A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

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...

There are times in the expat experience when you feel very far away from your home country. Even I get a little homesick now and then. Things are going well but at any in some moments there is a tiny voice piping up asking for a little bit of Switzerland. I have found that the best remedy for those cravings is a bit of nostalgic youtube-ing which basically means watching my childhood favorite " Fascht e Familie " (a Swiss 90ies sitcom) or listening to Swiss German music. Another childhood favorite of mine that I keep visiting on youtube is the singer and songwriter Mani Matter. Songs that still matter today His songs are not only funny but also rich in Swiss German expressions and phrases. More than 40 years after his death, the songs of Mani Matter are still meaningful - maybe even more so today than ever. Look at " I han es Zündhölzli azündt" and think of the wars raging around the world. If only more people would pick up their cigarette butts from the carp...

Ask any Swiss person about Mani Matter and they will start singing one of his many songs. Many of us who were not yet born when Matter was publishing his songs learned his songs in school or sang them at the local scouts meeting. The sound of his voice singing in the Bernese dialect and his guitar playing are almost iconic by now. And every now and then a Swiss artist will use the Matter's great lyrics and melodies and create a cover version (e.g. the project Matter Rock by several Swiss artists as a tribute to Matter's work). Who was Mani Matter? Who was this modern day troubadour? His biography in short: His real name was Hans Peter Matter and he was born in 1936 in Herzogenbuchsee and grew up in Berne (which explains his Bernese accent). Mani was his scout name and he adopted it as a stage name. After school he studied law and practiced for a few years until he became a popular dialect artist in Switzerland. From the late 1960ies he began giving concerts together with t...

While I was thinking about what Swiss thing to write about next, I was contemplating famous Swiss musicians. I already wrote about Swiss troubadour Mani Matter  but now I was looking for a Swiss musician who was or is well known outside of Switzerland as well. I didn't find any. There is ' DJ Bobo ' who has earned some recognition in a few European countries but is far from famous abroad. There is also Celine Dion who won the European Song Contest for Switzerland in 1988 but she isn't really Swiss. So, instead of writing about a musician who is already famous abroad, I decided to take a chance and write about a great Swiss band that is very well known and loved in Switzerland but barely heard of outside of it.. A Swiss Band called 'Gotthard' Gotthard, named after a famous Swiss mountain, is a Swiss hard rock band from the canton of Ticino, which is the Italian speaking southern part of the country. They recorded and produced several hit albums in ...