Switzerland - A week at the Paracelsus Clinic

19-01-08
Switzerland was a delight as usual. I walked miles and miles everyday – up and down – like the goats and sheep. Many hours a day this week were spent doing tests or treatments at the Paracelsus Biological Medicine Clinic in Lustmuhle Switzerland, about one and a half hours east of Zurich.
This is my fourth time at the clinic so I am very used to the routine. I had an intravenous infusion everyday – either an alkalizing mixture filled with vitamins, minerals and various natural, homeopathic remedies, or an ozone infusion which is cleansing to the blood and also has natural remedies. I also did a type of detoxifying body work called MRT for Matrix Regeneration Therapy, a tissue cleansing treatment done on the back that is sort of like Chinese cupping, but with some added features. I also did one of the oxygen therapies they offer. Usually I ride a stationary bicycle while breathing oxygen. This is energizing and makes me feel the closest I probably ever will to Lance Armstrong since I do not get tired or muscle fatigued with the oxygen. This time, I did a passive oxygen therapy, new to me, that involves just sitting for twelve minutes breathing in oxygen that is charged with negative and positive ions, based on research by a Dr. Engler who found this to be very helpful in oxygenating the body. I received injections with various natural remedies for my thyroid, adrenals, and had a number of tests to check hormones, heavy metals, infections, and general health.
I met lovely people – about eleven other Americans were there while I was, one of whom I knew from a previous trip and the others became fast friends as everyone bonded discussing treatments, doctors, and health issues, not to mention life in Switzerland.
I was the most familiar with the area since I have been there before, so I went off in the afternoons, either walking, or to the nearby small city of St. Gallen.
The beauty of Switzerland is that it is like being in Vermont except with the most efficient public transportation probably on the planet. From the clinic, I could walk down the hill – less than five minutes - to a train stop and take the train, arriving in St. Gallen in about eight minutes.
I have my favorite haunts in St. Gallen including the Brockenhuas (German for second-hand store) where I bought two luxurious, silky cotton, Swiss made duvet covers for about $7 each, knowing that new they cost between $200-300 each!
I know every health food store in the city – of which there are five, not including the two major supermarkets which also sell organic and natural products. I enjoyed going to all of them, buying delicious Swiss sheep’s milk yogurt, a little fair trade dark chocolate with a hazelnut filling to die for, some goat cheese and gluten-free bread made with corn and buckwheat, as well as some Italian oranges.
Some great things I found this trip:
• The first Licensed Organic Trout Farm in Switzerland - Mia’s Bio-Forellenzucht, Haupstrasse (Main Street) 62, Niederteufen; Tel: 079-655-8370 (Niederteufen
is really a neighborhood of Teufen and is between the Paracelsus Clinic and the town center of Teufen.)
• I learned from an American friend who has lived in Switzerland for six years that when you say “I am so Full” after eating, in Swiss German this means you are drunk! ☺ I learned this when I said it while out to lunch with my friend and the waitress laughed so hard – I didn’t know why until my friend broke the news to me.
• I met a woman who does nature photography – her photos can be viewed at: www.yessy.com/carolmilisen
I met another woman who works with animal sanctuaries around the world and has adopted two elephants! Explore a couple of the groups she works with at: www.elephantears.org and www.wildnet.org
I discovered Australian chocolate truffles made without gluten or milk – www.boojabooja.com
At the Zurich main train station you can BORROW bicycles for free with a 20 CHF deposit and identification, preferably a passport. Velogate, as it is called is located across from Track (or Gleis in German) 18 at Museumstrasse.
Thankfully I continued to see apothecaries and pharmacies selling natural homeopathic and herbal remedies alongside conventional pharmaceutical products.
A busy, productive week and now I am blissfully on the train from St. Gallen to Geneve, then onto Nice France!

