Switzerland 2 - Couple's Wrestling and Cow Licks

Hi everyone! Last week I returned to Sydney after a three week Switzerland trip. It was great,
a little unlucky, and adventurous. David and I went to a protest for the rights of migrants in Switzerland,
saw the UN in Geneva, fed popcorn to French monkeys, visited a beautiful castle, I got really sick,
went to two medieval festivals, celebrated my birthday, rolled my ankle while hiking in the Alps, and
wrestled David in front of a camera. 

We left on the 26th of June for Switzerland and arrived about 30 hours later in Basel.

We were greeted by sunshine and 36 degrees celsius. It was awesome. The first thing we did was to buy Basler Laeckerlis. These are David’s favourite local lollies and taste a little like gingerbread with citrus aroma. I am more of a Baeretatze person myself (bearpaws: basically glazed brownies in the shape of bearpaws). 

My friend Anna and her baby boy Elias greeted us at the railway station in Basel. It was great being back. I tend to forget how it feels, when everyone around you speaks your native tongue. In Sydney, my ears would immediately prick up, if I only heard a whiff of German, Swiss German or French. 

We stayed at my grandparents’ house. It’s the family’s safe haven. I was very happy to see them again. We all gathered in the living room, where I had the chance to give them our presents from Australia. I brought them Tim Tams, Anzac Biscuits and some other nic nacs. I started getting into embroidery around the last big medieval festival during the Easter weekend, so I embroidered their favourite flowers and sewed in on two little pouches I made for them. 

After we unpacked, we went to the place everyone in Basel goes to on a hot summer day: To the Rhine board. We sat outside a pub and watched people strolling past. A lot of people wore swimming gear, because we swim in the Rhine. So you basically jump into the river, float down for one or two kilometres, get out and walk the river upstream again. Rinse, repeat. Some daredevils would also jump from the bridge into the river. Don’t do that! You’re going to break a leg. 

The next day we went to the natural history museum with my mum and my sister. We spoke about how sometimes as a non native speaker of a language you are unaware of your mistakes. My sister’s partner is French. Apparently you cannot say ‘Je m’introduis.’ for ‘I introduce myself’, you have to say ‘je me present’, because the other sentence means ‘I insert myself’. Yikes. I’m sure I said it wrong on numerous occasions.

Later we went to a theatre play with my dad. The weird thing was that it was the exact same play David and I saw in 2017 here in Seymore Theatre. Oopsies. Nothing to be done about it. The play was still interesting to watch. It’s called ‘The Nether’. 

On the weekend I introduced David to my autistic brother Yannick. He lives in a shared flat with other autists and care takers. The government provides those living arrangements. It was great seeing him again and I brought him an Aboriginal art print for his room. Afterwards we hung out with my Nonna. I like talking to her. She is a migrant just like me. I now finally understand where she is coming from. She had it tougher than me though, because the level of open racism was very high post WWII. David impressed her by rinsing the glasses we used. She nodded and noted: ‘He’s a modern man, your David.’. 

In the evening we headed to a protest event for better rights for migrants and refugees in a park. My friend Alain told us to come. There were some panel discussions and concerts going on. I enjoyed being at a protest/happening again after such a long time. I can’t really do that just yet in Australia. It could interfere with my visa applications. 

The next day came and brought stunningly beautiful weather. Luckily we had no plans and the river was calling. We put on our swimmers, bought a swimming bag (for valuables and clothes) and went in. It was David’s Rhine baptism. I was way too nervous about him swimming in my river for the first time. He was fine, I was fine. It was wonderful cooling off and getting some sight-seeing done at the same time, because you literally float through the guts of my city. It also smells a little like guts to be honest. David said it reminded him of low tide Cooksie (Cooks river). Luckily the smell is only in one spot (Schifflaende). Afterwards we ended up bathing in a fountain. We bought some beers and wine and sat in a quite sizeable fountain with strangers. Fountain bathing has had a bit of a revival in the past years. It’s popular, because we have a lot of big fountains in the city and it’s free. 

On Monday, July 1rst we went down to Geneva. We had lunch at the lake and admired the ginormous
fountain. I always thought: ‘It’s a fountain so what?’. Oh boy was I wrong. That fountain shoots water
140m into the air. It’s very cool to watch. It was initially meant to be used as an exhaust for a water
pipe. People liked it so much and the city recognised how valuable this would be for tourism, so they
moved it closer to the city of Geneva.  

