Perhaps a little late but here’s a short update of my New Year’s celebrations which took place in Geneva this year! We hopped on the train from Zurich to Geneva and spent a couple of days at a very nice hotel called EastWest. Perfect location and well priced as well as having a decent gym and a nice trendy atmosphere!
a hotel gym with a Technogym must be a good hotel!
The SBB took us to Geneva as we opted for the train and naturally the SBB is as reliable as the Swiss watches. If you’re taking a longer tripa hot tip is to pop by the restaurant cart. It’s not your average restaurant on a train, it sports white cloths on the tables and table service! The food isn’t shabby either, so here a rather long trip can feel like a short few minutes.
dining on the SBB
Once we got to Geneva we set out to explore the town. Geneva is a beautiful city both in the summer as well as in the winter. In the winter, there’s almost an after ski mood in the city as the locals enjoy sitting outside, wrapped around with big blankets sipping their traditional Aperol Spritz or why not a glass of champagne. We found a cute little place called Riverside Café and they had a great selection of wines by the glass and little nibbles to with it.
The Au Lac hotels are perfect if you’re looking for some high class cocktails and drinks, so if you’re in this mood I’d try out either Four Season’s cocktail bar or a bit further up the lake to President Wilson.
As spaces were limited in Geneva at New Year’s we ended up having New Year’s dinner at l’Angleterre hotel and if you don’t want to splash the cash on going upstairs to the restaurant Windows, I can recommend having some after hour drinks at the Leopard Bar downstairs in the hotel. They have live music and great cocktails!
lakeside in Geneva
For a traditional dining experience which in Geneva often is a steak with Bearnaise sauce or some seafood head to Café du Centre. I naturally forgot to capture the delicious dinner I had but I did manage to snap a picture of the desert which was a gigantic macaroon. The picture doesn’t do it justice but I’d say it was the size of half a dozen normal macaroons and absolutely delicious!
Once back in Zug, we finished a couple of weeks off by going to my favorite restaurant Hafen on the lake in Zug. I had a lovely fitnessteller with fresh grilled shrimps and the love had fischknuperli, the fish and chips of Switzerland!
Grüezi from Switzerland and speak soon my friends!
wow last weekend my love and I celebrated three years together! The happiest years in my life and if someone had told me I would one day meet such a wonderful man I would never have believed it! As a celebration we went to Le Restaurant in Amsterdam?.
love is indeed the small things in life…
Unfortunately Monday rolled around and back to Switzerland to finish up work before a looooong daughter after Christmas break. I did manage to go out for dinner at Aklin, one of Zugs definitely best restaurants…and they certainly go all out with the Christmas mood
Aklin serves up cod with spinach
We also got a lovely bouquet of flowers from friends to celebrate our three years…the rest of the week I’ve spent planning the Christmas food. My new favourite website is www.jameoliver.com. He has fantastic Christmas recipes, and not just one or two but loads! I’m having trouble choosing. We’ve decided that Christmas will be spent relaxing, enjoying our twosomeness, eating good food and probably a The Wire marathon…
beautiful flowers…
But I’ll post all the pictures later, now time to get ready for girls dinner at The Hoxton?
This weekend my lovely and I decided to stay put in Zug for the weekend, and enjoy a sunny weekend in the mountains. The weather here has also been amazing in the past few weeks, completely out of this world! Ski season really haven’t started yet and instead the summer sun has stayed around. Honest truth though, despite living here I never ski…on Sunday though I finally made it up Zugerberg on a rather sweaty but gorgeous hike! Check out the pictures below. Absolutely fantastic! The mountain is something around 1000 meters so the hike isn’t too challenging. Once you’re up there you can stop at the restaurant, before taking the ”bahn” down again.
Apart from the hiking we also checked out the wining and dining situation in Zug and Zürich. On Friday we ventured to the Sky Lounge in Zug. This is a rooftop terrace with a view of the whole of Zug. I’ve always had a weakness for rooftop bars. With the view below…it’s hard not to fall in love with life all over again! We rounded off Friday with hitting Bären Restaurant in Zug and indulging in some fondue, after all now is the season. Bären was above and beyond my expectation, live music, nice food and classic Swiss interior. Unfortunately I forgot to snap a pic, but it was great!
