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 99 articles in category 'Switzerland'. Scrapbook for September Switzerland: government by wishful thinking Richard Law UTC 2026-09-01 02:01 Words: 375; reading time: 1 minute The Valley of the Dead Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters! Richard Law UTC 2026-06-18 16:22 Words: 4,257; reading time: 19 minutes Updated on 2026-06-22 Swiss retail patriotism The best-before date is long past. Richard Law UTC 2026-06-16 09:18 Words: 1,619; reading time: 7 minutes Ten-million Switzerland? The people have spoken Richard Law UTC 2026-06-14 13:40 Words: 1,533; reading time: 6 minutes Updated on 2026-06-15 Scrapbook for June Ingeborg Bachmann | Anthem for the summer | JD's chicken coop | Jesus shall reign Richard Law UTC 2026-06-01 02:01 Words: 1,857; reading time: 8 minutes Switzerland alone Switzerland in search of an enemy, or, the blind leading the blind. Richard Law UTC 2026-05-22 18:05 Words: 1,637; reading time: 7 minutes 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 Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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 Richard Law 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 Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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 UTC 2025-09-01 02:01 Words: 2,687; reading time: 12 minutes Two images for August Heinrich Pestalozzi, the good and the better. Richard Law UTC 2025-08-02 09:03 Words: 1,243; reading time: 5 minutes Scrapbook for August Peening | Swiss delusion | Swiss National Day UTC 2025-08-01 02:01 Words: 2,027; reading time: 9 minutes Il Hobbit – why? Business is business Richard Law 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 Richard Law 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 Richard Law 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 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 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 UTC 2024-05-01 02:01 Words: 612; reading time: 2 minutes Scrapbook for August Little Switzerland 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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 UTC 2021-10-01 02:01 Words: 2,163; reading time: 9 minutes Scrapbook for October Social media filtering | Swiss healthcare | Website changes 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. Richard Law UTC 2020-10-25 07:12 Words: 869; reading time: 3 minutes After the Swiss party 2 August: Sunday morning coming down. Richard Law UTC 2020-08-02 15:23 Words: 1,130; reading time: 5 minutes Swiss National Day, 1 August Gottfried Keller's poem Sommernacht. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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 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. UTC 2020-03-14 14:02 Words: 469; reading time: 2 minutes Swiss neutrality decoded Beware the Swiss, bringing encryption equipment. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law UTC 2020-01-30 14:22 Words: 1,596; reading time: 7 minutes Limericks in German Liebesgrüsse aus Limerick: A suitable case for treatment. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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? Richard Law UTC 2019-08-20 09:47 Words: 299; reading time: 1 minute Swiss National Day, 1 August Alphorns in high places. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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? Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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'. Richard Law UTC 2018-11-12 09:56 Words: 1,187; reading time: 5 minutes A well-known opera – but which? Guess. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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' 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] Richard Law UTC 2018-10-29 08:30 Words: 12,278; reading time: 55 minutes Life before Doris Childhood isolation to adult fulfilment 1708-1732. Richard Law 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 Richard Law 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 Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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 Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law UTC 2018-05-22 10:49 Words: 1,322; reading time: 6 minutes Going to the dogs The decline and fall of Andermatt, Switzerland. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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] 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 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. Richard Law 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] Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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! Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Werner Vogt UTC 2017-07-02 12:50 Words: 921; reading time: 4 minutes The Swiss, God bless 'em! Cultural appropriation in translation. Richard Law 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? Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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 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. Richard Law 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! 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. 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 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. Richard Law 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! 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? Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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? Richard Law 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. Richard Law 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? Richard Law 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? Richard Law UTC 2015-10-13 11:26 Words: 2,320; reading time: 10 minutes Updated on 2016-02-05
