Swiss Miss

I made my first venture beyond borders this past weekend. Kristie, the other American assistant in Lunéville, and I went to Switzerland. I have visited the French-speaking part of the country, during my 2002 Wisconsin Ambassadors of Music trip, but I had never been to the northern regions. Its really simple to get to Switzerland because there is a regional train (a less-fast version of the TGV) that goes from Nancy to Bâle. In this blog, to avoid major confusion, I will call Bâle by its more common name in English—Basel. Since Basel is literally right on the French/German/Swiss border, we decided to make it (and the Basel YMCA, no joke) our “home base” for the weekend, and ventured out to Zürich on Saturday. I was in a bit of panic on the train, because in France you must stamp your train ticket before boarding, or risk a huge fine, and possibly even death and dismemberment (at least that’s how France makes it sound) if you do not.

Zürich is the cultural and banking capital of Switzerland, so one bank of the river is very modern, with lots of designer stores and modern buildings and the Börse (Stock Market). The other riverbank is pretty much “Old Town” with the picturesque streets and churches and history. Both sides of the city meet on the shores of Lake Zürich. We walked so much and saw almost all the main sights, like the largest clock face in the world (it feels like every city has a clock like this, so who knows?). We even drank some delicious glühwein which is basically hot mulled wine (its much more delicious than it sounds).

On Sunday, we walked around Basel, which is right on the Rhine River, and literally saw everything. Basel is the hometown of Roger Federer, and although it sits on border of Switzerland, France and Germany, you would never know it. German is everywhere, and French is nowhere (except for the waiting room at the train station for trains going to France). Since I know approximately 10 words of German (and one is a swear word), I felt totally out of my element. Luckily, ordering at restaurants was easy enough because I just said “ein” (one) and pointed to what I wanted.

So how can I best sum up Switzerland? A few words, the first being cold. I obviously forgot that we’re up in the mountains there, and so I spent all weekend trying to keep my fingers and face warm, while walking marathons around the cities. I’m not sure how many times Kristie or I muttered “It’s/I’m so cold” but I know it was often. The second word would be cute. I can’t explain it very well, but this country exudes cuteness. Every street, every house, every store window oozed charm. And they hadn’t even put up Christmas decorations yet. At Christmas, I’m fairly certain that the adorable-factor is pumped up twenty notches. Plus, there are about a billion fountains that spout fresh, pure mountain water, so people can just come and take a swig or refill a bottle. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the essential questions. No, the Swiss are nothing like their portrayal in Cool Runnings (where I learned how to count to three in German). And yes, I prefer the French-speaking part of Switzerland. I didn’t buy a Swiss Army knife. Or a cuckoo clock. But yes, the chocolate is as good as you think.