Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with switzerland

Switzerland vacation ideas

bucksox — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:18:23 -0800

I just decided to take a winter vacation to Switzerland for the week before Christmas with my friend. I have never been to Switzerland (or outside North America for that matter) and I was wondering if anyone had been to Switzerland and had suggestions about what to do/where to go? I am up for anything! I am flying in and out of Zurich so it would be preferable to go places easily accessible from there. Also, I prefer to be "thrifty" on the trip but I don't want to be too cheap. I love skiing and I am a very good skiier so I definitely want to ski there (which obviously makes the "thrifty" trip difficult)

Screw Chevy Chase

Christ, what an asshole — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:03:51 -0800

I'm looking for underrated, obscure European vacation stops. A couple friends and I are going to Europe for a month (Nov/Dec), and we plan on doing the whole Eurorail/hostel thing across several countries. 1/3rd of the destination stops are for my choosing, and while I know they'll be making the saturated, obvious choices like Rome, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, etc., I'd like to spice things up with places that don't automatically spring to mind but offer the same level (if not more) of awe. Ideally, cities that aren't automatic tourist stops where most everyone speaks English and there's a McDonald's on every corner (but also not so far out of the way from mid-Europe like some hole-in-the-wall, Eastern-European Caspian city).

What sort of places have you visited that you would recommend?

Zürich ist zu reich...

stvspl — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:24:23 -0800

What do I do in Zürich for five months, and which websites can eliminate the need for this question? (Especially if I'm on a relative budget) I'm moving to Zürich for a study-abroad program for a few months, starting in two weeks. I'm very excited, but realize that I will have a bunch of free time with little idea of what to do. All websites I've found have focused on tourist locations and things, but I assume there have to be some websites focused on locals. Right? (Think Not For Tourists in New York.) Auch spreche ich Deutsch (so German websites are OK). Considering the USD/CHF exchange rate and the fact that I'm fairly poor to begin with, things that take into account money would be great.

If there isn't, I'd love some suggestions of fun places to go, things to see, bars, restaurants, museums, whatever.

If it matters, I'm a college junior, enjoys your typical cultural phenomena, etc etc blah blah blah.

(previously but the internet has changed in 2 years)

Switzerland in 1817

Zarkonnen — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:12:43 -0800

ObscureHistoryFilter: Any pointers to resources about how Switzerland was like in 1817? What was life like? What was the political and economic situation? What technology was around? I'm trying to create a Call of Cthulhu campaign based in that place and time, and I'm trying to be as realistic as possible (aside from the cosmic horrors). What I know so far: the year before was the year without a summer, which led to mass starvation. The year before that, Switzerland was formally recognised as an independent country again, after some years of French occupation.

Basically, I've read the Wikipedia articles on Swiss history, which, while reasonably good, aren't detailed enough. And they don't tell me how people would have dressed or thought or spoken in that place and era, what their worries and goal were, how easy it was to travel, how open they were to strangers, etc.

I'm particularly interested in the situation in Berne and in Appenzell and the surrounding area.

(Why yes, this is thoroughly obscure.)

Help me plan a European relocation?

dance — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 08:29:23 -0800

European relocation: I've been asked to help plan a friend's relocation from Switzerland to Norway. She wanted to do this herself by taking the seats out of a VW Caravelle and packing it up with her bicycle and personal effects (no large pieces of furniture are involved). I can't help but thinking that it would be cheaper and easier to have a company move her effects for her. It would save her driving nearly 3000km (that figure is for both ways) and is a safer option than having all the goods in the back of a car ready to fly forward in the event of an accident.

But has anybody made such a move? Was it easy? Was it a long time before the goods arrived? Was it expensive? Does it become more or less cost effective if you have loads of stuff vs. a lesser amount of personal effects?

And perhaps most importantly - can anyone recommend a firm we can use??

THANKS!

Where should we go and what should we see in Germany and Switzerland?

odayoday — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:40:31 -0800

My boyfriend and I will be meeting my dad in Berlin in mid-September. I've never been to Germany and my boyfriend has never been to Switzerland, and we'll be there a total of 10 days. How should we split up our time, and what should we see? My dad will be renting a car, so we're planning on driving between cities. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Switzerland for foodies?

