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OPINION AND ANALYSIS

OPINION: How you can make the most of the hectic Swiss summer

The first rule of Swiss summer is that is has to be enjoyed to the maximum. No excuses, you’ve got to be out there making the most of the weather, events and amenities every spare minute, writes Clare O’Dea.

Published: 26 June 2023 17:20 CEST
A cyclist at Berghaus Sulzfluh, Saint Antönien, Switzerland.
A cyclist at Berghaus Sulzfluh, Saint Antönien, Switzerland. The Swiss love summer activities. Photo by Kay Liedl on Unsplash

Summer in Switzerland is the most hectic season of the year. The whole country comes out to play and there are more summer festivals per capita than anywhere else on earth. That’s not a real statistic, to be honest, just a very strong impression.

But here’s a real statistic: Switzerland has one of the highest sport participation rates in the world, at around 75 percent. Swiss people love to be outside and they love to be active. And summer is when they come into their own.

Swimming, cycling, hiking, running, paragliding, paddle-boarding, ball games – it’s all happening on Swiss lakes, rivers, mountains, parks, forests and trails. So much so, that it can be hard to escape the crowds.

For those who enjoy crowds and music, not a day goes by in summer without an open-air festival or concert. From baroque to hip hop, all possible tastes are catered for, as this list from Switzerland Tourism shows.

The monster of all festivals is Paléo Festival in Nyon in July. Over six days and six nights, there are more than 300 concerts and shows on seven stages with 150 stalls to serve the 250,000 festival goers. It sounds like my personal hell but 250,000 people can’t be wrong, can they?

Other big-name festivals include the Gurtenfestival in Bern in July, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and Zurich Open Air in August. The iconic Montreux Jazz festival is kicking off this weekend on June 30.

READ ALSO: 10 unmissable events in Switzerland in July 2023

Beat the crowds

Apart from the famous, expensive festivals, there is abundant free entertainment to be found in the form of smaller festivals and celebrations in villages and towns, including sports events. Little wonder that the Swiss like to summer at home. According to a recent Swiss Tourism survey, 43 percent of Swiss residents plan to spend this summer in Switzerland. The top domestic destinations are Graubünden, Ticino, Bern and Valais.

One word of advice, July and August is not the time to visit the main Swiss tourist destinations for international tourists, places like Interlaken, Jungfraujoch and Lucerne’s Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge). The Swiss know this already.

READ ALSO: 5 spectacular Swiss tourist sites hit by overcrowding

For those who don’t have the funds to go far, there is always the nearest Badi or public swimming pool, an institution in Swiss summer life. There are 600 such open-air pools in the country, and everyone has their favourite.

Located on the outskirts of towns or in city centres, often directly on rivers and lakes, these are excellent value and a good place to spend the day. Bern’s legendary Marzili Pool on the Aare River just 300 metres from the Swiss parliament building is an outstanding example.

Public pools have the advantage of having changing cabins, showers, lifeguards and usually food and drink on offer, but there are countless access points to Switzerland’s lakes and rivers for those who prefer a quieter setting.

Embrace barbecuing

Grilling outdoors is also a huge part of the Swiss summer experience.

Recreational settings, from mountain trails to lake beaches and city parks, are well served with specially-built grilling stations, and people are expected to use these rather than improvise their own, especially at a time when the threat of wild fires is high all over Europe. Don’t forget your cervelat!

As for grilling on your own balcony, it is allowed – as long as it doesn’t disturb anyone. A bit of a subjective measure. If you have difficult neighbours you haven’t met yet, your first barbecue may be how you get to know them.

READ MORE: Can I have a barbecue on my balcony in Switzerland?

The quiet hours also apply to balcony and garden activity so you have to be aware not to make too much noise at lunchtime, after 10pm or on Sundays.

Enjoy the nature – but be mindful

You might think that mountain hiking in the heat is less appealing but the mountains have the advantage of being a few degrees cooler on hot days.

Beware of going hiking with Swiss people.Their idea of a regular hike is pretty long and strenuous. The highlight for me is when you arrive in the chalet at the end and order a beer shandy.

A drink in the Swiss mountains.

Embrace the breaks in the Swiss mountains.Photo by alevision.co on Unsplash

Once upon a time, the mountains were havens for nature but a vast network of lifts has put an end to that idyll, and the mountains have been well and truly colonised.

The least we can do is be mindful of wildlife and not leave any rubbish or food scraps behind. As for farm animals, be sure to give cows and sheepdogs a very wide berth. I have had scary encounters with both.

One thing about Swiss summer is that the weather is not reliable. Every year, a certain number of events will inevitably be cancelled. Some weddings will take place in torrential rain. We will certainly have long, hot spells but sudden storms are part of the mix, especially in the mountains where you do not want to be caught out in the open. So it’s wise to keep an eye on your weather app.

But when the sun does shine, it is very strong. As you apply the world’s most expensive sun cream (another possibly true factoid), remember that, amid all the energetic activity, someone has to bring down the average by sitting in the dappled shade, gently turning the pages of a book.

