Badenfahrt, Switzerland's Biggest Party: August 18-27

Baden, located 27 kilometers west of Zurich, is usually a quiet spa town. But every ten years, it hosts a ten-day festival that draws a million visitors. In terms of comparative population size, imagine 475 million people descending on New York City for an event. (A number greater than the entire population of the United States.)

Why is the Badenfahrt festival so popular? The name, meaning, “Baden goes,” comes from the Middle Ages when the spas at Baden were a popular escape for dignitaries. During the Reformation, many Protestant Zurichers found themselves fleeing to Baden for the kind of elusive fun that only Catholics could have back then. But the real party began in 1847, when Switzerland’s first train route opened. The “Spanischbrötli-Bahn,” which went from Zurich to Baden, made it easy for Protestant Zurichers to come to “crazy” Catholic Baden to eat sweet pastries (like Spanischbrötli, for which the train was named), sing, and let loose at the thermal spas.

Swiss people tend to relax most when given an organized reason to do so. The first Badenfahrt festival in 1923 proved this to be true. Today the festival features parades, fireworks, carnival rides, several entertainment stages, and that oh-so-Swiss trust that allows a million people into an unfenced festival area knowing that they’ll all buy the festival pass anyway. Besides, how can you rope off an entire city?

The Badenfahrt festival features hundreds of creatively themed food structures representing everything that Swiss industriousness is capable of. Forget a simple food tent; at Badenfahrt, the Swiss prove that the Greeks aren’t the only ones to build Greek temples. The Swiss build them too, along with sand beaches, the Eiffel Tower, and Japanese Gardens. Give the Swiss some scaffolding, and they’ll give you the Taj Mahal—even if its only purpose is to serve sausage for ten days.

Aside from Zurich’s Street Parade, Badenfahrt is the festival to witness the Swiss as you never have before—shrieking at 3 a.m., throwing beer bottles into the street, and dancing to rap music. To experience Badenfahrt is to experience the Swiss at their most fun-loving and free. Until of course, the clock strikes midnight on the tenth day of the festival and street sweepers arrive on the twelfth ring to start cleaning up the mess, making the entire experience feel like a figment of your imagination.

Tips:

The big, once-every-ten-years festival takes place in Baden from August 18-27, 2017.

baden.ch

badenfahrt.ch

Spanischbrötli pastries, a specialty from Baden that dates back to at least 1780, are a featured food at the festival, but you can try the sweet buttery combination of hazelnut and carrot almost anytime at the Moser’s bakery in Baden.

Moser’s Backparadies

Schlossbergplatz 2

5400 Baden

+41 (0)56 222 42 55

backparadies.ch

For more information:

Read The Frau’s article in The Independent about Badenfahrt.

Listen to the swissinfo.ch podcast featuring The Frau discussing all things Baden.

Read 99.9 Ways to Travel Switzerland Like a Local for 98.9 more tips like this one. 

The Frau's latest book is now available in Black & White. It's Swiss quality at an American price.

5 Great Autumn Hikes in Switzerland

The Frau loves fall in Switzerland—when it’s not rainy and foggy, that is. After seven years of not-so-scientific observation, the fall seems to peak sometime between October 20-November 4. So when you get that rare sunny day, fellow yodelers, do not stop to collect your personal belongings—except for maybe your camera and your SBB train pass–just go as quickly as possible to one of these places:

Morteratsch

Morteratsch Glacier hike in the Fall

The hike from the Morteratsch train station to the Morteratsch Glacier and back (about 6k in total) is one of the most beautiful in Switzerland. Especially when the orange and yellow leaves frame the icy snow against a blue sky. The wide, fairly level trail is also suitable for strollers. If you work up an appetite, the hotel next to the Morteratsch station serves up tasty lunches (pumpkin ravioli, anyone?) To extend the hike, you could also start at the Pontresina train station.

