Guest Blogs
Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!
To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.
We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!
By David Cooper, Fund Advisers Europe
Moving away from the continued political infighting in the US (who still have not reached a compromise to bring a resolution to the stalemate over raising the debt ceiling). We will now look at the increasing costs of certain commodities and the effects it could have on all of us. Let's focus on oil.
Is your annual holiday coming up? Are you a frequent air traveller, either for business or leisure? Things may be about to change for you!
Most people in Central Europe have, if not actually used, certainly marvelled at the low cost airlines and the prices they are able to offer to passengers to travel hundreds of kilometres in (relative) comfort.
With the price of oil above $100 a barrel is the day of the cheap flight, and subsequently cheap holidays, coming to an end?
By David Cooper, Fund Advisers Europe
The debt crisis affecting Europe is coming to the make or break point. Often called The Sovereign Debt Crisis, the problems that started at the end of 2009 are at a point where a resolution, of some sort will be found.
European leaders will decide today how much they want to save both the European Monetary Union, and ultimately the Euro.
The Sovereign Debt Crisis – caused when a country that has run out of money to pay back the loans it has taken out in the past and is therefore being refused loans for the future – started two years ago in Greece. It has gone on to affect Portugal, Ireland and Spain.
The effects are now being seen in the government bond markets of Italy, and even in France, with higher interest rates being applied by those lending money to these countries. They are viewed as having shown that they could default so are now not seen as a good risk, and are therefore charged more for loans via bond issues. Much the same as someone who has failed to pay back a past mortgage would be refused, or charged more for a loan in the future.
Practical advice on choosing a mortgage
When you live and work in a foreign country, there are a number of issues that need to be addressed when you arrive, some more pressing than others. If you have a family, you will need to make sure they are comfortable in their new environment. Decisions will have to be made about where you are going to live, and whether you should rent or buy a property.
Many of the expatriate community in Switzerland originate from “property ownership strongholds” – countries where it is clearly the norm to buy rather than rent the house you live in. Many people in these countries will also own their own holiday homes and others will buy properties purely for investment purposes.
In Switzerland, the process of buying a house may seem daunting – however it does bear many similarities to other countries. At the end of the day, you will need to ask essentially the same questions as in your home country: How will you buy the property? Where will you get the funds? When will you buy it?
A new career support service has been set up in the region to help English speakers further their career development in Switzerland.
Called Swiss Career Connections, the service is being provided by the Spouse Career Centre (SCC), which has been operating successfully in the region for over 9 years, providing career-related counseling, networking and coaching to partners and spouses of international employees relocating to Switzerland. Until now, this service was provided exclusively to multinational companies for the benefit of their employees.
Describing the new service, SCC Director, Diana Ritchie, says, “At Swiss Career Connections we believe a career support service should provide a 360° approach to active job-hunting. From the start, you will be supported by our trained and experienced career coaches on a one-to-one basis. We will help you to develop and profile your skills, know-how and experience, keep you motivated and on track, prepare you for effective job searching, and guide you through the application process. We will also show you how to use your network more effectively and build upon it as well as benefit from ours.”
She continues, “Experience shows us that this approach adds value in a number of key areas. Not only does it give you a better understanding of how to position yourself in the Swiss job market, but it also improves your self-marketing ability and your competencies awareness level. By improving your access to and impact on potential employers, it ultimately increases your chances of securing employment.”
Clients will be able to choose from four packages, each tailored to individual needs and budgets. The table below shows the key elements of the four tracks on offer (Smart Support Services), with descriptions for each.
By This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Our family relocated from Geneva to an old water powered flour & sawmill behind the Saleve just over one year ago. Set in one of the valleys that run off the mountain, it feels like you are deep in rural France.
A few weekends ago we realized just HOW deep in rural France we now live!
One bright, cold, crisp Sunday afternoon, my wife and I were indoors, catching up on the weekly chores. I was down in the kitchen cooking off some dishes for the coming week to go into the freezer; my wife and two daughters were on the top floor making their fashion selections for the week ahead.
