A Humorous Guide to Switzerland

Counting - S. Hofschlaeger  / pixelio.de  Counting to 100 in Swiss German After learning the most common greetings in a language (e.g. hello, goodbye, how are you?), knowing how to count to 10 is one of the most popular things for language learners. Instead of just giving you the bare minimum 10 numbers in Swiss German, I'd like to teach you how to count to 100 in Swiss German . Counting From 1 to 12 Swiss German numbers are pretty similar to German and English numbers, especially the ones from one to ten. eis (one) zwei (two) drü (three) vi-er (for) foif (five) sächs (six) sibe (seven) acht (eight) nün (nine) zäh (ten) elf (eleven) zwölf (twelve) Counting From 13 to 100 Starting from 13, the numbers in Swiss German are simply a combination of a single number (1-9) and an ending (twenty, thirty, etc.) and some n's and e's to combine the two. 33 in Swiss German would be drü-e-drissg ("three-a-thirty") and 75 would be foif-e-sibezg (...

Skiing in Switzerland - daniel stricker  / pixelio.de  Ski Slopes in Switzerland Skiing is highly popular in Switzerland. During the winter months almost everybody heads up to the snow covered mountains at least once - and many go much more. It is a costly sport and requires a minimum level of skill and fitness but the feeling of gliding down a slope surrounded by snow covered mountains is just worth it. There are many different ski resorts - some a bit more pricey than others and some a bit more remote than others. The ski areas closer to the big cities - such as Arosa or Lenzerheide - are better for day trips or weekends because they can be reached in just a few hours. The more remote ones are better for longer skiing holidays. Usually also the small ski areas are good for just a day but if you're staying for a week you might want a bigger area so you don't have to ski down the same slope all week! Remember, in Switzerland there are three colors marking the dif...

Swiss Cow - Andreas Hermsdorf  / pixelio.de What word do you associate with Switzerland? What is the thing that first comes to your mind when you hear "Switzerland"? I wanted to know what you - my readers - thin k about Switzerland  and created a poll. Slowly but surely the answers started coming in. What You Think About Switzerland The results of the poll are interesting but not entirely surprising. I hoped people would add answers of their own in the comment section but that hasn't happened so far. You can still participate in the poll here:  What you think about Switzerland What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Switzerland? - Results Mountains (12 votes) Money & Banks (11 votes) Chocolate (7 votes) Chuchichäschtli (5 votes) Cleanliness (4 votes) Neutrality (3 votes) Punctuality (2 votes) Cheese & Milk (1 vote) Watches (0 votes) © 2017 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS R...

Traveling - Petra Schmidt  / pixelio.de  Last week I wrote about what can happen when your passport isn't worth much   and how as owners of privileged passports - one that lets you travel to lots of countries visa free - we are often blissfully unaware of the troubles people with less travel privileges go through. Today, I want to share a personal story about the other side, about what can happen when your passport is truly worth it.  Traveling Without a Visa This happened when I was on my way back to Peru from a trip to Switzerland. In fact, it was the very same trip for which my boyfriend was denied a visa . I was 6 months pregnant and traveling was a bit more strenuous than usual. My AVIANCA flight route led me first from Zurich to London (Heathrow, not a good choice!), from London to Bogota and then onwards to Lima. This is a long journey and can be tough to deal with even when you're not pregnant. Everything seemed to go well. I checked in in Zurich, b...

Swiss and Peruvian Passport This last week the media and social media has been full of comments on Trumps #MuslimBan . The new immigration policies of the US has made me aware once again that our world is still a very unequal place. People are treated in a certain way simply because they were born in one place and not in another. Depending on the passport(s) you hold you are granted certain travel privileges - or not. I was born and raised in Switzerland and have enjoyed the benefits of free travel from an early age. It is normal for me to travel without needing a visa and strange for the few exceptions where I do need one. A short trip to Germany, a holiday in Canada or an extended trip in New Zealand - all is possible without much paperwork! Today, I can travel to 155 countries by just carrying a valid Swiss passport! I never personally experienced the disadvantages of owning a passport that isn't worth much - until I got married to a person who owns one. My husband is...

Matterhorn - Gallus Tannheimer  / pixelio.de  I've always wondered what people who were born and raised outside of Switzerland think of our small country . Is your view of Switzerland mostly affected by the news, movies or by a personal visit? Is it a positive view overall? Has your opinion of Switzerland changed over the years? If yes, why and how? I would be more than happy to read your answers in the comment section below! For those who don't feel like writing answers I've created this poll. If your answer isn't in the list, please add it as a comment below! You can see a summary of the results here . What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Switzerland? What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Switzerland? Money & Banks Mountains Chocolate Cheese & Milk Watches Punctuality Cleanliness Chuchichäschtli Neutrality © 2017 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOR...

blogging - S. Hofschaeger  / pixelio.de I imagine that almost every blogger has set up a Google Analytics account in order to track visits to the blog. I'm no exception to this and while I'm probably not using all its features and benefits, it still is a very interesting tool. Other than the total amount of visitors per month I'm mostly interested in how these visitors actually got to my blog. There are referrals, social media referrals, direct hits and - most interesting - search keywords that led people to one of my posts. However, since Google updated it's privacy settings * , most of these keywords appear as "(not provided)" which isn't very helpful. The keywords left in your Google Analytics keyword list are the ones from other search engines. At least, those give you a general idea what your visitors were looking for when they were sent to your blog. My Top 20 Keywords in 2016 For this blog "A Humorous Guide to Switzerland"...