Posts Tagged ‘Baden’

Jump in Lake Zurich. People do that.

By Chantal Panozzo

I’m not complaining about the heat. I’ve been dying for summer ever since, oh, last fall, but when it actually gets hot in Switzerland, it can be hard to deal with for one reason: no air conditioning.

Whether I’m sweating in a conference room, on a train, or in a store, I always look around at the other people and wonder what’s wrong with them.

The Swiss don’t seem to sweat. They shut the window on the train when I open it, they wear stiletto boots in the summer, and then they all sit there in long pants watching me sweat in my tank top.

Ok. Maybe I am complaining about the heat.

I don’t know if I can’t deal with hot because I grew up with A/C and my body is now in denial, but it’s a strange phenomenon. Anyhow. The point is that some of us expats in Switzerland may need a little cooling off. So here are a few suggestions of where to go and what to do:

One: The local swimming pool. Most communities in Switzerland have fantastic facilities—clean, inexpensive (yes), and in beautiful settings—next to lakes, on hilltops, or beside rivers. Check your local city’s website to locate yours.

Two: Drink a local beer. Many towns in Switzerland have their own breweries and distribute their beer only locally. For example, in Baden, they produce Müller beer and it’s hard to find outside the city. But you can enjoy a glass at the beer garden, right next to the Müller Brewery.

Three: Float down the river. In Zurich, Baden, Bern and other Swiss cities, there are banks on their respective rivers that are used as “beaches” and there are also designated sections of each river on which you can float on a raft along with the current.

Four: Water-ski. Only the Swiss would combine a ski lift with a lake so you can water-ski on Lake Neuchatel while a rope tow pulls you along at 18 miles an hour. I haven’t tried it since I can’t even ski on snow, but for those of you that can, have fun.

Where do you go to cool off in Switzerland?

Chantal Panozzo is a writer in Switzerland who has written for a variety of publications on two continents. She’s the author of One Big Yodel, a blog about life in Switzerland and moving abroad, and also discusses living abroad as a freelancer at Writer Abroad.

By Chantal Panozzo

As an expat in Switzerland, you know when it’s Christmastime. You can smell it. The aroma of roasted chestnusts (Marroni) fills the air. Glüwein (mulled wine) is sold just about anywhere there’s a sidewalk. And somewhere, there’s an expat like me bringing their Christmas tree home on a bus. Listed below are a few things to enjoy this Christmas in Switzerland:

1. Grill a sausage. I don’t know about your town, but Baden has the annual “grill your own sausage” fire pit. You pay CHF 2 for an uncooked sausage and a long stick, and cook it to your heart’s content in the fire pit. When you’re done, you return the stick, take a piece of bread in one hand and your sausage in another and eat your grilled masterpiece. (If you don’t like sausage, another option is to bring your own marshmallows–but be forewarned. People will stare.)

2. Eat some marroni. These roasted chestnut stands are everywhere. And trust me, the taste will grow on you. I didn’t like the nuts at first, but now I’m a marroni regular. The 80-year-old marroni seller in Baden comes to our town from his native Ticino every year from October through February specifically to sell marroni. It’s big business in Switzerland. 

3. Go to a Christmas Market. On my blog, One Big Yodel, I have a run down of some of my favorite Christmas markets. In my opinion, the biggest and best holiday market in Switzerland is the Basel Christmas Market. 

4. Eat turkey. If you’re an American and missed out over Thanksgiving, now is your chance to actually find whole turkeys for sale at the local Coop. I saw entire birds for sale today for around CHF 50. That’s a deal considering what you have to spend a month earlier for a proper Thanksgiving. 

5. Try an Italian Christmas Bread. Popular ones sold in grocery stores include Pandoro (from Verona) and Pannettone (from Milan). For an even more specific run-down on the differences between these various Italian breads, visit my post on Swisstory Blog later this week.

What Christmas traditions do you enjoy in Switzerland? For idea for gifts from Switzerland, visit Expatica.com.