A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

icicles - J örg Brinckheger  / pixelio.de  It's winter. I know, some of you might be waiting for spring with a bit more sunshine, green leaves on trees and colorful flowers. For those of you who thoroughly enjoy Swiss winter, I've put together a Swiss German winter dictionary might come in useful during your winter holiday in the Swiss mountains. Swiss German Words for the Winter Season chalt (cold) Chälti (coldness) Chuehnagel (frostbite on finger or toes) gfroore (frozen) gfrüüre (to freeze) Glattiis (black ice) grau (grey) Iglu (igloo) iigschneit (to be snowed in, stuck in a place because of snow fall) Iis (Ice) Iisräge (ice rain) iischalt (ice cold) iischneebele (to cover someone with snow) Iiszapfe (icicle) Näbel (fog) näblig (foggy) Schnee (snow) Schneeflocke (snowflake) Schneeflöckli (small snowflake) schneie (to snow) Schneeball (snow ball) Schneeball-Schlacht (snow ball fight) schneebele (to play in the snow) Schneeflocke (snowflake) S...

Winter can be hard on parents (I suppose). In summer kids keep themselves occupied outside, riding bikes and building tree forts. In winter, however, options can be a bit limited. Especially since in most parts of Switzerland snow is a passing occurrence and winter days are usually just gray, wet and cold. Activities for Kids in Swiss Winter I tried to remember what kind of activities my mom came up with while growing up and realized most things can still be done today. Have a look: Zoo : visit the zoo in Basel or Zurich . Some animals are even more active in winter such as penguins. Visiting Indoor housing is great for warming up! Alpamare : visit Switzerland's most popular water park . Slides, hot pools and more will keep you busy for a whole day! Sledding : Switzerland has great sledding slopes where you can take a train or gondola up the mountain and sled down at your own pace. Rigi and Bergün are my favourites! Public pool : almost every town in Switzerland has a...

I've been on the road for several months now and have met lots of interesting people from different cultures and backgrounds. I've learned polite phrases in different languages, seen different landscapes and eaten the local specialities. The Typical Swiss Meal There is one question that my new friends ask me that keeps popping up: "What's a typical Swiss meal?"  I usually answer something like "anything with cheese and potatoes" but then that really doesn't give them the right impression. I mean the Canadian Poutine also has cheese and potatoes but it's very far from being a Swiss dish (thank god!). Popular Swiss Dishes So I started to think which dishes that I used to prepare and eat in Switzerland or that my mom ir grandma made for me growing up could be considered typically Swiss. It's not so easy as food in Switzerland has become very international due to the immigration history. Fondue and Raclette are the most famous Sw...

The Christmas season is upon us and Christmas lights light up the streets of towns and cities in Switzerland during the long and dark nights of early winter. Soon, most kids (and many adults) in Switzerland will start counting the days until Christmas with their Christmas calendars . The Adventskranz Another way Swiss people count the days to December 24th and the big celebration is the Adventskranz ( advent wreath ). An Adventskranz is usually a decorated circular wreath made of fir branches with four large candles fastened on it. As opposed to Christmas calendars that start counting the days until Christmas on December 1st, advent wreaths count the last four weeks before Christmas eve. The first candle is lit on the Sunday four weeks before Christmas eve and then every week an additional candle is lit. You can buy an Adventskranz at most supermarkets in Switzerland. However, I find it much more exciting to create your very own. My mom used to buy a styrofoam ring to create a wr...

Falls is almost over and the gray, cold winter days are before us and I wish I had something inspiring to tell you. If you're tired of the grey and not really looking forward to the even shorter and darker days, I'll help you out with a few suggestions for things you can look forward to this winter season. Getting in Christmas Mood: Glühwein - you'll find a recipe for this tasty hot drink Home Made Wrapping Paper - an idea for making your own wrapping paper Swiss Santa - how the Swiss celebrate Santa Christmas Calendars - make your own calendar Enjoying Swiss Winter : 10 Fun Things To Do Inside in Winter Seegfrörni - when Lake Zurich froze over Turnip Lanterns - explore this Swiss tradition 10 Fun Things To Do Outside On a Snowy Winter Day Flims, Laax and Falera - go skiing in Switzerland Winter in Arosa - story of a weekend in Arosa Swiss winter -  Joujou  / pixelio.de © 2013 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL ...

Switzerland is a very small country . Not as small as tiny Luxembourg or Liechtenstein but still very small. Especially, if you compare it's size to countries outside of Europe. In fact, Switzerland would fit over 200 times into Canada or the US.  Being small helps a lot to stay organized and clean - two characteristics that are very typical of Switzerland and its inhabitants . Signs that Switzerland is a Small Country Even in every day life, the small size of Switzerland is sometimes noticeable. I've found 5 signs that show that Switzerland is indeed a very small country. Postal codes are made of four ciphers only and go from 1000 in Geneva to the 9000s in St. Gallen. There is one system of postal codes for the whole country (and not one for each state or province!). Most other countries have ZIP codes of 5 or more ciphers. Driving from Germany to Italy (north to south) through Switzerland takes about 3 hours, driving from France to Austria (west to east) through Swit...

Fall is here and the temperatures are dropping. When the leaves turn golden and red it's time to start cuddling up inside and drinking hot beverages again. Now, we'll drink tea and coffee not only to wake us up in the morning but to keep us warm also. Coffee and Switzerland Switzerland is one of the countries with the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world. It is no surprise that the Swiss created a variety of ways to prepare and drink their coffee. Many Swiss people like to drink their coffee black - with or without sugar others like the international imports like Starbucks. However, Switzerland has definitely more coffee varieties and combinations to offer! Swiss Coffee Variations Other than the regular black coffee, espresso and cappuccino that are known all over the world the Swiss like to drink their coffee in the following varieties: Café crème : black coffee similar to espresso but with more water and "coffee foam" on top.  Schümli : basi...