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The coronavirus might have stopped you from getting out and exploring Switzerland, but you can still learn plenty about Swiss culture from inside your own home. Here's our list of five things every person interested in getting closer to the Swiss or looking to become Swiss should know. We chose a film, a book, a musician, a recipe and a game that you can look up and enjoy to see you through your weeks staying at home in Switzerland.  

• The most popular Swiss film of all time: 'Die Schweizermacher' (The Swissmakers). We rented it on iTunes in Swiss German with English subtitles.
• A very well-known Swiss children's book: 'Schellen Ursli' (A Bell for Ursli)
• One of Switzerland's most famous recording artists, DJ BoBo. You might know him for this song.
• Tuck into a buttery 'Zopf' (a plaited, golden loaf of bread). Find a recipe and plenty of instructions here.
• Looking for 'Hobelkäse'? It's a hard Swiss cheese made in the mountains, which is served after being planed into thin slices or rolls.
• The Swiss card game 'Jass'.
• Monday-Saturday mornings at 07:50 on Swiss Public Radio SRF 3, practise your Swiss German by playing along with the game 'ABC SRF 3'. You can also buy the card game to play at home.

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Shaking hands in Switzerland is common: children learn it at school and it seems to be a regular feature of everyday life. But when is holding out your hand too much and when would it be a faux pas not to? What are the alternatives when you can't shake hands, for example during the Coronavirus outbreak? We'll run you through the hand-shaking dos and don'ts of Swiss culture!

Notes on this episode of Swiss and Chips: your British Guide to Switzerland

• What to do if you don’t know whether to shake hands or not?
• Hand shake or kiss on the cheek?
• When shaking hands is a must
• An optional hand-shaking moment
• When to avoid shaking hands
• 'Der Schweizer Knigge', a well-known guide to Swiss etiquette (book in German)

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Joining a club in Switzerland is a simple way to make new friends and connections. There are several English-speaking clubs in Bern and other Swiss cities, like the British Residents' Association of Switzerland, which we visited in October 2019. Should you sign yourself up to a club? Listen and find out!

Notes on this episode of Swiss and Chips: Your British Guide to Switzerland

• The British Residents' Association of Switzerland

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It can feel like there are a lot of rules governing life in Switzerland. They‘re often written on signs in public places or in the building where you live or work. But what about those unspoken rules? The ones you don‘t know exist until a realisation slowly dawns on you that you‘ve been doing something differently to everyone else, and never known.
Notes on this episode about unspoken Swiss rules

• How important are unspoken Swiss rules
• Where, when and how to greet people
• How to toast and other rules with alcohol
• Quiet times

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Hiking in Switzerland is a favourite national pastime, especially in autumn, which means there are plenty of maps, online resources, and books to help you find the perfect hike! To get you into the mood, we'll tell you what you have to watch out for and give you all sorts of other tips, including a short excursion we made recently up a mountain and tell you what secrets are waiting for you at the top.

• What is the difference between: Hiking trail, mountain trail, alpine trail.
• Myswitzerland map
• Admin map
• Wanderland map
• Weather
• What do the different signs mean?
• Our trip to the Bunderspitz

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Come on a walk through one of Bern's picturesque neighbourhoods, Kirchenfeld, and listen in to what the Swiss capital sounds like on an ordinary day. Starting off at the Tierpark (animal park), walking through Helvetiaplatz with many of the country's important museums, I'll talk you through what you will see and hear as you head up into the city centre, walking over a beautiful bridge and ending at one of the city's main attractions, the Zytglogge. 
 
 Take in the sounds of Bern wherever you are in the world. 

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"There's enough hay down there now" to "even his chopping block will calve": these are just a few everyday sayings that make perfect sense in Swiss German, but don't exactly translate into English. Whether you've heard some of them already, or just want to impress with a sentence or two at the right moment, this is our pick of some useful sayings in Swiss German.

In this episode, we try to explain their meaning and talk about when you can use them. 

Notes on this episode of Swiss and Chips: Your British Guide to Switzerland

Göschenä - Airolo

Chasch nät z Füfi uz Weggli ha

Das macht der Braatä onät fiis.

Däm Chalberet no dr Schittschtock

Winä kertä Hentschä

Äs het solangs het

Äs git nüt wos nät git

Uf altä Pfanä leertmä chochä

Dr schnäller isch dr Gschwinder

Äs isch gnueg Heu nitna

Dr gschider git naa u der Esel blibt schtaa

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Is dating in Switzerland any different to anywhere else in the world? The Swiss have a reputation for being difficult to get know, so in this episode, we talk about expectations, stereotypes and traditions when it comes to attempting to get romantically involved with a Swiss.

How to date in Switzerland: Show notes

• How to make friends in Switzerland.
• Where to look?
• How to ask?
• What to do on a first date?
• Special things to think about?

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With the temperatures heating up again this week, it’s the perfect time to enjoy Switzerland and get to know a few places where you can create the feeling of going on holiday without straying too far from home. We explored some of the locations the Swiss head to when they need a 'staycation'.

• What's German for 'staycation'? Get ready to drop this phrase into Swiss conversation
• What’s summer like in Switzerland?
  - Weather: hot and sunny, occasional storms. Normal range in July and August is 18-28 degrees Celsius, 30 plus is the sign of a hot summer
  - Activities: Barbecuing - public grill spots, hiking, swimming in lakes and rivers
  - Cities come alive: cafes and tables outside, festivals happening- Too hot: go up high in the mountains
• Summer day trips
  - Erlach: 40km from Bern, it's a 50-minute drive or 35-minute train ride. Small pretty village on the edge of Lake Biel. Has a campsite and a spot to rent stand up paddle boards.
  - Estavayer le Lac: a medieval town with a castle on the shore of Lake Neuchâtel. Has a great water sport facility - a water-ski lift! You can also camp here and rent pedalos.

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Do you need a car in Switzerland? And what other options are there apart from buying one? We asked what you wanted to hear about in this episode of our podcast, and driving in Switzerland was one topic you suggested in our Facebook group, Switzerland for English speakers. We talk about why you might decide to get a car, and how leasing, hiring and car sharing works.

Notes on this episode of Your British Guide to Switzerland

Owning a car
- Great public transport, do you really need a car?
- Regular trips to the countryside, lots to take with you, or a particular commute might be some reasons why you decide you need a car
- Leasing a vehicle: very common in Switzerland: this is how it works

A car just for when you need it
- Renting: all the big name companies are in here in Switzerland too: Hertz, Europcar, Sixt, Avis. They’re in towns and at airports, it’s just like a renting a car in any other country
- Car-sharing schemes: the biggest is Mobility. There are different types of memberships, it doesn’t cost too much and is very easy to use. There are different payment options including membership, annual fees and pay as you go. The cars belong to the company.
- Sharoo: you can borrow cars that other people own. They set out their prices: how much you pay depends on time and distance travelled.

Driving licence
- Don’t forget if you live here you’ll need to swap your licence for a Swiss one within the first year.
- If you can’t drive yet, in 9 cantons in Switzerland you can even take the basic theory test in English. There are driving instructors who speak English, just have a look for them in your area.

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