About adminci

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far adminci has created 184 blog entries.

Chocolate

2018-04-28T10:31:34+02:00

Swiss chocolate is world famous for its delicious taste and the wide variety of flavours. There are basically three different kinds: black, milk and white chocolate and then countless ingredients to refine the basic product.

Chocolate can also be added to milk and then be enjoyed as a nice tasting and quite powerful drink.

Only the average German (12.2kg) eats more chocolate in a given year than the average Swiss (11.7kg)! So chocolate is actually also very popular in the area and given as a gift on all sorts of occasions.

There are many big companies offering nice products such as Lindt, Cailler, Nestlé and others. A company that suddenly popped up everywhere offering delicious, freshly made chocolate is Läderach (see the picture).

To get reasonably priced good quality chocolate Migros has their own brand called Frey.

Chocolate2018-04-28T10:31:34+02:00

Geneva International Motor Show

2018-03-19T17:00:39+01:00

This annual car exhibition is one of the major international auto shows. It started way back in 1905. This year the show was held as usual next to the Geneva airport from March 8-18, attracting about 700’000 visitors yearly.

Almost 900 cars from Germany, Italy, France, Spain, UK, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Japan, Korea and the US were on display. The trend to alternatives to the combustion engine were a big topic. Many of the big brand names are in the process of switching to electric or hybrid cars. One example is the I-Pace from Jaguar, a very powerful challenger to Tesla.

There were quite a number of concept cars on display, trying to give a glimpse into the future of automobiles. The tendency again is clearly to vehicles that are totally automatic without the need of a driver.

China is well positioned and has growing experience with electric cars. It is not impossible the China will dominate the car market of the future!

Geneva International Motor Show2018-03-19T17:00:39+01:00

Stabat Mater

2018-03-12T11:37:34+01:00

Lent is the season (of about 6 weeks) leading up to Easter. In this season often sacred music concerts get performed in churches or concert halls up and down the country. As it is still chilly and often wet too it is wonderful to attend such an event.

I just attended the Stabat Mater concert by Rossini at the reformed church in Burgdorf. The Stabat Mater is actually a 13th century latin catholic hymn to Mary. Mary, the mother of Jesus, suffered immensely as she witnessed how her son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross crucified. Many different composer such as Vivaldi, Domenico, Scarlatti, Haydn, Rossini, Dvorak, Verdi and others composed music to this latin text.

It is quite interesting that the Stabat Mater is clearly from a catholic tradition, with a strong emphasis on the mother of Jesus. Reformed theology would rather focus on the son, Jesus Christ and his redeeming work on the cross. However today the Stabat Mater is acknowledged as a cultural heritage that is also fully accepted and enjoyed by a reformed or a secular audience.

Stabat Mater2018-03-12T11:37:34+01:00

Olympic Winter Games 2018

2018-02-27T18:15:17+01:00

The Olympic winter games took place from February 9-25 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The tensions between North and South Korea were high leading up to the games. During the games both countries took part under the name of Korea! The North Korean cheerleaders really impressed the world with their powerful performances.

The games were truly international: 92 nations took part in 102 events. The games featured 15 different sports such as snowboarding, alpine skiing, curling, speed skating etc

The absolute winner was Norway with a total number of 38 medals (gold, silver or bronze), followed by Germany 28, Canada 29, USA 23, Holland 20, Sweden 12, and Switzerland along with Korea 15 each.

Switzerland has a new crew of excellent young sports athletes. The goal had been 11+ medals. Our young athletes brought home 15 medals: 5 gold (see picture), 6 silver and 4 bronze medals.

The next Olympic winter games will take place in Beijing in 2022. Watch out for the Swiss!

Olympic Winter Games 20182018-02-27T18:15:17+01:00

Lucerne in February

2018-02-10T21:11:09+01:00

Lucerne is one of the top tourist destinations in Switzerland. It is a beautiful compact old city on the shore of Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee in German), surrounded by mountains.

The famous wooden bridge (Kapellbrücke) dates back to the 14 century. It is covered and stretched a good 200m from the old city across the river to swampy area of the farmers and low level income folks. Today both sides are obviously very expensive in terms of real estate.

The wooden bridge almost totally burned down in 1993 and was quickly rebuilt. It looks again old today since around 5 million tourists make their way across yearly. The famous 111 pictures under it’s roof (visible when walking across) depict scenes from the history of Switzerland.

