In the USA, it’s the 4th of July. And in France, the fireworks go off on July 14th. It was just our turn to celebrate here in Switzerland, the national day being August 1st. Happy 719th Birthday, Switzerland!

I love birthdays. I really, really do. Birthdays, anniversaries, the planning of surprises, cake, candles, cards and presents.  What’s not to love? Read the rest of this story >>

Château d’Oex’s International Hot Air Balloon festival is rapidly approaching, and some of you may be making  plans to head that way.  Going for the weekend is a wonderful excuse to visit the beautiful region of Gruyère, especially the charming, medieval village of the same name – even if spelled differently (Gruyères).  You’ll take 200 photos of the most photogenic hot air balloons, rising high against a backdrop of the breathtaking Swiss Alps, their colors easy to spot against the clean blanket of pure white snow. Then perhaps you’ll visit Gruyères- its storybook château and one pedestrian street, and then stop in a café for a hot chocolate, as well as the region’s famously rich double cream and meringues.  But you must be saying to yourself now… isn’t the region more well known for… cheese?!

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I hope you have all been able to catch some of the coverage on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, either from the links from the previous post or on television.  Certainly no shortage of the latter.

For those of you planning a trip to Berlin, if you like museums, you’re in luck.  There are almost 200 in Berlin, satisfying your interests in art, culture, history and/or religion, among other curiosities.  Below you’ll see just a few highlights from my short visit to the city, plus one museum that is a must, if only for the fact that you won’t find it anywhere else in the world other than Berlin.  Any guesses? Read the rest of this story >>

It’s not every day you see a 26 foot (8 meter) tall fork sticking out of a lake.  I know you’re all curious to know the story after all.  So here it is…

The fork went up in 1995 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Alimentarium – Musée de l’Alimentation, Vevey’s Food Museum.  (Aha, that’s the reason I had Vevey high on my list!  But more on the museum in a minute.)  A Swiss artist created it as a temporary exhibit, and still laughs to this day about the years of controversy it created.  Instead of one year, it came down in 1997 for “aesthetic reasons.”  Ten years went by until up again it went for a temporary exhibit at the Alimentarium on cutlery (“Couverts découverts“).  Well apparently the people of Vevey had grown to love their gigantic fork, and it practically became a public symbol.  Following petitions, Vaud authorities finally signed papers in 2008 declaring the fork stays!  Permanently.

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The town of Vevey in Western Switzerland is well worth a visit for its Saturday morning market alone: the lively market ambience, amazing array of fruits, vegetables and local specialties and its location right off the water.  It’s even more of a destination during the summer months when there’s folk music, artisanal crafts and unlimited wine tasting as well.  But without the ordinary market or even le marché folklorique, I’d still recommend a visit to Vevey.  It has a beautiful spot on Lake Geneva, narrow, winding streets to wander around, tons of cafés, as well as shops overflowing with cheese, meringues and chocolates shaped like Charlie Chaplin’s shoes.

…Not to mention a gigantic fork standing upright on the water!

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After the first taste of Croatia, I wasn’t quite sure what to share with you next.  So many beautiful destinations in Istria itself, such rich history and gastronomy; 1,000 photos to sort and numerous recipes to try… where to begin?  How about with my favorite town, Rovinj.  Think Italian Riviera, yet with a twist.  Street signs are in both Italian and Croatian, and people are speaking in either one of these 2 languages, if not in the Rovinj dialect, which would not be understood in any other region, as one local pointed out to me.  A colorful Mediterranean town, with a real Italian flavor, that still feels like an island of its own, even though the old town has been connected to the mainland since 1763.

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Our destination was set for the day – we were heading to the Swiss Army Knife exhibit in Schwyz.  But once we were there, what else would there be to do?  Even though you could easily walk around the entire town center in, oh, 10 minutes, it’s worth it to spend a lot more.  A quick visit to the tourist office had our hands full with brochures and a whole day planned of cultural and historical visits, a hike nearby (with picnic of course), plus a few addresses for a café and pastry in town.  

