Skip to main content

About this blog



When I started this blog in the summer of 2011 I never thought I'd go on blogging for several years. My very first blog post Do Not Sit Down Next to Strangers was born out of conversations with my international friends about cultural differences. I thought, why not write down my thoughts and observations and explain Switzerland and Swiss life to an international audience?

Having lived abroad for big parts of my life helped me gain the distance needed to observe objectively even when things are very familiar. Other ingredients for my successful journey into the blogging sphere include a love for writing and language, a knack for putting something in a nutshell and a seemingly never ending stream of ideas for blogposts. Though, I must admit, at times I've been struggling to find interesting new topics.

Nonetheless, I've had several popular blog posts and pages over the last five years. Posts that are read again and again every month. I'd like to take this opportunity and share with you my all time top 10 blog posts and top 3 pages.

My Top 10 Blog Posts
  1. 10 Fun Things to do on a Rainy Day in Switzerland
  2. How to Spot a Swiss Person
  3. Funny Swiss German Phrases
  4. Schätzli, Schnügel and Müüsli
  5. Online Clothes Shopping
  6. Vermicelles
  7. Toblerone
  8. Basic Swiss German
  9. Valentine's Day in Switzerland
  10. Ovomaltine

 My Top 3 Pages

As to myself as a person. My name is Irene and I'm a Swiss woman in my early thirties and currently living in South America. Maybe this should have been the first sentence in this description. Yet, who I am seems secondary in this blog writing endeavor. My posts, my writing is what matters here.





Written and published October 16th, 2016





© 2016 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Comments

Post a Comment

You have something to add or would like to ask a question? I would love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Schätzli, Schnüggel and Müüsli - Terms of Endearment in Swiss German

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...
4 comments
Read more

How to Say 'I Love You' in Swiss German

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 ...
4 comments
Read more

How to Spot a Swiss Person

"You're not from here, right?!" These were the words the saleslady of a small clothes store on a busy Tel Aviv street directed at me a few years ago. I was surprised she had spotted my foreignness so easily. After having lived in Israel for a few years and mastered the local Hebrew, I thought I was able to blend in quite well by then. So, I asked her how she knew. She replied with a smile and said: "You nicely folded the clothes you tried on before bringing them back out!" Oh that! Something I assumed was 'normal' but, apparently, the locals didn't do that. My Swiss background gave me away.  A Stereotypical (Swiss) Person As an expat I can usually spot fellow expats right away even if at first they seem to fit right in. Be they Swiss people I encounter abroad or foreigners living in Switzerland. Mostly, I catch a word or a phrase in a foreign language or see clothes or other items that are clearly not local. Here in South America it's very easy t...
13 comments
Read more