A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

                                    Skiing - T K  / pixelio.de                                          A few years ago, I had the privilege to spend a few months traveling through different parts of the USA. I spent some time in Chicago visiting friends but - not being the big city type - moved on to explore the stunning natural beauty of Colorado, Utah and California. It was in October and November - right at the end of autumn and beginning of winter. This meant I could still do some serious hiking, especially in Utah and California with warmer weather and drier climate. It also meant there was enough snow on the mountains already that I had the chance to try out snowboarding in North America. Apparently the snow was supposed to be different there... When I checked out websites for ski re...

Connect to people - S. Hofschlaeger  / pixelio.de In the last few years, Switzerland has always been considered a generally attractive place for expats to live or even settle. However, surveys usually point out one particular downside of life for expats in Switzerland: It seems incredibly hard to establish a healthy social life that includes locals.  It seems, Swiss people are not only very punctual and precise but can also be quite distant - especially for someone who is used to a more outgoing culture. Not surprisingly, in a 2015 survey conducted by Expat Explorer , Switzerland ranked poorly in making friends, integration and culture. Other surveys over the last years produced similar results. What can you do? How can you connect to Swiss people? I must admit I'm not sure if I'm qualified to make a recommendation. After all, I'm a native born Swiss and I've never had to adapt to life in Switzerland. However, when I moved from one  canton  to the other I...

While visiting family in Switzerland we had the chance to go watch a soap box race in the neighboring village. I hadn't seen a soap box race since I was a child and it was great fun to watch. What are Soap box Races? A soap box race (translated from German 'Seifenkistenrennen') is a car race where drivers race down a hill on an obstacle course in their homemade race cars . Most drivers are children aged 5-12. Now, these cars obviously have no motor and every driver must wear a helmet, so these races are generally very safe. Also, racers start one after the other so there is no danger of two cars crashing. Only the reckless drivers cause the occasional accident but usually they walk away laughing. Soap box races are a typical summer activity in Switzerland and many small towns an villages will have one scheduled over the summer. There is even a national championship held every year . BTW: the name soap box race or soap box derby comes from an American journalist wh...

In the mood of a recent post about hiking in Switzerland  I thought it fitting to introduce a basic Swiss German hiking vocabulary. Indeed, in Switzerland it is customary for hikers to greet each other when crossing or overtaking another hiker. Now, you can definitely hike in Switzerland without knowing any Swiss German but I think it's still nice to be able to greet the people you'll meet on the trails with a local greeting, wouldn't you agree?! How to Greet a Hiker in Switzerland Grüezi - formal greeting, polite greeting, is used for strangers, can be used any time of the day Guete Morge - good morning Guete Tag -  good day Guete Abig - good evening Hoi - hi, hello, informal greeting for friends or young people in general Hallo - hi, hello, informal greetings for friends or young people in general Hoi zäme - hello all, informal greeting for a group of friends or young people How to Converse at Lunch Hour Chances are you'll be sharing your lunch or picni...

Team Sports -  Stephanie Hofschlaeger  / pixelio.de Sports are a big part of life in Switzerland whether you actively take part in one of the many regional sports leagues or local sports clubs (e.g. soccer, volleyball, cycling, etc,) or simply enjoy watching it from the comfort of your home. The most popular sports in Switzerland, however, are not team sports; cycling, hiking and swimming. Other popular Swiss sports include soccer (or football for everyone British), hockey, tennis, handball, volleyball and rowing. One of the best ways to meet new people in Switzerland is to join a local sports club . To make things a bit easier for you on the way to a successful sports adventure in Switzerland, I collected the most important words in Swiss German for the more popular sports here in Switzerland. Swiss German Words for Sports Soccer/Football Egge (corner kick) Flangge (cross) Faul (foul) Fuessball (football, soccer, also lit. the soccer ball) Fu...

Tour de Suisse -Dieter Schütz  / pixelio.de Cycling is a very popular leisure activity in Switzerland. Almost every Swiss person owns a bicycle of some sort - some a very fancy racing bike and some an old squeaking city bike. There are hundreds of bicycle trails all over Switzerland including downhill slopes, nationwide tracks (e.g. from St. Gallen to Geneva) that you can cycle over several days, or regional tracks like the one around lake Zurich . The Tour de Suisse Once a year, cycling in Switzerland attracts even international attention. The annual Tour de Suisse  is one of professional cycling's most famous tours. After the all-famous Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and the Spanish Vuelta, the Tour de Suisse  is probably one of the more popular and prestigious tours in the cycling calendar and part of the official UCI World Tour. History of the Tour de Suisse The first Tour de Suisse took place in 1933 with an Austrian winner. The tour became an annual fixtur...

