History and heritage, Swiss tour guide

Not satisfied with just marking standard tourist attractions from the list, curious travelers are now looking for authentic experiences. They are eager to meet people and experience everyday life. They try to get a deep understanding of the surface of culture and see what makes it different.

Of the 26 Swiss cantons, 19 cantons mainly speak German, while the four cantons in western Switzerland—Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Vaud—use French. French and German are spoken in three bilingual cantons: Berne, Fribourg and Valais. In the south, Italian-speaking people, which account for 8% of the Swiss population, live in the four valleys of Ticino and Graubunden (a three-lingual canton where you can also hear German and an obscure Romansh in the Latin dialect).

A satisfying tour itinerary will focus on special cuisine, musical performances and other unique experiences in Switzerland. Here are some possible content to make your customers feel that they have discovered the essence of "Switzerland".

As more and more global travelers make dining time a highlight of their journey, culinary travel continues to create a wave. The interest in local cuisine has rekindled enthusiasm.

We automatically associate certain foods with Switzerland-for example, cheese, chocolate, and fondue are available all over the country. The same goes for Rösti, a shredded potato cake fried in butter or fat until crisp. But it’s fun to try foods that are unique to a particular region. Each region in Switzerland has its own favorites. Swiss cuisine is heavily influenced by neighboring countries.

A signature dish in the Canton of Vaud is Papet Vaudois, a hot pot recipe that adds plump smoked pork sausage (saucissons Vaudois) on a bed of stewed potatoes and leeks with cream and white wine onion sauce. Vaud, located in the Lake Geneva region, is also famous for corn oil. To make this Swiss version of grilled cheese, slices of bread are immersed in white wine, covered with a thick layer of cheese, and then melted in the oven until the cheese is golden brown.

Cholera, a hearty vegetable pie, comes from Valais. It is said that the production of this comfort food can be traced back to the cholera epidemic in the 1830s, when people used any available food. Each recipe is different, but ingredients may include apples, pears, cheese, potatoes, onions, leeks, and bacon. Bakeries sell cold slices of cholera, and restaurants usually serve it as an appetizer.

Traditional cheese dairy products from the Alps above Lenk in the Bernese Oberland. Swiss Tourist Office

Another food from the Valais canton is very popular in every region. Raclette is a semi-hard cheese that is traditionally slowly roasted over a fire, scraping off the sticky layers layer by layer, and eaten with crusty brown bread or boiled potatoes, pickles and onions.

Tourists to Italian-speaking towns in the Canton of Ticino may have eaten polenta at least once. Creamy yellow cornmeal dishes (sometimes mixed with cheese in the region) as main dishes or condiments (for example, cut rabbit meat into strips, red wine brasato or as a bed of beef stew). Gnocchi, spaghetti And other homemade pasta, as well as risotto, pizza, freshly baked focaccia bread, salami, Italian sausage and the region’s famous Luganighe sausage, are all food waiting in the grotto, which is a rustic cave-like small The name of the tavern. Summer meals are usually served under the cool shade of chestnut trees. You can wash it thoroughly with Ticinese merlot, a rich red that is traditionally drunk from a ceramic bowl. There are many types of desserts in Ticino, from gelato and sorbet to amaretti, almond-flavored biscuits similar to French macarons, and sweet chestnut sauce like vermicelli and pasta, served on pastries or alone with whipped cream . The Autumn Chestnut Festival in Ticino offers a variety of chestnut delicacies.

The vibrant German-speaking city of Zurich is a great place to taste Zürcher Geschnetzelte, a dish made with veal slices and mushrooms in a gravy of cream, white wine, onions and butter. It is available in five-star restaurants and cozy bistros, usually with Rösti, rice or noodles. OLMA bratwurst is a white veal sausage from St. Gallen in eastern Switzerland, named after the Swiss Agriculture and Food Fair called OLMA. It is considered to be the best grilled or fried sausage in the country. It is usually served with crispy rolls at the sausage stall, and it is best to eat without mustard in order to let the aroma of the meat fully radiate.

The carnivores in Berne and nearby carnivores shouted the Bernard Plate. This is a large platter containing beef, pastrami and pork tongue, smoked pork belly, smoked pork chop, pork shoulder, pork knuckle and tongue sausage and other meats. A mixture of sausages. Cook it with juniper sauerkraut, pickled radish, beans and boiled potatoes. Onion pie (Zibelecheche) is another Bern speciality. Located between France and Germany, Basel is proud of its Basler flour soup, which is made from flour, butter, onion and beef broth and topped with grated Gruyere cheese.

Some delicious candies are produced in Germany, including Basler Leckerli, which is a gingerbread cookie unique to Basel. Hüppen is a long, crisp wafer biscuits sometimes with chocolate in it. In Appenzellerland, Appenzeller Biberli presses gingerbread into a wooden mold to make it look like a painting. The town of Zug offers us the cherry-flavored Zug Cherry Cake, which is a round cake with layers of hazelnut almond meringue and cherry-cherry cream. In the Canton of Graubunden, the Engadiner Nusstorte (nut pie) is a must, which is a butter pastry made with chopped walnuts and caramel.

A male Yodel choir from the Appenzell region in eastern Switzerland. Swiss Tourism Office/Robert Boesch

Swiss folk music has developed with the inheritance of skills and works, mainly dance music (whether there is dance or not). The most frequently heard instruments are Schwyzerörgeli (Swiss small accordion), violin, double bass and clarinet, as well as the dulcimer in the Appenzell region. In southern Switzerland (speaking Italian), the use of mandolin reflects the traditional connection with Italian culture. Almost every Swiss village has a band or choir, usually the Yodel Choir.

