Packed inside the Theatre du Léman in Geneva, you can feel the electric charge in the air. The evening is slowly percolating towards its apogee, as the sold-out crowd anxiously awaits the main event. At last, a wave of cheers erupts from the back and travels across the room as both fighters emerge and start […]
Festivities, song and fire strikes Happy Valley
June is a particularly important month in Happy Valley. It’s more than just the month that signals the arrival of wonderful festivals in the area, ranging from classics in Cully, to flamenco in Renens. And it’s more than simply the month that kicks off clearance sales at Movenpick Wine. (Check out the marked down Albarino. […]
How Europe’s highest vineyard ended up with 500 owners and Indian connections
Get high on Switzerland this summer, writes Renu Chahil-Graf from her Swiss mountain retreat. There are many reasons to visit, not least its exceptional food and wines and salubrious climate. The highest altitude vineyard in Europe is known to be in Visperterminen, a village of 1,400 people, nestled in a mountain range just across from […]
Lake Geneva’s belle epoque paddle boats attacked by pirates
On Sunday 24 May 2015 around 10,000 people turned up in the village of Rolle on the shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland to see a parade of the world’s largest fleet of operating paddle boats. This was the 20th parade of these beautiful boats. Six boats, all from the early 20th century, took part: Montreux […]
First impressions: Switzerland at Milan Expo 2015
Here in an unseasonably chilly Happy Valley, this has been a week of fulfilling one’s national duty. I am talking about visiting Expo 2015 — and seeing how the Swiss pavilion stacks up against the parade of great nations eager to showcase their wares a few kilometres outside of Milan. (I also could throw in […]
Incredible new Matterhorn speed record
Swiss mountaineer Dani Arnold broke the speed record for climbing the Matterhorn on 22 April 2015. This new record replaces Ueli Steck’s record set in 2009. Steck, also Swiss, made it to the top in one hour and 56 minutes, 10 minutes longer than Arnold who made it to the summit in one hour and […]
Who are the Swiss travelling community the Yéniche?
The neighbouring towns of Nidau and Biel/Bienne agreed last year to accept 50 caravans from the Swiss travellers’ group known as the Yéniche. It was a temporary arrangement and a reminder that no long-term solution has been found to accommodate this persecuted group, most of whom are Swiss citizens. When some 70 caravans arrived in […]
Swiss narcissus in full bloom
That small window where the hillsides turn white with narcissus (often referred to in English as a white daffodil) is now upon us. The name of this flower comes from the narcissistic youth of Greek mythology, Narkissos. This poisonous plant can be used to make medicine for whooping cough, colds, and asthma. It is also sometimes used […]
Switzerland: heavy drinking linked to education among women
On 12 May 2015 the OECD released its report on OECD alcohol consumption. Over the last 20 years alcohol consumption has declined slightly in the OECD, however this total masks growth trends among women and young people. It appears that men are on average consuming less. Wealthier, better educated people also drink more than average […]
Swiss Rail “doesn’t like its customers”
Feeling Unloved by Swiss Railways? It’s been a week of shattered illusions in Happy Valley. As if the Swiss National Bank‘s unexpected, abrupt ending of the Swiss franc 1.2 floor in January 2015 was not enough to disillusion your correspondent, now comes the humbling of yet another pillar of Swiss predictability and reliability. I am […]