We are used to hearing a few rifle shots on a Sunday in the winter, but they are usually much further down our valley than the first three we heard that afternoon. When my wife shouted down “Gavin! Look out of the window! There’s a huge boar by our fence!”, I rushed to the window but the boar had gone. Shortly afterwards, there were four more loud shots that sounded very close to the house.
After what we considered to be a safe period in which we had heard no more shots, my wife and I went outside to see what was going on. To our surprise there was a group of hunters no more than three meters from our boundary fence dragging a boar up the bank of the river to the rest of the hunting party that was waiting on the road.
At this point my wife’s protective gene kicked in. The hunters were left in NO doubt that this was not acceptable behavior. When our neighbors confirmed that hunting was not allowed that close to the house, she headed off the next day to the Marie’s office to mention the incident.
The following events leave me in no doubt that the local community here cares deeply about all its residents.
Following a visit from the Mayor himself, we had a visit from the president of the local hunting association in which we walked the grounds. Two hours after he left we received a phone call saying the culprits had been identified (the bush telegraph obviously is in full working order here!). Shortly afterwards, a delegation from the hunting party arrived. I explained the situation once more and we walked the grounds again and discussed what to do next. The hunters offered to bring around a portion of the boar by way of an apology. I was unsure at this point if this was appropriate - would I be receiving illegal meat? I said that we would call them later once we had had time to refect on their offer.
After lengthy discussions, we decided to accept the hunters’ offer of a portion of the carcass. I had prepared two marinades for the meat. I was expecting maybe one or two kilos of diced meat. In fact I was presented with a hind leg butchered high with a portion of the back quarter (as is the style here in France), in addition to a foreleg joint still on the bone! After the hunters had left I spent the rest of the evening dicing the hind leg before putting it in one of the marinades to sit in the fridge overnight.
By lunchtime the next day the house was full of a deep, rich aroma from the slow cooking stew that had been prepared from the marinated meat. There was a knock at the door… it was the local, rural Police from the ‘Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage’. Again, I explained the situation, we walked over the ground and discussed what to do next. As we sat at the kitchen table, it occurred to me that we were cooking the evidence! Was it illegal to except the meat after all? Should I invite the police to stay for lunch and have them eat the evidence! Luckily nothing was said, and after a nice coffee and chat they left.
It appears that the situation has now been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction!
Below you will find the marinade & recipe for boar stew that I cooked. You won’t find boar at the supermarket but ask a local butcher for it when it is in season. The recipe also works well with pork if you can’t get boar.
Spanish Style Boar StewPrep. Time: 24hrs
Cooking Time: 4-5hrs
Yield: 8 persons
Serve With: Roasted whole New Potatoes, Green Salad
Marinade:
1.5-2kg Boar meat (large dice 5cm)
2 Bay Leaves
3 lg Rosemary Cuttings
2 Celery Sticks (rough dice)
300ml Red Wine (eg: Riojca)
8 Cloves
2 Onions (sliced)
6 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
1tbsp Black Peppercorns
2tbsp Juniper Berries (crushed)
Stew:
Olive Oil
1tbsp Tomato Puree
250g Chorizo (rough dice)
100ml Noilly Prat
500ml Beef Stock
Corn Flour (to thicken)
300g Mushrooms (quartered)
Parsley (garnish)
Method:
1. Marinade meat 24hrs mix well
2. Drain off & reserve wine, separate meat from rest of
Marinade
3. Brown off all the meat in a little Olive Oil, set aside
4. Fry off Chorizo & marinade veg until golden, add meat
back to pan,
5. Add reserved wine, Noilly Prat, beef stock & tomato puree
Mix all ingredients & bring to the boil,
6. Reduce heat cover with tight lid, cook for 4-5hrs,
7. 20mins before service add mushrooms.
