Day Tripping

So, after the meeting of the Swiss family was checked off the list, (see part 1) OH decided to take me on a tour of the area. They live in a small village, situated roughly between Luzern and Engelberg.

OH's family live on a farm in the little dip between these two mountains.

We walked to the local bakery (Bäckerei) to have breakfast. On the way, we saw around five teenagers approaching. I steeled myself for the usual intimidating stares and posturing that would normally occur back in England. But no!! Nodding politely, they all smiled and said "Grüezi!" on their way past. 'Grüezi' I learnt, is the common greeting around here, not 'Guten Morgen', or 'Guten Tag' as I had been taught back home in German Class.

Of course, as any proud Swiss will tell you, they are not related in any way to the Germans, (not convinced of the validity of this!) but here in Central Switzerland they speak their own, much more diverse, Swisserized version of German. What they call Schweizerdeutsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, or even Schwizertitsch. Which basically all sounds like an Aussie version of UK English. It's very guttural, so you get a sore throat trying to pronounce words like:

1. Chuchichäschtli (Kitchen cupboard) and

2. Chäs-Chüechli (Quiche or Cheesecake)

I must just say that OH's family had great fun watching me try to pronounce these two words. Apparently a ritual that all foreigners must go through, for the amusement of the hosts, and to be accepted as an honorary Swiss. I think I passed!

Anyway, back to the Backerei. Here we found a tempting array of breads and pastries. The smell was amazing, and there were little tables and chairs set on the terrace. Although it was only 9am, there were lots of customers taking their time over strong coffee and Gipfeli, which are what we call Croissants! This, OH explained to me was 'Znüni' time, which applies to the snack/drink taken anywhere between 8:45 and 9:30am, when the workers come for their mid-morning break. (Nine is Neun in German, thus it becomes Zneuni ) Children at school also have Znüni time. It's called the 'Pause' - which rhymes with browser. Later I learnt that they were expected to take a small healthy snack to school, which is also known as a 'Znüni.'

The staff in the Bakery were extremely polite, and very smiley. I was pleased to find that you get table service in most cafés/bakeries here, and that you don't have to fight your way to a table with a heavy trays, and hot spilley drinks. Relaxing into a comfortable cream sofa, I ordered a schale, which is a milky coffee, and a weggli, a soft breakfast roll, (a big favourite with my kids!) My youngest always likens it to 'a little bummy bum' - but then she has my low-level sense of humour!

After that, we drove to Lucerne, which is actually spelt Luzern by the locals. I was captivated by the many beautiful sights there, the river, the large boats, the stunning architecture, and one of the main attractions in Luzern; the two medieval covered bridges across the Reuss River.

The largest and closest to the centre is the Kapellbrücke, which means Chapel Bridge in English. The Kapellbrücke was nearly destroyed by a 1993 fire, and much of what stands today has been lovingly restored, with many of the original artworks inside retaining their original beauty.

 Downriver, between the Kasernenplatz and the Mühlenplatz, sits the Spreuerbrücke, meaning Mill Bridge. Rickety and old, it steadfastly refuses to crumble; and proudly stands upon the Reuss. This bridge was constructed in 1408, and features a series of medieval-style 17th Century plague paintings by Kaspar Meglinger titled "Dance of Death." It has a small chapel in the middle that was added in 1568.

 After all the walking around and taking in of the many Swiss sights, it was time for another food break, (an essential part of any trip!) and we stopped at one of the many Italian eateries along the promenade. Again, table service, and without any visible resentment from waiting staff! OH told me that service workers get paid very well in Switzerland, and even have to go to school to learn the job. Apparently, no job vacancy is filled without proper training of some kind. The Swiss equivalent of apprenticeships, I suppose. I was impressed. No wonder they are happy-ish in their jobs!

Well, that was my first full day in Switzerland. I hope you enjoyed hearing about it as much as I enjoyed being there! 

Later, I will talk about the many weird and wonderful customs and traditions of the Swiss!

Thanks for popping in.

... and Tschüss!

