Schwingen In Switzerland’s Top 10 Posts Of 2012

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

Since everyone seems to come out with a Best of 2012 list at the end of the year, I thought I would list my top 10 most viewed posts this year.

Everything You Don’t Need And Can’t Live Without – I don’t like to sit still, don’t nap and hate to be bored. I realize that it doesn’t always make me the most relaxing person to be around, but it’s generally pretty entertaining. When we had a free Sunday, I decided to go check out a little shindig they had going on in the cool Carouge neighborhood. Unexpectedly, this post was selected for Freshly Pressed.
Tschäggättä Parade To Celebrate Carnival In The Lötschental Valley – One of the best things about Switzerland is its festivals. This one was unlike anything I’d ever seen. This was my first post to be Freshly Pressed.
More Pictures of the Versoix, Switzerland Ice Storm – Remember the picture of the frozen car? Well, since it was taken in a suburb of Geneva, I couldn’t help myself. I went to get the shot. On a side note, it would have been smart of me not to wear high heals when doing so. A couple of nice Swiss gentlemen helped me off the ice. Yep, I’m an idiot, but the pictures are great.
Our Basement Bomb Shelter, Otherwise Known As Our Storage Unit – I’m glad other people are as intrigued by this phenomenon as I am.
Mt. Blanc, The Tallest Mountain In The Alps – I am profoundly grateful to have seen such beauty.
The Spaghetti Tree Hoax, Aka Happy April Fool’s Day From Switzerland – Hilarious. Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.
My Introduction to French Cinema, A List of Great, Entertaining and Fun French Films – While I posted this before Jean Dujardin won the Oscar, some of his comedies made the list.
Why Didn’t Hitler Invade Switzerland? – This was a hard one to write as it’s a difficult question. I hope I didn’t screw it up too badly.
Another Cultural Difference…Men In Spandex – Sometimes, it’s the little things…
What The Heck Is A Bidet? – Please feel free to comment with any additional uses you can think up for a bidet.

The News From Geneva

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

A month ago, Geneva (and Europe) was in the middle of a giant cold snap. Pictures of a frozen car in Versoix, Switzerland made headlines around the world (and was featured on this blog). Waves and spray from Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) covered the lakeside with ice. While it isn’t exactly warm here, it is much warmer. The owner of the storied car made headlines when he finally retrieved it this week.

The front page of the paper 20 Minutes with the headline “The frozen car leaves without coughing.”

He had to wait for the ice to melt because chipping it off damages the paint. We still see little bits of snow here and there, but it is melting fast. Boats are going back into the lake. I even saw a girl sunning herself in a bikini top. She had to have been freezing, but no one was complaining.

The title of 20 Minutes article is “My notoriety is to have poorly parked my car.”

Problems with the weather and natural disasters continue. Sion and Zermatt experienced avalanches. Luckily, no one was injured or killed.

Also from 20 Minutes

Also in the Alps, a helicopter crashed near Les Diablerets. The two people on board survived, but were injured. This is the second crash there in as many months. As much fun as the mountains have been, there are daily reminders of their dangers.

In other news, Micheline Calmy-Rey, the former Swiss President, received a pie in the face after attending the opening of the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights.. Actually, it was a Black Forest Cake. She is not pressing charges.

Also from the paper 20 Minutes

a photo of the article in 20 Minutes

A 66 year-old Swiss retiree gave birth to twins. She was artificially inseminated at a clinic in the Ukraine.
In Switzerland, just like just about every other country, women make less than men for doing the same work. Today is Equal Pay Day, the day women break even with men… for the work they did last year. The average woman worked all last year through to today to make the average salary that a man made from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011.

from 20 minutes

From 20 Minutes

Finally in sports, Swiss superstar athletes (Roger Federer and Fabian Cancellara) continue to win. Skiing is big. Quel surprise.

More Pictures of the Versoix, Switzerland Ice Storm (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Geneva (And Europe’s) Cold Weather (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
It snowed last night 6″ Made for a great day. – Les Diablerets, Switzerland (travelpod.com)

More Pictures of the Versoix, Switzerland Ice Storm

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Schwingen In Switzerland

Last week, I posted pictures of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva)’s ice storm. I took them in the Eaux-Vives area of Geneva, Switzerland. The post included a picture that was widely circulated (it went viral) of a car covered in ice after the ice storm in Versoix, Switzerland. Versiox is about 20 minutes up the lake from Geneva. I couldn’t resist going to see and take some more ice pictures.

Courtesy of the Telegraph and AFP

I wasn’t the only one who wanted to see it. There were adults with cameras and children sliding on the ice. Other bloggers have also posted pictures. Clearly, I am not as talented as the AFP photographer who took the shot above. Nevertheless, it was impressive.

Car covered in ice after the Versoix ice storm

Apparently, ice storms like this are not a regular occurrence here. You can find pictures on the internet from one in 2005, but this could very well be the only one we see.