sky lounge view
evening view from sky lounge
Saturday was spent in Zürich. My favorite area of Zürich is probably Seefeld and we decided to pop by again a favorite spot called Schiller Bar. We had the sample menu for two for lunch…yumyumyum as always! WHat I love with Schiller when I was living just around the corner from them is that you can pop into Schiller any time of the day. It’s an equally perfect spot for a quick coffee in the morning as for a very late night drink. If you’re in the Seefeld area I can also recommend having dinner at Terrasse, a true institution in Zürich. If you on the other hand want to go over to the other side of the lake and the Sihlpost area I’d recommend trying out Helvetia Hotel and Restaurant. They have a great little terrace outside that you can sit in even during the winter, their Sunday brunch is legendary and the atmosphere is wonderful!
sample menu at brasserie schiller
brasserie schiller
All in all Zürich and Zug after fantastic places, I’m such a lucky person to have the chance to spend time in these places. If you’re thinking of visiting though…be-warned…the beauty does come with a pretty hefty price tag. Zürich is not the cheapest city to visit?.
sunset on Zugersee
You who have read the blog have followed my journey of losing quite some weight and staying healthy while at the same time one of my life passions is trying new cuisines and restaurants all over the world. So how do I manage to stick to losing weight while doing this. Well I’ve come into a very good healthy of always choosing to indulge when I really want to and during the week I generally stay very lean and mean, no sweets, alcohol, unnecessary fatties and excessive portions. Honestly one of the biggest aha moments for me was portion control through my dietician Esther. She taught me only to truly eat 300-500 kacl per meal…I was probably hitting 750+ kacl without even realizing it!
Training!!!
Training both gives you a mental boost AND a metabolic boost. Something we call in business win-win?. My favorite exercise routine is definitely pimping weight, but my personal trainer Richard also taught me to get a few intervals in there to keep the fat burning for days! Usually I either start or finish my workout with 8X20 seconds intervals on a still treadmill. Having to push the treadmill yourself really kicks your cardio into gear, and best of all I’m not a runner so this is a very short but effective cardio workout!
Usually I try to get 3-4 workouts in a week…sometimes that doesn’t succeed but if it doesn’t I won’t beat myself up about it! Below is a 5 am jet lag workout with a view of New York at the Standard!
Make use of the jet lag and workout early on the other side of the pond
Food!!!
This is something I think I’ve already told you about. My diet only consists of around 1250kacl a day, so I truly need to keep it slim during the week. I am officially an expert on low calorie options for breakfast, lunch and dinner! One of my best friends is also my calorie counter app! I would really recommend downloading one. Going to my dietician every months ensures I keep on track…after all my competitive nature stops me from weighing in gaining weight month to month!
Results!!!
So how did my last week look? Well mostly pretty healthy. Most of the week I was on Zug and quickly threw together some type of salad or protein/veggie wok every night. Wednesday offered a simple salad with smoked fish, raw vegetables and a little bit of olive oil dressing. During the week I never spend more than half an hour to make dinner!
Simple everyday dinner
Once the weekend drew nearer I headed out for date night at a new restaurant in Amsterdam, French Connection. One word, amazing!! They serve up small dishes so you can order three or four per person and it’s also sharing concept. I think this is a true date night restaurant and the food was solidly inspired by the traditional French kitchen with a twist. My personal favorite was the amuse bouche surprise olive and the brioche with cheese was dreamy!
French Connection
Friday started off with dinner with one of my best friends at Amsterdams best Vietnamese according to me, O Mai! Menu is simple, very kind on your wallet and always fresh. They only have a selection of one wine so if I could have a say…perhaps extend it?! Whatever you do, don’t forget to try a Vietnamese coffee if you haven’t already!
raw beef salad from O Mai
vietnamese coffee
Of course I finished off the week with a relaxed Saturday brunch with my better half….this time some fresh bread with a pesto kale salad and turkey.
healthy brunch
Tonight I’m off for a mani and pedi to get my nail game on??. Speak later friends!
Yesterday I ventured to Izakaya in Amsterdam to try out their Sunday brunch. This is a concept they only do on an ad-hoc basis so securing a reservation wasn’t easy but my love and I finally did and boy am I happy I went! The afternoon starts out like a regular brunch, and the Izakaya kitchen serves up a feast of small Japanese dishes just like their regular menu…but as the afternoon unfolds live acts come out on stage and brings up the heat quite a bit and after three hours the roof was lifting and the music was beating. Below are some pictures from both the menu and entertainment! They also served Veuve Clicquots new champagne specifically targeted to a citrusy slightly sweeter pre-dinner drink!
Veuve Clicquot started the party!
