A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

It's winter. It's cold. Very cold. You don't feel like going outside or being outside for more than a few minutes. Picking up your mail if just about the max you can handle. You are glad you are working in a well heated office and that your home is warm and cozy as well. Although I can definitely understand you, I think there are plenty of fun things you can do outside even in winter - especially, if there is snow. However, I can also think of fun indoor activities for all those who prefer to stay warm. 10 Fun Things to Do Inside in Winter Have fun at an indoor ropes course  - like this one in Grindelwald . Visit a thermal bath or spa  - there are many natural hot springs in Switzerland. One of the more famous thermal baths is in Vals .  Visit a water park - the Alpamare or the Aquaparc offer a great variety of slides and pools  Organize a Fondue or Raclette evening Go place the laser tag game  in Laser City Go body flying in Rümlang - i...

Snowman - Rolf Handke  / pixelio.de The last few days have been really cold in Switzerland. It's become a routine to put on warm winter boots, a warm hat, a scarf, a warm winter coat and mittens before leaving the house. Without them it probably would be rather unpleasant outside. However, the cold also has advantages. It's cold enough for the ghastly gray rain to turn into beautiful white snow. And when the sun breaks through the clouds the winter day is perfect for some fun activities outside. 10 Fun Things to Do Outside on a Snowy Winter Day Obviously, one of the main winter outdoor activities in Switzerland is skiing. Almost every Swiss child learns it from an early age. It's like learning to swim or to ride a bike - it's simply part of a Swiss childhood. Yet, there are many other fun things you can do outside on a snowy winter day in Switzerland. Here are some suggestions: Go skiing or snowboarding in one of the many ski resorts in Switzerland; if you ...

Hot Glühwein - Joujou  / pixelio.de I don't think there is a better way to start a winter Sunday than what I'm doing right now. It's snowing outside and I'm sitting inside with a hot cup of black coffee and some Christmas cookies. But what would be the perfect ending to a snowy December Sunday? I'll tell you in a moment. What to Drink at a Christmas Market in Switzerland December is Christmas market season in Switzerland . In almost every bigger city there is a place or a street filled with booths that sell all kinds of handcrafted gifts, candles, spices and Christmas food. If you get cold while walking around you can buy a cup of hot punch or Glühwein  to warm you up. Glühwein, which literally means 'glow wine', is basically hot wine with Christmas spices added to give it a special flavor.  A small sip will warm you up from the inside and the hot cup warms your cold fingers. Add some Christmas music, the smell of cookies and light snowfall and you...

Christmas Cookies -  Joujou  / pixelio.de Christmas is only a bit more than a month away and advent season is about to start. Soon streets in every town will be lit up with Christmas lights and filled Christmas songs. High time to brush up your Swiss German language skills for the Christmas season with this short glossary of Christmas terms. Swiss German Words for the Christmas Season Advent (advent, the season before Christmas) Adventschranz (advent wreath, usually with 4 candles) Adventskalender (Christmas calendar) Adventsmärt (advent market) Ängel (angels) Cherze (candle) Cherzezieh (making candles, candle dipping) Chrischtbaum (Christmas tree) Chrischtchindli (Christ child) Chrippe (manger) Erdnüssli (peanut, typical gift from Santa) Fitze ( Santa's stick that he uses to hit bad behaving children) Grittibänz (bread roll in the shape of a man) Gschänkli (gift, gifts) Guetzli (cookie, cookies) Hirte (shepherds) Liechterchetti (chain ...

Language - Gerd Altmann  / pixelio.de One of the issues most expats are dealing with is language. Unless you move inside your own language region (e.g. from England to the US) you will be facing a new language in your day to day to life. Buying groceries or ordering a meal suddenly become challenging new aspects of your life. Is English sufficient?  Now, one could argue that in this age of globalization a decent knowledge of English will be sufficient to master all these situations. This is probably true for most larger cities around the world that are the home to many internationals. However, as soon as you move a bit farther into the suburbs or into the small towns you'll notice that English becomes less useful.  The situation in Switzerland is similar. In the big cities such as Zurich, Geneva or Basle you don't necessarily need to know the local language. English works fine for work and living and even the government offices offer most services in Engli...

It's the time of the year again when days are getting shorter and the weather seemingly colder and colder every week. October and November in Switzerland typically have only a few sunny moments and a lot of gray, foggy and wet days. Spending time outside in this season usually includes splashing into puddles with your rubber boots or jumping through piles of fallen leaves - which is fun once you get yourself out of the house! Cold Season Charms The colder season also offers other charms. Drinking hot tea or cider, cuddling under a blanket and watching tv or taking a hot bath are definitely more fun when it's cold and gray outside. And with the cold weather, another thing is popping up in almost every town in Switzerland: a  marroni vendor . What are 'Marroni'? When a Swiss person refers to marroni they mean an edible chestnut that is roasted in a large pan. (As opposed to non edible chestnuts which are called 'Kastanien' in Switzerland.) You usually eat...

Chilbi is the Swiss equivalent of an annual fair mostly held in the fall season. During fall, almost every city and larger town organizes it's own Chilbi. Rollercoasters and other fun rides are nowadays the most prominent feature of a Chilbi. However, there is almost always a good number of food stands, bar and booths selling all kinds of stuff. Mostly it's the local clubs and associations that set up and run the booths and make-shift restaurants since this is a great way to increase their annual budget. Chilbi - Jens Bredehorn  / pixelio.de When I think about Chilbi , I usually have this picture of warm weather, fair ground music and people crowding the streets in my head. Imagine the aire filled with chatter, laughter of children and the smell of Magenbrot or cotton candy. This weekend, however, the usual Chilbi atmosphere was replaced by a rather Christmassy set up. On Saturday snow started falling all over Switzerland and temperatures dropped rapidly. Think about...