Lavaux Vineyards

There’s a reason this 32k area along Lake Geneva is called the Swiss Riviera. In fact, there’s no place like Lavaux when the vineyards begin their magical transformation from green to gold. The perfume of fermenting grapes will fill the air so you might as well give in and have a glass of wine to celebrate your hike through this UNESCO World Heritage Site. This trail is also wide and paved, making it a great option for strollers and families.

Schartenfels

When The Frau can’t make it to Lavaux, she settles for Schartenfels, or what she calls the Aargauer Riviera. From the castle/restaurant, Schloss Schartenfels, located a mere 500 uneven stairs above Baden, a pleasant gravel/paved trail allows you to do about a 40-minute loop through the colorful vineyards. If you want to taste the wine from this region, The Hotel Blume in Baden serves it at their restaurant.

Lej de Staz

Lej de Staz

Feeling reflective? A pleasant, stroller-friendly stroll or bike ride from St. Moritz to Lej de Staz will allow you to enjoy the fall foliage surrounding these two beautiful lakes. From Lej de Staz, you could continue hiking to either Pontresina or Punt Muragl.

Gebenstorfer Horn

A hike (or bike ride) from Baden to the Gebenstorfer horn will take you past Baldegg, where on a clear day you’ll have a wonderful view of the Alps and the option to have lunch at the Baldegg Restaurant. Then you’ll pass through woods and farmland filled with apple trees, finally arriving at the Gebenstorfer horn, where you’ll have a view of the Limmat, Reuss, and Aare rivers all coming together. You can then continue your hike to Turgi, Brugg, or return to Baden.

Where do you like to hike in Switzerland during the fall?

Dear Frau: Expat or Local Swiss Contract?

Welcome to another edition of Dear Frau. It’s kind of like Dear Abby, except with an international twist. Remember, if you’ve got a question about living in Switzerland or moving to Switzerland, don’t hesitate to contact The Frau.

Dear Frau,

I am currently investigating the option of expat versus local Swiss contract for work at a company in the Baden area.  As an American, what are the benefits of both from your perspective?   Also, is there a contact of yours that may be able to share their perspective of a local Swiss contract with elementary-aged children that initially came from the States?

Danke.

Expat Or Local

Dear Expat Or Local,

Free flights home: one benefit of an expat contract

Unless you know you want to live in Switzerland forever, an expat contract is nice work–if you can get it. Unfortunately, more and more companies are taking away many of the benefits typically offered by expat contracts. So it’s hard for The Frau to tell you what’s best without knowing your exact options. However, expat contracts usually are financially advantageous (although they can be emotionally challenging because you’ll probably end up living in limbo).

The Frau has no way of knowing what your expat contract terms may be. So she will make them up, based on what many good ones often include in order to demonstrate why expat contracts are more advantageous to local ones.

Advantages of an expat contract:

Lower commitment level (typically expat contracts are between 1-5 years)

Includes a look-see visit

Air tickets home once a year (big benefit, especially if you have children, it is often hard to find cheap flights)

Tax assistance (big must for Americans)

Tax equalization (pay taxes as though you were living in your home country only)

Education assistance for school children (a company that will pay the CHF 30,000 international school fees for you…)

HR support (The Frau had great support from her husband’s HR department)

Housing stipend (typically over CHF 2000 a month, although it is taxed like income—also why your base salary may end up lower than it would be on a Swiss local contract)

Relocation specialist to help you find and secure housing in CH (necessary if you don’t speak the local language)

Language lessons

International insurance (great benefit, since Swiss insurance is very pricey and does not include dental or eye care…The Frau misses CIGNA International, sigh.)

Moving expenses (both there and back…unless of course, you go local later)

Job security (is a company going to let you go if it will cost them CHF 30,000 to move you back across the ocean?)

Transportation benefit (train passes or car lease, etc., cost also added to your salary and is taxable)

The option to go local later if you love it (like The Frau…)

Advantages of a local contract:

You won’t be living in limbo

You may invest more in learning the local language by knowing you will be here indefinitely

Higher base salary (you’ll need it without all the expat extras!)

