HOME | CATEGORY HOME | Art | Austria | Christmas | Churchill | Classics | Climate | Climbing | COVID | Culture | English language | English literature | EU | France | Free speech | French literature | German language | German literature | Germany | Goethe | Gotthard | Heine | Heloise Höchner | Misc | Nature | Philosophy | Pound | Religion | Romania | Romansh | Rousseau | Rückert | Schubart | Schubert | Science | Senn | Sociology | Switzerland | UK | UK monarchy | Ukraine | US | Website | WW1 | WW2 93 articles in category 'Switzerland'. Scrapbook for April More pedantry | Welsh choirboy | Pass the parcel | Revolting | Website changes | Trump's erection by the sea | USA v. Iran in 42 seconds | Why I could never be a police call handler Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2026-04-01 02:01 Words: 2,495; reading time: 11 minutes Swiss bankers Lifting up the stone to see what unpleasant things are wriggling underneath. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2026-02-08 19:02 Words: 1,102; reading time: 5 minutes Scrapbook for February More website changes | And so to Chur | Website changes Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2026-02-01 02:01 Words: 1,358; reading time: 6 minutes Scrapbook for January Website changes: Categories | A tough year ahead for Switzerland | Website changes Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2026-01-01 02:01 Words: 489; reading time: 2 minutes Bah, humbug! That time of year when the mass delusions come thick and fast, even in Switzerland. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2025-12-14 10:23 Words: 1,545; reading time: 7 minutes Updated on 2026-05-12 Scrapbook for September More direct democracy | The new weights and measures, part II | Switzerland — direct democracy strikes again | Poor little Switzerland – EU plays hardball Posted on UTC 2025-09-01 02:01 Words: 2,687; reading time: 12 minutes Two images for August Heinrich Pestalozzi, the good and the better. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2025-08-02 09:03 Words: 1,243; reading time: 5 minutes Scrapbook for August Peening | Swiss delusion | Swiss National Day Posted on UTC 2025-08-01 02:01 Words: 2,027; reading time: 9 minutes Il Hobbit – why? Business is business Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2025-07-15 12:14 Words: 2,138; reading time: 9 minutes Updated on 2025-08-11 Il Hobbit Bilbo in the Swiss mountains Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2025-06-23 08:21 Words: 4,518; reading time: 20 minutes Updated on 2025-07-11 Rösti für Winston Churchill A review of Werner Vogt's new Churchill book Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2025-02-18 08:00 Words: 1,668; reading time: 7 minutes Scrapbook for February Germany: Putting rubber on the road | Germany: Same procedure, Miss Sophie? | Germany: One more time around the drain? | No peace like a Swiss peace | Zeitgeist and Zeitenwende in Germany | Menuhin Academy Masterclasses 2025 Posted on UTC 2025-02-01 02:01 Words: 1,844; reading time: 8 minutes The cynic's guide to Swiss peacemaking In the heart of Switzerland Posted on UTC 2024-06-15 02:01 Words: 699; reading time: 3 minutes Updated on 2024-06-16 Scrapbook for May Swiss roadmending | Swiss bridge building Posted on UTC 2024-05-01 02:01 Words: 612; reading time: 2 minutes Scrapbook for August Little Switzerland Posted on UTC 2022-08-01 02:01 Words: 645; reading time: 2 minutes Quote and images of the month for October Albert Anker's night in the slammer. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2021-10-22 07:22 Words: 1,215; reading time: 5 minutes The gentle art of painting rocks Keeping the Swiss walker on course. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2021-10-12 10:22 Words: 622; reading time: 2 minutes Scrapbook for October T-Rex | How Do You Solve a Problem Like Joe Biden? | Good breeding | Website changes | German Federal Election 2021 | Foraging for fungi Posted on UTC 2021-10-01 02:01 Words: 2,163; reading time: 9 minutes Scrapbook for October Social media filtering | Swiss healthcare | Website changes Posted on UTC 2020-10-01 02:01 Words: 606; reading time: 2 minutes Swiss tease Sleepy Joe? No. Hunter's laptop? No. Burisma? Ignorance is Swiss bliss. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2020-10-25 07:12 Words: 869; reading time: 3 minutes After the Swiss party 2 August: Sunday morning coming down. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2020-08-02 15:23 Words: 1,130; reading time: 5 minutes Swiss National Day, 1 August Gottfried Keller's poem Sommernacht. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2020-08-01 03:04 Words: 999; reading time: 4 minutes Oiling the Swiss paywall media The Swiss government wants to lubricate the inaccessible with lots of nice slippery money. