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.

Don't Miss the August 1 Brunch

The Frau has only has one regret regarding the traditional August 1 farm brunch: That she didn’t discover it sooner. August 1 is Swiss National Day and there is no better way to celebrate it than by having brunch on a farm. Think endless Birchermüsli, Zopf, fresh breads, smoked meats, butter, cheese, eggs, honey, homemade jams, and Incarom coffee served over the sounds of a few loud moos and you’ll get the idea. Over the last twenty years, the August 1 brunch has become such a big deal that there’s now an entire website devoted to it, and Migros, one of the largest grocery store chains in Switzerland, publishes “Brunch Magazine.”

Swiss National Day Brunch

Support for local farms in Switzerland is nothing new. The Swiss have long preferred to buy local products over imported ones and will gladly pay extra for the pleasure of helping their countrymen. The popularity of the brunches is just an extension of the passion the Swiss have for eating locally.

There’s more to a farm brunch than food, however. Many farms offer opportunities for children to feed goats or rabbits, some have organized art projects during the brunch—make a purse out of a paper plate, anyone? Others offer entertainment such as line dancing, mini alphorn concerts, or farm tours. The goal is to bring people from the city and countryside together, which is a mission that countries like the United States would be smart to consider too.

Though August 1 has only been celebrated as Swiss National Day since 1891, the country was founded 600 years earlier on August 1, 1291 when the three cantons of central Switzerland—Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden—took an oath in the Rütli meadow on the banks of Lake Lucerne to establish the country. But the people of Switzerland have only been able to celebrate their national holiday work-free since 1993.

The Swiss make up for all that lost partying time with a huge spread of food followed by an evening of fireworks. To show your Swiss spirit and epitomise Swiss brunch fashion, be sure to wear the semi-required edelweiss shirt. And for your personal collection, you can also stock up on Swiss flags, Swiss candles, Swiss lanterns, and anything else you can think of that’s Swiss—hardboiled eggs decorated like a Swiss flag, anyone?

To find a brunch near you, (and there most likely will be one, since up to 350 farms across the country now participate) you can search for a brunch by canton or by zip code on brunch.ch. Once you decide on a brunch location, be sure to reserve your spot ahead of time. Over 150,000 people make reservations for brunches across Switzerland, so you do not just brunch on August 1 when and if the spirit moves you. This is Switzerland, so farm brunches are highly organized—just like the country in which they take place.

For more information:

What: Brunch on a Farm

When: August 1, Swiss National Day

Time: Approximately 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Price: Approximately 25 SF to 40 SF

Where to book: brunch.ch (German, French, and Italian only)

And yes: There is a brunch hotline…check the website for all your brunch news and needs.

P.S. You can enjoy 98.9 more ideas like this in The Frau’s new Swiss travel book, 99.9 Ways to Travel Switzerland Like a Local.

What You Never Thought You'd Miss about Switzerland

Here’s something The Frau thought she’d never miss about Switzerland: mold.

And yet there it is, yodelers. About four months into her American Experiment, The Frau misses mold.

Will those strawberries go bad before you can eat them?
That depends. Which country did you buy them in?

Mainly, she misses it in her refrigerator. Does this make any sense? The Frau doesn’t know. But somehow she finds herself nostalgic for those Swiss strawberries that used to go bad five minutes after she bought them. Well, ok maybe not those. More like the ones that molded after 24 hours. Mold was like proof that they were the real deal fruit product, oder?

The Frau also misses bread that hardens in a day. Even freshly made bread in America doesn’t get stale in a day. This perplexes The Frau.

The Frau also misses being able to buy a ripe banana. (And also being able to weigh this ripe banana and put a price sticker on it BEFORE purchasing it so that when Toddler M is begging for a banana while still being held hostage in the shopping cart she can eat it without this whole process being considered stealing later.)

But in general, here’s the thing that scares The Frau about America. The food here doesn’t go bad. She buys a nice batch of fresh cilantro on Sunday and it’s fine to use the following Saturday. It’s also usually still good the following Saturday after that. This kind of concept just does not exist in Switzerland.

Now. On one hand, it’s great. The Frau only needs to shop for food once a week in America and she saves a lot of money not having to rebuy produce that has molded before she intended to use it. In Switzerland, she went to the grocery store at least every other day and only bought for meals about one or two days in advance.

But on the other hand, it’s frightening. What the heck do they do to American food that they don’t do to Swiss food? Buy normal food or buy organic, no matter which version you choose, it still lasts longer in the U.S.

So. The Frau may not last long in the U.S. for fear of the consequences.

Anyone else love their Swiss mold?

