For many centuries, Switzerland’s neighbours and the regional powers have had a decisive impact on the country’s evolution.
They have coveted its passes and they have used it as a buffer state.
Swiss neutrality, which has been in existence since 1515, has served not only Switzerland’s own interests by keeping it out of wars, but also those of its neighbours by keeping potential enemies apart.
As a country which shares three of its four languages with larger neighbours, Switzerland has had a dynamic cultural exchange with its neighbours for many centuries. Swiss writers and artists have lived abroad, while their foreign counterparts have influenced cultural life in Switzerland. This exchange continues to the present day.
The geography of Switzerland is notable for its great diversity. Switzerland’s three main geographical regions are the Jura, Plateau and the Alps.
Known as a summer and winter sports paradise (just look at those glistening white 4000m-plus Alpine peaks and glittering lakes), Switzerland is where people first skied for fun. Illustrious names evoke all the romance and glamorous drama of the mountain high life: Zermatt, St Moritz, Interlaken, Gstaad, the Jungfrau, Verbier and more. Cities like Geneva (the most cosmopolitan), Zürich (the most outrageous), Basel and Lausanne heave with heady artistic activity and sometimes incendiary nightlife.
Beyond the après-ski chic, edelweiss and Heidi lies a complex country of cohabiting cultures. It not only has four languages (Swiss German, French, Italian and Romansch), but the cultural variety to match. You could be chomping on sausages over beer in an oom-pah-pah Stübli one day and pasta over a glass of merlot in a granite grotto the next. And if over-indulgence becomes a problem try one of the country’s thermal baths, from Yverdon-les-Bains to Scuol.
The grandeur of the finest churches, such as the cathedrals in Lausanne and Bern, contrasts with sparkling but lesser-known treasures like the frescoes of Müstair or the abbey complex of St Gallen (both World Heritage sites).
The list of enchanting towns is endless: from Lucerne with its covered bridge to Neuchâtel and its fountains; from Gruyères with its cheese, and Grimentz with its traditional timber houses to the sgraffito-blazoned buildings of Engadine towns like Scuol and Zuoz.
Food in Switzerland:
Food, ingredients and the way to prepare it varies greatly all over the country. Generally speaking, basic food items include a huge selection of bread (white, whole wheat etc.), dairy products such as milk, yogurt, butter and – of course – a great variety of the world famous Swiss cheese. Also important are vegetables including beans, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, spinach etc. Sausages and meat – mainly veal, beef, pork, chicken or turkey – are served in many different ways: grilled, cooked, sliced or cut. Side dishes include French fries, rice, potatoes and different types of pasta. Fruits are available from all over the world, locally grown fruits include apples, pears, grapes and different types of berries, such as black berries, blueberries, raspberries, red currants and strawberries. Finally, there are a lot of sweets, including the second type of food that Switzerland is world famous for: Swiss chocolate.
What do people eat and drink:
In Switzerland, breakfast typically includes bread, butter or margarine, marmalade or honey, maybe some cheese or cereals, plus milk, cold or hot chocolate, tea or coffee.
Lunch may be as simple as a sandwich or a birchermüesli or it could be a complete meal.
Depending on what people had for lunch, dinner can be a full main course or just some bread, cheese, maybe some dried meat or any other light meal.
Drinks range from plain water, over different types of soft drinks including most internationally well known brands plus some local products, to a great variety of beers and wines. Hot drinks include many different flavors of tea and coffee.
Going out to eat:
There are many different places to go out to eat in Switzerland. It starts with fast food, such as burger, fish and chips etc., continues with self service restaurants and what people in the U.S. use to call a family restaurant where you get all the regular menus and ends with spectacular (and very expensive) restaurants, where to eat is supposed to be an “experience”.
Food is quite expensive in Switzerland, at least compared to most European countries and especially compared to the U.S. If you go to a fast food place, you may easily spend up to CHF 10 for a burger, a soft drink and a coffee. In a family restaurant, a menu will cost somewhere between CHF 15 and 50, self service restaurants are somewhat less expensive. At a more fancy restaurant, one can spend as much as CHF 1000 just for a bottle of wine …
Common menus include a great variety of pasta, potatoes prepared in many different ways, vegetables, meat (veal, beef, pork, chicken and even horse), fish (mainly fresh water fish), but also sea food. Vegetarian menus have become more popular during the last few years, most restaurants provide at least one vegetarian menu as a main course. In addition, salad is very popular as well. The most important part of course is desert. This includes cheese, but even more important any flavor of cakes or cookies.
