SwissPats

ANNOUNCEMENT! Suzi and Don reached out to past guests to ask if they would be interested in partaking in a SwissPats Holiday Giveaway for the listeners. And boy did they respond. Listen to find out a bit more on the Holiday Giveaway and stay tuned to our social media channels for all the amazing offers throughout this holiday season.

This week's guest, Ina Nicosia-Schelker, came to Switzerland as a professional basketball player. After retiring from playing, she dove into the education scene and has since founded Kids Camp International. The Oberwill-based bilingual international school is the only school in Switzerland where children get music and sport lessons daily.

Suzi and Don also discuss three Swiss Christmas traditions you should know about and a new Swiss Franc coin that features a "depiction" of tennis great Roger Federer. Listen to find out why "picture" is in quotations.

Wondering what to do this month in Switzerland? Fear not the SwissPats have you covered. It's pretty simple for December: Christmas Markets. Don and Suzi discuss the different markets around Switzerland including the biggest one - Basel. Since that's where they live it's the one they know the best, but exploring the different markets makes December in this country so much fun. 

Top Christmas Markets in Switzerland:

• Basel
• Bern
• Geneva
• Lausanne
• Locarno
• Luzern
• Montreux
• Zurich

Suzi returns after an unscheduled trip back to Australia following the death of her beloved grandmother. Still fighting jet lag and a cold, she is able to focus and turn her attention to her favorite topic (food), as her and Don discuss a delicious new treat from Attimo Chocolates. Don also dishes (pun intended) on his favorite holiday - Thanksgiving - and how America's Black Friday tradition is alive and well in Switzerland.

This week's guest is Jonathan Martin, the man behind every expats favorite Facebook page - A Shropshire Lad in Switzerland.

The SwissPats are back with the third edition of its latest series - Life Abroad Reimagined with Rylla Resler. The Trailing Spouse Reimagined, a book written by Resler and her co-authors Francesca Incocciati and Adriana Quarck, explore the real challenges and true joys of life abroad as a trailing partner. The book was based on dozens of interviews with men and women who have relocated to Switzerland for their partners' career, and this podcast seeks to continue what the authors started.

For the third episode, Resler interviewed Howard Austin, a New Zealander who left behind his surfing life to follow his wife to her native Oberwil where he established himself as a nationally accredited practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

For more information on the book, click here.

Wondering what to do this month in Switzerland? Fear not the SwissPats have you covered.

(2:08) Wasserturmcup (underwater rugby) | Nov. 2 | Luzern

(6:02) The Lumineers | Nov. 6 | Zurich Halle 622

(7:22) 23rd International Kurzfilmtage | Nov. 5-10 | Winterthur

(9:25) Rocknacht | Nov. 8 | ISC Club Bern

(12:30) Theater Sports | Nov. 14 | Zurich Improv Comedy

(14:12) Ólafur Arnalds | Nov. 12 | Zurich Halle 622

(16:32) Lausanne Festival of Lights | Nov. 21-Dec. 31

(18:54) Frontofbicycle Exhibition | Nov. 15 | Basel Art Center

(21:20) From Basel, With Love | Nov. 16 | Braswell Arts Center

(22:10) Zibelemärit (Onion Market) | Nov. 25 | Bern

(29:52) "What The Dickens?!" | Nov. 21-24 | Lausanne

Both Don and Suzi had birthdays last week, but Don is still coming to grips with turning the big 4-0. To say good-bye to his 30s, the two discuss some German words that perfectly sum up life in your 30s. They also talk Bernese Zungenwurst, or “blood tongue” sausage, and apples that are only grown in Switzerland, Miami and Australia. 

This week's guest are the makers of a new app called Let's Meet Now! Ben Freisberg, a Swiss native, teamed up with expat Peter Wakin to develop this app that not only allows users or venues to create events, but acts as a tool for people to spontaneously get together, like someone new to a town or foreign land *coughs* expats *coughs*.

Suzi and Don are back from the autumn break with author Sue Style, whose latest book - The Landscape of Swiss Wine - takes wine-loving readers on a tour of Switzerland’s wines and vineyards and the extraordinary landscapes that give rise to them.

Suzi is also triggered by a pair of stories involving the pink tax and dash cams.

Wondering what to do this month in Switzerland? Fear not the SwissPats have you covered.

(1:21) Whiskey and More | Oct. 4-5 | Geneva

(2:57) The Cheese Market | Oct. 4-5 Huttwil

(4:21) Baby & Kid Planet | Oct. 4-6 | Lausanne

(6:05) Oktoberfest | Oct. 5-6 | Wädenswil

(7:30) Flute Festival | Oct. 4-6 | Gland

(8:40) Zurich Film Festival | ends Oct. 6

(10:55) Zurich Tech Job Fair | Oct. 9

(12:27) Grape Harvest Festival | Oct. 11-13 | Cheyres

(13:51) Living in a Box: Design and Comics | ends Oct. 20 | Vitra Design Museum

(16:18) Shnit (short film festival) | Oct. 17-27 | Bern

(18:43) Swiss Indoors Tennis Tournament | Oct. 19-27 | Basel

(23:05) Career Relaunch Conference | Oct. 22 | Zurich

(24:46) English courses | Volkshochschule Basel

(28:07) Truffle Market | Oct. 26 | Bonvillars

(30:05) Herbstmesse | Oct. 26-Nov. 12 | Basel

Welcome to the latest edition of SwissPats where Don and Suzi are back to play one of the hottest game shows sweeping the nation: Which thing was invented in Switzerland? They also discuss the urban myth that Swiss housing authorities do not allow residents to flush a toilet between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

The SwissPats welcome author and new expat Tammy Lynn Stoner, who has just released her debut novel, SUGAR LAND. Tammy has lived in 16 cities in three countries and is somewhat new to Switzerland as she is still adjusting to life here after moving with her wife and three kids earlier this year. She not only discusses her new book, but also the odd jobs she's had -- biscuit maker, medical experimentee and waitress in a Greek diner to name a few -- and how her dog became friends with a Swiss cow.

Don and Suzi are back as Don describes how he went on his first hike in Engelberg over the weekend, and he absolutely loved it. Good thing because those 200 franc hiking shoes weren't a waste of money. They also explain what latest Internet trend was set by the Zurich police department.

This week's guest is Isabelle Johnson, founder of Prêt à Parler. She is a trained opera singer, originally from Montreal, started her teaching company in order to help to native and non-native English-speaking expats to make French and Business French a part of their everyday life in Geneva.