Asian deliciousness
Some afternoon wine went down as well☺️
Live performances
Night club action at 3 pm in the afternoon
Despite the fantastic weekend I’m still feeling a bit under the weather though and I don’t know if it’s from general life/work stress or if there’s some bug just refusing to leave my body. Either way I’ve committed to myself to taking it a bit easy the next couple of weeks. After this upcoming weekends havoc in Stockholm I’m going to just relax with a wonderful weekend on the Zugersee. Nothing cures a little low energy like the mountain air. More updates to follow my friends!
Every year since I met my love I’ve taken him on a surprise birthday trip for his birthday…well it has seldom turned out to be a surprise exactly because I can’t keep a secret from him but all in all I think he’s loved all our trips. This year the trip went to Rome.We started off the celebrations on Thursday with a surprise birthday party (and yes this was definitely a surprise) with all of his friends, and then on Friday we flew off to a long weekend in Rome! Of course as many things in my life the trip revolved around some good food! I was weight wise in very good shape on Friday so I decided to truly enjoy a relaxed weekend in Rome and not worry too much about my next weigh in at Esther’s in a couple of weeks time. As icing on the cake I managed to lose my voice at the birthday party the night before so I spent two days without any voice in Rome!!? I did managed to kick off Saturday morning with a strong Italian coffee and a Sicilian Cannoli!!
Sicilian cannoli
For authentic Italian cuisine in a classic trattoria setting go to Costanza in Trastevere. The food was out of this world, it was so good I even forgot to take a picture! I indulged in truffle pasta and a saltimbocca! Trastevere is probably one of my favorite areas and despite being a bit touristy there are an abundance of lovely restaurants to chose from.
On Saturday we first had a lovely lunch just off Fontana Di Trevi at a little place called Chianti. I went for a simple cold cuts and radicchio salad…and yes we also managed to consume two bottles of wine??. Then we strolled around Via de Babuino down towards Piazza del Popolo. I managed to find the one and only thing I was in search of in Rome…a pair of black boots for the winter!
Post the shopping we sat down for some of the most expensive drinks in Rome at Hotel de Russie. The drinks may be 22€ a pop but again I have to admit the atmosphere sort of makes it worth it! Only downside to our Saturday was the dinner restaurant which my Italian colleague had actually recommended. It was called Trattoria Settimio all’Arancio. The carbonara was burnt and the service was lousy. We even sent back our food and the waiter refused to accept it at first. I’m not a person known for sending back my food, it probably happens once every five years so then appreciate how bad the food was! Whatever you do in Rome don’t go there!!
Sunday lunch however brought up the mood, and lunch was enjoyed at Casina Valadier with a stunning view of all of Rome. We first rented a scooter and drove to Colosseum and the Vatican but after some culture Saturday lunch was repeated in a different setting?. The restaurant is set in the outskirts of Villa Borghese so a leisurely stroll through the park can also be recommended. I went for some mozzarella dumplings and fried calamari and prawns.
fried mozzarella dumplings
Rome skyline
Taking charge of the vespa!
Colosseum
Pantheon
Of course there are a million other places in Rome to go and as long as you’re with someone you love you can’t go wrong! ??+❤️=??
The past few weeks I’ve really focussen on some home cooking. When the weather goes from summer to a chill in the air, the cast iron comes out and the long cooking commences. Last weekend I cooked up both a simple stew that simmered for four hours and a chicken stew which was a bit of a play on a coq au vin. The beef stew is effectively chuck some cuts of meat in a cast iron pan, fry the off with some onions and whatever herbs you fancy. Perhaps add some tomatoes and carrots or peppers! Boil away at a low heat?
the picture may mot be too pretty but the flavoue was amazing!!
I also managed to cook up my regular banana pancakes to my loves delight!
banana pancakes and the morning newspaper on a Sunday, best start of the day
This week I’ve actually taken off work which doesn’t happen to often (and I still worked a little bit the first two days) so I want to get back on track withy diet. I haven’t really been off track, I’ve rather felt my body has decided at this point that losing 15kg was more than enough! I went to see Esther yesterday and she told me to focus for now on maintaining and perhaps in the next month we can break those final 5kgs I have to reach my goal!!
friends I haven’t updated you lately on my fitness/health journey! All in all it’s going well, I’ve lost about 14kg and I’m another 6kg away from what I define as my original weight because it’s the weight I’ve always felt comfortable with! I’m calling this blog healthy lifestyle update because to be honest I never want to go through a weight loss diet ever again!! It’s tough work although the results are worth it, one thing I noticed last week was that my Zumba class was all of a sudden light compared to a few months ago. The movements and routines actually felt easy, but no wonder I’m over 15kg lighter!! Only give more to go so wish me luck??!