Folklore night on the Harder Kulm near Interlaken. Swiss Tourist Office

Yodeling originated in the Alps as a way of calling from one mountain to another; it developed into singing in the 19th century. Vocal techniques involve the use of some meaningless syllables, repetitive and rapid changes in pitch from normal vocals to false voices. Usually accompanied by Schwyzerörgeli, classic Yodel songs consist of verses sung in a normal voice (usually about mountains, nature, or home) and choruses sung in a Yodel pattern. Most of the Swiss Yodel songs are in German, but some are in French. The Yodel Choir performs in front of jurors at the regional and state Yodel Festivals and the National Yodel Festival every three years.

The alphorn is a typical representative of Switzerland, and it also appears in parades and other events across the country. The wooden wind instrument is about 9 feet long, has a cup-shaped mouthpiece and a bell-shaped opening, and has no holes, valves or buttons-all notes are done with the lips of the blower. The sound combines the richness of brass instruments and the softness of woodwind instruments. Approximately 1,800 Alpine Trombonists in Switzerland and around the world belong to the Swiss Yödelling Society.

Originally used by shepherds to call their animals to milk and communicate with people on the mountain or in the valley below, the alphorn was on the edge of the difference, until the romanticism of the 19th century triggered a revival of folklore. Today, the Alps Trombone is a respected symbol of Swiss tradition.

Schwingen's amateur sport, or Swiss-style wrestling, puts two strong, strong athletes in the middle of the sawdust pit, with the goal of grabbing the opponent's oversized shorts to make him lose his balance and bring his shoulders down to touch the ground. (The legs of the shorts worn over the trousers are rolled up to form a handle.) The winner of the duel wipes the sawdust from the shoulders of the loser. One session lasts about five minutes.

The Schwingen Festival is most popular in the German-speaking countryside at the foot of the Alps. Schwingen (lutte suisse in the French-speaking area) is a national movement that serves as pastime for herders and farmers and has recently experienced a climax. It has more than 5,000 active wrestlers in the national association and five regional institutions, and has its own rules, grips and throws.

Hornussen is a team sport that was first played on harvested land by farmers in neighboring villages in the 16th century. It is a batting game often described as a cross between baseball and golf. Using a stick with a heavy wooden block at one end, the team takes turns trying to hit the wooden ball or disc into the opponent's area as much as possible. The defender wielded heavy wooden paddles to try to prevent the disc from touching the ground, and was deducted points for failing to intercept. Like the Hornet, the hockey puck called Hornuss or Nouss buzzes when whizzing through the air, hence the name. Hornussen competitions are held in the Alps, wrestling and other festivals, and are most common in Berne, Solothurn and the Mitland canton of Allgäu. A national governing body and regional groups organize tournaments for each league.

Wrestling festival held in the village of Schoenried near Gstaad in the Bernese Oberland. Swiss Tourism Office/Beat Mueller

Flag-throwing is a magnificent Swiss wonder and one of the most awe-inspiring moments in folklore events such as the Alpine Carnival, wrestling and Yodel Festival, and the Swiss National Day on August 1. Accompanied by the alpine horn or bugle, the performance included waving the country’s square red and white flag back and forth with a short staff, then tossing it into the air and being caught by the staff. Flag throwing requires a high degree of concentration. Although it seems easy, the spinner needs to be proficient in more than 90 regular swings. Central Switzerland is the stronghold of this sport. On Wednesday evenings from June to August, the flag-fluttering alpine trombone concert is held in the town of Brunnen on Lake Lucerne.

Cows in the Alps and the herders who care for them spend 100 days in remote pastures above the tree line each summer. When they climb in the early summer, the community will hold a festive parade, and dressed herders lead cows decorated with flowers and huge bells. At the end of September, when they return to the valley for the winter, this ceremony will be repeated. The completion of Alpabfahrt (Alpine descent) is celebrated with a carnival, where villagers and tourists enjoy food, music and dancing.

Alpine cheese is a protected term for cheese made by cows during the summer months on alpine pastures. It is mainly hand-made in a large kettle over a wooden fire. As a precious specialty, it drew a unique flavor from hundreds of herbaceous plants in the mountain pastures and crystal clear mountains and water. Visitors can see the work of the cheese maker while visiting and tasting the display dairy factory and cheese cellar. At the end of the summer pasture season, alpine farmers participate in regional cheese competitions, which are usually associated with festivals or Alpine cheese markets.

Cows also occupy a central position in the Valais Canton, where bullfighting (Kuhkämpfe in German and Combats de Reines in French) takes place in rural areas, featuring the canton’s traditional Helen cattle breed. This huge, bell-worn beast is known for their hierarchical concept and competitive strength. They are known for charging and locking horns. They do this two at a time, attracting the bloodless cattle of cattle breeders and spectators. In battle. Nothing is more Swiss than this.

For many people around the world, the 19th-century Swiss author Johanna Spyri's Heidi books continue to continue the idealized image of the Swiss Alps. In what is today known as the Heidiland resort area, Heidi fans in Graubünden are looking for the small village of Maienfeld, where the original Heidi House (with Heidi period furniture) and Heididorf A nearby village and gift shop Heididorf Johanna Spiri Museum souvenirs and a small post office with a special Heididorf postmark.

For more information, please visit MySwitzerland.com/Customs.

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