Before doing anything else, you’ll find yourself just staring at the mountains that fully surround the town.  The green of the hills just seemed so much brighter and cleaner than anywhere else.  Perfectly manicured – so Swiss!  First stop for us was the impressive collection of knives at the Forum of Swiss History, just behind the tourist office.  The town is full of history – and not just of knives. (You can read about the exhibit here).  Hey, it’s how Switzerland got its name after all!  So we headed next to the Museum of the Swiss Charters of Confederation to learn a bit more.  For such a small museum, you won’t believe the amount of historical accounts inside.  I recommend a visit if only to see Switzerland’s Constitution, the original document from 1291 in an enormously oversized glass case.  Hop on the computer next to it for an interactive translation line by line, from Latin to French or German (sorry, no English).  Pretty neat in fact.  A must for English speakers – they have a huge binder of explanations in English of every item on display – don’t forget to ask for that at the desk.  

To round off your history lesson, you may want to visit the “House Bethlehem” on the Ital Reding Estate, the oldest wooden house in Switzerland, built in 1287 – pre-dating even the Swiss Confederacy!  There’s also plaques all around town explaining the importance of certain streets, 18th century manor houses, monasteries and churches.

Before heading out of town, we made one last visit – a 10 minute walk over the town border from Schwyz to Ibach, and there you’ll see the Victorinx factory store.  A bit disappointing not to be able to visit the factory itself, but if you’re in the market for a Swiss army knife (or two or 20), then this is the place to be.  Next stop for us: Schlatti. A 10 minute bus ride along the mountain turned out to be an attraction in itself for the views.  Next mode of transport: cable car up to Stoos.  But not just any cable car.  The steepest cable car in all of Europe (not cheap either – CHF 22 round trip)!  In 7 minutes, it travels a distance of 1200m, with a difference in altitude of 800m.  Worth it?  Yes. Here’s why, a view below of Swiss Knife Valley:  

Once at the top, if you can pull yourself away from the above view, there are assorted hiking paths to follow and plenty of prime spots for picnics!  We were ready for that. Fresh bread bought at the market that morning, assorted charcuterie, a thick slice of cheese, radishes with salted butter — ooh, and here’s my trick for that: I put a square of Bordier’s salted butter in the freezer overnight.  That way, by lunch time on the mountain, it was perfect to eat, instead of being a melted mess.  Strawberries from the market too and some Swiss chocolate rounded it all off.  Aside from the French butter, it was 100% Swiss – the food, my Swiss army knife present of course, the views of the snow melting on the mountains and the cows grazing in the fields.  

If it weren’t for our picnic lunch, we would have taken advantage of the Swiss Culinary Festival taking place in Schwyz this month, the Schwyzer Ess-Spektakel.  From May 8th to the 31st, 18 restaurants have chosen a Swiss canton to represent and have a set menu of traditional dishes from there.  You can download the list of restaurants and dishes here, only available in German though.  En Guete !! (Bon appétit in Swiss German!)

Address Book for Schwyz:

Tourist Office
Bahnhofstrasse 4
+41.41.810.19.91

Forum of Swiss History (Forum der Schweizer Geschichte)
Hofmatt, Zeughausstrasse 5
+41.41.819.60.11
Tuesday to Sunday: 10am – 5pm

Museum of the Swiss Charters (Bundesbriefmuseum)
Bahnhofstrasse 20
+41.41.819.20.64
Tuesday to Friday: 9am – 11:30am, 1:30pm – 5pm
Saturday & Sunday: 9am – 5pm

Ital Reding Estate & Bethlehem House
Rickenbachstrasse 24
+41.41.811.45.05
Tuesday to Friday: 2pm – 5pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10am – 12pm, 2pm – 5pm

