or... "You Don't Know What I Went Through to Bring You Back That Chocolate Bar!"
Feverishly shifting weight between checked bags and carry-on items to meet the 50 pound weight limit (to avoid extra charge) is not the most ideal way to start a vacation, but it's the sacrifice you make when you want to bring back 10 pounds of chocolate and other treats from Switzerland.
Before embarking on our month-long vacation/home visit back to the States, I spent a good week trying to figure out what Swiss tokens to bring home to friends and family. As IWC watches and Freitag bags for all would render us homeless, I found that lots of smaller sweet things might do the trick. I actually did a bit of research before heading out to do my shopping and found a thread on the English Forum CH quite helpful. Here's a list of what we bought as gifts for our loved ones:
1. Fair Trade Bio chocolate bars and "branche" bars from Coop
2. Caramels from Läckerli Huus, found at Coop City
3. Basler Läckerli Honey biscuits (made by Migros bakery, but "in Basel, so it's authentic")
4. ProMontagna Mountain Honey from Coop (small amount of proceeds from sale go to help farmers' families)
5. Flik Flak kids' watches made by Swatch (had to catch up on some birthdays we missed), which can be purchased at duty free shops, but I found that Manor had a much better selection (plus they offer complementary gift wrapping, just go with plenty of time on your hands because the salesperson took almost an entire hour to wrap three watches)!
6. Appenzeller Biberli, in convenient multi-pack from Migros
7. The most amazing bread knife made by Victorinox, but the one specifically sold at Migros (nicer handle than the nearly identical one sold at Coop AND less expensive)
8. Biscuits by Midor topped with chocolate impressions of edelweiss and cows (Migros)
9. Bottles of Appenzeller and Luzerner Alpenbitter, found at Denner (Not everyone is a fan of bitters, so beware...)
10. Small box of assorted Swiss liquors and brandies, also found at Denner
We're back now, and although we dumped pounds of stuff off with family, we managed to bring back more stuff, including an extra suitcase.
Do you have any other ideas or suggestions for what to buy as Swiss souvenirs? No, no, we don't plan to go back to the States for another year, but we will have a friend and my sister visiting within the next six months, so it would be nice to give them some neat suggestions on what to take back with them.
Feverishly shifting weight between checked bags and carry-on items to meet the 50 pound weight limit (to avoid extra charge) is not the most ideal way to start a vacation, but it's the sacrifice you make when you want to bring back 10 pounds of chocolate and other treats from Switzerland.
Before embarking on our month-long vacation/home visit back to the States, I spent a good week trying to figure out what Swiss tokens to bring home to friends and family. As IWC watches and Freitag bags for all would render us homeless, I found that lots of smaller sweet things might do the trick. I actually did a bit of research before heading out to do my shopping and found a thread on the English Forum CH quite helpful. Here's a list of what we bought as gifts for our loved ones:
1. Fair Trade Bio chocolate bars and "branche" bars from Coop
2. Caramels from Läckerli Huus, found at Coop City
3. Basler Läckerli Honey biscuits (made by Migros bakery, but "in Basel, so it's authentic")
4. ProMontagna Mountain Honey from Coop (small amount of proceeds from sale go to help farmers' families)
5. Flik Flak kids' watches made by Swatch (had to catch up on some birthdays we missed), which can be purchased at duty free shops, but I found that Manor had a much better selection (plus they offer complementary gift wrapping, just go with plenty of time on your hands because the salesperson took almost an entire hour to wrap three watches)!
6. Appenzeller Biberli, in convenient multi-pack from Migros
7. The most amazing bread knife made by Victorinox, but the one specifically sold at Migros (nicer handle than the nearly identical one sold at Coop AND less expensive)
8. Biscuits by Midor topped with chocolate impressions of edelweiss and cows (Migros)
9. Bottles of Appenzeller and Luzerner Alpenbitter, found at Denner (Not everyone is a fan of bitters, so beware...)
10. Small box of assorted Swiss liquors and brandies, also found at Denner
We're back now, and although we dumped pounds of stuff off with family, we managed to bring back more stuff, including an extra suitcase.
Do you have any other ideas or suggestions for what to buy as Swiss souvenirs? No, no, we don't plan to go back to the States for another year, but we will have a friend and my sister visiting within the next six months, so it would be nice to give them some neat suggestions on what to take back with them.
I think double cream Gruyere Meringues are a very Swiss thing. They are extremely delicate though!
ReplyDeleteI also brought as gifts swiss dark hot chocolate and dark choc toblerone.
Welcome Back to CH!
Have you been to the Lindt store? Prices are dangerously low :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're killing me! It's only 10 am here, but I am already craving fro some chocolates (of the Swiss kind)!
ReplyDeleteOoh! Those double creme Gruyere meringues that Tina mentioned also sounds heavenly! I haven't tried them yet, is that something that can be Fed-Ex'd. Hehehe. :) Have a wonderful day!
Hi! Just came across your blog from the Swiss Expat Bloggers group. I'm enjoying reading your posts and will be back to read more!
ReplyDelete-Anneliese
Tina - thanks for the welcome. Might you be able to recall the brand of dark hot chocolate? Forget gifting that - I want some for me right now!
ReplyDeleteCarla - will definitely send guests to that store, alone. Oh, but they might get lost, so I will most definitely have to accompany them...
Jen - you'll just have to come and visit all your friends in Zürich! Hope you are having a nice day too!
Anneliese - Thank you so much for reading. Isn't that network such a neat idea? So glad Jessica thought of it. There are so many more "expats in CH bloggers" than I had realized!
Tell us more about this knife, too! :) Great list.
ReplyDeleteJessica - just wrote an entire post about this knife. Happy slicing!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post, and such great ideas for my next trip to the States. I just returned from NY and had to do the 50 lb juggle on my way back here - I schlepped back my usual variety of good ole American goodies. I did go with 1 rather empty suitcase and came back with 2 full. Next time, I'll use your list and do the reverse ! Welcome back by the way !! :)
ReplyDelete