Category: Life in Switzerland

  • The Week of Small Frustrations…

    We had a technology revolt in the flat last week. One device after another either went on strike, or disintegrated into a pile of metal, plastic and frustration (mine). The landline phone went first. It’s been sulking for a while, but last week it began to remind me of the worst kind of teenage stroppiness.…

  • Sitting in Switzerland…

    It’s good to sit down after a long day at work, or a hike through town. Or just because you want to treat yourself to a coffee/wine/chat with a friend. Here are some of the more interesting sitting places I’ve come across this year. First of all, summertime in Bad Ragaz. (Johanna Spyri’s Heidi passed…

  • Speechless…

    ‘Ooh là là!!’ said the French lady. We were at Zürich Airport, almost at the top of the queue to go through security with our hand luggage. The French lady, me, a young couple from somewhere in Eastern Europe, by the sound of them – and a middle-aged pair who were putting their bags on…

  • Switzerland: Arosa – and quirky…

    Arosa is a little town at the end of the high Schaanfigg Valley in Canton Graubunden, 1800m above sea level, and about 130km south of my home. There’s a lot going on there – skiing in winter, hiking in summer, and as there’s no through traffic, the air is amazing, so it’s a popular health…

  • Switzerland – the Tamina Gorge

    So that was summer 2016. Schools start again this week here in N.E. Switzerland, so it’s back to the day job on Monday for me too. It wasn’t one of the best summers, weather-wise, but we managed to pack in a few trips and I have dozens of photos – here are some taken the…

  • Switzerland – Lucerne (and a few more watery pics…)

    Last week, I spent a lovely day in Central Switzerland, first of all with friends in the city of Lucerne, and then with my boys in Zurich. After all the rain we’ve had recently, it was unbelievably soothing to have hot sunshine from dawn until dusk. It was even too hot at times. (That was…

  • Water, water everywhere…

    – but what can you expect, after the rainfall of the past several weeks? And it’s still raining… There’s nothing titchy about our lake. At 64km long and 12km wide, Lake Constance is one of the largest in Central Europe, covering an area of 536 square metres. And in the past few weeks it’s been…

  • Lost: the weather. A Very British Blog Post…

    Here in Switzerland, it’s a well-known fact that British people like talking about the weather – and let’s face it; the weather gives us something different to say several times a day. But this year, it’s conversation topic number one here in middle Europe too. Swiss winters are snowy, crisp and cold and full of…

  • Cold Sophie… and new book

    It’s that time of year again. The Ice Saints, or Eisheiligen as they’re known in German. Each day of the year has its own saint, and the ice ones start on May 11th with Mamertus, and continue with Pancras, Servatius, and Boniface on the 12th, 13th and 14th, finishing off with Sophie on the 15th.…

  • Switzerland: The Böögg has spoken…

    Switzerland: The Böögg has spoken…

    It’s bad news, I’m afraid. This year, the Böögg’s head took ages to explode. And it fell off first. But let’s start at the beginning… Monday was Sechseläuten here in Switzerland – specifically, in Zürich. Sechseläuten is an old Spring Festival held every year on the third Monday in April – there’s a colourful and…