If you think about it, it is a bit strange that Switzerland is considered a nation of cyclists. Think about the topography of Switzerland: there aren't really any larger flat areas and what we Swiss call flat would be considered quite steep hills in other countries . Despite the obvious difficulties this causes for cyclists, almost every Swiss owns a bicycle and many people use it quite frequently, e.g. to go to work or to do their shopping. Personally, I am somewhat in between the frequent users and the 'sometimes users'. If it's sunny I'll ride my bike to work but if it rains I prefer to sit in a dry bus in the morning. Wouldn't you as well?! My bike  A Bike Ride Around Lake Zurich Today, I took my bicycle on a somewhat longer journey. Since it was warm and sunny outside I decided to use this chance and finally make a bicycle tour around Lake Zurich . Yes, I rode around all of the Untersee (the lower part of Lake Zurich between Rapperswil and Zurich...

Young Swiss Hornusser There is probably no sport more typically Swiss than Schwingen , the Swiss style of wrestling in sawdust . However, another traditional Swiss sport is worth a mention and that is Hornussen . Swiss Golf called Hornussen Hornussen is not only the name of a Swiss village but also of this interesting sport that looks a bit like a Swiss version of baseball or cricket . It is almost exclusively played in Switzerland with a few German cities joining the fun. Surprisingly there are also some South Africans who are playing and they actually call the game "Swiss Golf" . How is Hornussen played? The game of Hornussen is quite simple: The hitter hits the " Nouss " (the ball) in order to make it fly into the opponents playing field or even farther. For this purpose the Nouss is placed on a piece of wood and hit with a long flexible stick that resembles a fishing rod. The opposing team then tries to catch the Nouss with pieces of clapboard (that l...

Sailing - Katharina Wieland Müller  / pixelio.de Remember Alinghi ?  The Swiss sailing boat that won the Americas Cup in 2003 and 2004? Well, maybe you aren't into sailing or were not interested in anything Swiss back then. I remember the first victory in 2003 very clearly. It was all over the news and everyone was saying "Now, who is still claiming that a land-locked country cannot bring forth excellent sailors?!". Sailing - A Popular Sport in Switzerland This year we also had some sailors at the olympics but they did not excel at their sport. Nevertheless, sailing is quite popular in Switzerland. Of course not as much as soccer or ice hockey but popular enough to flood lake Zurich with sailing boats once a week. If you've ever been around lake Zurich on a sunny and warm Sunday, you must have noticed the great number of white sails moving quietly over the water. Thousands of sailing boats are registered in the canton of Zurich alone and besides lake Zurich th...

Summer has arrived and the weather is warm enough to make Swiss people flock to the various rivers and lakes for a refreshing swim. Swimming in lakes and rivers is one of most popular (and definitely cheapest) pastimes here in Switzerland. Swiss swimmers can choose between ice cold mountain lakes, several bigger rivers, some creeks, and quite a number of large lakes (e.g. Lake Zurich, Lake Geneva, Lake Constance). Switzerland has no sea coast but in my opinion the lakes definitely make up for it. And fresh water is so much more refreshing than salt water! Swiss Paradise - daniel stricker  / pixelio.de Here in Switzerland, old and young swim in rivers and lakes. It's simply part of growing up and living here. There are also several public swimming events on Swiss lakes. The most famous is probably the crossing of Lake Zurich that takes place every year where hundreds of people swim together across the lake. This years event will take place on July 3rd 2019. So, if you are...

The sled is waiting - tokamuwi  / pixelio.de Temperatures have been below zero for almost a week now and -5 C surprisingly feels quite warm.  If you don't consider the freezing temperatures, the weather has actually been quite good here in Switzerland. Most days have been dry and sunny with some light snow in between. This means, if you wrap yourself in warm clothes, cover head, hands and face, you can actually have some great fun outside. A Visit from Friends & a Day of Sledding When some friends from abroad came to visit me last week, I was worried they would suffer terribly from the cold. Surprisingly, they handled it quite well and so I decided to take them up on a Swiss mountain and go sledding with them. Since there is no sledding slope on Mount Pilatus  I took them up another mountain in central Switzerland: Mount Rigi. The Queen of the Mountains, as Rigi is also called, is 1797m high and a popular destination for tourists and locals and only abou...

