A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

Skyline of Berne - mafa / pixelio.de A friend visiting Switzerland once joked that in Switzerland all cities are on a lake or river and have their medieval castle nearby. While that is certainly not true for ALL cities here, it is true for many. Considering that many of the Swiss cities have their origins in medieval times it is easily understood why they were built near the water: it offered water for drinking  and transportation . After all, goods needed to be transported and there were nor railways, trucks or airplanes to ship them around. Plus, there are simply a lot of rivers and lakes all over Switzerland which makes the chances of settling near one of them pretty high. Like Zurich , Geneva and Basel , the capital city of Switzerland Berne also lies on the shores of a river, in this case the Aare river. It not only houses the building of the Swiss parliament and government but also features a lovely old city that invites people for a stroll. There is also a good number of mu...

The year is coming to an end and all around the world people are celebrating the beginning of a new year. Although everyone puts up a party for the same reason, there are some distinct differences between different parties around the globe. Every country and place has its own unique traditions on how to celebrate new years eve. People in Peru, for example, wear yellow for luck in the coming year, Danish people break old dishes on each other's doors and Germans pour lead into water in order to find out what will happen in the new year. Swiss New Year's Traditions Despite being an very small country, Switzerland generally has a lot of beautiful and unique traditions. This is certainly also true for the festivities surrounding the change of the years, as we like to call it. Now, there might be differences from canton to canton, region to region or even family to family but there are a few things that form part of the New Years tradition almost all over Switzerland. We drin...

It's coming up soon: the  Swiss national holiday 1st of August . Fire works, picnics, brunches, speeches by politicians and warm summer weather will hopefully all be part of this fun holiday this year. Origins of 1st of August Celebrations in Switzerland Traditionally, the 1st of August celebrations in Switzerland commemorate the founding of the original Swiss federation by the "original cantons" (= Urkantone) Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden and Obwalden in the first half of August 1291. Note that there are only three Urkantone since Nidwalden and Obwalden are the two halves of one canton called Unterwalden.   However, this date does not mark Swiss independence but rather the start of a the several century long formation of the Swiss nation. In fact, it was made a national holiday in as late as 1891 more than six centuries after the fact. 1st of August Bun  How 1st of August is celebrated today Although it is nice to remember the beginnings of Switzerland and to thin...

Summer will soon be here! Finally! I'm sure many people here in Switzerland would agree after this long winter and pretty rainy spring season. People will walk around in t-shirts and shorts again (whether that's always a good thing is up to you) and public pools and beaches around our lakes will be overflowing with families and children playing in and around the water. Indeed, it is time to go outside to enjoy the beautiful Swiss Summer because it will be gone soon enough. Summer - rupert illek  / pixelio.de  A few years ago, I wrote a post about fun things to do in Zurich on a summer day  with 10 fun and cheap activities to do around Zurich in good weather. Now, I would like to share another 10 fun outdoor activities but this time with ideas that apply to pretty much all of Switzerland and possibly other countries as well! 10 Fun Things to Do on a Sunny Day in Switzerland Go hiking : Hiking is one of Switzerland's most popular sports. You basically need a pai...

In a few weeks it's happening again. On Monday April 14th 2023 , the inner city of Zurich will be closed off for any traffic for the annual Sechseläuten . What annoys car drivers and people doing business in the city center is the joy of anyone working or going to school in Zurich or a neighboring town simply because they get an additional free day (or free half-a-day) to enjoy the festivities. But what on earth is this mysterious Sechseläuten and why do only the people of Zurich celebrate it? A why is there a big large snowman and a huge bonfire involved in all this? the Böögg What is Sechseläuten? Sechseläuten is a spring holiday unique to the city of Zurich . The rest of Switzerland and even most towns and places in the canton of Zurich do not celebrate this holiday and no one gets time off to go and participate. It is really a holiday that belongs to the city in a sense that it has its roots in the medieval city structure with guilds and other communities even though i...

One thing about Switzerland that certainly plays in its favour is the tasty food - most famously Swiss cheese and Swiss chocolate. Personally, I also think in Switzerland you can find some of world's best breads and pastries. Think about the braided Sunday bread called Zopf and the large variety of Christmas cookies for example. And those are just the tip of the culinary iceberg so to speak. However, today I want to talk about cakes and especially a famous Swiss cake which just happens to be one of my favourites as well. I'll also touch on the unwritten rules you have to follow in order to politely eat cake in Switzerland. Something that is indeed very typical behaviour of Swiss persons . Swiss Carrot Cake - Michaela Schöllhorn  / pixelio.de The Origins of a Swiss Carrot Cake The cake I will talk about is named after the region of Switzerland I grew up in, the canton of Aargau  and is called the Argovian Carrot Cake (in Swiss German: 'Aargauer Rüeblitorte') . I...