Victorinox Factory Store
Schmiedgasse 57
+41.41.818.12.11
Monday to Friday: 7:30am – 12pm, 1:15pm – 4pm
Saturday: 8am – 3pm

Where to Eat & Drink

Café Haug
Postplatz 4
+41.41.811.16.16

http://www.cafe-haug.ch/index.php5

excellent café and confiserie with rooftop terrace, great view

Kreuz & Quer
Hauptplatz 7
+41.41.810.01.01

http://www.kuq.ch/

bar with prime corner spot on the main town square, attached to… 

Purpur
Hauptplatz 7
+41.41.810.01.01

http://www.kuq.ch/purpur/restaurant_f.html

Thai restaurant

Mything
Hauptplatz 7
+41.41.810.30.00

http://mything.ch/

bistro and bar next door to Kreux & Quer (yes, they all have the same address!)

Ratskeller
Strehlgasse 3
+41.41.810.10.87

http://www.ratskeller.ch/

historic restaurant with Swiss specialties

Wysses Rössli
Hauptplatz 3
+41.41.811.19.22

http://roessli-schwyz.ch/

4 star restaurant and hotel on the main square

When you walk into a kitchen supply store, sometimes the sheer variety of tools can make your head spin.  Each one designed for a particular food or purpose – a spoon to scoop out your avocado, a different one for your kiwi, a special knife to carve your pineapple and yet another one to hull your strawberries.  For me, the best (worst?) example was a peanut butter spoon I once saw in New York City!  Really, a spoon just for peanut butter.  Need I say more?

What I learned this past weekend in Schwyz is that this concept is not new.  With the 125 year anniversary of Victorinox, a special exhibit just began at the Forum of Swiss History in the town of Schwyz, about an hour away from Zürich by public transportation.  The Swiss Army Knife as an icon.  Not only can you trace the evolution of the famous red pocket knife with the immediately recognizable emblem, but you can also trace the history of the knife as a tool, even including some examples from the Roman era.  The collection on display is truly impressive.  When I asked the lady at the museum how many knives they had in total, her eyes grew large and she laughed, as if I had asked her how many people in the world have a Swiss Army Knife?!  

To each his own – and by that I mean his own knife: a knife for the architect, the mohel (to perform Jewish circumcisions), the flint-striker, the juggler, the kosher butcher, the hunter and the horseman – his knife the one with the hoof scraper, but of course.  A knife for every sized hand too – the smallest measuring just 2mm, and the largest having 314 blades, giving it a place in the 1992 Guinness Book of World Records. Overall, the exhibit spanned time periods, countries, professions and cultures too.  

Above left is the drude’s (or elves’) knife, dating back to 1867 from Germany.  These were placed in the doorway of a stable or in a baby’s crib to ward off evil drudes, the crosses and moons having protective magic effects.  The other 2 knives, above right, make quite a contrast together. First a pocket knife for today, with its glitzy exterior and USB key!  Next to it, an ostrich-feather trimmer from the 19th century.  What would women’s hats be without ostrich feathers, the ultimate fashion accessory.  Too delicate to pluck with any other knife, they had their own.  

It was a truly fascinating exhibit, and I highly recommend it.  Up next here on the blog – more on the town of Schwyz and what to do after this cultural lesson in cutlery.  Here’s a hint – grab your Swiss Army Knife and head to a nearby mountain for a hike and a picnic!  Stay tuned…

 
Special exhibit on the Swiss Army Knife – A Tool that’s Become an Icon
May 16 – October 18, 2009
Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am ? 5 pm

Forum of Swiss History
Zeughausstrasse 5
6431 Schwyz
Switzerland
+41.41.819.60.11

In celebration of the Jubilee, Victorinox has also organized a North American Road Tour, spreading the word from place to place: “125 Years, Your Companion for Life.” They were just in San Francisco, and are heading next for Vail, followed by Seattle, Chicago, Boston, Montreal and ending in NYC late August. Take a look at the website for more information:

http://125years.swissarmy.com/