Favorite Holiday in Switzerland: Christmas

Welcome The Spotted Sparrow & World Blog Surf Day Readers! 

My favorite Swiss holiday has to be, without a doubt, Christmas. I am so unbelieveably bummed that we will be in Australia this year for December, so I will miss all the Christmas festivities - but that does not mean that you have to miss out on them!

Naturally, Christmas is an important religious holiday in Switzerland but most of the Swiss partake in the Christmas celebrations in one way or another. At the beginning of December, the Advent begins, in which families count down the days until Christmas, either with an Advent Calendar or an Advent candle, marking the Sunday's until Christmas with a candle for each Sunday (4 candles total). But Santa actually comes long before Christmas Eve! In Switzerland, Santa, or Samiclaus, comes on the 5th of December and kiddies that have been good get some sweets, nuts and mandarins (and probably some toys!) on the 6th. Those that have been bad get a sack full of coal from Schmutzli - the anti Santa. Otherwise, Christmas is very similar in Switzerland compared to the US or Australia - tree (check), gifts (check), lots of food (check)... but the festivities are very special and celebrated by many families.

Last year I committed the entire month of December to Swiss Christmas celebrations and the Advent count down... There is just so much to love  - the Advents candles, the Apfelchuechli mit Vanillesause,  the Zürich Samiklaus Swim, and the Weihnachstpyramide - but my favorite part of the Christmas festivities are the Christmas markets! Here is a list of Swiss Christmas Markets in 2009.

If you time it just right, you can probably hit up at least 4 or 5 Christmas markets, perhaps even some in Germany or France where they are also a big to do.Christmas markets tend to start at the end of November and run through Christmas Eve and sometimes the day after Christmas. Make sure you take some warm mittens and lots of money with you - as you will definitely want to sample some of the Glühwein (to keep you warm of course!) and buy some of the best handicrafts and decorations available.Fröhliche Weihnachten (in October) everyone. Start making those Christmas plans now! Before long, it will be 2010 (wowzers has time gone by!) and you will have to wait another 12 months for Christmas. :)

Now, please check out the Next blog on the World Surf Day Tour - Peterhals in Zürich...

I read this blog often, and know you will enjoy Deb's post. Thanks for stopping by Swisstoryblog and please follow me to get future updates on our adventures in Switzerland.

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This post was written as part of the World Blog Surf Day. You can also follow the World Blog Surf Day on Twitter, thanks to our Twitter reporter Karen. Karen is an American expat blogger last seen in Prague. The Wall Street Journal said, "Her blog makes a fun read for anyone looking for reassurance that change can be a wonderful thing--and also for anyone interested in visiting the Czech Republic." Read Karen's Czech Republic Expat Blog-Empty Next Expat.
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Zürich Archeological Underground Tour

The group at Lindenhof, where our tour started

with the Roman ruins underfoot.

Last Sunday, I organized a little private tour for the Swiss Expat Bloggers with Zürich Tourism. The tour was called 'Archeological Windows' and was a tour of Zürich's archaeological highlights, including the Roman remains under the Lindenhof, the old city walls, and even a medieval sewage system under the Niederdorfstrasse. Unfortunately, this tour is only run on a private basis, but everyone really seemed to enjoy going underneath the city and seeing some of the hidden jewels of Zürich's past, so I would highly recommend going on the tour if you get a chance. Here are a few of the highlights that we saw:

 Medieval painting

Rosemarie, our wonderful guide that got a few extra keys to places not originally included on the tour, as we opted for the longer 3 hour tour, showed us a medieval painting in a former dance hall/entertainment hall. This painting is inside a private apartment in the Niederdorf area and was totally beautiful even today.

Exhibit with the old city walls and

interesting drawings of Zürich in medieval times

Near the city library, we entered a building that has pieces of the old city wall in the basement. It was cool to be under the city and see the hidden jems - old sewer pipes and pottery, too. There were lots of interesting drawings on display as well of how the city used to be set up - and something about deer living inside the moat. Does anyone remember what was up with the deer in this next photo?! Help! :) This deer street is now called Hirschengraben though - get it?! Deer... Hirsch!!! Nice. Anyway, we also looked at this Murerplan a lot - a medieval map of Zürich which shows all the water wheels and how Bahnhofstrasse used to be a cow path. :) (zoomed in version here)

This is just a sign I saw on the tour - the person who this is meant for will recognise it I hope. :)

Medieval Sewers

Another highlight was walking through a tiny, itty bitty door on Niederdorfstrasse, into a medieval sewer. I have to admit - the Zürich Tourism does a great job as all these secret places have great signs and information (underground that is) if you have enough time to read it all. My favorite was an informational sign for the sewer display that said, 'Even in the middle ages, the big question was, 'What do we do with our poo?''... ok it did not say that exactly, but something like that. Oh I loved it. It killed me.

