is definitely “A Frank and Funny Look at what makes the Swiss Swiss.”

La Place de la Concorde Suisse

By John McPhee

The army in Switzerland can seem mysterious, but not if you read this journalistic study of the its role in Swiss society.

GenXPat: The Young Professional’s Guide to Making a Successful Life Abroad

By Margaret Malewski

How can you survive (and thrive) when working in another country? This book has many answers.

Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures

By Brooks Peterson

If you work in Switzerland, you will be working with people from other cultures. This book is a great introduction to any diverse workplace.

Inside Outlandish: Essays about Feeling at Home (in Switzerland)

By Susan Tuttle

A collection of essays about life in Switzerland as an outsider looking in.

Living in Zurich Guide

By The American Women’s Club of Zurich

This book bills itself as “The Most Comprehensive Guidebook To Life In Zurich As An Expat” and The Frau can’t argue with that. Like everything in Switzerland, it’s quite expensive, but if you’re new to Zurich, it’s worth every franc.

Register now for the 2014 Zurich Writers Worskhop

The Frau would like to inform all yodelers that registration is now open for the 5^th Annual Zurich Writers Workshop, which will take place May 23-25, 2014.

For English-language writing support and inspiration
in a German-speaking world

The Frau co-founded the Zurich Writers Workshop after she learned an important lesson about living abroad: if you want something in your adopted country or city and it doesn’t exist, sometimes you have to create it yourself.

Five years later, English-language writing support in Zurich–thanks to her workshop, and also to Nuance Words–actually exists. In fact, one British writer living in Zurich told The Frau that she didn’t want to move back to London because the writing environment in Zurich was so good. The Frau considered this the best compliment she’s ever gotten.

Anyway, this year, the Zurich Writers Workshop will feature two different courses. The first, taught by Anne Korkeakivi, will focus on both short and long fiction. The second workshop, taught by Chantal Panozzo, aka The Frau, will discuss ways to make a living as an international creative person.

On May 23, Orell Füssli The Bookshop will host a reading featuring both Anne Korkeakivi and Yours Truly. This reading is free and open to the public.

If any of this sounds mildly interesting, you can find out more at zurichwritersworkshop.com