The Switzerland Traveler

There can’t be many URLs shorter than www.fiff.ch
Which, just happens to be the website of the Fribourg International Film Festival.
Based around the old station, this year’s festival provides an introduction to the world of the south, mainly Asia, Africa and Latin America.
To quote the website:
The FIFF programmes a cinema of inventiveness and poetry as the expression of a conquered freedom – sometimes at great cost. By getting away from the landmarks and writings of western cinema, the films selected by the FIFF require of the spectator the disposition to be troubled by images, stories and ideas that may not …read more

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No, it’s not bad news, just another attempt by the Swiss to make something sound cool in English.
Quite simply really. Go to Gstaad. Pay 10 CHF to enter, take something, preferably designed and made by yourself, and then slide down the snow on it.
Most spectacular descent wins the “Master of Disaster” prize.
Alternatively, you could just go along and watch…
Action takes place at the Eggli lift station.
Oh, there’s also a party with bands, DJs etc that will probably run long into the evening, but that’s not for me!
Saturday March 10
www.slidedisaster.ch (in German)

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Ever wanted to experience what gravity is like on the moon? Or maybe floating somewhere between heaven and earth?
Well, just maybe the new Woopy Park might be the place for you.
The management insist it is the place to go for adventurous snow sports enthusiasts, and who am I to disagree?
The park is in Morgins, in the Portes du Soleil, 2 hours from Zurich, 1 hour from Geneva.
The brand new sport, Woopy Jump, combines elements of skiing, snow boarding, and parascending/parachuting. It certainly sounds like a laugh!
Beginners can allegedly become proficient in no time. Naturally, all course …read more

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If going skiing or even just being in the mountains builds up your appetite, or even a thirst, then St Moritz is the place to be next week.
For five days (Jan 28-Feb 2), the luxury and first class hotels of St. Moritz pull out all the culinary stops during the 15th annual St. Moritz Gourmet Festival.
The party starts with a bang – cocktails at the Carlton, the newly renovated 5 star hotel, which only re-opened last month.
After that, international chefs from Europe, Asia and Africa provide tasty morsels at several gourmet tastings.
Like chocolate?  Sprüngli, one of Switzerland’s best …read more

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Up, up and away!
Colourful skies and fantastic photo opportunities are guaranteed this week in the south-west of Switzerland. Many of the world’s top hot-air balloonists will be meeting up for a festival.
As you can see, size and shapes are quite varied!
Wednesday is the day to take the children (I’d have thought they would have been at school, but maybe half-term is early this year). Special activities from balloon flights to the ever-loved face painting will be organised.
The festival runs until Sunday 27th January, so maybe a trip to the nearby glacier slopes would be the best way to appreciate …read more

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The annual polo World Cup at St Moritz is certainly one of the most fascinating events I’ve ever witnessed.
For a start, there’s the car parking. To me there’s just something wrong with driving onto the lake to park, even if it has been certified as safe by the Swiss.
And those people selling roasted chestnuts with fires raging to generate heat – don’t they understand what they are standing on?
And then the temporary grandstands, packed with people – just how thick is this ice?
Perhaps that’s best answered by the fact that the tractors used to sweep the playing area are …read more

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Time to plug something in my village – the one where I live, I don’t own it!
Every Sunday from 2pm until 5pm you can visit one of the smallest museums in the world – the mammoth museum in Niederweningen.
It celebrates the finding of a mammoth skeleton nearby, and aims to educate visitors in prehistory and also climate change, as the last Ice Age is the latest topic to be covered.
Niederweningen is located at the end of the S5 train line, so there’s really no excuse for missing it – we need your money!
Sadly you’ll need to speak German to get …read more

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We’ve had quite a lot of winter sports recently on TST, so here’s a traditional custom to be getting on with.
To be honest, the more I write about this country, the more I am convinced it’s a great (and diverse) place to live or visit.
Silvesterklausen takes place in Appenzell, particularly in the communes of Urnäsch, Schönengrund, Schwellbrunn, Waldstatt, Herisau, Hundwil, Stein, and Teufen.
Apparently (and I may well be wrong on this!) the idea is to distinguish between different types of Santa Claus – beautiful ones, ugly ones and the natural  or forest ones. And I thought there …read more

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I may be a skier, but I’m not averse to promoting snowboarding too – and this weekend sees possibly one of the biggest events in Europe for the sport.
It caters for all categories of riders, amateur to pro, and lasts all week, starting Friday 11 Jan.
And of course, there will be wild parties and live music, centring on the Riders Palace Hotel.
The snowboarding takes place at Crap Sogn Gion (and that’s not a rude word in Romantsch btw) and is free to watch. You’ll have to buy a lift pass to get up there though, so probably best to say …read more

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The Olympic flame burns bright in Switzerland, in fact all of the torches used for the modern Olympic Games are on display there.
The museum features a permanent display, and regularly adds temporary features.
The current subject is sailing, and apparently there was an exhibition on Santiago Calatrava, who you may have read about in the St Gallen post, but that ended today. Doh!
I haven’t been to the museum yet, so if you have, please let me know what you thought.
I hope to visit soon, though, and will provide more details then.  I just thought you ought to know it was …read more

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