"Schweiz - Suisse" Switzerland by Tea4Two

Switzerland is unique, puzzling at times and with so many sides to it. Many people come here with a fixed impression in their mind - chocolate, Heidi, yodelling, cuckoo clocks, mountains, rivers. Most leave with that impression but for the few that really look at Switzerland and its history will find something much much more.

Throw all your impressions of Switzerland away. It is not what you think! For example did you know that the Swiss are phenomally brainy? Per capita they produce more Nobel Prize winners and register more patents than any other country. Milk chocolate, DDT (insecticide), life insurance, pump turbine are all swiss inventions.

It is a fact - the Swiss are not an especially friendly bunch. They are not rude - although it often seems to come across as that. They are a very reserved culture and it is hard to break through that reserve. It is also peculiar for a country to have four languages (German, French, Italian and Romansch). Even if you are fortunate enough to speak German I doubt you would be understood. The language in the German part changes into a dialect known as Swiss German and it is a dissimilar to German as it can possibly get! In my experience people prefer to speak in English than in German. How weird is that?!!

In a nutshell I love Switzerland! It is a diverse place with so much beauty. You will never want to leave.