The Swiss Melting Pot… so much more than fondue!

Switzer-ly… Ital-erland… where am I?

In myriad schoolbooks and classroom lessons, the concept of the “American melting pot” was drilled into my head as a child.  The semantics have changed a bit since then – we hear the word “stew” more often than “melting pot” now, as a nod toward our (slow) move away from forced assimilation.  The general narrative, however, is still the same.  It’s pretty cool, living in a country chock full of dynamic immigrant groups, but is it really that unique?  Is the US unusual in it’s array of multicultural experiences?

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Switzerland is just one of many nations boasting an amazing ethnic stew.  One could safely argue that Switzerland embraces its diversity with more gusto than the US, given the fact that the Swiss recognize four national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh.  [Monolingual American visitors fit in comfortably, as English is a commonly spoken foreign language here.]  While Italian is only the 3rd most popular language in Switzerland, excellent Italian cuisine is at the fore in Geneva.  Considering how Italy and Switzerland share a 456 mile border, this shouldn’t be a surprise.

Below, you will find a medley of the Italian dishes we discovered.  The moral of the story is, fitting Geneva into your travel plans is an excellent idea!