Where to eat in Basel and Zurich

The Frau had a work meeting in Basel earlier this month so she was introduced to the Markthalle. Yodelers...this is everything The Frau has been looking for in Zurich for the last eight years and not yet found. Plates of Indian food for CHF 8. Half liters of soda for CHF 2. Then there was Thai food, Turkish food, Ethiopian food, and more. The Markthalle put Cervelat and overpriced hash browns (i.e. Roesti) in their proper place: far, far away.

The Frau asks you: is there any other place in Switzerland where you can get ethic food for less than your rent? Not to mention, the Markthalle is atmospheric (it was built in 1929 and renovated from 2009 to 2011), it's all the variety of food you could want under one roof, and it's only two minutes from the Basel train station. Oh, and did The Frau mention it's affordable? There are also small shops, a fresh produce market, and free toilets. 

And for those looking for where to eat in Zurich, well, you're in luck: The Frau just wrote an Insider Guide for CNN Travel on Zurich. It includes her new favorite place for a burger: Holy Cow. (That's what you'll be saying anyway when you see the prices–a gourmet burger for CHF 10! It really exists, yodelers.)

The Line at Tibits

Yodelers, as some of you vegetarian lovers may know, Tibits is a zoo at noon. Especially at noon on a rainy day. Like yesterday. So imagine The Frau’s surprise when she saw a line at the buffet.

Yes. You read that right. A line.

A line? In Switzerland? The Frau didn’t know what to do. Wait in it with the rest of the foreigners while the Swiss helped themselves to the food? It seemed rude to cut in such a well-formed line, but The Frau has been in Switzerland eight years and that's long enough to have no patience for lines since only foreigners who have been here three years or less stand in them.

As The Frau stood there debating what to do, a Swiss woman grabbed a plate and started lecturing everyone in line that here you don’t do things like that. You just grab a plate and go. Then she demonstrated, grabbing a plate and elbowing her way into the middle of the crowded buffet. The Frau, relieved, followed her, leaving the other foreigners standing in their pointless but polite line.

Unfortunately, The Frau is feeling a little American guilt about the whole situation today. So like the good American she no longer is, she’ll try to make amends now by saying sorry for cutting in front of all her foreigner friends.

Like reading about Swiss Life? Then you may also like The Frau's book, Swiss Life: 30 Things I Wish I'd Known. Just a friendly tip from an author who has decided to embrace shameless self-promotion. 

You Know You're in Switzerland When…

an ass is beautiful.

everything is just a bit more expensive.

plain m&m's are a new phenomenon.

How do you know you're in Switzerland?

Doing Breaststroke in the Swiss Freestyle Lane, Oh my!

Lately, The Frau has been disturbing Swiss order in a big, fat unintentional American way.

First, if you’ll remember, she had the nerve to think that banana bread could be a substitute for Zopf at a Swiss daycare birthday party for her daughter.

Then, she ventured to do one length of breaststroke in the freestyle and backstroke lane at the pool in Zurich. How dare she think she could get away with that, yodelers!

Finally, after these two incidents within a week, when buying a couple of train tickets for her parents, she asked two different SBB clerks in Baden to double check that she could use a both a Mitfahrbillet and a Mitnahme GA together with her own GA (Swiss train pass).

SBB Rules: One conductor had
her own version of them.
Photo: Brian Opyd

Ja ja, was the reply, after much research and phone calling on the SBB ticket agent side—because who the heck would try to combine two SBB promotions other than a cheapskate American expat…

But nevertheless, three train connections into their Mitfahrbillet, Mitnahme GA, and GA journey, The Frau was told she broke the rules (how dare she use these two ticket combinations together!) by an SBB train conductor. The Frau argued her way out in crappy Deutsch, finally ending the 10-minute discussion with a, “Dass ist nicht mein Problem that in your eyes the rules are different than the SBB ticket agents in Baden.”

Go Frau!

“Well I'll let it go this time,” said the SBB train conductor (finally!), “but don’t go doing something like this ever again!”

(A classic example of Swiss customer service.)

All of these experiences made The Frau realize how she never, no matter how long she lives in Switzerland, quite fits in. No matter how hard she tries to follow Swiss rules, she always ends up interpreting them in an American way.

In other words, she always assumes more leniency, customer service, and friendliness than she receives. She can’t help it. And it doesn’t matter that her American husband plays the alphorn or that they both play Jass. After 7+ years in Switzerland, they still can’t seem to play by what’s most important: the rules.

A loaf of banana bread in a sea of Zopf

The Frau is a loaf banana bread in a sea of Zopf.