Swiss child stipend ((an additional CHF 200/month per child (amount depends on the canton you live in–200 is for Baden) added to your paycheck))

You will be protected by Swiss unemployment (if you end up working long enough and with the right permit...)

Swiss pension (might be good, might not be good—depends on the company)

Paid only in Swiss Francs (a big advantage for Americans now, look at the dollar!)

Anyone else want to chime in and help Expat Or Local, especially those with children that came from the States? Merci vielmal from The Frau.

The Aargau Factor

The Frau and her husband recently went through the passport control at the Zurich airport. She showed her "C" permit proudly. And why not, after all, to receive it, she had gone through bureaucracy and back. 

Then the agent asked her where she lived, so The Frau dutifully answered, trying to act as pleasant as one does when pretending to enjoy the third degree.

"But that's in Canton Aargau," the agent said, with that oh-so-familiar I live in Zurich and we are so much better than you attitude. 

He was not just a passport agent. He was a cool detector and a pride plunderer. One of the many who live within the Canton of Zurich's borders.

The Frau lives below the castle in Baden. How uncool.

Yes, over the last six years, many Zurich-dwellers have reminded The Frau that because she lives in Canton Aargau she is automatically uncool. 

So let's rewind six plus years to that fateful day when The Frau had to answer a very critical relocation question.

"Do you want to live in Zurich or Baden?" was the question. But the question should have been: "Do you want to be cool or a complete loser?"

Can you believe The Frau's response? "I don't know," she said. 

The Frau didn't see a big difference between being cool or a complete loser given that they were only a short 16-minute train ride apart. "Can't we just look in both places?" she asked.

"No," was the reply. "Because different agents are used."

They didn't mention that not only did Zurich and Baden use different agents, but the two cities were actually on different planets. At least according to the Swiss you-live-a-16-minute-direct-train-ride-from-Zurich-that-is-so-far-into-the-Middle-Ages mindset.

In fact, a 16-minute commute turns out to have consequences almost as far reaching as the fried potato ditch separating the German and French-speaking areas.

Fine, world. The Frau is uncool. The Frau is backwards. The Frau is a farmer.

But who cares, sophisticated Zurich people. Call The Frau uncultured and go back to your 10 m2 apartment that costs as much as the Frau's 120 m2 one and smoke a cigarette out the window while watching your neighbor use the toilet. The Frau will be going back to her big fat Baden balcony and enjoying her castle view. Yes, there she'll be, gazing up at her 9th century tower while the kings and queens of Oerlikon enjoy looking out their window at a brick wall with their noses as high in the air as the Alps.

Have you experienced the Aargau Factor?

The worst logo the Frau has ever seen

No. This is not a joke (it is April 2, people). It's just bad design. This is the logo for the Baden City Festival. Or at least, a sad excuse for a logo.

It really bugs the Frau because it's everywhere in Baden. On bus wraps. On posters. In her mind (She works in advertising so please excuse her, she's a little strange and these kind of things drive her crazy all the time).

But never this crazy.

Help. Can someone please explain why you would hyphenate the word "Baden" as "Ba-

den?" After all, for German, it's a very short word and there is plenty of room to write the five letters in the second line of this logo.

The only saving grace for the Frau? They are not calling the festival "Badenfahrt" like they did in 2007. (If you're wondering, yes, they had t-shirts with "Baden" on the front and "Fahrt" on the back. The Frau regrets not buying one, but she barely survived the festival due to living directly above the rock and pop stage which featured "famous" Swiss rappers sharing their art until 5 a.m. for 10 days straight.)

And now the city wants her to buy a Stadtfest Ba-

den festival pin for CHF 40. With this logo on it. For the pleasure of not being able to sleep for 10 days. Oh, the joy that is Switzerland sometimes.

Is it just the Frau being overly sensitive? What do you think of this logo?

Dear Frau: Explain these strange Swiss laws!

Welcome to another edition of Dear Frau. It's kind of like Dear Abby, except with an international twist. If you have a question about life in Switzerland or moving to Switzerland, don't hesitate to contact The Frau.

