March 5th, 2010 by Shana Goldberg
1 Comment What’s the biggest difference between a Swiss and American benefit dinner?
Recently I saw an ad for an event honoring the 90th anniversary of Keren Hayesod/United Jewish Appeal. The event boasted a keynote address from Natan Sharansky and a roundtable discussion with participants such as Stuart Eizenstat. Of course I planned to attend, thinking this was a special, education-oriented event.
Question is, why did I not realize this was an annual benefit? The location should have clued me in: the Dolder Grand Hotel. Zurich’s most luxurious (read: expensive) hotel. Oh, and the ad did mention something about food being served.
So here’s the surprising thing about annual dinners in Zurich, and the answer to the question posed above: There is no plate charge. The event was completely donation-based, and there wasn’t even a suggested donation amount at that. Get this, there weren’t even donation forms on the table! These were only handed out later (although that may have been a mistake in organizational planning). [More...]
February 11th, 2010 by Shana Goldberg
Add a comment Rockies versus Alps. No, I’m not referring to the baseball team, but to two of the world’s most famous and beautiful mountain ranges. A brief excursion to the Engadine valley in southeast Switzerland got me wondering: which range is more spectacular?
This week saw me in Sils Maria, a small village close to the well-known and tourist hotspot St. Moritz but infinitely more peaceful and rejuvenating. It’s clear why Friedrich Neitzsche spent time here. For those looking for activity, Sils is also well-situated for skiing adventures and summertime hikes.
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December 31st, 2009 by Shana Goldberg
Add a comment Here in Switzerland, on Silvester, what the Swiss call New Year’s Eve, the phrase “einen guten Rutsch” is heard frequently. The commonly held understanding is that the phrase translates to “a good skip [into the new year].”
What most German speakers don’t realize, however, is that the origin of this saying is actually Hebrew, the “Rutsch” derived from “Rosh”, from when German speaking Jews wished each other a good Rosh Hashana, or happy new year.
From Rocky Mountain Jew and the whole IJN.com team, “einen guten Rutsch” to one and all!
