A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

In this mini series I'll write about the five daily meals people eat in Switzerland:  Zmorge, Znüni, Zmittag, Zvieri and Znacht . What do we typically eat? When do we eat? What is the proper conduct at the table? Today, I'll write about breakfast in Switzerland. Zmorge - Breakfast in Switzerland Zmorge is the Swiss German word for breakfast. It is an abbreviated form of the two German words "zu" (to, at) and "Morgen" (morning) and literally means " in the morning ". This obviously makes perfect sense, since breakfast is almost always eaten in the morning hours of the day. During the week, most Swiss people have their Zmorge between 6.30 am and 7.30 am, depending on what time school starts or what time they have to leave for work. On weekends, breakfast starts much later but the actual time depends largely on the person and things planned. My guess is that on weekends the average Swiss breakfast time is around 9 am but there really aren...

There are few things that define a culture as much as the traditions and customs surrounding its food. While there is some sort of "international food" by now, the traditional meals are obviously different in each country or region of this beautiful world. Think of Asian food and chopsticks and eating while sitting on the floor. Or a big fat hamburger eaten at a bar while watching a basketball game at a local brewery somewhere in the USA. A Peruvian enjoying his Ceviche at the beach with loud latin music in the background. Very different food, right?! But also very different settings for enjoying a meal! Of course, those are ideas and images that aren't always real and plenty of people prove that. However, in most places of the world there are certainly customs and even unwritten rules when it comes to food and how we should prepare and eat it. It's not only about what we eat but also about how and even when we eat that define different cultures. This is certainly tru...

To be completely honest, I'm not very fond of hallmark holidays and Valentine's Day is probably the mothership of them all. In my home there will be no cheesy cards or flowers on that day and, personally, I'm happy about it. However, I know that there are many people who like to celebrate Valentine's Day and take it as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation to their loves. Even in Switzerland, there are plenty of people celebrating it nowadays. If you're short on ideas for this years Valentine's Day in Switzerland you might find some inspiration here: Valentine's Day in Switzerland . If you're already set and have the perfect date ready, how about surprising your loved one with a few romantic Swiss German phrases? You should know that the expression "I love you" has only recently made its way into Swiss German from the High German "Ich liebe dich". Swiss people used to simply say "I like you" or "I like ...