Au-pair in Switzerland – a photo essay
I just arrived home after 2 months being an Au-pair in Switzerland with a local family, exchanging childcare for a cultural experience.
Wangen, the small Swiss Village I called home for was located 10kms from Zurich. I actually fell in love with Wangen, since it’s the most typical picturesque little Swiss village. It ticks all the steryotipical imagines I’ve always had of Switzerland, with the beautiful old wood houses, filled with red beams.
I loved the rural feeling of it, within a very urban surounding. Some of the houses were hundreds of years old and protected.
Wangen – my home for 2 months
But Wangen was not just about historic houses and farms. There was a very modern part of the village which surprised me with it’s modern beauty and architecture.
BEING AN AU-PAIR IN SWITZERLAND
I felt very welcomed at my hosts home and integrated fully into this families life! I felt really appreciated and respected while living with them, which is actually a rare thing for Au-pairs who are often used as cheap labor by a lot of host families.
My host mom, her bf and her amazing kids
My host mother, a Boeing Pilot and her 2 amazing children were the highlight of my trip. I had a huge amount of freedom and we could talk about anything and everything. I was fortunate enough to be able to understand Switzerland’s society, politics and mentality fully thanks to this cultural interaction.
I had a huge amount of free time to write which was great. I actually was offered the main suite bedroom at the house, with amazing views to Zurich. I felt so comfy and relaxed, I manage to spend a great amount of time writing, not just for my blog, but also other blogs and websites.
My private suite with trampolin
The trampoline in the bedroom was a plus, since I managed to recover a childhood dream!
Because of the very cold weather in Switzerland, I didn’t travel much, but I managed to explore Zurich pretty well, by taking a couple of guided tours and by walking around the old streets without a map.
Zurich on a rare sunny day
I had the chance to explore and taste some of the finest and most amazing Swiss chocolate tour. That tour changed all my pre-conceived limitations of being a vegan chocolate lover.
The finest vegan Swiss chocolate
I traveled to Lucerne to check out the famous wood bridge and fell in love with this city. It’s no doubt my favorite Swiss city and I totally recommend you to visit it.
The wood bridge in Lucern
I took a long train ride, just to visit the colorful city of Lugano, located in the Italian part of Switzerland. The cultural difference between the German and the Italian parts is quite radical. I loved the colorful buildings and the lake views!
Lugano the most colorful Swiss city
My Host mother drove all the way, from Zurich to Bern, the capital of Switzerland just to show me this amazing city! We had a great sunny afternoon there. I had never experienced so much generosity by being an Au-pair.
With my cute kids in Bern
The famous clock tower of Bern
The children I cared for were absolutely amazing! Very sweet, polite, respectful and funny. I miss them a lot and I had a blast during the time we’ve spent together.
Being an Au-pair in Switzerland, can be an incredibly rewarding experience, if we have the right family. It’s a unique way to explore and understand another culture that I wound’t exchange for anything else.
For all the great moments, thank you so much!
Featured image credits: wallarena.com
MORE MORE ON SWITZERLAND:
English
I really hope to make it to Switzerland this summer. Would be amazing to try some chocolate, waffles and stroll down the lovely streets !!! What a great experience you had!
Yes, I was very lucky to have such a wonderful opportunity to live and travel in Switzerland. As Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe, being an Au-pair was the best way to experience the country and culture without breaking the bank.
I would love to work and live in Switzerland anyone here who can send me more info how can I apply because there is too much scams on the net .please
Switzerland is so beautiful! I was there some years ago, living in Laussanne. I was able to visit Geneve, Montreaux, Zurich, Vevey, Berne…It was very nice…the only problem was the language, it was kind of an issue to communicate in french and german (very few people knew english, let alone spanish)…can you speak those languages?
I understand Italian and basic French, although I was living in the German part. I found no language barrier, everyone spoke perfect English, my biggst problem was the price tag… Switzerland was not a cheap destination and of course, I traveled during the winter time, so I didn’t go out much, but the nature in Switzerland is absolutely amazing! The water is so clean and the mountains are breath taking.
I spoke Spanish with the Italian cleaning lady and she understood me perfectly
haha It’s possible to speak Spanish in the Italian part I guess.