Swimming in Switzerland: 5 Fun Places

In hopes to encourage summer to make its appearance again, the Frau has decided to write about swimming in Switzerland. Yes, Switzerland is landlocked. But despite having no oceanfront, Switzerland still offers many wonderful places to swim in the summer. Below are five great options.

Caumasee

Lake Cauma (Caumasee)

Dive into this sparkling turquoise jewel near Flims in Graubünden or just flirt with a few local men. (Graubünden, according to a Swiss friend, is the canton where Swiss German speakers have the sexiest accent.) Other options? Rent a paddleboat and enjoy the water ohne goosebumps.

  

Lake Lungern

Drink the water? Swim in the water? At Lake Lungern, you could do either. The water is drinking-quality pure and one part of the lake has a swimming area complete with a sandy beach and water slide. You can also hike or bike around the entire lake, as the Frau has done.

Lake Zurich: Seebad Utoquai

Swim with the swans or tan on the deck—in any weather. Unlike some lidos along Lake Zurich, this historic one is open May 12-September 23 from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. in all weather conditions. 

Aare River

How many capital cities in the world have a river? And how many of these rivers can you swim in without a major health risk? The Frau doesn't know of many unpolluted rivers in world capitals, but she does know that you can swim in Bern's river. Here, every summer, hundreds of people take to the Aare, the longest river in Switzerland.

Lake Geneva: Bellerive Plage

C'est beau to live in Lausanne. Naturally, this Olympic city is home to a wonderful summer swimming facility that includes–what else?–an Olympic-sized pool. Celebrating its 75^th anniversary, Bellerive also includes a family pool, an aquatic park, 20 ping pong tables, and a lovely location by the lake.

Where do you like to swim in Switzerland?

The high quality of life in Zurich

You hear all the time that Zurich has one of the highest quality of life ratings in the world.

But what does this mean?

I figured this out a couple weeks ago.

It was one of those boiling hot days when sitting in the office was almost unbearable. So about 11:45, I went to Seebad Utoquai and spent an entire hour swimming in Lake Zurich. While there, I ran into five other work colleagues.

"Do you come here often?" I asked, as I joined them on the deck for a few minutes after my swim.

"Every day," they replied.

Now that's what I call a great quality of life.

Lunch al fresco (if you can)

According to a study commissioned by the Federal Health Office and reported by swissinfo.ch, 27% of the Swiss population aged 14-65 were smokers in 2009. But among 20 to 24-year-olds, 39% percent smoke. Cough.

Despite these numbers, take a walk along Lake Zurich, and it can feel like everyone smokes. I can hardly walk two steps without choking. It’s really too bad, since Switzerland is so clean otherwise. But it’s hard to enjoy the fresh air and nice weather when it’s clouded by cigarette smoke.

Lately, like half the residents of Zurich, I’ve taken to eating my lunch by the lake. This is quite challenging for a non-smoker, but last Friday, I managed a milestone: I sat on a bench by the lake along with three other Swiss-German speakers, and no one lit up for the entire 45 minutes. I could hardly believe my luck.

But normally, I sit down, take two bites of my food, and someone starts smoking. So I play a strange game of musical benches, which never really ends well. However, I have done some completely unscientific research that I would like to share to help you choose your next outdoor dining bench:

1. Sit next to people who are eating. Most people here won’t light up in the middle of their lunch, only yours. So choose people who are just sitting down to eat, not those who are finishing.
2. Don’t sit by people who look like they are 20-24. Your odds of breathing smoke will be almost 40% instead of 30%.
3. Do not sit by people eating McDonalds. Not only does their lunch stink, their cigarettes will too. These people seem almost 100% more likely to smoke than those eating something from Tibits.
4. Analyze the wind (if there is any) and plan your bench strategy accordingly. If possible, sit on the edge of the bench closest to the direction the wind is coming from.
5. Find a secluded rock by the lake.

Anyone else have issues with smoke or strategies for avoiding it and still being able to enjoy lunch al fresco?

Paddle Boat on Lake Zurich

On Saturday, I finally did something I've always wanted to do: rent a paddle boat on Lake Zurich.

Somehow, I was able to snag a boat without waiting despite the hot weather. They are not cheap, at CHF 26/hour, but if you think about it, that's really just the price of a Swiss hamburger, so take your pick.

Benefits to renting a paddle boat in Switzerland over the U.S.: (1) you don't have to sign your life away on an insurance form (in fact, you don't need to sign a form at all!), (2) you are not required to wear a life jacket, (3) no one will stop you from paddling to wherever the heck you please, and (4) you can bring beer.

As an American, I really felt free.

Anyhow, as I was paddling (and diving off the boat sans life jacket), I noticed that my paddle boat was inferior to some other paddle boats on Lake Zurich. My paddle boat was not a Mercedes.

Oh Switzerland, you constantly one-up me.

No wonder there wasn't a line for my kind of boat. No one in Zurich would want to be seen paddling so generically.

But I would do it again.

Admit it. Have you had the nerve to go generic in Zurich?