In the afternoon we went to the UN for a guided tour. It was great. We learnt about the history as well
as what the UN actually does these days. I am a great supporter of diplomacy and can definitely get
behind what people at the UN try to achieve in principle. Plus, I love learning and speaking other
languages. The translators there have an important role. The tour guide told us that sometimes people
will try to make a joke, but there is often no way to translate it into another language. That’s when the
translators would say: ‘I’m afraid I can’t translate this joke. Please laugh now!’. I am not too funny in
English, but I crack a lot of jokes when I speak German. 

We went home the next day in the afternoon.

On Wednesday, the 3rd of July we took a train to Selestat in France to go to Montange du Singe (Monkey Mountain) near Kintzheim in the departement of Alsace. It's a barbary ape sanctuary in the forest. They gave us a hand full of unsalted popcorn to feed them. They looked adorable and were sometimes quite shy.

Afterwards we visited the castle Hautkoenigsbourg in Orschwiler. We took an audio tour to learn more about this beautiful castle. It was first mentioned in the 11th century and was changing ownership as well as the country it was standing in. Alsace went through several hands and kingdoms until it finally became French.

We returned in the evening and had dinner with my aunt Fraenzi. We swam in the Rhine again near to where she lives. Her partner Michel and her prepared a wonderful barby with my favourites sausages. She has been to Australia and New Zealand before. She loved Tasmania and their Whisky in particular, so I brought her a bottle of Larkin Whisky. 

The next day we were supposed to go on a guided tour through my hometown Basel, but I got really sick. I had a 39 degrees fever, because of a bacterial infection in my throat. It was tough. I went to the doctor in the evening, who put me on antibiotics and painkillers. I was not to leave the house for a while. Sadly, I had to cancel my own birthday party with my friends which was plant for the next day. 

I recovered quickly and went to my favourite European medieval festival called MPS (short for Mitteralterlich Phantasie Spectaculum). I only drank water and did not dance, but I got to see and catch up with some great people. I bought some wooden cutlery and bowls for the upcoming Australian medieval events. Some of the people I hadn’t seen in four to five years. I saw Samir, an old Magic the Gathering and Pen’n’Paper RGP mate. I laughed while pinching him in the cheeks and saying: ‘So that’s how you look with 30!’. He returned the compliment. It might sound harsh, but this is how we joke in my circle of friends back home. 

On Sunday, 7th of July we got up early and headed to Stein in Appenzell Ausserrhoden for the Swiss Wrestling canton championship. About 185 to 190 wrestlers participated. Swiss wrestling, or ‘Schwingen’ as it’s called in Swiss German, is a very traditional combat sport. Two men or women wrestle on a circle of sawdust. They wear pants with special straps for their opponents to hold onto. The goal is to throw your opponent onto their back. There is no three seconds rule. If the back touches the ground, you lose. So the fighters often try to turn mid-throw or arch their back using their head and neck. Some of them look like Rugby players, because their necks are incredibly thick. The winner can decide whether they want to take home the prize bull or the money. The bull for this tournament was Alex. He was a milk cow breeding bull and a very calm, big and a sweet boy. We walked around the festival grounds where we got to admire Alex, the other cow and the calf. When David stood next to Alex’s stable, the bull sniffed David’s hand and licked his hole underarm. After David received his cowlick blessing by the prize bull, we decided to move on. 

There was a booth set up by an insurance company where you could don the traditional wrestling attire and take a photo in front of a green screen. They would then add the background, so it looked like you were participating in the championship tournament. Of course we couldn’t resist. Something funny happened. The photographer said, he’d throw some sawdust to make it look more real and he’ll tell us when we should strike a pose. He said all of this in Swiss German, which David doesn’t understand. So when he said ‘now’ I slightly lifted David for the photo. David, however, thought that I was trying to wrestle him…

He retaliated and threw me onto the sawdust. I was super confused. The photographer threw the
sawdust in my face and because my head touched the tent wall of the booth, some collected
rainwater came loose and splashed me in the face. I was just laughing and so was the photographer.
So yeah. We took another photo.

The next day I celebrated my birthday with my family at my grandparents’ house. It was great seeing
and catching up with them. I always worry that there might be some distance between us after not
seeing them for such a long time, but luckily, I am always wrong. 

