Esoteric | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss

Some years ago, quite a few years actually, I somehow decided to take up Tai Chi. Why, I cannot remember, but there was a weekly course available and so I joined. We were mostly middle aged working women and it was quite fun. The lady that managed the course was a doctor, so we were safe with our physical problems. I was surprised that I got the hang of it. Not all Tai Chi is the same, and this was a more gentle Tai Chi, our leader – at a distane on DVD, being a guy called Paul Lam. He actually even visited Switzerland now and again, for a workshop, although I never met him. Anyhow I got the hang of it and knew all the movments.

We ladies would do it all together and it was quite fun. I had the DVD at home and would often do some pratice at home in the evening. I got quite enthusiastic. However, all good things come to an end. It was a time when my MS was then not so advanced, I did not even know that I had it at the time, so I managed to do the necessary. For some reason I stopped the course, although I think I still have the DVD’s somewhere at home. Perhaps I should take it up again, might be a good idea.

My only connection now to Tai Chi is my pseudo Chinese cooking in a wok.

RDP Monday: Esoteric

Marrying a Swiss is the easiest part, he loves you, you love him and after bringing together the official documents you get married, although that was not as easy as it sounds. No document must be older than 3 months so how do you get a British birth certificate that was issued when you were born in 1946. No problem: you contact the brits and tell them and for a fee they send you a new certificate. Of course this is combined with a visit to the British Consulate in Basel, with your hand on a book (probably the bible) to swear that you are who you are, another few Swiss francs in expenses. I did not mention at the time that I am actually a 100% atheist, did not want to comlicate things. And if your husband to be cannot find his divorce papers from the previous marriage that happened many years ago, they have to be re-organised – 1-200 Swiss francs, yes getting married to Swiss can become expensive. Eventually you can go ahead even with the original birth certificate (they are prepared to wait for the new one being issued within the three month age limit).

And now you can start Swiss life. Of course you have to learn the language: German. Not quite, because the Swiss speak in about 40-50 different dialects (apart from four different languages) according to where you live. No problem, although I spent the first two years in Zürich speaking Zürich german, and now live in Solothurn, next to Bern, where the dialect is more in the direction of Bernese german, although actually we speak Solothurn german.

But now to get down to the basics to please your freshly baked Swiss husband. No, meat pie or fish and chips will not be the solution to the cooking delights of daily Swiss life. You must learn how to cook a Swiss Rösti. Actually it is quite plain and simple: grated potato fried in a a pan and turned at half time to bake evenly on the other side. Make it in a teflon coated pan and not the original iron frying pan, otherwise it will stick. Admittedly it took me a few years to achieve what is in the picture, and it is not even genuine It comes from the days of Swiss farmer cooking where it was served for the hungry farm labourers for breakfast. I serve it for dinner. If you are a genuine Swiss housewife you already cook the potatoes the day before you make the Rösti as they supposedly have a better consistence. As I do not know what I am doing the day before, mine are cooked and grated on the same day, The original Rösti was fried in pig fat, but being an esoterical person concerned with the fine details, mine is cooked in butter.

Lesson one of the esoterics of Swiss life. One day I will explain the details of the Swiss sport of Schwingen and Hornussen – curious, then have a look in Wikipedia.

FOWC with Fandango: Esoteric