New MySwissAlps moderator Chantal

  • Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    4 December 2017 at 6:16:30 #813772

    Hello everyone,

    I’m happy to announce that Chantal is our new forum moderator. She will join Lucas today. Chantal is Dutch and living in Switzerland for 9 years, currently near Fribourg.

    Good luck and welcome Chantal!

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    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    4 December 2017 at 7:19:56 #872555

    Welcome Chantal,

    My next trip to Switzerland is going to be focussed on “The French Side” so looking forward to your advice when I come to finalise my plans.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    4 December 2017 at 8:09:46 #872556

    Thank you Arno and rockoyster. I’m looking forward to contribute to the forum. There’s however still a lot to learn for me as well.

    Rockoyster, “The French Side” is another beautiful part of Switzerland. Good choice. It would be my pleasure to advice you where I can. Are you planning to visit this part anytime soon?

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    4 December 2017 at 8:47:51 #872557

    Most likely September. I was last in Switzerland in May/June this year and kind of got hooked. 🤓

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    5 December 2017 at 2:45:38 #872558

    <<“Chantal is Dutch and living in Switzerland for 9 years, currently near Fribourg.”>>

    Goede Dag Chantal-

    On which side of the Röstigraben are you living?

    I felt that Dutch might be neutral, until I learn whether to greet you with “bon jour” or “grüetzi.”

    Slowpoke

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    5 December 2017 at 7:58:04 #872559

    Hallo Slowpoke,

    I’m living west of it, but both greetings will work. I’m still neutral.

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    5 December 2017 at 8:37:25 #872560

    Hi Slowpoke,

    I love that first photo of yours. Exactly where were you when you clicked that one ? I take it you were there in November of 2014. I spend most of my time along the shores of lakes Neuchâtel and Bienne and up into the mountains behind them, although this September/October I widened my area of exploration by staying at a friend’s place in the old part of Morat (Murten) and learning more about the canton of Fribourg. There’s still plenty more to see so I hope to go back there in 2018. I haven’t been to le Creux du Van for several years, and I was reading just the other day that access to some areas along the edge will be more restricted in the future. Here’s the article (en français, of course) from RTN: http://www.rtn.ch/rtn/Actuali te/Region/20171117-Creux-du-Van-une-partie-du-cirque-bientot-interdite-au-public.html

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    5 December 2017 at 8:50:50 #872561

    Bonjour Chantal,

    I will be looking forward to seeing your contributions about Romandie to this forum. Je suppose que vous parlez le français si depuis neuf ans vous restez à l’ouest du fameux Röstigraben. This country Switzerland is so small and yet there is so much variety of landscapes and traditions packed into it. So much can change even over a relatively short distance. Bonne chance !

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    5 December 2017 at 9:06:19 #872562

    In case the Anglophiles are wondering what’s going on . . . . Wiki says “Röschtigraben is a humorous term used to refer to the cultural boundary between German-speaking and French-speaking parts of Switzerland. There is also a term Polentagraben which refers to the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino”.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    5 December 2017 at 9:27:13 #872563

    Bonjour Peterli,

    Oui, je parle le français. I agree with you, Switzerland is small, but yet so diverse. I’m looking out my window right now, the sky is blue and I can see the glittering snow on the top of the Préalpes 🙂

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    5 December 2017 at 9:39:34 #872564

    Bonjour Peterli –

    <<I love that first photo of yours. Exactly where were you when you clicked that one ? I take it you were there in November of 2014.”>>

    Just down the slope from La Roche-Devant. We had hoped to eat there, but the restaurant was closed, since it was so late in the season so we ate at Le Soliat.

    Probably the solitary tree in the Google maps link is the one spoiling the composition of my image….

    http://www.google.com/maps/pl ace/La+Roche-Devant/@46.9293358,6.7 423145,1360m/data=!3m1 !1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x478dd d9eaaaaaaab:0x65d4353a ad1a63a4!8m2!3d46.9293 358!4d6.7445085

    Slowpoke

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    5 December 2017 at 9:59:35 #872565

    Grüetzi Peterli-

    <<“I love that first photo of yours. Exactly where were you when you clicked that one ?”>>

    How about these?

    Slowpoke

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    5 December 2017 at 11:45:36 #872566

    Bonjour Slowpoke,

    Sometimes” called Mont Vully ? Well, as far as I know, it is “always” called Mont Vully. What is all this Wistenlacherberg business ? When you go to the Boulangerie Patisserie Guillaume Gilles Sàrl in Bas-Vully (not Niederer Wistenlacher) do you not buy one of their famous gâteaux de Vully ? http://www.boulangerie-guillaume.ch/fr/galeri e-videos-galerie-photos I see that even in the German version of their website it is still a Gateau de Vully.

    All kidding aside, your photo over the Murtensee (or Lac de Morat) is very nice. We don’t often get such clear views towards the Alps, even though we are closer to them from Mont Vully than we are from over on the other side of lakes Neuchâtel or Bienne.

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    5 December 2017 at 12:03:40 #872567

    You said “Just down the slope from La Roche-Devant. We had hoped to eat there, but the restaurant was closed, since it was so late in the season so we ate at Le Soliat.”