Dear Frau,

I hear there are quite a few quirky laws in Switzerland. For fear of being arrested, can you please let this soon-to-be American expat in on some of these strange laws? Is it true you can't flush the toilet after 10pm? And why?

Thanks,

Confused in Connecticut

Dear Confused in Connecticut,

There are a lot of things that are a bit strange about living in Switzerland. The Frau does not pretend to know all of them, but here are three strange Swissisms she either has some personal experience with or knows someone who did:

Quiet Time

Flushing the toilet after 10 p.m. Forget Heidi, this is the real Swiss classic. The Frau does not believe this is an official Swiss law, but rather a clause that may be in your apartment rental contract. Many apartment buildings have strict quiet hours and these may include specific things a non-Swiss person may not typically associate with loud noise. Such as: not being allowed to flush a toilet after 10pm, not being allowed to do laundry on Sunday (or during the lunch hour—some buildings actually shut off electricity to the machines at this time...), or not being allowed to do gardening on Sunday.

Also on the quiet hour front: you can’t typically recycle glass bottles on weeknights or on Sundays without being yelled at for disturbing the peace. Never mind that yelling also disturbs the peace or the all night parties that go on right outside your window during Carnival or Badenfahrt…

Trash Talk

Make sure you get a copy of your city’s garbage calendar and try to understand it (for help, read this). If you put your garbage out too early (or in the wrong bag, oh my!) you may be subject to a fine. A friend of the Frau was once called to the police station where she actually had to identify her trash. She was then charged CHF 250 because she had set it out too early the night before.

Recycling paper (see photo) is another strange Swiss ritual. You let the paper pile up for at least six weeks at your apartment and then ceremoniously tie it up with strings in neat packages no higher than about six inches before putting it outside. Don’t slack and just think it would be easier to stick all that paper in a paper box or bag and put outside. It would be easier, but this does not matter. If you don’t do it correctly, your paper will not be picked up and it will be plastered with a sticker stating your error. If you’re like The Frau, you’ll then be tempted to just throw it in your regular trash rather than wait another six weeks to redeem yourself.

Transport Pitfalls

Speeding

Driving a car is expensive in Switzerland. If you go more than 5 kilometers over a speed limit, you’ll receive a CHF 40 fine in the mail for each offence. If you travel way, way over the speed limit, you will be charged a fine that’s a percentage of your salary.

Not paying the night ticket supplement

Typically beginning at 1 am, depending on the public transport network, you must buy a CHF 5 nighttime supplement in addition to your regular train ticket. If you don’t buy this and they check tickets, you will be fined as if you didn’t have a ticket at all.

Ok, the Frau has run out of energy. Anyone else have experience with some of these things or want to let Confused in Connecticut in on some additional Swiss laws or customs that are not fun to discover after the fact?

Great Ethnic Food in Zurich

After years of complaining about the lack of good ethnic food in Zurich, things are looking up for The Frau.

She’s discovered hands-down the best Indian restaurant in Zurich. She’s discovered a Thai place she likes. Not to mention a couple of her old standards, which she’ll also regurgitate here.

Cheti’s Curry Seefeldstrasse 7 8008 Zürich

Now this is good Indian food. And also not a bad price. For lunch, The Frau paid CHF 25 for a plate of chicken tikka masala complete with rice, side dishes, and a beverage. Wow. The Frau is getting to used to Swiss prices. Still. What a deal for Zurich. Service is friendly and fast. English is spoken too.

Tiffins Seefeldstrasse 61 8008 Zürich

The line out the door says it all. Besides daily specials like Singapore Noodles, this fantastic little Asian restaurant has standards like Sweet and Sour Chicken. And their mango/ginger beverage is well worth the CHF 6. Best of all, the dishes are reasonably priced, a small take-out portion can be as little as CHF 10. To snag a table at lunch, arrive before 12 or make reservations.