AceRock — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 06:03:41 -0800

Switzerland for foodies? Taking a trip out to Switzerland for about 10 days with the SO (after the Euro tournament is over). Going to be hitting up Luzern, Basel and surrounding areas including the Alsace region, and possibly Berlin as well.

Any suggestions, recommendations, or other general advice for two avid foodies for our trip? Specific restaurants, wine shops, cheese shops, and food destinations, or dishes, etc.?

Help me find a post-grad program in applied statistics

lord_yo — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 04:54:15 -0800

Can you recommend me post-grad / continuing studies in Applied Statistics? Either at Swiss universities, or via good e-unversities. I love statistics; my MS in psychology gave me a solid statistics base, and I'm applying a lot of it during my work (business analyses in HR). However, it's not enough; I want to get a formal education and degree in applied statistics.

I live in Switzerland, and would be open for studies at a local university (I've found one program at Uni Bern, and one at ETH Zurich). Alternatively, there might be good e-university programs out there.

Any recommendations?

Where to go from Lyon?

flibbertigibbet — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:25:31 -0800

I'm thinking of taking a day/weekend trip from Lyon (Rhône-Alpes) to... somewhere. I'd like the destination city to be pretty close. Any suggestions? (I've managed to scrounge up some additional cash since my last question. Yay!).

I'm trying to figure out what to do with a long weekend during a trip to Lyon. I'd love to go to Paris, seeing as this will be my first trip to Europe, period. Problem: the tickets are so expensive (80 Euros, 130CAD/USD) that I'm thinking of trying to find something closer, and, err, cheaper. (Just as a quick comparison: the cheapest trip to Milan costs about the same as the average trip to Paris, both via train.)

I'm really open to suggestions. I'm into art, architecture, religious studies, and history, so anything along those lines would be awesome. Tiny town known for its beautiful churches? Sure!

Thanks in advance.

Does anyone know a good French Language School in Geneva

pkuras — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:24:51 -0800

I'm staying with friends on the border between Switzerland and France for about six weeks this summer and would like to find a school that offers intensive French lessons. Ideally I would leave for France sometime in the beginning of June and stay until mid-July, though my dates are flexible. I speak intermediate level French now and would be willing to come into a course a little late, if necessary. Thanks!

Info about Berne Switzerland circa 1900?

ryansara — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:05:30 -0800

I'm researching Berne, Switzerland, from approximately 1900 (although I could go as far back as 1880-90) to the First World War. I know that because of Switzerland's neutrality, a lot of international politics, diplomacy, activism and espionage was happening there. I have a few good general sources about Switzerland in about that era; a travel guide first published in 1919 by Frank Fox, John Addington Symonds' "Our Life in the Swiss Highlands," and I've just started tracking down information about the socialist International and the Berne International Women's Conference that took place in 1915. But I need to learn a lot more -- -- the flavor of daily life, the ethnic and cultural mix within the city, how rich people acquired their wealth, how poor people survived. The status of women and minorities. What people ate and drank. Cultural events. Festivals. Clothing. Technology. (I know, for instance, that the International List of Radiotelegraph Stations was maintained in Berne.) What it was like to be a diplomat and/or spy. Etc. Memoirs of diplomats might be especially useful, but I'd be grateful for any leads.

How to order a book for a friend in Switzerland

ManInSuit — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 10:23:55 -0800

How to order a book for a friend in Switzerland I want to order a book online to send to a friend in Switzerland as a gift. It's not a particularly hard-to-find book or anything. She's in Geneva, I'm in Toronto.

Rather than buy the book here and ship it, it seems to make sense to order it do somewhere that ships from Switzerland (or nearby). Is that right? Can anyone recommend a good site?

(I looked at amazon.de, which seems possibly a good choice, but apparently the Germans have their own language, which made the site hard to understand...)

Anyone have suggestions?

Travelling to Switzerland for New Year 08

long haired lover from liverpool — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 02:28:17 -0800

We're planning a trip to Switzerland for New Year 2008, but have little clue about the country. Advice welcomed! I'm British, by the way.

The party will include myself, my sister + brother-in-law, and my parents (65 and 70). I include ages because my parents have limited mobility and use walking sticks -- walking anything over around 100 metres is a long distance for them. They also haven't travelled outside the UK before.

