Switzerland (not Sweden)

It's amazing how often people confuse the two countries! I never really thought about it before Jeff took the job here, but people often ask how I am enjoying Sweden. Probably because they are both in Europe and the only two countries that both start with "sw".... it's easy to confuse the two! So here are a few facts about Switzerland so you know a little bit more about where we are.

• Switzerland is a landlocked country surrounded by four countries: France, Italy, Germany & Austria.
• There are also four nationally recognized languages: English, French, German & Italian. I'm taking French lessons over here as Geneva is located in the French speaking region.
• The Red Cross began in Switzerland.
• Switzerland is known for it's many different types of cheese and chocolate as well. :) This may be one of my favorite parts of living over here!
• Geneva is the same latitude as Minneapolis, MN, but the winters here aren't quite as harsh since the city sits down in the valley between the mountains.
• Geneva sits on Lake Geneva which has been voted one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. The lake also one of the biggest fountains in the world, the Jet d'Eau. (See the picture above.)
• It's centrally located in Europe so it makes for a great starting point to visit all the other amazing sites in Europe!

Here's a map so you can see where Geneva is located... the far West (left) side of Switzerland.

It's been a pretty mild winter here in Geneva, but that all changed this week. So sad :( Here's a view of what it looked like from our balcony two days ago.