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2020-05-01 10:44 Words: 1,513; reading time: 6 minutes Scrapbook for March COVID-19 sanity check | Disgusting | Thuggery | New site navigation | Saint Joseph's Day | Can the UK National Health Service cope with COVID-19? | Do not touch me, woman | Two inspectors call | And don't step in the excrement | Country music for the doolally | The Schubert guide to handwashing | Before social media Posted on UTC 2020-03-01 02:01 Words: 1,893; reading time: 8 minutes Quote and image of the month for March Quote: Conrad Ferdinand Meyer, Säerspruch. Image: Albin Egger-Lienz, Der Sämann. Posted on UTC 2020-03-14 14:02 Words: 469; reading time: 2 minutes Swiss neutrality decoded Beware the Swiss, bringing encryption equipment. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2020-02-14 11:02 Words: 1,850; reading time: 8 minutes Updated on 2020-02-15 The Swiss news magazine Republik, circling the drain Good. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2020-02-10 11:16 Words: 408; reading time: 1 minute 17 May, the end of Switzerland? Jumping from the referendum frying pan into the EU fire. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2020-02-01 13:12 Words: 1,048; reading time: 4 minutes Democratic discontent The Centre for the Future of Democracy is worried. They will be when the tumbrils get there. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2020-01-30 14:22 Words: 1,596; reading time: 7 minutes Limericks in German Liebesgrüsse aus Limerick: A suitable case for treatment. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-12-18 16:44 Words: 614; reading time: 2 minutes Switzerland has voted! Be still my beating heart. Or, even better, be young and be green. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-10-20 19:19 Words: 500; reading time: 2 minutes Updated on 2019-10-21 News from the bunker The Swiss People's Party readies itself for the next election. Are they mad? Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-08-20 09:47 Words: 299; reading time: 1 minute Swiss National Day, 1 August Alphorns in high places. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-08-01 07:12 Words: 614; reading time: 2 minutes Why does the Devil have all the best tunes? Because he has the best people writing them. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-06-24 13:26 Words: 547; reading time: 2 minutes Getting down with the kids Swiss climate propaganda for little ones of all ages. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-06-21 17:21 Words: 285; reading time: 1 minute 19 May: Another day, another referendum Another act of Swiss obeisance to its international partners. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-05-06 09:12 Words: 990; reading time: 4 minutes Updated on 2019-05-26 5 May 1799: A little local difficulty in Switzerland 220 years ago in the land of neutrality, peace and compromise. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-05-05 15:07 Words: 8,149; reading time: 37 minutes Updated on 2019-05-08 Two fabled stones in Graubünden A walk on the wild side to Saint Zeno's Stone and the Baby Stone, both currently gathering moss. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-04-24 19:06 Words: 3,815; reading time: 17 minutes Updated on 2019-04-26 Switzerland All rocks and hard places at the moment. The old Switzerland has gone, but can the new one survive? Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-04-01 10:04 Words: 5,722; reading time: 26 minutes Updated on 2019-07-28 Wer böpperlet a der chammer a? Burns Night, 25 January. Night-time pranks, Swiss style. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-01-25 14:23 Words: 724; reading time: 3 minutes Doris Leuthard: smiling through A review of Werner Vogt's new biography of a Swiss political superstar. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2019-01-24 11:04 Words: 5,387; reading time: 24 minutes Thoughts for the coming year But no tidings of comfort and joy. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-12-14 14:38 Words: 1,700; reading time: 7 minutes Thinking in tongues A coda to Albrecht von Haller's Bernese dialect upbringing: some excerpts from Martin Walser's speech 'Remarks on our dialect'. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-11-12 09:56 Words: 1,187; reading time: 5 minutes A well-known opera – but which? Guess. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-11-02 09:32 Words: 447; reading time: 2 minutes Three early November anniversaries Tristram Shandy's birth, the death of Byron's 'Boatswain' and Arthur Rimbaud's crossing of the Gotthard Pass. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-11-01 15:28 Words: 2,046; reading time: 9 minutes Scrapbook for October Kubitschek: down but not out | Aspen calm | The Great British Winter Festival | Gottfried Keller's 'Dreambook' Posted on UTC 2018-10-01 02:01 Words: 1,722; reading time: 7 minutes Albrecht von Haller's love poem Doris 16 October 2018: 310 years since Haller's birth. [3 pages] Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-10-29 08:30 Words: 11,953; reading time: 54 minutes Life before Doris Childhood isolation to adult fulfilment 1708-1732. