Snowfall in Zurich

Snowfall in Zurich

When I think of Christmas time, Switzerland embodies all the things that inspire my love for the season. In addition to the sense of history one feels when walking through the streets here, there is an aesthetic sensibility that can make this time of year feel like a fairy tale brought to life.

The Christmas markets are filled with people buying their holiday gifts, many of them stopping for a warm and spicy cup of Gluhwein to soothe chilly noses and hands. There is sheer magic to be found in the pretty white lights decorating towns everywhere, and shop windows decorated to entice. Old Man Winter was even kind enough to provide a dose of snow to bring our holiday show to life.

You’ll see more details of our Swiss travels in the weeks to come, but we wanted to give you a sneak peek at some of our journey so far. We arrived in Zurich on Tuesday for a day with SWISS International Airlines to learn more about their in-flight services, which included a look at the first and business class meal preparations. If you’ve ever wondered why it is so challenging to have a great meal on an airplane, it’s important to consider not only the logistics, but also the sheer science involved in feeding people at 40,000 feet. Sauces that aren’t adequately thickened will run amok at take-off, for example. There are no stoves in an airplane galley, for another. That’s just the beginning.

We look forward to sharing much more with you, including our adventures in tasting Swiss specialties like fondue, raclette, sausages and that infamous Gluhwine. For now, we invite you to peruse our Culinary Media Network photo album of Zurich on Facebook, which include some of the sights from today’s tour. They will also appear in our Flickr feed (little box toward the bottom of the sidebar).

We’re now in Luzern, and will post more from there in the next day or two. Auf wiedersehen!

P.S. Did you know that schmuck is German for jewelry? Neither did I.