Angela x

First Impressions

Get the Alphorn out Bert - we gots company!

They always say it's best to start at the beginning, so I shall!

I first came to Switzerland in 1999. I had met my husband in the UK, and was going to meet his family for the first time. It was an exciting moment. He picked me up from Zurich airport, and as we sped along I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of the scenery. Majestic, craggy mountains, surrounded by picturesque villages, sparkling lakes, and green farmland. The air felt cleaner somehow.

His family live and work a free-range Pig Farm. I was surprised to see how small it was, but it was situated in the middle of a large valley, and had a wonderful panoramic view of the mountains all around. Perfect for watching multi-firework displays on Swiss National Day, as I would discover later! That's their equivalent of Guy Fawkes Night, I think.

As we went into the house, a tubby blonde woman came to the front door, smiling. I expected a hug, or maybe a friendly nod; but I got an extremely firm handshake instead, and a "Pleased to meet you, I'm Vreni!" Six firm handshakes later, and I was acquainted, Swiss Style, with the whole family! The fact that his brother came fresh from the shower, in just his tee and underpants, didn't seem to faze anybody... except reserved British ol' me! This unabashed flashing of male flesh went on for the rest of my 5-day visit, and although I never quite got used to it, at least I managed to control the flinching!

I should just say; handshaking as a greeting is very much de rigueur over here. Even pre-schoolers are taught to do it. You've no idea how comical it is to be greeted with an outstretched hand, and an earnest expression when meeting a 3 year old! But at least they are polite. Very polite.

The next culture shock was when dinner was served. Bread, assorted cold meats, cheeses and salad. And red wine, always red wine! Although that could just be OH's family! His father, 'Dadi', does love a large glass, or three! Anyway, after the lazy susan, (or in Swiss german 'Faul Freda!') was brought to the table laden with aromatic tidbits, I looked around to see where the plates were. Everybody was tucking in with gusto, using no plates, table only. OH, seeing my confusion, offered to get me one. "No!" I hissed, embarrassed, "I'll do the same!"

Having slightly OCD tendencies, it almost killed me though; especially as there were about 300 buggering flies bombarding us at the same time. Well, it IS a Pig farm! No one seemed to be bothered about them except for me though; very Englishly 'eeeking' and 'aaarghing' throughout the whole meal. Sigh! Talk about first impressions!

Part 2 of my First Impressions next week.

Thanks for stopping by now!

Angela x

Starting to Roll

I have another blog over on wordpress, but it just occured to me that, even though I have lived in Switzerland for 14 years, I don't talk about it much!

So I have created this blog 'Swiss Rolling' and will dedicate it to all my experiences, good and bad, as an expat in Switzerland.

The kind of Swiss Roll I refer to is of course, not this one...

...delicious though it may be; but the way we 'roll' over here, day in, day out! :D

I live right slap bang in the middle of this map, around the Luzern area. You can see the large amount of blue to the right of Luzern; that is the Vierwaldstàttersee (Lake Luzern). It is extremely large (114 km) and my house overlooks it, as we live opposite the Marina.

Switzerland has a name for being a nation of bankers, and while that may, or may not be true, they certainly have a lot of these hidden away (countless searches have led me nowhere so far!) ;)

Also, they are fastidious craftsmen, and make excellent:

and, of course:

As it's my virgin, or 'Jungfrau' post, I won't bore you too much with the details! I'll just tell you that I came to live in german-speaking Switzerland in 2001. My husband is Swiss, and has lived here all his life. He comes from a large farming family, although his father could only afford pigs, so he grew up on  a pig farm. The smell is quite unique, and takes some getting used to!

I have two daughters, both teenagers now. They attend Swiss State schools, and speak fluent English, German and Swiss-German. I teach English privately, and am writing a novel/blogs at the same time.

Daily life can be a struggle, as my German, or Swiss-German isn't yet perfect. Ordering a pizza? Kein problem! Trying to get an engineer to come out to fix the dishwasher? Not so easy!

More Swiss Rolling to come... 

Keep skiing by now!

Angela x