A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

Licorice or Bäredräck -  BirgitH  / pixelio.de  Do you know the Swiss German word for ' licorice '? Believe it or not, it is 'Bäredräck' which literally means 'bear droppings'. Think about it, some licorice is shaped in a way that it really looks like animal droppings - just maybe not a bears! If you think bears are the only animals found in Swiss food, you're wrong! We also eat ' little beavers'  or 'Biberli' which is a very tasty marzipan filled tartlet and 'little sparrows' called 'Schpätzli' . As in many other languages, there are many Swiss German words that are funny to the foreign ear and mind. They either simply sound silly  or they have an interesting and very funny literal meaning. This is especially true in the case of Swiss Food . Funny sounding Swiss dishes and treats Bäredräck (licorice, lit. bear droppings) Bettmümpfeli (bedtime snack, lit. little bed munchy) Biberli (almond tartlet, lit. lit...

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...

Someone who is learning a new language will most certainly stumble across words that will sound funny or strange to him. I remember when I learned that an English rooster cries "cock-a-doodel-doo" I almost fell off my chair from laughing. Seriously? Is this how a rooster sounds? Later, when I thought about it some more, I realized that there are quite a few Swiss German words that must sound just as strange (or even stranger) to the foreign ear. Remembering this episode from my school years (yes, that long ago!) I decided to start a list with funny sounding Swiss German words. It is far from complete and I'm happy to accept any additions! Funny Swiss German Words Chuchichäschtli (small kitchen cupboard) Güggerüggüü (cock-a-doodel-doo) Füdlibürger (burgeois person) Chrüsimüsi (chaos) Hitzgi (hickup) Äxgüsi (excuse) Plagöri (bragger, swaggerer) Chrotepösche (dandelion) Funny - Juergon Jotzo / pixelio.de © 2016 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE ...

Right now it's warm and sunny outside. It's a beautiful late summer day and I'm not sure I should be thinking about rainy days at all. Nevertheless, Switzerland is well known for it's rainy periods . Maybe they aren't quite as long as the famous English rainy weeks but it can get pretty wet here as well. When it's nice out, people always know what to do. Walking, swimming, cycling - you name it! As soon as it starts to rain though, many people feel like they're stuck at home without anything fun to do. Plus, rainy days will come again soon enough! That's why I put together a list of 10 Fun Things to do on a Rainy Day in Switzerlan d a while ago. Since that post became quite popular, I decided to add another 10 fun things to the list. Another 10 Fun Things to do on a Rainy Day in Switzerland Movies : Go see the latest movie at a local movie theater. Most films are shown in English with German and French subtitles so language shouldn't be an issu...

It's summer in Switzerland. Summer here means long days and lots of fun things to do outside. Unless it's raining of course, although even then there are plenty of things to do outdoors . Summer also means lots and lots of use for that barbecue that you bought in the spring. The Swiss love their grilled meats and sausages with a selection of salads and potato chips. In fact, you can spot some sort of barbecue grill on most balconies and lawns. We call these cookouts " grilliere " ('to grill') - and love to have them especially on weekends. However, there is another style of cookout that is (also) very common in Switzerland. If a cookout is not held at home but somewhere outdoors it isn't called "grilliere" anymore. In this case it is called " brötle ". Brötle - A Swiss Style Cookout The Swiss German word " brötle " comes from the German word "braten" and could be translated as "to roast" or to "...

If there is a group of words that sounds similar in many languages it's the words that belong in a calendar: names of months, names of days and other date related terms. In this aspect, Swiss German is generally very similar to German with slight variations in the different dialects. Have a look yourself! If you want to combine the months with numbers (e.g. December 5th) I suggest you learn how to count to 100 in Swiss German and then combine! The Year in Swiss German The Months in Swiss German Januar ('yanoo-ar', January) also: Jänner Februar ('febroo-ar', February) März ('märts', March) April ('ah-pril', April) Mai ('mah-ee', May) Juni ('yoo-nee', June) Juli ('yoo-lee', July) Auguscht ('a-oo-gusht', August) Septämber ('septämber', September) Oktober ('oh-ktober', October) Novämber ('noh-fember', November) Dezämber ('dets-ember', December) The Wee...

In this mini series I'll write about the five daily meals people eat in Switzerland:  Zmorge, Znüni, Zmittag, Zvieri and Znacht . What do we typically eat? When do we eat? What is the proper conduct at the table? Today, I'll tell you about dinner which is called  Znacht . Znacht Znacht is a Swiss German word and is an abbreviation of the German "zu Nacht" which basically means "at night". This doesn't mean that we eat dinner during the night but rather at the beginning of the night.  In fact, a typical Swiss family eats dinner between 6 and 7pm. Only d uring winter, night actually comes in before dinner starts.  During the long days of summer, Znacht is often eaten on the balcony or on the patio to enjoy the warmth and light of Swiss summer evenings.  What to eat at a Swiss Znacht Unlike Zmittag (lunch) which is usually a warm meal, dinner traditionally consists of cold foods . A typical Swiss Znacht is sometimes also called " Café comple...