Swiss Food:
$$$. It’s very expensive. Well, everything is expensive in Switzerland.
My favorite dish I had was the raclette in this cellar in Erlach, a small-town forty minutes outside of Bern. Raclette is a great get-together meal. It’s weird saying “meal” or “dish” because it’s more like an event.
Basically, there’s a plate of cheese slices that you take one at a time and put on your own personal pan. Then you put this in a stove/grill. Once the cheese starts bubbling you take it and pour it onto baked potatoes you’ve smashed on your plate. Just the potatoes would be basic. On the table, there are also pickled things to add bitterness. I personally loved the pickles, cornlettes, and onions with mine. There are many other cheeses to pick from as well.
It really helped that above the cellar we were in, the parents of Leonee, Matt’s girlfriend own a cheese shop. The dish was great because it was so personalized. You got to pick and choose so many different things and really make it your own. People compare it to fondue, but raclette is better.
Speaking of fondue, I had that as well, but I enjoyed dipping the potatoes into the cheese rather than just the bread. Also, the fondue cheese I had wasn’t very savory, but I was reassured by Matt that it, indeed, wasn’t the best. Although the view from the Rosengarten, the restaurant we ate the fondue at, was spectacular.
Take a guess at what the price of the four pizzas and four small cokes in the photo is. I’ll say at the end of the blog. If you want to get close to the answer, my suggestion is you guess more than you think.
Small Towns:
Ascona –
Ascona is found in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland and everything about it screams Italian; The men in tight pants, the tiny cars, and, of course, the hand gestures when talking. The sun glared against the water and really had me wishing for my sunglasses the time I was there. Although, to feel the sun again was pleasant.
Without putting much thought into my outfit that day, I threw on my newly acquired Bern Young Boys jersey. On the train, I recalled the one thing Matt told me not to wear, and it was that jersey. People are VERY passionate about the soccer club in their area. Luckily, I had my jacket protecting me from being harassed.
Thun –
Matt and I strolled through the town talking and enjoying the beautiful weather we had that day. To see the Alps across Lake Thun was quite the spectacle. We didn’t spend much time there, but it’s quite memorable because it was the first trip Matt and I took together. The beauty of it all was paired with really important conversations, making it a great way to start the morning.
Lucerne –
Another day trip I embarked on was to Lucerne. Once again, crystal-clear water greeted me almost right outside the train station. I spent some time in the Church of St. Leodeger, another great cathedral. One thing that I admire about the cathedrals and churches in Switzerland is the woodwork, especially the pews.
The buildings also have intricate facades, which explain stories about the people of Lucerne or identify the building’s former use. The facades are all throughout the city and really give importance to the past.
FASNACHT:
It was perfect. The two weeks I was staying in Switzerland lined up with one of the country’s largest parties: Fasnacht. “Guggenmusik” (or carnival bands) march up and down the streets into the night. Every town celebrates Fasnacht and I was fortunate enough to celebrate in the nation’s capital.
Bern has a fascination with bears. The founder of Bern said he’d name the area after the first animal he saw on his hunt. It was a bear of course. Now, proudly displayed on the flag of Bern is a bear.
The first part of Fasnacht is celebrated when the bear is locked into the Kafigturm (prison tower) for hibernation on November 11th at 11:11. That part is called the “Gugge Party”. Fasnacht in Bern is celebrated on the Thursday after Ash Wednesday, when the bear is released from its Kafigturm hibernation, but of course, the party stretches into the weekend.
(Tell me if this all sounds about right, Matt)
There’s no dress code for Fasnacht. Nothing is too crazy or too anything. Matt explained, “The more it doesn’t make sense, the better!”. You never know what sort of costume you’ll see as you turn a corner. The more work you put in, the better as well.
Every band matches outfits or has a theme. For example, the band featured in the photo are bear creatures? Not sure, but you never really know what someone is dressed up as exactly.
As for me, I went as a poor, Swiss man. Obviously, it’s ironic because I’m an American dressed as a typical Swiss. I will say, the locals of Bern loved the outfit. Vadim also went as a typical mountain Swiss man while Matt went as “Captain Underwater” sporting his mother’s old diving suit. It was very very tight.
The total for the four-pizza-four-coke meal was around 120 USD. Insane.
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