I Have Found Our Castle!

Thank you, this time, to the Basel expats group on Yahoo.  I have identified what I believe to be the perfect castle for us!  The Lenzburg Castle includes a museum, an armory, and a children's museum where, according to a Yahoo list member, "children can dress up in medieval costumes or make their own swords and shields."  Sounds about right!

Schloss Lenzburg

For those of you whose German is better than mine, this site includes a video tour of the castle.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. - Henry David Thoreau

One outing I am planning for us is a visit to a castle.  I am still searching for just the right castle to visit.  One that is accessible by public transport from Basel, one that is kid friendly, and most important of all, one that looks like a real castle....something that will impress the 2 and 4 year old!

This Swiss tourism site, which includes an interactive map of all the castles in Switzerland, should get me started with the planning!

I discovered that my castles stand upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand. - Coldplay

Swiss Labeling

I have stated that what stresses me most about this adventure is safely dealing with Layla's allergies.  One more reason to love the internet....I emailed the aha! Swiss Allergy Centre (not sure why the interesting name) to ask about how food products are labeled.  I had noticed "may contain" statements on products from Coop's online store, and this prompt response from aha! clarifies things a bit.  I am so grateful to be able to connect with folks half a world away with such ease.

Dear Mrs. Farnham,

Thank you for your question. The Swiss legislation regulates the declaration of tree nuts and peanuts as follows:

-       Tree nuts (hazelnut, almond, walnut etc.) and peanuts must be listed in the ingredients list in any case if they are added to the food.

-       In Switzerland, unintended contamination with peanuts or tree nuts must be declared as well, if they (could) exceed a ratio of 1 g perkg. Contamination of less than 1 g per kg should be labeled the same way. You will then find the following note on the packaging: “Kann Nüsse enthalten” (may contains tree nuts) or “Kann Spuren von Nüssen enthalten” (may contains traces of nuts).

On products from Coop you’ll see the allergens labeled in a green box. If you wish to see the labeling of products from Migros as well (the other supermarket in Switzerland), you can find them on www.le-shop.ch. On any food product you can find a phone number to call and ask, if the product does not contain tree nuts or peanuts.

If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Karin Stalder

Deputy Head Specialist Team

aha! Allergiezentrum Schweiz

aha! Swiss Allergy Centre