A week in Switzerland

 
Hello there!

As part of the Mothership Epic 60th Celebrations I've just returned from a bus tour of Switzerland with the birthday lass, her dear friend Bron, and a couple of dozen charming retirees from around the world.

I hadn't been on an organised holiday since a 2004 Contiki tour of Russia. As much as I'd loved that experience, my inner granny rejoiced in the leisurely vibes of our tour de Suisse. Early starts, frequent Comfort Stops, dinner by 7pm, and no need to fake a desire to party on all night!

By the end of the week I'd almost convinced myself I was retired too, wondering if I should get the grandkids more Toblerones and hoping Gareth had watered the roses properly.

It was a week of soaring mountains, tranquil lakes, cowbelled cows and cheese. Much delicious cheese. And also...

A different view

Throughout the trip I was conscious that we were travelling a rather touristy path. I was curious about Switzerland beyond banks, chocs and cuckoo clocks, so I asked Sandra and Judy, two awesome expats, for their perspective...

Sandra - an Aussie in Bern

"The Swiss love their mountains and lakes, like us Aussies love our oceans. These things are part of their soul. The Bernese, my adopted people, love to jump into their fast flowing river, the Aare, in the summer months.
Some just jump in from a bridge, let the strong current carry them downstream, climb out and then do it all over again. Others have rubber dinghies, complete with waterproof plastic drums that they pull along behind them, with all their personal belongs inside which provide a longer float.

You can also use a Wickelfisch, a tie-on waterproof bag, to hold your undies and clothes while you float down the turquoise waterway. I love to watch the tiny black dots bobbing down the river from a bridge, people chatting as they go.

If I had more time I’d talk about the fondue (oh yes, we do), the fighting cow festival, the Swiss wrestling championships where the Jungs wear overshorts with handles to assist in heaving each other about but I think I had better stop now."

You can follow Sandra's Swiss shenanigans on Instagram.
 

Judy - a Kiwi in Zürich

"What you have to realise is that the clichés are all absolutely true. This is a nation that runs on chocolate and cheese (and bratwurst). But not cuckoo clocks. Cuckoo clocks are way too frivolous.

When I first arrived in Switzerland 27 years ago and took my first trip to the mountains, I was ecstatic to be ice skating outside to the sound of clarinet polkas. I have even, I confess with absolutely no shame, twirled down a mountainside singing 'The hills are alive'. They put something in the water, obviously.

People love the outdoors and try to spend as much time outside as they can. The brief, giddy hiatus they call summer is packed with music festivals, outdoor cinema, drama festivals, days spent at the nearest lake, and outdoor cafés and restaurants. Hiking paths are jam-packed with fit pensioners, and everyone else is biking, running or nordic walking. This is how they manage to pack away so much cheese and chocolate and still look good.

One favourite event with our local fire department is a pre-Christmas outdoor fondue, where we all wrap up and head into the forest to gorge on cauldrons of fondue wearing sacks around our necks to hold the chunks of bread, keeping our hands free for the metre-long fondue forks and glasses of wine.

Although newcomers often get frustrated by bureaucracy, and by neighbours' irritating tendency to tell you in minute detail all the heinous crimes you've committed (using the laundry room on the wrong day, or after 10 p.m.; forgetting to put stickers on your rubbish bags; or mixing green glass with white in the recycling), things work, streets and public transport are kept clean and everything runs on time. Switzerland is a country of many recurring pleasures, a country that improves on closer acquaintance."

Thing of the Month