What I explored in Switzerland

I do not need to repeat it that Switzerland is such a beautiful country and I have been lucky enough to visit and stay there. This was my time visit to Europe as well. Having lived in the Indian subcontinent for the whole of my life, I found Europe a totally amazing experience.  I not only explored the food, traveling sites but also their routine, culture, and customs.

1. The assumption of Mary: This is a feat day and celebrates ascending of Mother Mary into heaven by angels. It is celebrated every year on August 15. In Switzerland, they celebrate it by presenting a bouquet of fragrant flowers and healing herbs indicating the purity and beauty of mother Mary.
2. Spaetzle: It is a comfort food popular in the German-speaking regions of Europe.
3. Hagenbutte and hibiscus tea: Rosehip tea.
4. Prehistoric pile-dwelling (stilt house): Near Lake Zurich and Lake Constance, there are world-heritage cultural sites found submerged in the lake water, which tell us the story of the bygone era.
5. As Switzerland's approximately 70% area is Alp mountains, it has got a wide variety of plants, flowers, and herbs.  And, Swiss people have quite a good idea about these herbs and plants as well. Some of the most common examples are:
1. Brennessel (Stinging Nettle)
2. Bärlauch: Wild garlic
6. Picnic eggs: You can easily spot the colored hard-boiled picnic eggs.
7. Bread is a very common food item here. I have mainly explored the German-speaking regions of Switzerland,  and bread and rolls of Germany are famous worldwide, so I find so much variety of bread here. Same is true for France and Italy, and likely the French and Italian speaking regions of Switzerland. These bread are made of different grains like wheat, Jowar: Sorghum or Milo flat, Jau: Barley or rye. There is a wide variety of bread available:
1. Ruckbrot: It is a rough, coarse bread and the cheapest bread.
2. Ciabatta: Italian white bread: no knead bread. Ciabatta means carpet slippers.
3. Baguette: French Bread or French Stick
4. Sourdough: made from the fermentation process from a starter: no use of yeast, heavy to digest for those who have a sensitive stomach.
5. Burli: like pav: small bread or a bread roll
6. cornet
7. Tessiner bread: distinguished by its shape and extra soft due to oil
8. Couronne or crown: French Christmas sweet bread.
9. Pumpernickel: dark Rye bread
10. Knusperbrot: crisp brot
11. Vollkornbrot or fitness brot: 90% whole grain
12. Zweiback or rusk: twice baked, so water content in a zweiback is only 4% while a regular bread water content is approx. 44%.

13. Knäckebrot – Crispbread

14. Stollen Christmas fruit bread
15. Wurzelbrot: Wurzelbrot is a hearty Swiss bread that is twisted along the longitudinal axis and therefore looks similar to a gnarled root. The taste is slightly malty. It goes well with a hearty snack and is a typical party bread.
16. Pannettone: Italian sweet bread enjoyed during Christmas.
8. Happy cows:
9. I find myself more close to nature, plucking berries, apples, walnuts, and hazelnuts from the trees. I buy my milk, eggs, and honey from the local farmers.
10. Muesli: Originated by a Swiss physician. It is a very common breakfast and muesli bar is a very common and healthy trail snack.
11. Edelweiss: A very beautiful mountain flower, and also found in the Himalayas
12. Traurig Baum or weeping willow tree: As when it rains and raindrops drip along its leaves as if the tree is weeping.
13. Maroni or chestnuts: winter starts with the chill air and with that the roasted smell of chestnuts or Maroni(in German). But, be careful if you take the chestnuts from the tree, as there are two types of chestnut trees: one is called sweet chestnut which is for human eating and second is called Horse chestnut and is not recommended for edible nuts.
14. Holunderbeeren sirup: All the farmers' markets are full of this syrup and juices during fall or early winter. This is a must in every Swiss home in winter for good immunity from the cold as it is a cheap, natural and rich source of Vitamin C.
15. Magenbrot(literally stomach bread): This is another winter delicacy famous in German-speaking part of Switzerland.
16. Butter Zopf bread: Swiss people could be stereotyped. Like typical swiss people eat butter zopf bread on Sundays in breakfast.
    
17. Nordic Walking: As Switzerland is surrounded by Alp mountains and people do love to trek a lot in the nature valleys. So, I saw people young and old alike taking sking type sticks and walking or trekking. Later, I came to know this is special types of sticks used for Nordic walking.
18. Spring, Summer, autumn and winter break: One thing, I have seen so explicitly in Switzerland is the summer and autumn breaks and everybody enjoys their summer and autumn holidays, irrespective of their professions whether it is a doctor's clinic or butcher's shop.
19. Sycamore Trees
20. Nature walks: In Switzerland, I developed the craze for Nature walks, irrespective of the weather.
21. Echinacea: Switzerland is a winter country and also its citizens are very health conscious. Here, people put so much emphasis on Herbal, natural and alternative medicines. One such popular herb is medicinal Echinacea flower to combat cold and flu in the winter season. 
22. cogwheel trains and Furnicular 
23. Geocaching
24. Flowers: Pancy, Echinacea, Sunflower, daffodil, Rose, Tulip, Marrygold, Lotus, Lily, Daisy(Calendula, Chamomile), succulent plant, Magnolia[ champa(Nag champa agarbati)], chameli (Jasmine);Juhi(Jasmine); Mogra(Jasmine); Tagar gach (pinwheel flower or crape jasmine); Shiuli (Coral Jasmine): a sign of Autumn, it sheds its flowers in the evening and it is the only flower that canbe picked from the ground instead of plucked from the tree itself to offer to the God.; Kolke(offered in Shiv pooja); Rajnigandha(Mexican tuberose)
25. Lawn bowls, boule / boccia / petanque
26. Irish Pubs: Irish traditional music, seperate cigratte area, no food, only alcoholic drinks.
27. Tapas: Spanish style of serving small portions of snack or appetizer with wine.