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OPINION AND ANALYSIS

OPINION: Switzerland has changed in 20 years, but it can still improve

From attitudes towards foreigners and improvements in work-life balance, Clare O'Dea examines how Switzerland has changed over the last 20 years and how it hasn't ('the Swiss still don't know how to queue'). Her new book All About Switzerland is now available - details below.

Published: 18 May 2024 10:49 CEST
Updated: 24 July 2024 16:49 CEST
OPINION: Switzerland has changed in 20 years, but it can still improve

In the 20 years that I’ve been writing about Switzerland, I’ve tended to focus on one part of the picture at a time. Standing back from the canvas, I can see that there has been a pretty positive evolution in the country over that time.

The change has happened in measurable ways – an extra 1.6 million inhabitants, for one thing – but also in ways that are difficult to define. What I notice is more tolerance, more questioning of the norm, and more focus on fairness.

Some of this has come about through facing up to the wrongs of the past, whether that’s the historical abuse of children in the care system, the denial of the vote to women for so long (until 1971!), or the seizing of dictators’ assets.

Although it takes a painfully long time, mistakes and injustices do eventually come to light and there has been an appropriate reaction of self-recrimination and reflection towards these wrongs, and a willingness to make amends. All this has made Switzerland a better place.

READ ALSO: Are foreigners to blame if they find the Swiss unfriendly?

The foreign factor

When it comes to foreigners, there has definitely been in a positive change in attitudes towards immigrants from the countries of the former Yugoslavia. I detected very strong prejudice against this group in my early years in Switzerland. The second generation has now grown up here and found their place in all walks of Swiss life.

Unfortunately, asylum seekers have borne the brunt of xenophobia in recent years, with the notable exception of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war of aggression, who were granted special treatment. Switzerland has welcomed more than 80,000 Ukrainians since 2022, about a quarter of whom have since left the country.

Several cantons, notably Neuchâtel, have led the way in extending more rights to foreign residents and making it easier for them to integrate or obtain Swiss nationality. But naturalisation rates are still low, which is a pity for the Swiss, if only they would realise that.

When I first came to live in Switzerland from Ireland, I benefitted from the newly-valid agreement on the free movement of persons with the EU and EFTA countries. Since then, hundreds of thousands of Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals have been free to move countries for work, adventure, love or retirement.

Those immigrant workers have been a boon to the Swiss economy, which has one of the highest levels of GDP per capita in the world. Travel wise, Switzerland is well and truly integrated into Europe, joining the Schengen Area in 2008.

OPINION: The true signs you are becoming more Swiss than the Swiss

Family matters

Just this week, my twin daughters, who are Swiss citizens, received their first ever ballots for the next federal and cantonal votes on June 9th. Apart from reminding me of the fact that foreigners in Switzerland are largely excluded from the democratic process, this landmark also reminds me of how times have changed in relation to maternity rights.

It is hard to believe that Swiss women did not have statutory paid maternity leave until 2005. Voters had rejected the notion that women should have guaranteed paid leave after giving birth on four previous occasions – 1974, 1984, 1987 and again in 1999.

For all those years, maternity benefits were left up to employers to dictate, which was clearly not enough protection for all mothers. Today, new mothers are entitled to 14 weeks statutory leave but most employers offer more than that. Since 2021, fathers in Switzerland have been entitled to two weeks paternity leave.

There’s definitely room for improvement in the area of work-life balance for families, and there are some ideas in the pipeline, including state subsidies for childcare. With a fertility rate of 1.39 births per woman in 2022, Swiss-born babies is not where population growth is coming from.

Taking turns

One issue that seems almost unfixable in Switzerland is the high cost of healthcare. The country has the second most expensive system in the world, after the United States. Most of the cost is shouldered by households, directly or indirectly.

Whatever about the cost, the care itself is excellent and relatively well staffed. With one in three healthcare workers holding a foreign diploma, including a large proportion of cross-border workers the system is heavily reliant on non-nationals.

On June 9th, Swiss voters will get to decide on two people’s initiatives, both of which aim to curb the cost to consumers. My impression in the past was that the Swiss were reluctant to vote for freebies for themselves. But this may be the right timing for these proposals, considering that voters accepted an initiative in March of this year to increase the state pension by 8 per cent.

When it comes to daily life in Switzerland, politeness and order is the rule, with one exception – the Swiss still don’t know how to queue! I had this experience just the other day waiting outside a small museum that was only letting in a few people at a time. If you can cope with that fundamental flaw, the rest is easy.

All About Switzerland

A dynamic, up-to-date guide to Swiss society and current affairs, All About Switzerland ebook features a selection of 29 articles by Clare O’Dea. The articles were first published by The Local Switzerland from 2022 to 2024. The ebook is available on Amazon, Kobo and other retailers.

Originally from Dublin, Clare O’Dea has lived in Switzerland for two decades. Author of fiction and non-fiction, Clare has had a varied media career in Ireland and Switzerland, with a stint in Russia. She has contributed articles to The Local Switzerland since 2022. Her new book All About Switzerland: Selected articles from The Local Switzerland is Clare’s fourth and is available as an e-book online.

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