Let her explain.

Baby M had a birthday. At her daycare, parents are encouraged to bring a loaf of Zopf (Swiss sweet bread) instead of cake. A recipe for Zopf (written in German) was given to all parents a few months ago.

As a working mother, however, The Frau has limited time to bake on a weeknight and thus no tolerance for a German recipe for something she’s never made before. Being the black sheep that she is, she assumed that something similar to Zopf, such as banana bread, would be an acceptable alternative.

So after work, in between making dinner and taking care of Baby M, she somehow managed to cook a loaf of banana bread.

The next morning, however, the daycare explained that cake was not acceptable even though The Frau had made banana BREAD. No explanation mattered. Her efforts were not acceptable. Nothing, in fact would be acceptable. Except a loaf of Zopf.

The worst part is, The Frau should have known better. Nothing in this rejected world of American banana bread surprised her. The fact that she had created a creative alternative demonstrated that she will never be Swiss. No matter how much Zopf eats.

So Baby M had no daycare birthday party since the banana bread was rejected right in front of her. Luckily, Baby M didn’t really understand. But in another year, the whole incident probably would have caused her to hang her head in shame, to have such a loaf banana bread in a world of Zopf for a mother.

Oh well. One loaf of rejected banana bread later, The Frau a Swiss lesson learned has. And Baby M all the more banana bread to herself enjoyed.

Why the Swiss are skinny

The Frau once got an email from someone in England wondering if she could explain why the Swiss were so skinny.

The Frau gets a lot of strange emails.

Still, The Frau thought about it. Pondered it. Too many mountains? Too many cigarettes? But she never came to a real conclusion.

Until she made her first box of non-imported brownies and realized something:

One box does not fit all, fellow yodelers.

An American box of brownies would fill a normal-sized baking pan.

A Swiss box of brownies (see photo) won’t come close. That's why they include their own paper pan inside the package.

So now The Frau can explain why the Swiss are so skinny. Or rather, she’ll let her Swiss brownie package, which is supposed to serve 16, speak for itself.

En guete, mitenand.

Five Swiss chocolate specialties you should eat now

In case you haven't noticed the chocolate bunnies, which took over all Swiss grocery stores right after the reindeer were retired, another holiday, and therefore, another reason to eat chocolate is upon us. As if you needed the excuse. So The Frau has graciously provided five good reasons to get going on your proper Swiss 12 kilos of chocolate consumption this year.

Mohrenköpfe

Swiss Easter: another excuse to eat chocolate

PC Americans, please close your eyes now. Because Mohrenkopf literally translates to "nigger head." And you should eat one. Why? With thin layer of chocolate on the outside and marshmallow on the inside, Mohrenköpfe are like s'mores but without the graham cracker. Make sure you enjoy the right brand, where the marshmallow literally melts in your mouth as m&m’s always claimed to do but never did. The Frau recommends Dubler Mohrenköpfe. You can find them at Manor Food or even buy them direct from their factory in Waltenschwil if you are a Hausfrau and their limited opening hours actually fit your schedule. (Warning: do not feed a Mohrenkopf to your toddler unless you want to give her a bath.)

Price of one nigger head: 90 Rappen.

Mövenpick Chocolate Chips Ice Cream

The Frau was never a big chocolate ice cream connoisseur, but after trying the Mövenpick  chocolate chips ice cream, she has reformed. This ice cream tastes more like chocolate custard than ice cream. And if you can’t stop eating it, you’ll want to run for the border–and not just to burn off the calories. In Germany, you can get a package of Mövenpick chocolate chips ice cream for 2 Euros, or about one fifth of the Swiss price (CHF 12). The Frau has not figured out why Swiss products are cheaper in Germany because she's too busy running over there to get them.

Schober Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate served with a side of chocolate? What are you waiting for? Café Schober’s famous hot chocolate is a drink that’s a meal in itself. Totally justifies the high price.

Price: Cup in café CHF 7

Sprüngli Truffle Cake

The small version of this cake claims to feed four, but it’s so delightfully rich that you could probably squeeze at least six or eight servings out of it. The Frau got this cake for Baby M to celebrate her first birthday and she enjoyed it so much that amazingly, more went into her mouth than on her dress.

Price: CHF 20

Lindt Passion Caramel & Sea Salt Chocolate Bar

Not shockingly, the combination of Swiss chocolate, caramel pieces, and sea salt is a good one. You can find this chocolate bar for sale at Manor Food and Coop.

Price: CHF 4,95

What is your favorite Swiss chocolate specialty? Inquiring Easter Bunnies want to know.