Restaurant Stadion Skarabaeus Seminarstrasse 71 5430 Wettingen

The Frau will forgive them for serving Schnitzel at lunch. Unfortunately, until more Swiss learn to appreciate fantastic Lebanese food, you can only order Lebanese food at dinnertime here--lunch is traditional Swiss. But the dinner is worth the wait. Two people can get 6 Mezzeh, or 6 small Lebanese dishes to share. And if you come with a party of 4, you can choose 12 dishes. Taboule. Hummus. Lebanese meatballs. It's all fantastic. Not a bad deal either: Mezzeh for two is CHF 45 and Mezzeh for four is CHF 95.

Wagamama Talstrasse 83 8001 Zurich

The Frau first discovered this Asian food chain in London and was thrilled when they came to Zurich. While their service may sometimes be strange—they will bring a main course and appetizer at the same time—the food is good and the green tea is free. Yes, free. Become a member of their club and you get great offers—free appetizers, free drinks, sometimes even buy one main dish, get one free. Their restaurant is always rather warm, so wear a t-shirt!

Hiltl Sihlstrasse 28 8001 Zurich

The best place for vegetarian food in Zurich. The Frau has been going there almost since she moved here and is never disappointed—except when it’s hard to find a table! But there’s a reason for that—the food is that good. And don’t forget to have the brownie with ice cream sometime. Hiltl also offers cooking classes in English.

Tibits Seefeldstrasse 2 8008 Zürich

If you’re looking for the ultimate salad bar, Tibits is the place to go. Some people have yet to realize that in a spirit perhaps only Starbucks has also mastered, there’s a Tibits right next to the Tibits. The newer Tibits is in the old NZZ cafeteria and is a much more spacious inside.

Restaurant Lemon Haselstrasse 17 5400 Baden

Forget Stars & Stripes, this is the place to go for a proper hamburger. Or barbecue ribs. Or nachos. In other words, American food. Is that considered ethic? Sure. We’re far enough from home. Another thing the Frau liked about this restaurant was their bread bar. You just help yourself to any breads you want along with dipping oils. For free.

Da Pippo Giuseppe Salvatore Untere Halde 11 5400 Baden

A pizza for CHF 13? A soft drink for CHF 3,50? A cute restaurant in Baden’s old town with friendly service included? What can The Frau say, this place had tasty pizza and they asked her if she wanted to take what she couldn’t eat home. She did. It made the deal even sweeter to get two meals for that price.

What restaurants do you like in Switzerland?

Subway in Baden

I was really excited when I heard Subway was coming to Baden. Finally, a place to go in Switzerland where a sandwich includes more than just bread and one ingredient. 

But then I found out the prices. CHF 18 ($18) for a "Foot-long" value meal? Maybe I'm not so excited about Subway after all. I could have a "Sub Platter" for that price in the U.S.

Alas, the prices aren't stopping the Swiss (they never have). Whenever I walk by, the Subway in Baden is always packed with people. Elementary school kids, teenagers, adults. Apparently, the Swiss are warming to the idea of eating chips with their sandwiches. And shelling out the big Francs to do it.

In other American fast food news, apparently they are going to renovate the Baden train station (the oldest train station in Switzerland) and install a Starbucks next year. What's next? My little medieval Swiss village is slowly selling out. McDonalds. Burger King. Subway. Next thing you know, we'll be celebrating the Fourth of July too. 

What do you think of all this Americana taking over Switzerland?

Minaret Ban: Fear or Discrimination?

I have to say, I was shocked that the Swiss passed the minaret ban on Sunday. I've read reports that say the ban resulted from fear and not from discrimination. But my question is, isn't that the same thing?

Not to mention, I just don't get the fear thing. What do the Swiss have to fear? No one has terrorized them. And I don't see what banning minarets accomplishes. Except to ask for trouble.

I also don't get this: religious freedom is part of the Swiss constitution. But the Swiss are so democratic, they've somehow been able to vote against their constitution. You have to give them credit. Democracy doesn't get any better than this.

There are four minarets in Switzerland. Four. None of them are used out of respect for the Swiss concern of "disruption." And please. If you want to talk disruption, I've got a clock tower across the street that tells me the time every fifteen minutes, 24/7. Never mind the Catholic church bells. Or celebrations called Badenfahrt.

