CH is for Chocolate: Individually Wrapped Tastes of Switzerland (Paperback)
August 11, 2009 by Destination Guide
Filed under Travel Switzerland Guides
Product Description
Vegetable gardens for rent by the square meter. Daredevil sledding in the shadow of the Matterhorn. A plot of woods named “Amerika.” A secret passage in a centuries-old barn. These are some of the images Mary Ann Miller uncovers in this fresh collection of travel writing. Fluent in German and armed with a brand new B.A. degree in International Studies and English Literature, Miller embarks on a quest to discover Switzerland and share her adventures through a weekly newspaper column. Once she arrives in the “Confederatio Helvetica” she faces indecipherable local dialects and Bern’s inexplicable obsession with bears. Her camera lens zooms from the precision-stacked woodpiles lining mountain chalets to graffiti sprayed on train station walls. She juxtaposes visits to the hideouts and prison chambers of the ancestors of the Amish and Mennonites with descriptions of an annual festival dedicated to consuming 45 tons of onions. Drinking straight from the city fountains of Bern, Miller weaves a picture of Switzerland more vibrant than simple postcard snapshots.
About the Author
After graduating from Denison University, Mary Ann Miller received a Fulbright Fellowship to spend an academic year researching the historical context of early Swiss Anabaptism in Bern. “CH is for Chocolate” is a collection of the columns she wrote for the delightfully unique U.S. newspaper, “The Budget.” She currently works as an English teacher in Amman, Jordan, with her husband.
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Traveling is almost always a delightful experience, and Mary Ann Miller’s writing captures just that sense of adventure and curious observation that embodies the thrill of a new place. Her episodes will make you laugh and further allow you to appreciate the cultural richness that has developed over hundreds of years in the heart of Europe. Miller’s academic background is clearly evident in her succinct analyses of the people, customs, and history, though she blends just the right amount of playful humor to make this compilation a pure joy to read.
What a cultural delight!!! As an Emmentaler born and raised in the Kanton Bern, then emigrating to the U.S., I shed more than one tear as I was unwrapping each precious nugget to rediscover what I had been taking for granted during my time growing up in Switzerland. I highly recommend this cultural masterpiece to all Swiss, Swiss living Abroad, as well as all Friends of Switzerland! Mary Ann Miller, through her work, has masterfully managed to interlace the new world with the old. This masterpiece will be “mandatory” reading for my children!
Author Mary Ann does a great job bringing her experience in Switzerland to the reader in bite sized episodes. Whether it involves encounters at airport security in her stocking feet, or sledding down the Matterhorn, or milking plastic cows at the cheese festival, or exploring the dungeons that imprisoned her ancestors, her engaging and humorous style makes the moment live. Her Amish background combined with her academic training makes the book both credible and an easy read. It is a keeper!
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you don’t have time to fly to Switzerland, travel by book instead!
I’ve never been to Switzerland, but after reading “CH is for Chocolate” I feel as if I’ve shared the journey with the author.