Solar Ulm Germany

The city of Ulm Germany is a green traveler’s delight. It is biker friendly and boasts its own solar energy foundation. My hosts in Ulm live in one of the surrounding towns and they both bike to work every day in the city – in fact they don’t own a car. They have studded winter tires on their bikes and one bike has clocked over 150,000 km in just a couple of years.
My hosts occasionally borrow their parent’s car and between the two families (my hosts and the parents) they have put a whopping 2,500 km on the car in just over a year. This was slightly embarrassing for this green traveler who at home puts between 25,000 and 30,000 miles per year on her car – over ten times what they do. My miniscule off-set was riding a borrowed bicycle to and from the city with them.
Germany has a Solar League – www.solarbundesliga.de - where cities and towns compete to get the highest solar rating in the league. Ulm and Freiborg vie for 1st place in their large city size grouping and they are considered to be the two most solar cities in the country. Freiborg is considered the greenest overall and has a Green party member for mayor.
The city of Ulm leases roofs to companies who want to put solar photovoltaic electric panels on them, and Ulm works with schools to use more solar and renewable energy. The German government also provides generous subsidies to any homeowner or farmer that wants to put solar hot water or electric panels on their property. Many parking garages have photovoltaics on their roofs as well. The largest passive office building in the world is near the Ulm University. And nearby, there is a development of passive, single family homes built during the Project 2000 Expo. Everywhere we were – in the city and in the countryside – solar panels were on many house and barn roofs.
Ulm’s Solar Foundation can be found at: www.solarstiftung.de - Solarstiftung, Muncherstrasse 4, Ulm; 071-161-6080. They offer a self-guided solar tour through Ermingen, which includes 12 houses with solar photovoltaic and/or hot water panels. The Foundation operates a solar ferry and solar-infomobil in Ulm during the summer months.
My last day there – a very foggy day - we went to see the source of the Blau (Blue) river that runs through Ulm and the surrounding villages. It really is Blue at the source and comes from deep underground limestone caves which adventuresome divers have discovered. In the car we went on our own solar tour – easy to do in that area, and then came to six, ghostly, gentle giants in a huge pasture – with the slightest whoosh as the windmill arms turned. It took my breath away. I was thrilled to see the windmills so close through the mist and fog.
My tours of health food stores in Ulm turned up some delicious items including milk chocolate made with organic sheep milk instead of cow’s milk -
www.Chocolina.com ; and the same but with organic Goat’s milk - www.chocolisa.com. Both are made by H&H Chocolade Manufactur in Vienna, Austria.
There were lots of organic wines, and organic and gluten-free beers. Natural cosmetics and personal care products are abundant in Germany with special standards overseen by the BDiH - Bundesverband deutscher-Industrie-und Handelsunternehmen – the certification seal for natural cosmetics in Germany. Websites at: www.kontrollierte-naturkosmetik.de and www.bdih.de.
On a non-green note, I went to the opera in Ulm. The arts are heavily subsidized. The most expensive ticket to the theater is 33 Euros, a far cry from the cost in the states. The audience was incredibly well behaved, punctual and there were no cell phones glowing during intermission – everyone had turned them off for the evening - how refreshing. The opera was Verdi’s Macbeth – thank goodness I know the story since it was sung in Italian with German subtitles.
My three days in Germany went quickly – and now off to Switzerland.

Alternative Gift Giving This Season

This season you can "Think Globally, Act Locally" AND Act Globally by focusing some of your gift-giving towards helping people around the world gain access to clean water, sustainable farming practices, and other services. Listed here are some alternative, non-material, gift-giving options:

There are a number of organizations that offer gifts of service and support to people in need around the world. Two organizations that make this type of giving easy are Oxfam International and the Seva Foundation. Both organizations will send a card to your gift recipient telling them what service or support you have purchased in their name.

Oxfam Unwrapped is a program of Oxfam International administered by each country’s chapter. Oxfam Unwrapped offers gifts to help people in need around the world in the form of safe drinking water, training and support for women, livestock & farming, fair-trade and micro-business support, and more. The U.S. website is: www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com where you can conveniently order online.

The Seva Foundation was founded by a group of World Organization doctors in 1978. Seva means service in Sanskrit. The foundation works in 10 countries, particularly helping women and children have access to clean water and health care. Like Oxfam, Seva offers easy online ordering at www.seva.org.

With wishes for peace, happiness and Happy Holidays.

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