Speaking of which, here is a monk that slipped on some poo and was like, 'Man, I wish we had running water already.' Ok so it did not say that either, but I wish it had! You can see the straw above the loo for wiping back then. Ouch!

Inside the Helmhaus - only enterable by key.

We also went underneate the Helmhaus, the site of Zürich's first church which was built by Karl der Grosse on the site where two of the city's Saints, Felix and Regula, were decapitated, then walked 40 paces up a hill where they then collapsed and were later buried. You can still see a rock down there where the supposed decaptation took place under the Helmhaus!

If you are a history buff like Jace, I am sure you would remember more of the details, but even for a non-history buff like me, it was a fun tour... I did not even mention or show pictures of the Roman baths under the city that we saw or the new stained glass windows open for viewing at the Grossmunster Church... both sites open full time to the public...oh there was so much more. If you also have a post about this trip, please leave me a comment to your blog so I can share your feedback!

Again, thanks to all for coming on the tour and hopefully we can arrange another for those that missed out on the first. If you are interested, leave a comment on the Swiss Expat bloggers network or here.

Archeological Windows Tour - Zürich Tourismus
Website
Private tour run by appointment in your language of choice
Maximum 20 people
+41 44 215 40 88

Also check out the write up on this tour from:

• Amanda  at Queso Suizo
  

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Must See's/Do's from the Swisstory Fall/Winter Archives

Tomorrow I will have a post all about the great tour we took of Zürich yesterday that took us below the streets and through Zürich's archeological remains! Today, I thought I would feature a few articles from the archives that are relevant this time of year, as I realize that not everyone is Swisstory obsessed and reads the archives. Enjoy!

• Wine Messe Zürich - it is on again and I highly recommend you plan a day to check out all the European wines on offer and get sloshed... er, I mean, sample them all. The event is on October 29th - November 12th this year. More info available at expovina.ch. Here my write up from last year on the Wine Messe!
  
  
• It is raclette and fondue time again! So get your cheese and heat up those burners for some tasty cheesy delights. I got my cheap fondue pot at the Brocki-Land. And stock up on fondue essentials like Fondue packets (we love Appenzeller!) and fondue seasoning at your local supermarket now.
  
  
• Ski Season is coming - save a bundle getting to the slopes with the Snow N'Rail Pass from the SBB. We used this to get to Flumserberg last year for our snowboarding lessons with the Zürich International Ski Club. Signups this year for lessons are (thank God) online. Make sure you sign-up early, because if it is anything like last year (where I had to wait in line for hours...) these spots are HOT! and will go fast. Online Sign-up for Zürich International Ski Club Lessons.
  
  
• Metzgete: I have seen the signs - so I know Metzgete time is coming soon! If you want to try something awful, er, I mean some Swiss offal, look out for the Metzgete. If offal makes your stomach churn, like it does mine, at least try some of the wild meat on offer at the moment - like venison or wild boar. These are tasty.
  
  
• Christmas is coming! And since the supermarkets don't think it is too early, I don't either - it's time to start planning your Christmas market trips. Here are some Christmas market tips from Swisstory readers of the best markets, and don't forget to check out my Christmas Advent from 2008 for some not to miss Christmas events... I am VERY upset that we are leaving just before December, when all the markets really start. Bummer. But enjoy them for me!!!
  

Enjoy!
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World Blog Surf Day - last day to sign up!

Swisstory will partake in the World Blog Surf Day on October 31st. Today is the last day to sign up if you are interested!!!  Sign up for World Blog Surf Day here
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Not just cheese - Appenzeller specialties

Lots of Appenzeller delicacies - but what exactly is glooozbrod?

After having THE BEST Appenzeller mac and cheese at Gasthaus Traube in Appenzell, we could not help but stop across the street and browse the huge selection of Appenzeller specialities on offer at the little market called de blacke Chrömer. I was really shocked to find that aside from the Appenzeller cheese, which of course they had in big wheels, begging to be cut and taken home, they also had a huge variety of other local specialities for sale...

Naturally, there were several types of Appenzeller beer, which I witnessed many of the locals proudly drinking at the cafe that we visited.

Birnenweggen and gwoozbrod (left) and Appenzell Bitter right.