I hear the best way of visiting expensive Switzerland is to stay on the German border and travel in by train when you want to, but I don't know where or how. We intend to travel by first-class Eurostar and then use various continental railways, which my sister + brother-in-law have done many times before. Flying is out of the question for various reasons.

So advice is welcomed on the best places to stay, plus things to do, and the best and most comfortable way to travel with two elderly people who have limited mobility, especially bearing in mind all this is taking place across New Year (for example, what are buses like over there? What about car hire?).

Note that it really is a trip for them more than us, so we wouldn't be adverse to spending time in places created and geared-around pensioners.

The IRS ain't gonna get my money! My wife's, however...

slater — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 01:22:06 -0800

Tax~~dodge~~Filter: My wife is a US citizen, I'm a british citizen, and we both live in Switzerland. I pay my taxes here in Switzerland (and nothing to the UK), but what will she have to pay to the IRS? Some background info: My wife and I got married end of May 2007. She entered Switzerland on a tourist visa mid-May 2007, and got a semi-permanent residency visa (valid for one year, but that just gets rubber-stamped as long as she's not nabbed for criminal activity or somesuch). The visa can be changed into a permanent residency visa after 5 years & no criminal activity.

From what we've been researching online, there's a flurry of different forms & regulations, under which she has to declare ALL her income for 2007 (both money earned while she was still in the US, as well as money earned here in Switzerland), or just the US income, or BOTH of our incomes (under which *I* will get taxed by the IRS as well... wtf!?), etc. etc.

Can anyone help us out of this beaurocratic maze?

Let's Go rough or go lonely, just bring a guide zum Schweiz?

Goofyy — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 11:31:23 -0800

Swissfilter: Moving to Switzerland. Looking for book recommendations. Travel guides? We've found they vary in quality between countries. Mostly used to using Let's Go and Lonely Planet. Also looking at books for expats, and will be getting the Culture Shock! Switzerland book, and one someone recommended "Living in Switzerland". Any more suggestions? Thanks!

Glacier Express Shortcut?

commander_cool — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 10:10:42 -0800

I want to take the Glacier Express when I'm in Switzerland. Is Zermatt to Chur sufficient to get the full fledged experience, or is the best part between Chur and St. Moritz?

How far out of my depth will I be?

twirlypen — Wed, 23 May 2007 06:55:50 -0800

So has anyone here attended or been involved with the St Gallen Symposium? I'll be a student participant in this year's one, and I'm hoping to find some advice and anecdotes from people who've been there before. I'm beginning to realise that it's a bit bigger than the low-key conference I first thought it was. I'm pretty sure I'll be a little out of my depth, so if anyone can give me an insider's view of what to expect and how to get the most out of it, that'd be great.

Staying in France while visiting Geneva?

thatgirl — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:01:31 -0800

For a visit to Geneva, would it be advisable and convenient to stay in a nearby town in France? Which town? Which hotel? Convenience is key! My boss is going to Geneva for a conference and then staying afterward for a week's vacation. We're having a hotel emergency, in that it turns out the hotel hosting the conference does not have a room for her from May 22 - 27 (this is once the conference is over). Apparently it's some sort of holiday that week (?), and I cannot find a room for her. She's going to be sleeping on the street!

So my question is, how big a deal would it be for her to stay in one of the neighboring towns in France -- Annemasse comes up in hotel results a lot, for example, and also Ferney-Voltaire. Because the EU is so open, she can just take the train back and forth with no problem, right? There wouldn't be any border crossings or customs to deal with? (She won't have a car.) I'm assuming that as long as I get her a hotel that's near a train station, it would be painless -- is that correct?

How long would the journey be from Annemasse into Geneva? Are there other towns I should check out, also? Does anyone have any specific hotel suggestions? It would have to be very convenient to Geneva and very hassle-free - a very short train ride, and a very short walk to the train station.

What's the Lake Geneva-area expat experience like?

arimathea — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 10:39:30 -0800

I'm about to move to Switzerland and need some advice and guidance. The likely location for my move will be Lausanne. How is it, and the Lake Geneva in general in terms of climate/weather, friendliness, attitudes, etc? Is quality of life as good as advertised in terms of things to do, food and medical care, schooling and knowledge? Can English-language bookstores and shopping be found? How does it compare to Zurich, which was my first choice? Am I going to be forced to live in the canton of Vaud if i'm working in Lausanne as an American citizen on a Swiss visa/work permit, and for how long? What did you have to come to terms with as an American moving there?

