A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

Licorice or Bäredräck -  BirgitH  / pixelio.de  Do you know the Swiss German word for ' licorice '? Believe it or not, it is 'Bäredräck' which literally means 'bear droppings'. Think about it, some licorice is shaped in a way that it really looks like animal droppings - just maybe not a bears! If you think bears are the only animals found in Swiss food, you're wrong! We also eat ' little beavers'  or 'Biberli' which is a very tasty marzipan filled tartlet and 'little sparrows' called 'Schpätzli' . As in many other languages, there are many Swiss German words that are funny to the foreign ear and mind. They either simply sound silly  or they have an interesting and very funny literal meaning. This is especially true in the case of Swiss Food . Funny sounding Swiss dishes and treats Bäredräck (licorice, lit. bear droppings) Bettmümpfeli (bedtime snack, lit. little bed munchy) Biberli (almond tartlet, lit. lit...

Leaves are falling -  Sergej Gerbersdorf  / pixelio.de Just as in many other countries and regions with very distinct seasons of the year as there are in Switzerland, we have many Swiss German songs about spring, summer, fall and winter. Lots of them are actually children's songs and are being taught in kindergarten and schools here in Switzerland. Since it's fall season , I'd like to share a song about fall in Switzerland . It's called "Jetzt falled d'Blettli wieder" which means "The Leaves Are Falling Again". It describes Swiss fall with all its facets, the leaves falling, the foggy days and the quiet of fall. Enjoy! Jetzt falled d'Blettli wieder Jetzt falled d'Blettli wieder (The leaves are falling again) de Summer isch verbi (summer is over) und d'Schwälbli flüged alli furt (the swallows are all flying away) mer wüssed ned wohi. (we don't know where to) Und leer sind alli Fälder (And empty are all th...