During this time of year one thinks of falling leaves, crisp, cool air, and blood sausage!!

The best way to celebrate blood sausage, of course, is at a Swiss Metzgete. This year my family and I joined the Peninsula Swiss Club in Mountain View. With Canton flags waving high and a Swiss band playing in the background, we left our familiar downtown setting and were immediately transported to a Swiss village. We entered the hall and were greeted by kids running here and there with Swiss flags on shirts and hats and delicious smells of sauerkraut. Seated at a table of family and friends, I experienced my first blood sausage in over 20 years and it made me feel like I was 10 years old on my family farm at Eppenberg in Bichwil, S.G. At that time the butchers would come and do their work in the cellar and later our family restaurant would serve fresh blood sausage. While my 19-month-old son, Andreas (Resli) enjoyed the evening by napping in his stroller, many danced and sang with the festive Swiss band. It is not often that we meet in a place where young and old share a chicken dance. On this night many did.

I always think of the Metzegete as being similar to the American Thanksgiving. Both traditions focus on giving thanks for a harvest of food and for the coming together of family and friends. Last Saturday night at the Mountain View Metzgete, I felt thankful to be connected to my Swiss heritage while living in America, and I hope to make the Metzegete a family tradition for many years to come.