Paris, London, Switzerland in a week - recommendations?

Malad — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 22:16:20 -0800

I want to do Paris/daytrips (1-2 days), Switzerland (4-5 days), and London/daytrips (1-2 days), all late this January. I'll be traveling alone. I'd love some advice. I've done a lot of the main Paris/London touristy stuff, and also seen Nice, but I've never visited Switzerland.

Recommendations in my itinerary for great:
-hostels/B&Bs/budget hotels?
-must-see scenery?
-must-see attractions?
-must-taste restaurants/pubs/wineries/etc.?
-amazing classical music/other concerts/film festivals/etc.?
-other must-sees on your personal list, in whatever category?

Oh, and -- a great travel guide or two I should buy before I leave? Any other tips welcome too.

Thanks!

How do I get my hijacked domain back?

slater — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 23:49:12 -0800

My website domain went to the Ukraine. Any chance of getting it back? I used to own the domain "slater.ch" (CH = Switzerland, before anyone gets confused), for which I forgot to pay the outstanding domain bill. Of course, as soon as it lapsed, some guy in the Ukraine nabbed it. Namely, according to whois:

Alexander Litvinov
Politechnicheskaya 13
UA-03056 Kiev
Ukraine

He holds other, previously registered swiss domains (llb-be.ch being the one he uses as nameservers for "my" domain), so i'm going to assume he's a domain squatter.

I'm perfectly willing to pay him some money for it, but before anything like that happens, I'd like to get in touch with him (maybe he doesn't want money?).

So my question is, apart from hoping the address he's given in the whois is correct and sending him a postcard, are there any other ways of getting in touch with him? The swiss registration place can't give out his email address, as that's private.

Any MeFi people in Kiev?

Yodelay-hee-hooo - going to Switzerland.

tkchrist — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 14:55:43 -0800

TravelFilter: Last minute. Wife an I going to Switzerland from the US in late January. Leave on the 19th. I have to be in Geneva on the 21st. Flying standby - don't know where I'll come in. Maybe Milan? Maybe Paris? Maybe Munich? Maybe Zurich? Need a good route by Rail to Geneva. More inside. Being last minute it's on a standby buddy pass. So we don't know for sure where we'll come in. Any ideas on a good route or if I can get a preference of landings - which route maybe more interesing for an outdoor fan (wife not-so-much an outdoorsperson). Zurrich? Milan (my preference)? Paris? Munich? I will NOT be driving. Are there any considerations in travel by rail in winter over the Alps? Reservations? Clothing? Will the Olympics in February impact travel? Also after Geneva - where would you go? I have two to three weeks. What would you do? Go see David Bowie? Ski? 'm saying in Geneva for free and flying for free. So we'd like to make the most of it. Not rich. But not poor either.

Looking for French Train Announcement Sound Files.

blue_beetle — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 08:22:24 -0800

I’m looking for sound files from trains and buses in specific cities of Europe. Specifically I would like to find recordings of station announcements (the ones they make right before the train stops) or recordings from announcements at train stations (la gare). I’m most interested in the following:
CFL (Chemin de Fer Luxembourgois) – Luxembourg (in French or Luxembourgois)
SNCF – (Societé Nationale de Chemin de Fer) French train system (specifically the areas around Lyon/Grenoble or up north near Metz)
TPG – The public transit buses and regional trains in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland

I wouldn’t be opposed to contributing a few bucks if I could find these anywhere, but so far no luck. Please hope me obiwan!

Crazy for Farmer Crock

blue_beetle — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 20:18:06 -0800

Where can I buy Farmer Crock? While living in Geneva I got adicted to Farmer Crock, a type of museli cereal sold in Migros in Switzerland. I haven't been able to track it down on the internet or in any stores. I must have some! I would like to find somewhere in Canada or the USA or online that I can get a hold of it. Any help would be much appreciated!

Google in Switzerland

tirebouchon — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 21:14:21 -0800

I am living in switzerland for the next two months and I want to access google.com listings. However, whenever I type it into my browser i get google.ch. Anyone know a way around this?