The Switzerland Traveler

Part of my daily ritual is to check the headlines on the Daily Telegraph, surely one of the finest online newspapers there is.
On a more infrequent basis, I also read Private Eye, the satirical current affairs magazine.
Why do I tell you this? Because one of Private Eye’s most common digs at the Torygraph (as the Telegraph is also known)  is that it tends to use pictures of scantily clad females in newsworthy situations, presumably to boost circulation. I think I’m talking about number of copies sold, rather than circulation of blood, but you can never be too sure.
So, today, I find …read more

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One of the great things about writing on the topic of Switzerland is that one gets to cover an entire range of Swiss traditional activities.
Whether it’s bringing cows down the mountains, pumpkin or chestnut festivals, or even the spectacle of two cows fighting each other, summer in Switzerland has the best entertainment there is.
Next weekend sees the annual wrestling, or Schwingen, championships on Mount Rigi, near Luzern. It’s basically a bunch of farmers with some extra trousers trying to throw each other on to their backs, but it’s taken very seriously by the competitors and the local public.
It warrants coverage on …read more

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Old photo, new thrills.
This week sees 24 of the world’s top freeriders, both skiers and snowboarders, taking part in the 12th edition of Verbier Xtreme.
It’s the final of the Freeride World Tour (www.freerideworldtour.com) which visits Mammoth USA; Sochi, Russia; the O’Neill Big Mountain Pro, which is a mobile event in the Alps; and Tignes, France.
The Nissan O’Neill Xtreme Verbier is held on the North face of the Bec des Rosses, which features an over 50° gradient in places.
It’s allegedly a dramatic sight for the spectators on the Col des Gentianes, there also various demonstrations over the week.
The Freeride …read more

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I’ve known this has been coming up for a while, but all of a sudden it’s here!
The great Tutankhamun (or Tutankhamen if you prefer – my spell checker seems to!) exhibition is in Zürich from this Saturday, 8th March until Sun 29th Jun.
Several hotels are offering special deals, click here for details.
Apparently it’s the first time there has been a full reproduction of the grave in 3D, but as I found a photo on Flickr, I’m not convinced I translated the press release correctly.
Either way, an exhibition not to be missed.

The exhibition is being held at the …read more

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Well, this surprised me, but apparently Pop Art is a European invention. Forget Warhol and Lichtenstein, London, Paris and, you guessed it, Zurich was the place to be in the 1950s.
And to celebrate that, the art gallery in Zurich is running an exhibition until 12th May.
To quote the gallery’s website:
Art reflects the society in which it is created. The works in the show are grouped according to chapters and express the concerns of the social milieus on both sides of the Atlantic during the late 1950s and 60s.
There are guided tours on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.
www.kunsthaus.chtel. …read more

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Finally a winter sport for the couch potato!
On Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays until March 30, 2008 you can ride on a sledge pulled by huskies.
It’s at the popular weekend resort of Flumserberg, about an hour out of Zürich.
Although most of us will just want to stroke the dogs, you can apparently gain an insight into the life of a musher, get familiarized with the sledge, the riding technique, as well as the orders given to the animals and the dogs’  behaviour.
For a half-day tour it costs CHF 154 or Euro 96 (per person) and full day tours including a …read more

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Just back from a few days rest, first in Zermatt and then in München, or Munich as you probably know it.
We just missed the Kriskindlmarkt in Münich, but as we got off the train in Zürich, our very own one was opening there.
And do you know what? It’s Christmas Market time all over Switzerland. I’m not a lover of the home-woven yoghurt that tends to be sold at this type of thing, but that’s just me.
If you’ve never been to one, then it’s worth it just for the atmosphere, which is invariably helped by the smell of Glühwein and …read more

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Do you know what 50 tons of onions looks like?
If not, then Monday 26th November is the time to find out. On the fourth Monday in November of every year, local farmers bring tons (literally) of garlic and onion to the world famous Onion Market in Bern.
Zweibelmarkt would be the German translation, but in Switzerland they speak Swiss-German, which in fact turns out to be several quite distinct variants of the teutonic tongue. So Zibelemärit is the Bernese variation of that word, and in Zürich it would probably be quite different.
Anyway, onions and garlic there will be aplenty, all …read more

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October and November is the time when Switzerland goes crazy for fairs, or shows as they used to be known when I was a young lad.
This week it’s Basel’s turn (you may have worked out I don’t like to use English spellings, like Basle).
It’s at the Messe, and entrance is (can you believe this) free!
The fair is marketed as representing seven different “worlds”: Wellness, Fashion, Sport,  Living, Leisure, Household and Food&Drink.
If this was in any other country, the homeless would be queueing up to sample all of the free foods and wines on offer, but in Switzerland it’ll be a …read more

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I like cars. Old cars, new cars, racing cars. Pretty much anything. But I can’t help wondering what sort of person wants to pay good money to sleep in one.
On the shores of Lake Lucerne, there is a very cute place called the Swiss Chalet. On the outside it looks like a normal restaurant hotel, but on the inside…
Actually, even on the inside it’s a good quality restaurant and hotel, it’s just when you discover some of the "speciality" rooms, that you begin to wonder what’s going on. Don’t panic, this isn’t going to get seedy!
First stop would be …read more

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