APPENDIX

Holidays and Festivals

Books and Films

Nonfiction

Fiction

Films and TV

For Kids

Conversions and Climate

Numbers and Stumblers

Metric Conversions

Clothing Sizes

Switzerland’s Climate

Packing Checklist

German Survival Phrases

French Survival Phrases

Italian Survival Phrases

Holidays and Festivals

This list includes selected festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout Switzerland. Many sights and banks close on national holidays—keep this in mind when planning your itinerary. Not every canton celebrates all holidays (particularly religious ones); if you find yourself in a town closed down for an unexpected holiday, consider going on to your next stop (call ahead), where everything may well be in full swing. Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the dates with the festival website, the Switzerland tourist office (www.myswitzerland.com), or my “Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in Switzerland” web page at RickSteves.com/europe/switzerland/festivals.

Books and Films

To learn more about Switzerland past and present, check out a few of these books or films.

Nonfiction

Eiger Dreams (Jon Krakauer, 1990). In this collection of essays, Krakauer explores the trials and triumphs of mountaineering, including his attempt on the Eiger’s north face.

La Place de la Concorde Suisse (John McPhee, 1983). Following a mountain unit of the Swiss Army, this book explores how mandatory military service (for men) keeps Switzerland from breaking apart.

Scrambles Amongst the Alps (Edward Whymper, 1871). This mountaineering classic recounts adventure and tragedy in the life of the first climber to summit the Matterhorn.

Swiss History in a Nutshell (Gregoire Nappey, 2010). Nappey delivers information that’s concise and enjoyable, yet not dumbed down.

Swiss Watching (Diccon Bewes, 2010). This fun yet well-researched book covers all the basics in an easy-to-digest look at 21st-century Switzerland.

Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War II (Stephen P. Halbrook, 1998). Halbrook posits that Switzerland’s robust preparation for armed resistance against the Nazis was a key to its success in maintaining neutrality.

A Tramp Abroad (Mark Twain, 1880). Twain humorously recounts his 1878 “walking tour” through the Alps.

The White Spider (Heinrich Harrer, 1959). This book chronicles the first successful ascent of the Eiger’s north face in 1938.

Why Switzerland? (Jonathan Steinberg, 1976). Steinberg explains how a country with four official languages can still have a common culture.

Fiction

Einstein’s Dreams (Alan Lightman, 1992). A young Albert Einstein wrests with his theory of relativity in turn-of-the-century Bern.

A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway, 1929). Two lovers struggle through the horrors of World War I, finding brief peace in Switzerland in the last act.

Frankenstein (Mary Shelley, 1818). Set partially in Geneva, this novel explores the nature of humanity when scientist Victor Frankenstein creates a monster and brings it to life.

Hotel du Lac (Anita Brookner, 1995). A writer of romance novels attempts to recover from her own misguided love affair by fleeing to Switzerland.

I’m Not Stiller (Max Frisch, 1954). In an attempt to reclaim his true identity, a prisoner in a small Swiss town recounts his adventurous life.

The Magic Mountain (Thomas Mann, 1924). An exclusive sanatorium high in the Alps is a microcosm for European society in the days before World War I.

The Night Manager (John le Carré, 1993). The fussy manager of a Swiss hotel is recruited by British intelligence to bring down a millionaire gunrunner.

The Watchers (Jon Steele, 2011). Three strangers in Lausanne must solve the mysteries haunting their town.

William Tell (Friedrich Schiller, 1804). William Tell, legendary Swiss marksman, fights for Swiss independence from the Habsburg Empire in the 14th century.

Films and TV

The Bourne Identity (2002). This action movie, set mostly in Prague, pits an amnesiac spy against his pursuers in the heart of Zürich.

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014). Largely set (and filmed) in the Upper Engadine valley, this coming-of-middle-age drama stars Juliette Binoche as an aging actress and Kristen Stewart as the personal assistant who poses a subtle threat (as does the Engadine’s unique weather patterns).

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). In the longest-running film in Indian cinema (600 weeks in the movie theaters), two young people fall in love on a trip to Switzerland.

The Eiger Sanction (1975). A mountain climber (Clint Eastwood) joins an expedition on the Eiger’s north face intending to expose a murderer among his climbing team. The film includes scenes from Kleine Scheidegg and on the Eiger itself.

Five Days One Summer (1982). Sean Connery stars in the tale of an incestuous love triangle, offset by breathtaking climbing sequences in the Swiss Alps.

Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976). A group of student activists living in Geneva face disillusionment during the late 1960s.

Journey of Hope (1990). Three members of a Kurdish family search for a better life in Switzerland.

North Face (2008). Inspired by a true story, this adventure chronicles a 1936 attempt by two German soldiers to be the first to scale the Eiger’s daunting north face.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). James Bond (George Lazenby) goes undercover in the Swiss Alps, with action sequences on the Schilthorn.

The Swissmakers (1978). The most popular Swiss movie ever made showcases a group of foreigners trying to get Swiss citizenship.