One can also find the Birnenweggen everywhere in Appenzell - these are pastry breads with dark, dense, delicious pear filling. Also readily available (but not pictured) are the marzipan-like filled pastries called Biberbrot, which I love. I have no idea what Gwoozbrod is - and I am not making that name up, see the sign - but it looked very much like a fruit cake. The sign describing it says in Swiss German:

'ii so ees hescht no müd gaad kaa mit dere allebescle Follig - moscht unbedingt probiere!'

Which my friendly translator says this is a spiced bread or 'Gewürzbrot' and the sign says...

'So etwas hast du noch nie gehabt, mit dieser allerbesten Füllung - musst du unbedingt probieren!'

And in English:

'You have never had something like this before, with this amazing filling, you simply must try it!'

So it still does not really explain what it is - but this is a great example of how Swiss German is so.. well... different than hoch Deutsch! Thanks, Andrea!

As for the Appenzeller Bitters - well I am not a big fan of those types of alcoholic drinks, but I have heard that those that like it end up LOVING it. You have to be into the bitter alcohols though which I am not - but it would be worth taking a small bottle home to try, I think.

I have talked about these sirups before, but I have never seen a selection like what they had in this market. There was so many new syrup flavors that I wanted to try - apricot and ginger, lemon and honey, hollanderbluten, raspberry, lime, and a whole lot more. There was one that was even made at a local monastery nearby! I got one that was lemon and ginger I think - and I was told it was the most popular flavor. We mixed it with some sparkling water and had it with raclette instead of white wine. I think it went down a treat.

You could also take a taste of this Appenzeller honey at the store and it was divine. I admit, I never had honey like they have in Switzerland until we moved here. It is not runny like in the States - it is sometimes quite hard and think and crystalized. I love it. You must try it.

And there was so much more that I just did not photograph - we are talking cookies (y mom bought some amaretti cookies, as did my aunt and hers were cappucinno flavored), dried fruit, nuts, cake mixes, tea, cider, Swiss hot chocolate, and lots lots more.

If you do not stop in and buy something from this store when you are in Appenzeller... well, you might as well just cry me a river now. It would be that sad.

de blacke Chrömer
Marktgasse 3
9050 Appenzell‎
071 787 19 43‎
Google maps
Website

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Where to get cow bells in Switzerland

The search was on for these babies... well, sort of...

When my family visited in September, we went on the Swiss Tour to take on all tours... visiting Zermatt, St. Moritz, Stein am Rhein, Rapperswil, Appenzell, you name it. We were all over Switzerland. And naturally, my family wanted to take back something typically Swiss as a souvenier and well - it doesn't get more Swiss than a cow bell... however, being my family, it wasn't just a simple cow bell search. Oh no, actually, we wanted horse bells... ! There were horses all over Zermatt with horse bells, so it should be easy in the land of cow bells to find a few horse bells, right?! (Um... Wrong.)

Dog collars - often available at the same place as cowbells... love it.

You see, my family has grown up with horses their entire life - I somehow missed the horse gene - I love them but I was never really great at riding so the hobby was short lived in my case (sorry Mom and Dad about that trailer you got just months before I decided I was no good at riding!)... In any case, my aunt still has horses and wanted to get a few bells to use or give as gifts. And in the search for horse bells - which we eventually found at the Bürkliplatz flea market, at Bürkliplatz in Zürich on Saturday mornings - we found a lot of interesting places that sold cow bells... the best being this handicraft shop in Appenzell (where the bell straps are actually MADE and you can smell the leather and oils wafting down the street, long before you venture inside).

Just take a trip to Appenzell and on Poststrasse in the main town area this little shop is open from 13:30 pm to answer all your cow bell desires. We did buy some little bells here, although they were for cows, not horses, and you can get a wide array of brass (?) or metal decorations, including dog collars, cowbells, and the decorations used on Appenzeller's suspenders and belts... see the decorations on the dog collars above. Just like those!

I was keen to buy this bell as a souvenier, but for some reason the hundreds if not thousands of francs it cost were a bit out of my budget - plus I doubt I would have made it home with this on the train let alone plane! Nevertheless, I did get a very touristy little bell at one of the other shops in Appenzell. But if you want THE REAL DEAL, this is the place to go:

Kunstgewerbe Dörig (aka your one stop shop for Swiss cow bells)
Poststrasse 6
9050 Appenzell
Google Maps
Website
Open Tuesday - Friday 13:30 - 18:00, Saturday 9:00 - 11:45 and 13:30 - 16:00

(Ps. Want to learn about the difference between 'cow bell' two words and 'cowbell' one word - check this out!)

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