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-10-29 08:31 Words: 2,493; reading time: 11 minutes Albrecht Haller's poem Doris A grown-up love poem 1730-1732 Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-10-29 08:32 Words: 6,683; reading time: 30 minutes Updated on 2026-05-13 Life after Doris Bereavements, rejections, ill-health and loss 1732-1777 Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-10-29 08:33 Words: 2,890; reading time: 13 minutes Ballet Zürich's Winterreise Great despair – and that's only the audience. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-10-15 17:55 Words: 210; reading time: 1 minute Phoenix rising A review of Werner Vogt's new book SWISS – Die Airline der Schweiz Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-10-04 07:24 Words: 1,233; reading time: 5 minutes Google, facebook, Switzerland – peas in a pod Internet user tracking the official Swiss way. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-08-13 11:25 Words: 1,497; reading time: 6 minutes Updated on 2019-07-28 The Swiss, bless 'em! Sense and senselessness, all in one weekend. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-06-11 13:03 Words: 512; reading time: 2 minutes Peter Winkler reports from Planet Zog At last, the Swiss get to hear the truth about that Trump chap. It's worse than they thought. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-05-22 10:49 Words: 1,322; reading time: 6 minutes Going to the dogs The decline and fall of Andermatt, Switzerland. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-03-11 14:32 Words: 2,343; reading time: 10 minutes Updated on 2019-09-28 Judgement of Solomon required Never mind. Let's all sit down and have a chat about it. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-03-01 10:18 Words: 1,139; reading time: 5 minutes The PostAuto car crash The unpleasant whiff of subsidy corruption in Switzerland. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-02-24 10:12 Words: 1,275; reading time: 5 minutes Updated on 2019-07-28 Pulling the plug on the Swiss broadcaster An interesting referendum coming up on 4 March in Switzerland. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-02-01 07:23 Words: 751; reading time: 3 minutes Updated on 2018-03-04 Scrapbook for January Germany: no change – as usual | The End of the Rainbow | A word to the wise | Ordinary Passengers | Our solitary aspen cluster | NHS excuse of the week | Envy-of-the-World™ – no change | Warpaint | Eight dummies and a funeral Posted on UTC 2018-01-01 02:01 Words: 1,438; reading time: 6 minutes 21 January: Saint Meinrad's Day Clubbing in the Dark Forest. Even the ravens were upset. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-01-21 08:12 Words: 1,127; reading time: 5 minutes Swiss Government-sponsored CAGW alarmism Does the Swiss Federal Metereological Office actually believe the stuff they write? We hope not. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-01-18 10:22 Words: 4,922; reading time: 22 minutes Updated on 2018-01-30 Hole in the wall The one in the north wall of the Eiger. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-01-06 15:55 Words: 546; reading time: 2 minutes Two Swiss railway station waiting-room murals Witnessing the collapse of civilisation. Perhaps. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2018-01-02 10:17 Words: 2,469; reading time: 11 minutes Rocks, hard places, cherries and unsquared circles A Swiss view of the Brexit negotiations – as baffled as everyone else. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-12-16 09:41 Words: 609; reading time: 2 minutes Scrapbook for October CSI: Las Vegas – Crime Scene Incompetence | More days of autumn | British beer | Stag hunting | The twelve days of autumn | Swiss family picnic | Dice rolling by a skilled opponent | The unseen cost of wind [energy] Posted on UTC 2017-10-01 02:01 Words: 1,269; reading time: 5 minutes Scrapbook for September Last supper [updated] | A century of progress | Please, Lord, let they handmaid depart in peace (ASAP). | Keeping an eye on the Germans | The school run – alpine style | How to become a published author Posted on UTC 2017-09-01 02:01 Words: 726; reading time: 3 minutes Luddites of the world, unite! A civilisational reboot in a small Swiss town, now up before the beak. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-09-28 10:13 Words: 612; reading time: 2 minutes Updated on 2017-11-06 Goethe's Gotthard obsession Three long journeys in 22 years, culminating in a pact with the Devil. [3 pages] Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-09-20 10:16 Words: 31,761; reading time: 2 hours 24 minutes 1775. Lili: the first Gotthard journey On the road with the Werther tribute band. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-09-20 10:17 Words: 7,578; reading time: 34 minutes Updated on 2017-11-19 1779. Charlotte: the second Gotthard journey Educating your duke. Don't bother. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-09-20 10:18 Words: 15,519; reading time: 1 hour 10 minutes 1797. Barbara: the third Gotthard journey Tell, Faust and a box of rocks. 220 years ago on 16 September Goethe entered Switzerland en route to the Gotthard. How time flies! Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-09-20 10:19 Words: 7,743; reading time: 35 minutes Moral money Pierre Gauchat's wonderful Swiss banknotes: gone but not forgotten. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-08-10 09:09 Words: 2,848; reading time: 12 minutes Updated on 2017-11-06 The Gotthard Pass: the heart of Switzerland Still beating weakly despite all the bypass operations. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-08-01 07:00 Words: 13,267; reading time: 60 minutes Winston and his Swiss paintmaker A review of Champagner mit Churchill, Philipp Gut's account of the friendship between Winston Churchill and his Swiss paint supplier, Willy Sax. Posted by Werner Vogt on UTC 2017-07-02 12:50 Words: 921; reading time: 4 minutes The Swiss, God bless 'em! Cultural appropriation in translation. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-06-07 07:07 Words: 719; reading time: 3 minutes The future of energy in Switzerland There isn't one. Why is it always the voters who have to stick the tail on this donkey? Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-05-17 11:24 Words: 406; reading time: 1 minute Updated on 2017-05-21 Zurich-Petrograd, one-way A hundred years ago in April, a decisive moment in history. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2017-03-16 18:54 Words: 8,944; reading time: 40 minutes Updated on 2017-11-19 Scrapbook for January Wimmin's busts | Faking it | Swiss snowflakes losing it | George Mikes: an oldie but goldie | Two simple questions that men cannot answer | The poor Hamburger, the poor Berliner | Rail travel costs Posted on UTC 2017-01-01 02:01 Words: 1,352; reading time: 6 minutes Freedom of speech Alive and well and at ease in Swizerland, its home since the 18th century. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2016-10-23 14:30 Words: 856; reading time: 3 minutes Updated on 2016-10-24 Scrapbook for September Late learning | Immigrants, always resented | Snowflake of the Month | Design update | Feed a cold, starve a fever | One mystery fewer | Restoration and reconstruction | Missing links | The medium is the message, Tim | Quelle finesse! Posted on UTC 2016-09-01 02:01 Words: 2,120; reading time: 9 minutes Quote and image of the month for August Quote: Friedrich Schiller, Wilhelm Tell. Image: Ernst Stückelberg, Wilhelm Tell mit Sohn/William Tell and son. Posted on UTC 2016-08-01 01:02 Words: 537; reading time: 2 minutes Scrapbook for August The Fall of Man, not quite | Democratic accident | Nice binary dates | Swiss birthnames in 2015 | 'Deep Insight of the Month' award | Sledghammer vs. dagger… | The official mind | Snowflake of the Month Posted on UTC 2016-08-01 02:01 Words: 1,905; reading time: 8 minutes The cradle of the Habsburgs Great oaks from little acorns grow. Not only that, Emperor Rudolf I died 825 years ago on 15 July 1291. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2016-07-07 12:10 Words: 6,825; reading time: 31 minutes Scrapbook for March Tears: an instrument of foreign policy | Wasting police time | Headline of the year award | Rigour, not mortis | Geography made easy | The god of the forest | Hyacinth time | Swiss referendum updates | The Dohlen are here! Posted on UTC 2016-03-01 02:01 Words: 750; reading time: 3 minutes The great survivor The Swiss artist Hans Erni's monster mural Die Schweiz, das Ferienland der Völker. Rescued, but why and for whom? Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2016-03-14 12:42 Words: 2,604; reading time: 11 minutes The Swiss muddle Switzerland, Britzerland! So much rubbish, so little time to dispose of it all. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2016-03-04 13:24 Words: 1,053; reading time: 4 minutes The Hans Erni lockdown Imprisoned in museums and coffee table books, his work is destined for internet oblivion. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2016-03-03 08:12 Words: 1,348; reading time: 6 minutes Switzerland: now safe to visit Another spine is pulled from the Swiss hedgehog. After safer travel we now have worry-free flatpack shopping. It may not end well. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2016-03-01 10:02 Words: 610; reading time: 2 minutes Swiss democracy, seriously compromised Fighting the ruling classes. Do Swiss referendums matter, or are they just national focus groups? Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2016-02-22 09:55 Words: 1,390; reading time: 6 minutes Updated on 2016-03-03 Myth Thwitzerland The 700th anniversary of the Battle of Morgarten in Switzerland and the cloud of unknowing that surrounds it. Something for everyone. Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2015-11-11 08:44 Words: 4,829; reading time: 21 minutes Rousseau! Back in your box! The Swiss people have spoken. Will Jean-Jacques finally flee back to his sarcophagus, in Switzerland at least? Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2015-10-19 11:24 Words: 910; reading time: 4 minutes EU referendum: No thank you! Holding a referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union is more than slightly bonkers. If it didn't work in 1975, why will it work now? Posted by Richard Law on UTC 2015-10-13 11:26 Words: 2,320; reading time: 10 minutes Updated on 2016-02-05
