A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

Family or Familie - Thommy Weiss  / pixelio.de It's the family season of the year for me. Birthday celebrations and other family gatherings somehow accumulate in the months of April and May. In Swiss German we often call family gatherings ' Familieschluuch ' which literally means 'family hose' and refers to an 'obligatory family gathering' or 'family gathering where your presence is expected'. Personally, I agree that it's nicer to sit outside in the afternoon with the family and enjoy the sun, a good steak and a cold beer than sitting cooped up in a living room and watch the rain fall outside. However, it might just as well be true that some people use their birthdays to show off their new barbecue equipment or garden furniture. I don't disapprove. Dictionary of Family Members in Swiss German Anyhow, I'm using the opportunity of this family season to share with you a short dictionary of family members in Swiss German. Most of

I recently had a conversation with one of my friends from abroad about the popularity of my name. As it is, my name " Irene " seems to be a quite normal and fairly popular name in English speaking countries. Living in Switzerland, however, it always seemed to me a name more suitable for grandmothers than for someone my age. While growing up I even was so unhappy with my name that I  dreamed of having a more popular name like Daniela or Sabrina. The name 'Irene' Luckily, I wasn't able to change my first name then because I started to like my name when I began to travel the world. Not only has " Irene " a beautiful meaning (it means 'peaceful') but it's also a very international name. Most western languages have their own version of it: German: Irene English: Irene French: Irène Italian: Irene Spanish: Irene Russian: Irina Greek: Irini Portuguese: Irene Obviously, the pronunciations vary a bit more than the spelling suggests. 

Kiss -  Oliver Haja  / pixelio.de If you've ever been invited to the home of a Swiss couple, you are probably familiar with the most popular Swiss German term of endearment "Schätzli" ('little treasure') or one of it's many varieties like e.g. "Schatz" or "Schätzeli" . Obviously, this is not the only pet name used by Swiss couples (or parents for that matter). Like many other languages, Swiss German offers a wide variety of words and phrases that you can use to address your loved one. Swiss German Terms of Endearment What most of these pet names have in common is the ending "-li" which basically turns the thing or person a word refers to into something small or cute. For example "Haus" means house and "Hüüs li " means small house. Plus, this ending "-li" can also be added to first names as a means of endearment, e.g. Benjamin li , Esther li or Fabienne li . I tried to come up with a colle

Zurich's famous spring festival ' Sechseläuten ' is a good example of popular culture and traditions trying to predict the weather. Much like ' Groundhog Day ' in the US and Canada where time is measured until the groundhog appears, the people of Zurich measure the time it takes for the head of an artificial snowman called 'Böögg' to explode. The faster it explodes the better the summer - at least according to tradition. Alternative Methods of Meteorology in Switzerland This way of "predicting" the weather is just one of many traditional (or alternative) methods of meteorology found in Switzerland. Another good example for this are the ' Innerschwyzer Meterologen' also called 'Muotothaler Wetterschmöcker ' , a group of weather prophets who try to predict the weather through nature. The term 'Wetterschmöcker' means ' weather taster ' and possibly refers to one of the (secret) methods they use to predict the seasons

Please pick the an answer: The weather in the last few weeks has been: bad very bad crappy gray not at all spring like cold sad awesome sunny and warm If you picked "8" then you're probably not living in Switzerland - especially not anywhere near Zurich! When the days are endlessly gray Honestly, I shouldn't be the one to complain about the cold and gray weather here in Zurich. I luckily spent most of the winter months in summery New Zealand. Nevertheless, it does bother me to wake up to a gray day every morning and wait for the never coming sunshine every day. The high fog simply covers the whole sky and won't allow for a single fleck of blue sky. People around me throw me sentences like "If only the sun would shine then the cold would be bearable" or " I might get winter depression in April - odd! ". I totally agree and am hoping for spring weather soon. Not everyone can take a day off to spend some time above the sea of fog !