We are arriving at the end of our first year in Switzerland, which meant today we had a choice of either handing in our UK driving licences in exchange for a Swiss one or paying a fine and having to take a driving test. The driving licence was one of those small things we needed to get round to, but some how never had. It is the standard way of an expat. I laugh at myself because before I moved to Switzerland I knew plenty of expats in the UK who had to panic when the grace period on their driving licences came to an end.
Showing posts with label Carouge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carouge. Show all posts
Monday, 26 September 2011
My new Swiss Driving Licence
We are arriving at the end of our first year in Switzerland, which meant today we had a choice of either handing in our UK driving licences in exchange for a Swiss one or paying a fine and having to take a driving test. The driving licence was one of those small things we needed to get round to, but some how never had. It is the standard way of an expat. I laugh at myself because before I moved to Switzerland I knew plenty of expats in the UK who had to panic when the grace period on their driving licences came to an end.
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Trip to Carouge
On Sunday we made a trip to Carouge with the intention of visiting the rumoured to be great, Cupcakes in the city. Sadly for us the cafe was a little bit full, and a little bit too small for all four of us, with the buggy, to fit in. Instead we ended up in Cafe Wolfisburg. A rather smashing cafe come boulangerie, rather than the other way round, a format which I find irritating, because the cafe never gets proper consideration. The cafe makes a real attempt to be family friendly, with a reasonable sized family area (can get 4 or 5 buggies in there) and next to it a slide and climbing frame on the other side of a large window.
We arrived in Carouge on the number 11 tram, it was our first time on the tram heading in this direction, and given what I'd heard about Carouge, I felt distinctly uneasy as we travelled through Jonction and other decidedly "un-Carouge" looking places. I was expecting to see some kind of idyll, and was nervous as we passed steel framed building after steel framed building, housing superstores of all kinds from motorbikes to prams. We got off the bus on the border of the old and the modern, tempted by the sights we could see in front of us streets of two storey terraces lined up neatly and squarely, we soon left the steel frames behind.
Any one familiar with British towns will notice instantly the similarity of Carouge to Georgian almshouses, Carouge, the original city is a small grid system, which the low terracing suits. With narrow streets pedestrians have a high priority and it certainly seems a wonderful place to wander around. "Why didn't we move here?" we asked ourselves, instantly knowing the answer. Having found it I'm sure we'll spend more time there, it's only 15 minutes on the tram. In fact, with Grandad arriving for his birthday this weekend we might take him back to Wolfiburg for lunch.
We arrived in Carouge on the number 11 tram, it was our first time on the tram heading in this direction, and given what I'd heard about Carouge, I felt distinctly uneasy as we travelled through Jonction and other decidedly "un-Carouge" looking places. I was expecting to see some kind of idyll, and was nervous as we passed steel framed building after steel framed building, housing superstores of all kinds from motorbikes to prams. We got off the bus on the border of the old and the modern, tempted by the sights we could see in front of us streets of two storey terraces lined up neatly and squarely, we soon left the steel frames behind.
Any one familiar with British towns will notice instantly the similarity of Carouge to Georgian almshouses, Carouge, the original city is a small grid system, which the low terracing suits. With narrow streets pedestrians have a high priority and it certainly seems a wonderful place to wander around. "Why didn't we move here?" we asked ourselves, instantly knowing the answer. Having found it I'm sure we'll spend more time there, it's only 15 minutes on the tram. In fact, with Grandad arriving for his birthday this weekend we might take him back to Wolfiburg for lunch.
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