The tower in the middle of the bridge used to be a prison. In the old times prisoners were kept there and sometimes tortured so that their cries could be heard through the wooden panels all around, in order to deter others.

Lucerne is famous for the many watch shops and millions of tourists descending on the place. In summer it is really congested and even hard to make your way across the wooden bridge.

Other things that are really impressive are the monument of the dying lion and the Bourbaki panorama, the church of the Jesuits, the ramparts and many wonderful museums.

A good time to visit is actually when there are hardly any foreign tourists around: in February! That is also when the city is vibrant with colours and the thumping typical sounds of the yearly carnival. It is a lot of fun to mingle with the joyful and excited locals celebrating with their whole family.

Lucerne in February2018-02-10T21:11:09+01:00

Lot’s of Snow

2018-01-24T18:06:51+01:00

Over the past few days it had been raining non-stop down in the lower areas of our country. However up in the mountains and especially in the Southern part of Switzerland (Valais and Graubünden) meters of snow have come down and covered everything. Some villages are cut off and people can only come and go via helicopters.

The picture was taken in the village of Davos by a friend of ours who lives there. Davos is also under a thick blanket of snow.

At the moment the village of Davos is again taken hostage by this years WEF. Last year the president of the PRC, Xi Jin Ping, attended the forum. This year the US president Trump is attending, along with many other important figures ranging from politicians to market leaders and trend setters.

Lot’s of Snow2018-01-24T18:06:51+01:00

UBS

2018-01-02T21:03:21+01:00

In Switzerland the UBS is one of the biggest economic players that suffered a tremendous image loss and lost a a lot of money during the subprime mortgage crisis (Dec 07 to June 09). Meanwhile the bank has recovered its image and the money and is now again making a lot of money.

The Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) is a global finance service company and one of the biggest wealth management banks. By 2016 it was represented in 54 countries with over a 1000 branches. In Switzerland alone there are around 300 branches that cater to the needs of people from all walks of life and not just a wealthy clientele only. Most of their 1’250 ATMs are mainly in Switzerland. It’s e-banking is really excellent.

On a global scale the UBS competes with the other Swiss banking giant, the Credit Swiss. Since its recovery from the big crisis where the Swiss government had to bail out the bank it has overtaken the Credit Swiss. The UBS is among the top 10 of the world’s investment banks.

Switzerland is really a small country with quite a number of big players, such as the two huge Swiss banks (UBS and Credit Swiss), Nestlé, Glencore, Novartis, Zurich Insurance Group, Roche Group, ABB etc

UBS2018-01-02T21:03:21+01:00

Father Christmas

2017-12-30T18:55:27+01:00

Christmas often gets associated with Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, the bearer of good gifts.

The season of Christmas is particularly busy for department stores and shops as a big part of the yearly sale happens in the weeks leading up to Christmas. And indeed on Christmas eve and on the Christmas day itself during the the family celebrations gifts get exchanged while great food is eaten.

Father Christmas goes back to the Greek Nicolaus of Myra who was born in the 3rd century. He was originally a very wealthy man. During terribly difficult times he became a fervent Christian who gave all his possessions to the poor. He died on December 6. So in Switzerland traditionally on December 6 Saint Nicolaus turned up and gave gifts to children. But that keeps changing…

Nowadays in the US and many other places Santa Claus pops up with a pack of reindeers and a horse sledge. Also in Switzerland Father Christmas suddenly seems to be around during the whole Christmas season. The commercialised version of Santa Claus keeps pushing the original meaning of Christmas into the background.

So what is the meaning of Christmas? It’s not about commerce but about the greatest gift possible – the birth of Christ.

Father Christmas2017-12-30T18:55:27+01:00

500 Years Reformation

2017-12-14T09:30:59+01:00

500 years ago, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. Later this was recognised as the official start of the Reformation.

There were quite a few other reformers that had strong impact on the young movement such as Calvin, Zwingli, Bullinger, Farel and others.

By the 16th century the Catholic Church had become quite corrupt. Church offices and titles as well as the forgiveness of sins could be purchased by money. Church traditions had accumulated and caused the simple gospel of the early church to fall into the background.