Three Colors: Red (1994). In the Oscar-nominated final film of the acclaimed Three Colors trilogy, a young model living in Geneva forms an unlikely bond with a cynical old judge.

For Kids

And Both Were Young (Madeleine L’Engle, 1983). In a tale for teens, Philippa struggles to find her place at a Swiss boarding school until she starts a secret romance and gains new friends.

Asterix in Switzerland (René Goscinny, 1970). Asterix and Obelix have adventures in Switzerland during Roman times in book number 16 of this beloved French cartoon series.

Banner in the Sky (James Ramsey Ullman, 1954). Young Rudi Matt tries to climb one of the world’s most forbidding Alpine peaks in this Newbery Honor book.

A Bell for Ursli (Selina Chönz, 2007). High in the Alps, a boy named Ursli hikes alone into the snowy mountains to find a big bell with which to lead the spring procession.

Count Karlstein (Philip Pullman, 2000). Two girls escape the sinister plot of their uncle—an evil count—in this humorous middle-grade thriller set in a Swiss village in 1816.

Dear Alexandra: A Story of Switzerland (Helen Gudel, 1999). This charming picture book takes the form of letters from a grandmother who awaits her granddaughter’s visit in a Swiss mountain village.

Heidi (Johanna Spyri, 1880). In the most famous novel about Switzerland, an orphan girl is sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. A popular film version starring Shirley Temple was released in 1937.

Pitschi (Hans Fischer, 1947). In this Swiss children’s classic, a kitten named Pitschi sets out to find her place among the animals on Old Lisette’s farm.

A Tale of Two Brothers (Eveline Hasler, 2006). This Swiss-Italian folk tale of two brothers with vastly different worldviews delivers a moral about the power of positive thinking.

William Tell: One Against an Empire (Paul D. Storrie, 2008). This dynamic retelling of the legendary Swiss hunter’s story is presented in graphic-novel format.

Conversions and Climate

Numbers and Stumblers

• Europeans write a few of their numbers differently than we do. 1 = , 4 = , 7 = .

• In Europe, dates appear as day/month/year, so Christmas 2024 is 25/12/2024.

• Commas are decimal points and decimals are commas. A dollar and a half is $1,50, one thousand is 1.000, and there are 5.280 feet in a mile.

• When counting with fingers, start with your thumb. If you hold up your first finger to request one item, you’ll probably get two.

• What Americans call the second floor of a building is the first floor in Europe.

• On escalators and moving sidewalks, Europeans keep the left “lane” open for passing. Keep to the right.

Metric Conversions

A kilogram equals 1,000 grams (about 2.2 pounds). One hundred grams (a common unit at markets) is about a quarter-pound. One liter is about a quart, or almost four to a gallon.

A kilometer is six-tenths of a mile. To convert kilometers to miles, cut the kilometers in half and add back 10 percent of the original (120 km: 60 + 12 = 72 miles). One meter is 39 inches—just over a yard.

Clothing Sizes

When shopping for clothing, use these US-to-European comparisons as general guidelines (but note that no conversion is perfect).

Women: For pants and dresses, add 30 in Switzerland (US 10 = Swiss 40). For blouses and sweaters, add 8 for most of Europe (US 32 = European 40). For shoes, add 30-31 (US 7 = European 37/38).

Men: For shirts, multiply by 2 and add about 8 (US 15 = European 38). For jackets and suits, add 10. For shoes, add 32-34.

Children: Clothing is sized by height—in centimeters (2.5 cm = 1 inch), so a US size 8 roughly equates to 132-140. For shoes up to size 13, add 16-18, and for sizes 1 and up, add 30-32.

Switzerland’s Climate

First line, average daily high; second line, average daily low; third line, average days without rain. For more detailed weather statistics for destinations in this book (as well as the rest of the world), check Wunderground.com. For specific weather forecasts by city or town, visit Meteo.search.ch.

Europe takes its temperature using the Celsius scale, while we opt for Fahrenheit. For a rough conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit, double the number and add 30. For weather, remember that 28°C is 82°F—perfect. For health, 37°C is just right. At a launderette, 30°C is cold, 40°C is warm (usually the default setting), 60°C is hot, and 95°C is boiling. Your air-conditioner should be set at about 20°C.

German Survival Phrases

In the phonetics, ī sounds like the long i in “light,” and bolded syllables are stressed.

In a German-Speaking Restaurant

For more user-friendly German phrases, check out Rick Steves German Phrase Book.

French Survival Phrases

When using the phonetics, try to nasalize the n sound.

In a French Restaurant

For more user-friendly French phrases, check out Rick Steves’ French Phrase Book or Rick Steves’ French, Italian & German Phrase Book.

Italian Survival Phrases

In an Italian Restaurant

For more user-friendly Italian phrases, check out Rick Steves Italian Phrase Book or Rick Steves French, Italian, & German Phrase Book.