Switzerland & Austria:
Life and Culture
Cow Contests
Swiss Cow Fights
There's no Waltz of the Toreadors in Switzerland's Valais
region, but bovine battles for the title of 'Queen cow' offer a bloodless,
crowd-pleasing alternative to bullfights.
Languages
Allegra! (Introduction to Romansh)
Switzerland's fourth language, based on "the people's Latin," is spoken
by only 48,000 people--but they live in some of the country's most famous resorts.
Schwyzertüütsch
Q: When a Swiss farmer shouts "Grüezi" or "Tschau Zäme"
from his BMW, how should you respond? A: In dialect, if you've memorized
our list of Swiss-German phrases.
Pimsleur Swiss German Language
Course
Now there's an audiocassette Schwyzertüüsch course for travelers
whose native language is English. (Article includes a link to a free sample
lesson in RealAudio.)
Institutions
The Swiss Army
Switzerland hasn't been to war in 500 years, but its citizens aren't taking any
chances.
Music
Alphorns
In Switzerland, it's okay to blow your own horn--provided it's 10 to 12 feet long
and made of spruce with a hardwood mouthpiece.
Zürich's Street Parade
Since its modest beginnings in 1992, this annual summer event has grown into a
parade with 30 music floats that entertain 400,000 to 500,000 house and techno
music fans.
Yodeling
Yodeling is to Switzerland and Austria what the Beach Boys are to Southern
California, or what hog calling is to the Ozarks. Listen to "the language
of the mountains" (or even learn how to yodel) before you leave home.
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