I'm an Aussie, but I'm going to be living in Switzerland in October. I'm excited.

Are there many other people from Switzerland? It would be nice to meet some other people....

I leave when Winter here is finishing up, and get over there during the Winter. I think I might actually learn how to ski properly. Can anyone tell me of any other really fun extreme sports to do? I've pretty much put my name down for the 220m bungee off that big dam (highest in the world, though it's not recognised).

Edit/ Umm, does anyone know if you can go white water rafting during Winter? I'm keen, but it looks like most places won't allow you to do it during Winter? Does anyone have any idea?

I went rafting in the Winter in NZ, and froze. It was quite fun though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2008 05:38AM by Elissa.

I just edited my post.. though I'm not sure if you can help me.

I'm going to be living in Zürich, on the lake. I think I'm maybe just under 50km from the Swiss alps, though I may have totally calculated that incorrectly.

Close to the Swiss border? Around Geneva, or around one of the other sides? I really want to go to Geneva!

Oh, wow.. I wish I could pronounce half of those place names.

Good news is there doesn't appear to be shortage of things to do. Your sport sounds like fun. I see you're from Berlin - I'd love to travel there sometime. Is it possible to do that on train? Or do you have to fly? How far is it?

Sorry to ask a million and one questions, I'm just really interested to hear!

Elissa: I envy that you are going to be spending so much time in Switzerland! I was there for a few days a year ago and absolutely fell in love with the country. The mountain town of Chur is only an hour away by train from Zurich, and is a must see for H.R. Giger fans. His first Alien bar is located there in an industrial area. The tourism office at the train station can give you directions - I think it's bus route #1 that goes nearby. Also, if you take the ski lift which is walking distance from the train station, up the mountain there is a nice chalet at the top and wonderful ski areas up in the clouds, but they don't speak English or French at the chalet. However, the item on the menu that has the word "pomme" in it means french fries.

Chur is one of the oldest towns in Europe and has a unique shopping area full of winding alleys. There is a weird species of tree that grows in Switzerland that are best described as freaky gnarled poltergeist trees. You'll know them when you see them.

Oh, the Interlaken region is the place to go for crazy outdoor activities... as you've probably discovered in your own research by now. There is an activity called Canyoning that you may want to try. Also in that area is a cog-wheel train that goes right up a mountain to the "Top of Europe" a glass enclosed observation building on top of a mountain overlooking massive glacial ice fields. Jungfraujoch is the name of the place. It's a UNESCO world heritage site.


I have so many more suggestions about Switzerland but I'll leave it at this for now, and come back to this thread another time.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2008 05:32PM by pragmatica.

Prag:

That's a lot of interesting information.. thank you so much! I have heard about Interlaken, and I see there's a lot of stuff to do there. I have heard of Canyoning, and think it would be a lot of fun. Haven't tried it, but I think I'll give it a go when I'm over there.

English is the only language I can speak.. but it's a requirement of my visa that I learn another language. I'm tossing up between German and French language lessons, maybe leaning a little more toward German. I was taught both languages years ago, and found German easier.

I'll just wait and see. Anyone have any suggestions as to what would be a better language to learn? Or are they both quite widedly used?

Thanks for all of the other info as well... anything you want to share, I'm certainly happy to hear. Little hints and tips would be great.

Felicia:

Yum, sleeping and playing video games sounds like a lot of fun. I am not a big fan of going out, and would rather do a lot of the cheaper things.. walking, exploring the land, etc.

Dori:

Oooooooooooooooh, that sounds great..... Will be sure to check that out.

Hmm, 8-10 hours on a train.. doesn't sound so fun, although I wouldn't mind trains at times - I like to see things you miss by flying. Flight prices don't appear that high either around Europe??

I know very little about many of these places, it would be nice to meet someone who has some idea! Haha! I'll let you know if I'm ever out that way, and I'm sure I will be sometime.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2008 03:02AM by Elissa.

dori_doreau posted:

since i'm a native german speaker i can't tell which language is easier to learn, but since you're going to live in the swiss german speaking part of switzerland i'd opt to learn german. and it's a language spoken in three european countries (switzerland, germany, austria), so with english it's a good combination for traveling. i should add it's in very colourful dialects, too *g*

Danke!

Sooooo, tell me something really great to do in Berlin?

Greetings from the beautiful *hem* capital!

Well, I'm doing no extreme sports (only extreme Aare-swimming *gg*) and I dont like wintersports (well, I dont like winter at all...), unfortunately I have no clever idea.

Oh, this here could interest you: [www.bodyflying.ch] It's not extreme sport, but very funny!

And HR Giger fans must visiting his museum in Gruyères: [www.hrgiger.com] It's a cute little (very little) town and smells like cheese (no joke!), you can eat fondue there till you die... aaaaaaand HR Giger is often there!

Edit. Sorry about my shitty english...

Gruyeres was awesome and you can even take a little mini train all the way there after transferring in I think it was Palezieux from the main train line coming out of Bern. Not only does his museum (and latest bar, across the street from it in the castle courtyard) have his own work, but the museum houses his personal collection of favourite artwork. The dead boy with his head on a pillow was an artwork from his personal collection that really stood out to me.

Castle Gruyeres also has those 'poltergeist trees' I made mention of in my first post.

Oh, and if you visit Geneva be sure to get a tour of the CERN facility where they have a massive cyclotron to study subatomic particles by smashing them together. Tours have to be booked months in advance though. I never got to see it as a result.

Hi,

I'm from Annecy in France, it's really close to Geneva. There's no topic for the french fans so I post here lol.
I would like to live in Switzerland, I went to Geneva 3 times last summer and I've got great memories, It's a good place with good people !

There are good ski stations in France too ! Courchevel etc...

But honestly, I really don't like ski or surf, I prefer jet-set places in Geneve, Cannes, Nice, Paris, even if I'm a poor french student ! lol