My favorite place in Zürich is the balcony off of the ETH main building. This is one of the best viewpoints of the city. It is probably the place I spend the most time while the weather is good because it is beautiful and the internet access from the campus makes it a great place to study. The view is spectacular and there are large sculpture benches which are really comfortable to lie out on and do work. There are also food stands and a pop up coffee shop that provides great food for studying. When the weather gets bad, the cafeteria is located directly under the balcony providing shelter, food and the same great view. The one downside is the balcony is a tourist destination meaning it does get rather loud.
So far this exchange I’ve had the opportunity to take a trip to Appenzelland with my More than Cheese and Chocolate: A Modern Swiss History class. On this trip we saw one of the Appenzell cattle shows, heard traditional Zäuerli, and visited the Appenzeller cheese factory.
The Appenzell cattle show is one of the traditions of the region happening multiple times during the summer months. During the show, the farmers dress in traditional clothes and parade the cattle down from the hills to the city square (aka Brauereiplatz or brewery square) for the beauty of the cows to be judged. There is traditionally a small stalls set up selling homemade foods and handmade goods as well as games for the kids. At the end of the event the judges award a prize to the most beautiful cow based on a set of very specific criteria, which is a source of pride for the owner. Traditionally the farmers sing on their way in and the cows at the beginning of the procession wear traditional large Swiss bells. It is a very fun and ceremony occurring in the early hours of the morning.
After leaving the Brauereiplatz we went to a restaurant in a different town in the region where we had lunch. After lunch, a group of Silversterchläuse visited and let us hear the traditional Zäuerli from the Silvesterchlausen festival. For each of Switzerland’s 2 new years, the region of Appenzell celebrates by holding Silvesterchlausen. Silvesterchlausen is a celebration that comes from when Switzerland was poor and people would go door to door and yodel and beg for money. The type of yodeling they do is called Zäuerli. It is traditionally performed by 6 men, two Rolli (Sopranos) and four Schelli (Tenor/Baritone). Women are not allowed to be a part of these groups. During the celebration, the groups wear masks, large hats, and other traditional clothing and go to door-to-door performing their Zäuerli, ending in the mountains yodeling in the starlight surrounded by snow. Zäuerli is very different from what most people think of when they think of yodeling. It is has a very similar to sound to wordless a cappella singing and is absolutely gorgeous. I would definitely recommend listening to it if you have the chance. The sound echoing off the mountains must be beautiful.
We rounded off the class trip at the Appenzeller cheese factory. This type of cheese is famous worldwide for being delicious. They market their cheese as “spicy” and make it all in the Appenzelland with Appenzeller cow’s milk. Their recipe is a secret, but the cheese is an amazing raw milk cheese. Most raw milk cheeses are banned in the United States due to strict pasteurization laws, even though raw milk cheese is perfectly safe. I have been eating a lot of cheese while I’m abroad to be able to experience it before leaving. While America has many good artisan cheese farms, Switzerland is known for their cheese for good reason.