I was really good this weekend when it came to my diet, tried out both a nice healthy fried egg with garlic broccoli and pickled kohlrabi. Dinner was a quick homemade rye bread on a bed of arugula and pulled pork and a little grilled aubergine dip. Sort of baba ganoush but of course I didn’t add any oil?!
breakfast of egg, rye bread, broccoli and kohlrabi
pickled onions with pulled pork…yumminess
The past couple of weeks has truly shown the autumn rolling into Europe. That slight hint of cold breeze makes me want to take out my woolen sweaters and sit inside with a good book and a nice drink. Last weekend the place of choice for this relaxation was Andaz Amsterdam and the Bluespoon Bar. I’ve had the intention to go here many times during the weekend but if you want a long snooze in the morning with a good cup of java and maybe even a stop at the gym before heading to lunch Bluespoon has always been open a little too little to get the time in to go. For lunch now Bluespoon is open until 15.00.
autumn vibe
So what’s on the menu! It’s a healthy, slightly smaller dishes (however definitely not small) and delicious menu as always. I opted for the gazpacho with aged cheese, a lovely gazpacho however very rich. I often take a gazpacho because of it’s light start to any meal but this gazpacho could have sufficed as a main. Following this I had the endive salad with goat cheese. Both dishes were great and the mozzarella salad was also a great option as a starter. The only criticism was the salad nicoise…which didn’t contain any tuna!! Ok fair point it didn’t explicitly say tuna on the menu, but I think if a salad is to be called a salad nicoise tuna is a given. The ambiance at Bluespoon is lovely and I absolutely love the view of the inner garden. Surprisingly enough the place is also not too busy on a Saturday at 2 p.m. so I truly enjoyed a super relaxing lazy Saturday with a magazine or two! If you’re in town and you want a lighter and healthier lunch yet refined and relaxed Bluespoon is the choice!
rich gazpacho
yummy mozzarella
the goat cheese and endive favorite!
This past weekend didn’t only contain cooking sprees but also my other favorite thing restaurant hopping! I should write a comprehensive post on restaurants in Amsterdam at some point but before I get around to that I’ll pick two out of the pile I enjoyed this weekend. First I paid Café Pluk in the negen straatjes in Amsterdam a visit. The café came recommended from a friend and it’s a new organic café which is open from morning until around 6 pm in the evening. Again a fantastic place that I would definitely come back to! Apart from the yummy watermelon and feta salad I had (am I seeing a pattern with my feta;-)) they also have nice little treats you can buy for your kitchen. Definitely a place you can hang for hours at end and enjoy one of their fresh squeezed juices or smoothies.
Cafe Pluk
Watermelon and feta salad
My indulgence in dining out didn’t end there though as I trekked my way to De Wilde Zwijnen in Amsterdam Oost. I have been there before on one occasion and had a lovely dinner at the bar, but without knowing it they have now opened what we call in Sweden a back pocket (bakficka) where there is a slightly different menu and tapas oriented. My love and I enjoyed half a dozen small dishes including a delicious vegetarian tarte tartin with caramelized onions and a salad of fresh peas and sour milk vinaigrette, then we topped up with some cured meat and fish of the day which today was a fresh mackerel with tomato salsa. All dishes were delicious and teamed up with some nice wines. All in all a visit worthwhile and the tarte tartin was a particular favorite. It’s a little outside the main drags but if you take a taxi from the center you’ll be there in ten minutes which I think it’s worth!
Bar position at De Wilde Zwijnen
One new hotspot in Amsterdam is HappyHappyJoyJoy, Julius Jaspers new restaurant. It serves up various Asian dishes with influences from China, Japan, Thailand and many other countries. Clear favorite on the menu was the bao pao both with pork and duck. I didn’t try the dim sum. Only improvement area on the menu is actually highlighting spiciness on a scale from one to ten…unfortunately one or two dishes had a little extra strong kick;-). The visit to HappyHappyJoyJoy made me realize another point to that the trend of the hamburger joints is now officially I feel dead and has been replaced with the street food trend. Just look at all the TV shows popping up on this topic. If you ask me though not a bad thing the hamburger trend died (I was never a big fan of this) and the street food influence is simply fantastic!
Fun decor in HappyHappyJoyJoy