In mid-January, winter is usually already halfway over. High time to spend some quality time in the mountain area of Switzerland. The Swiss alps are high enough to guarantee enough snow for winter sports even in relatively dry winters. We didn't expect much snow when I planned to spend a weekend with some friends in the grison village of Arosa . Little did we know that this weekend would be one of the snowiest of the winter so far. Good thing we brought along snow chains for the ride up to Arosa. At the latest from Chur onwards, there was simply no way to advance without them. Snow was falling non stop and streets, houses and cars were quickly covered in thick layers of snow. Yet, even with the snow it took us only two hours to drive from Zurich to Arosa. Hurray for small countries! Arosa - manwalk  / pixelio.de Arosa - perfect for skiing in the Swiss Alps Arosa is a beautiful village in the Swiss alps featuring about 2000 inhabitants and at least as many tourists on ...

Rainer Sturm  / pixelio.de Switzerland is a skiing nation. Most people learn to ski at a young age and then keep on skiing for a few days every winter for pretty much all their lives. For many people (including myself) a perfect winter day involves snow covered slopes, sunshine and blue skies, an amazing panoramic view of the alps and a pair of skies or a snowboard. For people who live in the Mittelland (the area between Zurich and Basel) and suffer from fog for many days in winter, being outside in the sun and snow is a welcome change. A visit to the hot springs in the evening adds the perfect conclusion to a skiing day. Skiing - a sport for everyone? Skiing is indeed a sport for the masses here in Switzerland. Everyone knows the Swiss German slang that goes along with a day on the slopes - be it on a snowboard or on skis. Also, every winter Swiss students will get a two week skiing break in February in addition to the two week Christmas break. This vacation is calle...

The Swiss form of wrestling called ' Schwingen ' has been part of Swiss culture for centuries. Competitions in Schwingen  were first described in the 13th century and are still held throughout the year these days. Many Swiss practice this interesting sport and the national competitions are sure to draw a big crowd every year. The important competitions of this sport are called ' Schwingfeste ' or ' Schwinget ' in Swiss German . This basically translates to 'Swiss wrestling festivals'. These can be regional, cantonal and national competitions with higher honors and prestige given to winners of the national events. The most important Swiss wrestling competition is the Eidgenössische Schwing- und Älplerfest ('Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival') which takes place once every three years in changing locations. The champion of this festival receives a young bull and is crowned 'Schwingerkönig' ('Swiss wrestling king'). Other ...

Just a few days ago, Roger Federer turned 30. He might just be the best known Swiss person ever. Everyone knows that he is one of the worlds best tennis players and some might say he is the GOAT. I must admit that I am not much of a tennis expert and have never been very much into watching tennis on television but if Roger is playing I make sure to at least have a look. More often then not I'm rewarded with an interesting match. Despite stardom and the enormous amounts of money Roger earns every year through tennis, add campaigns and more, it seems like he remains a very likable and Swiss person . I've thought about it and figured the following could be some of the reasons why. 5 Reasons everybody likes Roger Federer He speaks Swiss German with a Basle accent  and English with a Swiss German accent.  He keeps his private life private and if he decides to publish some private moments he does it through his Facebook site. So far, I haven't seen him sell the pictures ...

Torsten Rempt  / pixelio.de The summer is here and thanks to the incredibly warm and sunny spring the cherry harvest is especially plentiful this year. There are more and bigger cherries than we usually have in Switzerland. Big, sweet and juicy cherries - just right for a cherry spitting contest! Cherry Spitting Contests in Switzerland Cherry spitting has been a tradition in Switzerland for as long as I can remember and most likely many generations before me. Cherry spitting contests are usually held in rural areas in combination with a farmers market or harvest feast . With some practice you can learn to spit cherry pits a few meters but to become Swiss champion you have to spit it really far. Only two weeks ago a new champion in cherry spitting was crowned in Switzerland. She managed to spit the cherry pit over 11 meters ! How to Spit a Cherry Pit According to the expert cherry pit spitters, this is how to best spit a cherry pit: Take a tasty and juicy cherry and eat ...

Of all places and mountains in Switzerland, Mount Pilatus is one of my favorites. Pilatus is located conveniently in the center of Switzerland, about an hour's drive from Zurich, right at the foot of the Central Swiss Alps. There are hiking trails, restaurants and lots of other activities on the mountain. The best about it all is that from the top of the mountain you have a great view of the Alps and Lake Lucern. In order to get up to the top you officially have two options: 1) Take a cable car from Kriens to Frakmüntegg and then up to the summit of Pilatus 2) Take worlds steepest cog rail train from Alpnachstad straight up to the summit Although these two options are quite interesting and certainly enjoyable, I recommend you visit Mount Pilatus off the beaten path and take a bit more adventurous way. Not to mention that the hidden or alternative way up Mount Pilatus is also quite a bit cheaper. The alternative Way up Mount Pilatus If you are up for the challenge and...