Stories from Switzerland: Only in Switzerland

An outlook shown through short stories about food, culture, travel and humor.

Happy Cows Come from…Switzerland

As a true Californian, I always believed happy cows came from California. It’s a land with sunshine and open green fields (okay, not always). I have changed my mind though. Happy cows come from Switzerland. Why? It’s because cows in Switzerland seem to live the good life. There are HUGE open hills here, for lots of grazing. The hills are all green, I haven’t seen a dried out brown field yet. The cows get to wear big bells around their necks, so they cling-a-ling when they move.

Hallo, Hello, Gruezi, Bonjour

Switzerland really is a unique place. In one day you can meet an Italian, German, American and French person. You can enjoy a plate of authentic pasta in the Italian region, grab schnitzel in the German region and enjoy fondue in the French region. Pretty cool.

Toot Your Horn

For anyone who has seen a Ricola commercial, there is usually a man blowing into a very long horn. I have no idea what this horn is called or the significance of it. I kind of thought this was a made up thing too, to get people to think Switzerland was a cool, unique place. Even though Switzerland is a cool unique place, this horn does exist. I had the pleasure of hiking down a hill one day and heard a horn. I thought it was just a regular old trumpet, but I was very wrong. I looked over to my right as I made my way down and spotted an old man blowing into the long horn.

Friendly

Although I love my fellow Germans, I am a huge fan of the Swiss people. They’re super friendly..from the happy cashier in the supermarket to the people passing by you on the street. What is rare is to not hear someone saying hello (Gruezi) when passing by on the street. It makes the world a better place when people greet you.

Rolling Hills

Close your eyes. Imagine the sun is shining. You see rolling green hills. Brown, Gray, cows munching on the grass. You hear the wind slightly blowing and the tinkling of bells on each cow. You feel a slight chilliness and see mountains in the distance. This is Switzerland. It’s 100% true.

Yodeling

I kind of thought yodeling was a joke..like as in not a real thing, something made up in the movies. It actually does exist, really. Recently there was a yodeling convention (yep, you read that right) and I was internally L-O-L-ing because this seemed hilarious. Imagining a bunch of people gathered yodeling together. It’s true and it exists.

Amazon

Love Amazon? I do too. It’s accessible anywhere right? Wrong. Switzerland really likes to maintain their independence and promote their country, which means no Amazon. They have a similar type of service that runs out of Switzerland, so it’s not impossible to get goods. The only problem is the shipping costs, shipping time and selection. Nothing compares to Amazon. Some people will go all the way to get a post box across the border in Germany, so they can order Amazon items there and pick it up and take it with them to Switzerland.

Everything Swiss Flag

The U.S. is proud of their country, as with many countries. Patriotism is strong there, but is also very strong in Switzerland. The Swiss are very proud of their country and they show it-you’ll see the Red Swiss flag with the White cross hanging everywhere.