Grüsse from Switzerland

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Before moving to Australia, I decided a trip to Switzerland was in order. Mostly to visit Grossmuetti and the family. 😊
It doubled as waiting time just in case I didn't get the visa, but finally I was granted my visa the day before I left Montreal. It was my first trip in close to three years, so it was good be back.

The first weekend here in Switzerland, I relaxed in Interlaken, helping my aunt and her family do some fall yard work. The weekend included some nice long walks from the house to the town, alongside the lake, visiting some old ruins, and having a Sauser and vermicelle in town (an unfermented grape juice and a chestnut, cream, and meringue-based dessert, both seasonal specialties). The weather wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't too cold and the mountains across the lake were beautiful. I hadn't been to Interlaken since I was about 10, so it was nice to see it again.

I spent quite a bit of time in Berne too, as I have a cousin living there. We walked around the older parts of town and visited the famous Bärengraben, the home of the bears! Originally just a concrete pit, it now includes a bear park on the hill along the river, to give the bears more room to run around. I was also happy to see that the pit itself now has some hiding spots for the bears, a pool and plenty of rocks to climb on. The bears were confined to the pit, as they were doing some fall cleaning of the park, but the bears didn't seem to mind too much. Nor did the tourists, or my cousin's little girl, who shrieked and pointed with delight at the baby bears!
We also walked around the oldest part of Berne, which is known as the Matte, and saw the waterlines on some of the old buildings from the flood in 2005. Some areas had over a metre of water! My cousin also told me that there was a special dialect that those living in the Matte quartier...spoken as sort of a secret language, called Matt English. Of course it doesn't sound anything like English, so we weren't really sure where the name came from, but one bakery in the area gave a nod to the secret language and called themselves "Ligu Loam", which means "piece of bread" in the funny dialect.

A visit to Luzern included watching a Christmas parade, complete with the clanging of huge cow bells, guys expertly cracking whips, and St Niklaus with his donkey and the guy dressed in black who marked naughty children along the way, threatening to take them away. I got marked, much to everyone else's amusment. Hmmph. It was a very loud parade, especially as the guys with the cow bells passed along the narrow streets, causing the sound to echo off the buildings! Afterwards we sat on a terrace, on sheepskins and with blankets, sipping hot glüwine and watching the church across the river, onto which they were projecting various images.
We laughed at the customer service from our waiter, who didn't know what language to speak in: French, English, German and Swiss-German were being exchanged at our table. We also laughed when I tried to order a hot chocolate with Bailey's. He responded "we don't have that", to which we explained that if both items are listed on the menu, then all he has to do is combine them, no? Then he responded "but I'd have to charge you for both items", to which we responded "so what?". When my order came, he gave me a bowl of hot milk, a chocolate powder sachet, and a glass of Bailey's with a spoon. Apparently it was a "make your own" hot chocolate. It made us happy that tipping wasn't mandatory.

I also took some time in Luzern to explore a little while I walked my cousin's dog. The weather turned out to be fantastic, so I tried to enjoy the feeling of the warm sun on my face while attempting to prevent the dog from jumping into the river after the swans. She also decide to play tug-of-war with her leash, while we were at an intersection - I was quite embarrassed that this dog was actually winning and pulling me into oncoming traffic! Maybe I'm not ready for a dog after all...
While in the area, I had also visited Zug, on a walk from Cham. Zug is a lovely city to wander around. My uncle also took me up the clock tower so I could have a bird's eye view.
It was also in Zug that I had a laugh at Swiss view of immigration, when a gentleman asked a vendor where she was from, despite the fact that she spoke perfectly fluent Swiss German, simply because she didn't "look" Swiss. (He was just being curious and not in any way trying to make her feel uncomfortable.) I faced the opposite problem, where locals could not fathom that I didn't speak Swiss German, because I look Swiss. The Swiss are generally very friendly, but I imagine it would be hard for an immigrant to ever "fit in" because of such views. But I digress...

So far my trip has also included hot air ballooning, and helping my uncle and crew to set up a balloon for the Bernhard Luginbühl exhibition in Fribourg. We had to put up the balloon for a glow in a very tight space, which included covering the sculptures with large cloths to prevent the balloon catching on any of them and tearing. It was quite the sight, having the balloon in this tiny space next to the art gallery. I didn't quite realize that I was at an exhibition for a very famous artist in a famous art gallery (which houses art from Jean Tinguely and Niki St Phalle), until speaking to some friends about it later.

The rest of my trip will include seeing as many family members as possible, trips to Zürich, Fribourg and possibly Strasbourg, as well as a wedding in the Alps. Photos soon!

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Photos

Valley View
Ballooning over the Emmental

Swan Lake
One of the many swans on the lake beneath the Rigi

Bear!
One of the famous Bern bears at the Bärengraben

Luzern Postcard
A typical view of Luzern, at night

Balloon Glow
We inflated the special balloon for the Lüginbühl vernissage in Fribourg