A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

It's coming up next Wednesday: the Swiss national holiday 1st of August. Fire works, picnics, brunches, speeches by politicians and hopefully warm summer weather will be part of this fun holiday also this year. 1st of August commemorates the founding of the original Swiss federation by the four "original cantons" (= Urkantone) Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden and Obwalden in the first half of August 1291. (Correction: there are only three Urkantone since Nidwalden and Obwalden are the two halfs of the canton Unterwalden. Thanks Martin!) It does not mark Swiss independence but rather the start of a the several century long formation of the Swiss nation.


Although it is nice to remember the beginnings of Switzerland and to think of some of the legends surrounding them like William Tell or the Oath at the Rütli, 1st of August is nowadays mainly a fun daz off with lots of good food and fireworks. One of the typical ingredients of a Swiss 1st of August celebration is the 1st of August B…

Summer is finally arriving. And it's high time! After some mediocre summer weather the sunny days are arriving. 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:
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 boat ride with some serious swimming. Visit the Wild Life Park Zurich. Located just outside of Zuri…

If I ask people to give me an example of a 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 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 Girls Names:
LenaMiaLaraAlin…

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 bigger lakes (e.g. Lake Zurich, Lake Geneva, Lake Constance). Switzerland has no sea cost but in my opinion the lakes definitely make up for it. And fresh water is so much more refreshing than salt water!

Here in Switzerland old and young swim in rivers and lakes. It's part of growing up and living here I guess. 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 Swiss swim together across the lake. This years event will take place on August 22nd.

So, if you are in Switzerland you should not hesitate to adopt the habit o…

It's been a little over a year since my first blog post about sitting next to strangers in Swiss busses in June 2011. Since then I've written 88 entries, opened a twitter account and met several other English bloggers from or in Switzerland.

It's been fun - may it continue this way!





© 2012 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED