Liebi Laura,
Happy October! I am writing to you this letter, having just sent the kids, well the two younger, back to school after two weeks off for autumn break. I always appreciate this well-placed school break each year and am glad we didn’t do too much but chill out. But we did manage to get away to Ticino for the last few nights for a much-needed dose of warm autumn sunshine.
Whenever we spend time in Ticino, we usually stay in Lugano, thanks to using my parents-in-law’s holiday apartment, but this time we decided to explore somewhere new: Brissago. Apart from staying once for a long weekend in the Maggia Valley, I’ve only visited this area on day trips, so it was nice to have some more time to explore. We spent time in Bellinzona, Ascona and Locarno, and a gentle hike above Locarno on its mountain Cardada. We visited the Island of Brissago too and walked around the botanical gardens.
It felt like half of Switzerland was down in Ticino, though, and we heard more swiss-german than Italian. Is it the go-to Autumn destination for your side of the röstgraben too? For us in Zug, it is a relatively easy drive down the A2, assuming there isn’t too much traffic in front of the Gotthard Tunnel. But for you, it must take a little longer, no?
I am always torn between exploring new places and returning to somewhere time and time again. I love the feeling of knowing where to get a good meal, where to park the car – like I do in Lugano, but at the same time, there is something special stumbling upon the perfect spot for lunch or coffee or beautiful scenery. Like the Tine de Conflens, you mentioned in your last letter, which I had never heard of before. And Rapperswil, can you believe it, I had only been once about 16 years ago. So this trip was a good reminder I need to get out of my comfort zone more often and return to Locarno again soon!
I see you have been showing off your corner of Switzerland to some friends recently, and it got me thinking the same thing: do you show your visitors the places you already know? Or do you explore new places together? While I haven’t had visitors in quite a while, we usually take our visitors to the same places, a walk around the old town in Zug and maybe a day trip to Einsiedeln to see the Abby or to the Rheinfalls. Back when the Teen was a newborn, we had a steady flow of visitors over six months, from Grandparents to Great Aunts, and I think we went out to those waterfalls at least 4 or 5 times. I see a pattern forming, ;-), I obviously love returning to what I know!
To answer your question in your last letter, we do celebrate “Jeune Federal” or “Eidgenössischer Dank-, Buss- und Bettag” – or just Betttag – here on the German-side of Switzerland, but not with a public holiday, as it always lands on a Sunday. In some villages, you will find small parades, like the beautiful horse parade down the main street of the town of Einsiedeln – famous for the eye-catching Abby, or locals mark the day by going to church. But an actual public holiday for Betttag – that I had to turn to google.
It seems while the entire country of Switzerland acknowledges Bettag as an official “ruhetag” (quiet day) because it lands on the third Sunday in September, not many cantons actually get a noticeable day off. You, of course, get it earlier in Geneva, but it seems that only Vaud gets the Monday following Betttag off officially. Unofficially canton of Neuchâtel and parts of the Bernese Jura apparently get the day off too. Yet another aspect that makes Switzerland unique but complicated – the varying public holidays! It is so complex that I found this website dedicated to knowing who has what holiday when.
And yes, now the fall days are well and truly here. I just love the golden light this time of year and that I am awake for sunrise! But the dark mornings are tough when the alarm goes off at 6 am. But one of the bonuses’ of the autumn season is for sure the food! This time of year, I try to make it to the Jucker Farm at one of their locations to eat at their very pumpkin-themed restaurant. They have fantastic pumpkin sculptures too, which can draw quite a crowd, especially on weekends and school holidays.
And, of course, I love the traditional “wild” season. What do you call it in French? I usually skip the game meat and head straight to the vegetarian plate – called “Wild ohne Wild” – I just love all the sides! It’s something I make at home a lot too – roast up a lot of veg – pumpkin, Brussel sprouts, maybe some mushrooms too, fry up spätzli in the pan with some butter and then if I am lucky, Hubby has made a big batch of red cabbage too. If not, I cheat and buy the ones from the supermarket! While in restaurants, they serve this with a poached apple or pear, I don’t have time for that at home, so I just open a jar of preserved apple purree. Yum!
I read you are a soup fan, any favourite recipes? My favourite Swiss soup has to be the Gesternsuppe (barley soup), and just last week, I had a fantastic corn and zucchini chowder made by my friend Georgette. Something I for sure will be making again!
Well, until next Month Laura
Liebe Grüsse, Kristin
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