I'm obviously proud of my heritage, and this is one of those days where I get to show it. I may not live in Switzerland and I may not get the day off, but at least I can feel very "Swiss" one day a year.

It was cute; I actually got several good wishes from people at work who knew it was National Day. I chatted with my Swiss ex-officemate, who was so heads-down in work that he still thought it was July. ("Oh, hey!" he said, when he realized it was August 1. "We can set off firecrackers!!")

When I got home, I cracked open some of the pinot noir from my family's winery on Lake Neuchatel, and B. and I decided last minute to make a fondue feast for dinner. We had to settle for a couple of substitutions at the local grocery store - Jarlsberg instead of gruyere (though they did have Emmenthaler) and an Alsatian pinot blanc instead of a Swiss white. (I've drunk all the Neuchatel from Domaine de Montmollin - the family winery - and am left with only red: good for drinking but not for making fondue.)

For the main meal, we had sweet and sourdough baguettes and a sliced Granny Smith apple to dip in the creamy cheese. For dessert, I melted Toblerone bars with cream and a little liqueur, and we dipped strawberries, marshmallows, pound cake slices and biscotti in them.

The coolest part is that I don't actually have a fondue pot (criminal, I know), so we pulled chairs up to the stove, and just ate our fondue right out of the saucepan on the stove. We chatted and laughed and stuffed ourselves silly.

Now, I'm feeling very Swiss and very full. I think I'll go collapse in a heap.

Happy National Day everybody!!

I was talking to two co-workers about the Euro 2008 soccer tournament, and bemoaning how badly Switzerland got crushed in the first game (losing their team captain to injury in the process).

Co-Worker 2, sympathetically: "Well...you'll always have Heidi."

Funny that I found this article when I'm on a kick about walking more. Now my tendency to walk and hike makes sense: I'm Swiss. :)