Euro Soccer Cup 2016

2016-06-29T18:08:32+02:00

In Europe soccer (or football, as it’s called) is the biggest and most popular sport.

The UEFA men’s football European championship takes place only every four years.

This year it’s up again! The event unfolds in France from June 10 to July 10, 2016. 24 are  teams playing in 51 matches in 10 venues across France. After the recent terrorist attacks in France safety is a big issue.

On Saturday June 25, at 3pm the Swiss (in red) and the Polish (in white) football team met for the game in Saint Etienne. There were around 20’000 Swiss fans attending the game and a huge crowd of polish supporters as well.

In the first half the Polish team scored their first goal. The Swiss team got better and better and scored an excellent goal at the 82nd minute. The Polish team started wearing out as the Swiss kept pushing for more shots. As the game finished with a tie of 1:1, a penalty shootout had to break the tie and show who would go on to the quarter finals. The Swiss missed one shot and lost the game. Great disappointment hit the Swiss fans. The Swiss were definitely a better team but lost at the shootout. So the Swiss are out now and the games will go on without them.

However many Swiss at home or in one of the many public viewing platforms will happily continue watching the rest of the games. For many this one of the big events of 2016!

Euro Soccer Cup 20162016-06-29T18:08:32+02:00

The Canton of Neuchâtel

2016-06-27T07:16:04+02:00

On our Swiss number plates the flag of Switzerland is on the left and the one of the canton on the right.

This canton is one of my favorites. It is a smaller french speaking protestant canton with a population of only about 180’000 people. The city of Neuchâtel is located on the lake bearing the same name. Along the lake many vineyards grace the countryside. Behind the lake the Jura rises up with beautiful valleys such as the Val de Travers and the Val de Ruz. In the Jura of Neuchâtel there are the two bigger cities located: La-Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle. The border of France is very close to both of these cities. The highest peak is the Chasseral (1600m) with a tremendous view across the three lakes below and the whole range of the alps on the horizon. One particular attraction is the „Grand Canyon of Switzerland“ or le Creux-du-Van.

In the middle ages Neuchâtel was part of the kingdom of Burgundy. Around the year 1000 the German emperor Rudolf II inherited the canton. In 1308 Neuchâtel and Bern made a first pact. By 1530 under the influence of the reformer Guillaume Farel (sent by Bern) Neuchâtel turned protestant. In the later troubles of the reformation many Huguenots found refuge in the sparsely populated Jura mountains of the canton.

At the beginning of the 19th century Napoleon took Fribourg and Bern but left Neuchâtel almost untouched. The Canton only fully joined the Swiss Federation in 1815.

Neuchâtel is just 3/4 hour car drive from Bern. The city has an elegant flair along with the easy going French speaking culture. The mix of the lake, city and the beautiful Jura are unique.

The Canton of Neuchâtel2016-06-27T07:16:04+02:00

The Emmental

2017-02-27T15:47:12+01:00

The river Emme starts at a spring in a mountainous area and has numerous creeks flowing into it. 80km after it’s source it  joins the bigger Aare river. The valley where the river Emme flows through is called the Emmental. It is part of the Canton of Berne.

Soft hills cover the Emmental, often with smaller rivers flowing through the valleys down below later joining the river Emme. The farming houses are typical with huge roofs almost touching the ground. The cheese produced in this valley is world famous: the Emmental cheese. Is is quite mild and has big holes.

A great way to explore the Emmental is with rented e-bikes. There are many suggested trails. The added power makes it easy to climb those steep hills.

The country folks from the Emmental tend to speak a very slow Bernese Swiss German. They are friendly and easy going but rather introverted. People in the villages greet everybody they encounter with a heartfelt „grüssech“.

The bigger places in the Emmental are Burgdorf, Langnau and Sumiswald.

In Langnau is the oldest free church of Switzerland. It goes back to the very beginning of the Mennonites who felt that the reformation of the church didn’t go far enough. So the government of the Canton of Berne started persecuting those pious folks. Between 1534 and 1540 around 158 Bernese Mennonites were thrown into prison, of those 109 were sent into forced exile (many left for the US) and 26 were executed.

The Emmental2017-02-27T15:47:12+01:00

Summer’s Slow Arrival

2016-06-07T11:57:20+02:00

This season we have had lot’s of rain and rather cooler days. Nature however has unfolded in beautiful colors everywhere. Lush green forests and meadows, and many private and public gardens are filled with the colors of summer flowers such as peonies, roses, petunias and others.

The four seasons are clearly marked. Meanwhile the days are quite long. Beginning of June the sun rises at 5 30 am and sets by 9.20 pm.  The summer solstice will be on June 21 with almost 16 hours of daylight. The nights are shorter and as soon as the sun is out for a a few days temperatures will quickly rise to 30°C and above: then summer will finally have arrived.

Summer’s Slow Arrival2016-06-07T11:57:20+02:00
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