Imagine a weather forecast for Switzerland that predicts it's gonna be cold. Very cold. Real freezing. So cold that eventually not only the small ponds and waters but even the big lakes in Switzerland will freeze over. I know, that would be hard to believe when all you get are mild winters? But remember, it hasn't always been this way. Switzerland has seen it's share of very cold winters not so long ago. The 1962/1963 Seegfrörni in Zurich During the winter of 1962/1963 it was so cold in Switzerland that Lake Zurich froze over! In Swiss German this phenomenon is called ' Seegfrörni ' which simply means 'freezing over of a lake'. For a lake as big as Lake Zurich (about 88 km 2 large and 136m deep) that's pretty impressive. My mom was actually living in the Zurich area in those years and the frozen lake is one of the most vivid and fondest memories of her childhood. Frozen Lake Zurich - Archive of Stadt Zürich Just imagine, instead of taking ...
Earth - S. Hofschlaeger / pixelio.de More than ten years ago, I put together a small phrase list of Swiss German words and expressions that relate to holidays and traveling in general. There, you can find the Swiss German words for 'breakfast buffet', 'beach' or 'travel agency'. What you won't find, however, are the names of places and countries on our beautiful earth. Swiss German Place Names Now, you need to understand that although people in Switzerland speak Swiss German in day to day life ( or French or Italian if they don't live in the German speaking part of Switzerland ), most written text will be in German (what we call High German or Standard German). The most notable exception would be personal messages, especially on apps like whatsapp or on social media. This means, the official names of places and regions in Switzerland are always in German. Nevertheless, we of course have a Swiss German equivalent for all of them that we use...