Luther himself was originally a monk within the Catholic church. He advocated the 5 solas (sola – in Latin means „alone“). Here just two solas:

– sola scriptura („Scripture alone“) – go back to the Bible and use the original writings to evaluate how to live a Christian faith
– sola gratia („grace alone“) – people’s sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ and this by grace alone. It is a free gift since Christ redeemed any believer by his own sacrificial death.

In the picture we see the „Fountain of Moses“ in Bern. The fountain is located in front of the Cathedral (the Münster) with the figure of Moses on top. It dates back to the 16th century and has a strong reformation message.

Moses points to the number 2 out of 10 (in Roman letters). God gave Moses the 10 commandments for the people of Israel. The 2nd commandment states: „You shall not make yourself a carved image…. and worship it“ (Ex 20:4-6) or simply put: don’t worship idols. The 2nd commandment was criticising the many statues of saints in the catholic churches, that the believers would pray to.

In the beginning the Catholic church leadership was offended and threatened by these radical ideas and the church split into two: reformed and catholic. Later the Catholic church also incorporated some reformation ideas and got rid of some excesses.

This year (2017) the reformation has been remembered in Germany and Switzerland. It is widely recognised that both churches, reformed and catholic face many problems and that both are in need of another renewal.

500 Years Reformation2017-12-14T09:30:59+01:00

The Verzasca Valley

2017-11-25T16:55:50+01:00

The river Verzasca flows through a beautiful valley down into the lake Maggiore on the Ticino side (Italian speaking part) of Switzerland. Huge boulders are sitting in the middle of the river and many deep natural pools invite for a bath. During the warmer season it is wonderful to enjoy the pleasure of exploring the river. We suggest that you find a quiet spot for a couple of hours of „dolce fa niente“ (translation of the Italian: enjoying the sweetness of doing nothing).

Further down the Verzasca valley is one of the higher water dams of our country. The dam stows the lake Vogorno. The water that rushes through pipelines into 4 turbines at the bottom creates about 230 GWh per year. The dam was finished in 1965. It became famous through a scene of the James Bond movie „Goldeneye“ (1995) where Bond bungee jumped 220m down the wall of the dam. Even now visitors can follow in Bond’s tracks and bungee jump 220m down the same wall.

The Verzasca Valley2017-11-25T16:55:50+01:00

Ascona

2017-11-12T16:03:25+01:00

The Italian speaking canton of Switzerland is called Ticino. It borders on Italy and is in the very South of our country. The canton owns 20% of the Lago Maggiore (Lake of Maggiore), the rest belong to Italy.

Because of the Southern position of this beautiful lake the weather in the Ticino is generally milder and sunnier than in the North. While we are down in the Ticino for a few days of sun up North is is raining right now.

Bellinzona is the capital of the canton. Lugano however is the biggest city of the canton and after Zurich and Geneva the most important financial center. The canton Ticino has only a population of about 350’000 inhabitants.

Quite a few rivers flow from the high mountains through deep valleys into the lake. Up along the rivers into the mountains many charming old villages dot the wild countryside.

Ascona is a picturesque small city on the Lago Maggiore (Lake of Maggiore). It boasts a beautiful lake promenade along with many cafes and boutiques, selling expensive clothing and exclusive watches. Italian culture has a deep influence on the canton and gives it it’s special cultural flavour.

This small city is at the lowest point of Switzerland and only 196m above sea level.

Ascona2017-11-12T16:03:25+01:00

The Gurten

2017-10-27T19:10:26+02:00

Berne is the capital of Switzerland surrounded by soft hills. The highest hill is called „Gurten“ and offers a wonderful get away from the city.

Within a few minutes a cable car takes guests 215m up to the top. On the Gurten there are many attractions such as a tower overlooking the city down below, a mini railway for kids to ride along, a kids park and two nice restaurants. Taking the scenic walk down to the station at the bottom takes just about an hour. For those who love mountain biking there are daring trails down the hill.

In July a big music festival takes place drawing thousands of young people to enjoy world famous groups. In November the Gurten Classic Race closes the jogging season.  In winter many families come up to for sledge riding or teaching their smaller kids how to ski.

The cable train is easily accessible either via tram number 9, stop at Gurtenbahn or leave your car in the parking at the foot of the cable car.

The Gurten2017-10-27T19:10:26+02:00
Go to Top