What do you think? Is the minaret ban a step back for Switzerland? Can the Swiss ever claim they are neutral again? Is fear and discrimination the same thing?

Another Migros Moment

To celebrate my 400th post on One Big Yodel, I thought I'd discuss one of my favorite topics, shopping at Migros.

I've had so many run-ins (literal run-ins, with people plowing into me) at various Migroi that I have a name for them: "Migros Moments."

"What's wrong?" my husband asked me last week when he saw I was steaming as I unloaded the groceries.

"I had another Migros moment," I said.

"Oh no," he said. He knows these are bad because he's been involved in his own.

Anyhow, I’m innocently getting an onion when the Mad Cart Man of Baden goes by me at about 75 miles-an-hour with his shopping cart. He doesn’t actually hit me, but he hits another lady’s cart, as well as my shoulder bag, which goes flying off my shoulder. Thank God there were no children in his path because they'd be dead right now.

I try not to feel all American and offended by his invasion of my personal space, but he doesn’t even apologize. He screeches to a halt in front of the potatoes, (naturally, because it’s where I’m headed next), so I grab a plastic bag in frustration, letting it rip loudly as it tears.

Then, the Mad Cart Man of Baden starts lecturing me on my plastic bag ripping technique. I couldn't believe it. No one has ever lectured me about something as anal as this. Especially someone who could use a speedometer on his shopping cart.

“It’s better if you pull off the bag this way,” he says, gripping the next plastic bag on the roll, “then you don’t make it hard for me to grab the next one.”

“It’s better if you don’t pretend you’re driving a shopping cart in a Formula One race,” I want to tell him, but my German is frozen so I just say as sarcastic as possible,

“Es tut mir leid.” And then I'm so anxious to get the heck out of that store that I start shopping as fast as possible. But at least I'm using a basket.

Have you had a Migros Moment? If so, please tell. I'll love you for it.

The Top 8 Undiscovered Swiss Towns

To help you avoid the getting caught on hundreds of other vacationers’ souvenir snapshots this summer, here are eight undiscovered Swiss towns (brought to you in a two-part series, click here for Part 2), that all offer something unique—from a spa with the most mineral-rich water in Switzerland to three grand Roman castles you can call your own.

Baden

Baden means, “to bathe”, and this medieval spa town boasts the most mineral-rich water in Switzerland. Complete with bubbling lounge chairs and rows of jets carefully measured for a complete massage, the Baden spa is also lit by candlelight on weekend nights in the winters. So let the rest of the tourists flock to Vals for their wellness escapes. Baden, (the choice of Goethe and Nietzsche) is where exapts (and travelers) looking to avoid the crowds relax today.

Gandria (pictured above)

Palm and olive trees frame this colorful cliff-clinging town on Lake Lugano. Narrow lanes, locals that greet you with “Buon giorno,” and restaurants that cook with the locally produced olive oil, make Gandria an atmospheric boat trip from Lugano —especially if you plan on stocking up on handmade ceramics. But for those that depart without heavy bags, a well marked, (but not too well-traveled) olive tree trail winds back along the lake.

Neuchatel

Mix fine wines, watches, and yellow limestone buildings, and you’ve got the recipe for a town Dumas described as being carved out of butter. Only 12 miles from France, Switzerland’s French-speaking university town comes complete with a Gothic cathedral and a 15th century castle. Walk along the lake, admire the fountains in the old town, or take a hike through the vineyards—anything to work up an excuse to eat at a brasserie.

Seengen

Find the middle of nowhere and make it the center of the universe. That’s pretty much how it feels standing in front of the Hallwyl Castle in Seengen. Complete with a moat and a grassy courtyard, the castle also holds performances of operas and plays. From the castle, it’s only a 15-minute walk to Lake Hallwil, where the day can be completed via a boat ride, a swim, or a stroll past the many vineyards.

Stay tuned next week for Part 2. But in the meantime, what do you think? What are the best undiscovered Swiss spots you’ve found?