On Tuesday, the 9th of July we went to beautiful Blatten in Loetschental (canton Wallis), where my
grandparents live during the summer months. We traveled with my sister Annina and her partner
Florian by train this time. David loves Loetschental and whenever I step out of the train and drive up
the valley, I am super excited and happy to be back. We had lunch with my grandparents and went
straight for a hike to lake black (Schwarzsee). I was stoked, because I was so much fitter than last
year and managed to get up to the lake in no time. We took a detour back through a beautiful pine
forest and some pastures. My grandparents prepared a delicious cheese fondue for dinner. It was
perfect. 

The next day we wanted to hike to Ahnenhuette near the Aletsch glacier. David and I went ahead and ended up on different hiking paths than my sister and her partner.

After about an hour I rolled my ankle pretty badly. We had to return and ice it. David helped me down the mountain and we took a bus back. Before we went back to the house, we bought another Tschaetterte or mountain demon mask from the Village mask maker. We bought one last year. She lives above our Kitchen door frame and her name is Hildi. This year we bought Kurt.

He now lives above the door frame to the hallway. Back at the house we set up station in the garden. David and I were reading books while the neighbour’s goats ate grass next to us. David tried to become friends with them the moment we arrived. At first, they were not impressed with his attempts to feed them, but that afternoon they finally caved in. 

The next day we went back to Basel. We had dinner with my godfather Markus and his husband
Stefan. I always love hanging out with them. They have been to Sydney before and had a great time. 

On Friday, the 12th of July, my mother, David and I went to a big waterfall of the river Rhine in Canton Schaffhausen. It is the biggest waterfall of its kind in Europe. Here are some photos.

It was great getting to spend some quality time with my mum. My love for languages comes from her,
and other character traits. 

In the evening I met up with one of my best friends, Michel. His girlfriend and some of her friends
came too. Michel knows how to be himself around me, even if we haven’t spoken in a while. I love
that. Makes hanging out super easy and fun. 

On Saturday, my friend Joy her partner Joel, David and I went to a beautiful little village in the French
speaking part of Switzerland called St. Ursanne, where they had a big medieval festival. We watched
jugglers, fire artists, a magician and some musicians perform. I bought beautiful jewelry. I
unexpectedly ran into my halfsister Eliane and her boyfriend which I loved. She is now 17 and it
seems, even though I am not around a lot, she is heading down the right path. Just like her big half
sister.

I ran into many old friends that day, which was awesome. We all took the last train back to Basel.
Joy was nice enough to invite us back to her place, but I was too tired, plus I held my small postponed
birthday BBQ the next day.

On Sunday I was finally off the antibiotics and felt fantastic. David and I bought sausages and beers,
and headed to the forest where I always celebrate my birthday, Langen Erlen.

My friends Nadja and Marcel brought their four months old baby boy Emmanuel. He was adorable
and so well behaved. I gave him a crocodile and a koala stuffed animal as well as a children’s book
with Australian animals as a gift. Everyone else got stubby holders, Sydney themed notepads,
crocodile and kangaroo jerky as well as some other nick nacks. 

On Monday we went to the most famous amusement park in the area, called Europa Park, in Germany. My friend Anna, her husband Sam, our friend Alexis, David and I went by car. We rode all the big rollercoaster. It was a little tough for David and I, but we bravely made it through most of them. My favourite ride is the bobsled in mini Switzerland. I always used to go there with my godfather as a child. Everytime I asked him whether we could get face paint. He’d then always say ‘We can get some, when we are leaving.’... and then we never got any. But I’m an adult now. So I made it a priority this time.

The next day we packed and cleaned, met my Dad for lunch and bought some souvenirs. It was our last day of summer for a while. 

In the evening my mother, David and I went to the Basel Tattoo. My favourite part was the performance of the pipers from the UK and the Commonwealth. The Australian Federal Police bagpipe players were there too.

Basel is very famous for their carnival drum and pipe groups and marching bands. One of our most
famous groups is called Top Secret Drum Corps. They usually perform at the Basel Tattoo as well,
but they were at the Edinburgh Tattoo this year. Here’s a video.

Top Secret Drum Corps at Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2012

The next day we had to get up early to catch a train to Zurich.

And then a plane to Singapore.

Then another one to Brisbane, and then a third to Sydney. 

Thankfully I learned from last year’s mistakes and stuck to a strict sleeping schedule this time. After
four days my jetlag was over and I started to get a nice cold which I contracted from the air plane. At
least I was able to take off my ankle brace. 

On Monday, the 22nd I started my new job as a PR coordinator and was super sick. I really like my
new job. It’s even better now that my cold is almost gone. I went on a run on Saturday. I’m preparing
for the City to Surf run. I’m confident and happy for the future.

See ya soon.

piranialight.