Schnee

Whilst it may seem to some of you as though this has recently been a weather blog, I assure you that we do more here than talk about the weather. Or not. Late last week the first snows hit Basel and Saturday was spent sheltering from a blizzard. Some of the snow is still here, though hasn't become the slush that it would have were this England. There's more set to follow. Whilst you all may have snow in your respective locations too, not many of you also have Glühwein on tap like we now do here in Switzerland. It sucks to be yous.

Das Wetter II

So, it seems we're on the cusp of a change, weather-wise. When I first came to Basel, way back in July, the temperature was in the high twenties/early thirties most of the day and you could do very little outside. By the end of September it had started to drop, though last weekend it topped a wonderful 18c. These days may be over for 2010, as the image of the forecaste above from this morning shows.

Wir Sind Helden

This week a very special Welsh lass visited me in Basel. Chiefly to go to a gig, but also to sign off and mosey around Switzerland for a few days. After meeting her on Monday and leaving her to go to work, we journeyed to Zürich on tuesday ridiculously hungover from the day before, to see the German band Wir Sind Helden. We've both seen them before. They were brilliant. The room we were in was probably the smallest place I've seen a gig, and they played for almost two hours. One of my favourite songs was their last. Awesome.

The rest of her stay we spent in cafés, not understanding Swiss, going to the border, cooking for my flat, cowering from the hated corporate type and laughing more than I have in a long time. I saw her off this evening and am now shattered from the visit and having to get up early for work. Life is so hard.

Rivella

Anyone who has been lucky enough to visit Helvetica will no doubt have seen bottles of the mysterious looking beverage pictured above. It is, as the name suggests, Rivella, one of the great, Swiss enigmas. It's taste is hard to describe- whilst my friend and I were investigating it, the best reply we got was that "red is the original". Good to know, but not very helpful.

One day, not so long ago, I took the plunge and tried the blue variety (diet Rivella). It was strange, almost like watered down red bull mixed with apple juice. Suprisingly refreshing. But woe! After drinking a whole bottle of red, my stomach revolted. "Why?" I hear you ask. Let me explain. One of the main ingredients in this strange concoction is Milchserum, or whey. It seems my increasing intolerance of lactose stretches even to Rivella. There is little to no hope of me
eating either Raclette or Fondue whilest I'm here.

Fortunately, the smart folks over at Rivella have developed yellow Rivella, which is made from soy bean serum and is not only suitable for vegans, but is also lactose-free. Huzzah. My occasional strayings from my usual soft-drink of choice (Coke Zero) can now include Rivella.

Give it a go. I dare you.

Waffenstillstand

Today is Armistice Day in the UK, and many of you may have paused at 11am for two minutes of silence to mark the day. There are no doubt thousands of poppies being worn across the land, in a variety of different colours. And that woman (what's on wor stamps n monies) will have led a memorial service in London town.

Here it's a different story. The last war Switzerland actively took part in was back in the C19th, and the country has been neutral since 1815 (one year less than Sweden). So today there have been no poppies, no silences and no memorials. The First World War simply didn't happen here, and life continued as normally as it could. As it does today.

Infamie

So my housemate Aeschi So.* works for the Solothurner Zeitung and has involved himself in such activities as collecting branded tissues, distributing tote bags, reviewing train stations and discovering a scandal that rocked the foundations of the Miss Solothurn competition. Sometimes, he gets to cover court cases. As part of his job as a journalist, Aeschi has to protect the identities of those concerned by inventing pseudonyms that appear in the newspaper. So it was with great pleasure that I found a certain Richard M. appearing in an article about a recent court case. I just wonder how he comes up with the new names...

*Names changed by the editors.

Demokratie

Switzerland is (apparently) one of the most directly democratic countries on earth. What this means in theory is that every Swiss citizen has the right to vote on any number of issues- from shop opening times to the infamous minaret ban. In practise this often allows the mob, rather than common sense, to vote on any number of issues- from shop opening times...

Since being here there have been several referenda in Basel Stadt, my lovely home-canton (not that that's a real thing), and shortly there will be one nation-wide: Eidgenössische Volksinitiative «für die Ausschaffung krimineller Ausländer (Ausschaffungsinitiative)» Or, whether foreign criminals should be expelled from the Confederation.

The whole thing has drawn discussion from all sides. Those who support the original proposal of the SVP (Swiss People's Party), the alternative proposal of the federal council which is seeking to limit the extent of the law, and those who oppose both the proposal and the alternative.

The outcome is of great interest to me- not because I intend to commit any crimes, but also to see how the world will react if (as is likely) the SVP-backed proposal is voted in. Either way, I won't have to see the posters expressing support for the proposal once the vote has taken place. They're just too sinister:

"Creating safety"

Genf

Yesterday I journeyed south with M on my second visit to Romandie. Our destination: Geneva. Despite the struggles of an early rise (for a Saturday), we were soon on the 0903 train from Basel SBB and rolled up just under three hours later.

We first had some lunch and then wandered down to the lake to see the famous fountain. It was massive. Then we walked into the old town and just ambled up and down the streets, basking in the 17c sunshine. This was, of course, very conductive to sitting on a terrace drinking beer, and it doesn't take us long to jump at such an opportunity. More wandering was followed by more beer and Chinese food, before we got the train back up to the NW.

It was a great day, even if I didn't understand a word of what was going on around me. But who wants to speak French, anyway?

Die Eltern und die Herbstmesse

So it's been just over a week since my parents went back to Blighty after their first taste of Switzerland. I met them on Sunday in Zürich and spent the afternoon there, and on Monday we journeyed to Lucerne in hope of clear skies and stunning alpine vistas stretching out before us from the top of Mt. Pilatus. How wrong we were. Despite fog, cloud and lots of cold rain, we still had a wonderful day, and my parents seemed to enjoy it.

The next two, oh wait, three days of their visit were spent in Basel. I had work on some of the days, so they were partly left to their own devices, but generally we wandered around the city in the sun, taking in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the Herbstmesse. This is Basel's autumn fair, and has been held every autumn for over 500 years. Impressive. It involves rides, food stalls and people selling their handicrafts. It draws lots of people. But there's something tempting about wandering through Petersplatz munching on one of many foods on offer, with the knowledge that your housemates are annoyed at how long it takes them to get to uni... but realy. Crowds aside, it was quite fun.

And now my parents are safely back in England and the weather has turned. I think winter's fast approaching...