A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

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 1st of August in Switzerland commemorates the founding of the original Swiss federation by the "original cantons" (= Urkantone) Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden and Obwalden in the first half of August 1291. Nota that there are only three Urkantone since Nidwalden and Obwalden are the two halves of the canton 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 think of some of the legends surrounding

Summer - Peter Heinrich  / pixelio.de Summer is finally here. And it's high time! After some mediocre summer weather sunny days have arrived. The whole next week is gonna be sunny and warm - up to 30 C! Many people are away on their summer vacations but for those sticking around Zurich like myself, here are some ideas to make use of this excellent weather. 10 Fun Things to Do on a Summer Day in Zurich Go swimming in Lake Zurich or the Limmat river . There are plenty of public baths, public pools or places you can go swimming fro free in and around Zurich.  Take a stroll through the Niederdorf and buy some cold and sweet ice cream at Dieci Gelati . Visit the Zoo  and observe the animals with an ice cold drink in hand. Go up Üetliberg . Enjoy the great view and the relaxing atmosphere on this hill overlooking Zurich. This is a great starting point for short hikes as well. Take a boat ride on Lake Zurich and get some wind to chill you. Rent a pedal boat  and combine the

If I ask people to give me an example of a typical Swiss name, most would probably name Heidi. Made famous through the stories of the little girl living in the Swiss alps, the name has turned into something uniquely Swiss. Although I learned that people outside of Switzerland sometimes name their children Heidi as well. However, most Swiss consider Heidi a very old and unmodern name that belongs to our grandparents generation. Ueli, Walter, Rösli, Annemarie - all these names are slowly disappearing from Swiss phonebooks and index of names. Some are undoubtedly beautiful but simply won't do anymore. I mean, who is calling their children Eugene or Earnest these days?! You might ask, are there any original Swiss names still popular with parents? How about all the beautiful names from Grisons like Flurin, Zegna or Gian? They definitely are still in use but others seem more popular. These are the baby names that were most popular in Switzerland in 2008-2010 : Most Popular Gi

Summer has arrived and the weather is warm enough to make Swiss people flock to the various rivers and lakes for a refreshing swim. Swimming in lakes and rivers is one of most popular (and definitely cheapest) pastimes here in Switzerland. Swiss swimmers can choose between ice cold mountain lakes, several bigger rivers, some creeks, and quite a number of large lakes (e.g. Lake Zurich, Lake Geneva, Lake Constance). Switzerland has no sea coast but in my opinion the lakes definitely make up for it. And fresh water is so much more refreshing than salt water! Swiss Paradise - daniel stricker  / pixelio.de Here in Switzerland, old and young swim in rivers and lakes. It's simply part of growing up and living here. There are also several public swimming events on Swiss lakes. The most famous is probably the crossing of Lake Zurich that takes place every year where hundreds of people swim together across the lake. This years event will take place on July 3rd 2019. So, if you are