    Now I know where I must go next time I am up around le Creux du Van. When we drove there we zig-zagged up through the woods from Bevaix and parked at La Grand Vy. The route we took did not afford such a nice view toward the Swiss Alps.

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    5 December 2017 at 13:17:55 #872568

    <<“”Sometimes” called Mont Vully ? Well, as far as I know, it is “always” called Mont Vully. What is all this Wistenlacherberg business ? When you go to the Boulangerie Patisserie Guillaume Gilles Sàrl in Bas-Vully (not Niederer Wistenlacher) do you not buy one of their famous gâteaux de Vully ?”>>

    My statement is literally correct. I think it depends on which direction I come from when I go to stay at Sugiez, now called Bas Vully, as you note. If I come from the East, it is Wistenlacherberg. If I come from the West, it is Mt. Vully.

    What prompted me to do that, which is reasonably legitimate near the Röstigraben , is that in one post a while ago, you referred to Thun as Thoune. Correct, but uncommon, and no where near the Röstigraben.

    😉

    Slowpoke

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    5 December 2017 at 19:43:56 #872569

    Hi Slowpoke,

    I am guilty as charged. You got me there ! Having gone to school in Neuchâtel, French is my first Swiss language and, I must admit, I do favour the French version of names of Swiss lakes, and therefore usually refer to Lac de Thoune, Lac de Morat, Lac de Bienne, and even Lac de Brienz and Lac de Lucerne. When I get even deeper into Swiss-German territory , I will use the Swiss-German nomenclature, such as Walensee and Bodensee. I know I should refer to the Vierwaldstättersee but when writing in English I just say Lake Lucerne. Funny how we rarely if ever see it written as Lake Luzern. What probably conditioned me to favour French names was when I learned that Lake Geneva is Genfersee for Swiss Germans, and the lovely city name Genève is Genf ! Of course, I always refer to le Lac de Neuchâtel, and I choose to call Lake Geneva Lac Léman or sometimes simply le Léman. I know that the Bodensee has a French name but I would never refer to it as Lac de Constance, nor would I change the name of the city of Konstanz to anything else. Nor would I refer to Lake Lucerne as Lac-des-Quatre-Cantons (except when writing in French) or, heaven forbid, Lake of the Four Cantons. I must say that when it comes to the Swiss Italian lakes, I stick exclusively to their Italian names, such as Lago Maggiore, and Lago di Lugano. I wonder how Swiss Germans refer to Lago Maggiore. Oops, I just found it. It is Langansee, and Lugano is Luganersee. It looks as if they don’t bother with a German version of the smaller lakes in Ticino. This is probably the same case with smaller lakes elsewhere, like Lac de Joux in the canton of Vaud.

    Having said all this, are you familiar with Marie-Thérèse Porchet and her Swiss Geography Lesson ? She is a riot, and has performed on both sides of the Röstigraben. youtu.be/Pf7b01N5P7E

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    5 December 2017 at 21:53:50 #872570

    Grüss Gott Peterli –

    <<“I know I should refer to the Vierwaldstättersee but when writing in

    English I just say Lake Lucerne. Funny how we rarely if ever see it

    written as Lake Luzern.”>>

    Shouldn’t. Luzern is German. Lake is English.

    In English, Lucerne is most correct, but sometimes Lucern is a less preferred option.

    Just to confuse things, there is a plant named, in English, “lucern” –

    <<“lucern – definition and meaning – Wordnik

    http://www.wordnik.com/words/ lucern

    Leguminous plants such as clover, vetch and lucern are green fodder which. when harvested in due season, provide cattle with the vitamins and proteins necessary for them to achieve full production capacity. Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1945 – Presentation Speech. Cultivating lucern and potatoes is, without doubt, a dignified …”>>

    And, the etiology includes French spellings with a “z” –

    <<“Lucerne | Define Lucerne at Dictionary.com

    http://www.dictionary.com/bro wse/lucerne

    1620-30; alteration (by association with Latin lucerna lamp) of French luzerne < Provençal luzerno glowworm (the plant was so called in allusion to its bright seeds); akin to Old Provençal luzerna lamp < Vulgar Latin *lūcerna, for Latin lucerna. See lucid ..”>>

    (Although, interestinglyWhat probably conditioned me to favour French

    names was when I learned that Lake Geneva is Genfersee for Swiss

    Germans, and the lovely city name Genève is Genf ! Of course, I always

    refer to le Lac de Neuchâtel, and I choose to call Lake Geneva Lac Léman

    or sometimes simply le Léman. ….)

    Interesting. I always thought that Lac Léman was the “real” French name, but that in Romandie, Lac Genève is preferred by the Swiss. Don’t know where i heard that, so it may not be true.

    And, for me, Neuchatel is far enough south into the land of “frites” that I never think of it as Neuenberg, either. Luckily, it is only a short distance northwards to be able to enjoy Rösti, an alternative and pleasant form of potatoes. 😉

    (…..I know that the Bodensee has a French

    name but I would never refer to it as Lac de Constance, nor would I

    change the name of the city of Konstanz to anything else. Nor would I

    refer to Lake Lucerne as Lac-des-Quatre-Cantons (except when writing in

    French) or, heaven forbid, Lake of the Four Cantons.”>>

    Of course not. I know that you know better. You would refer to it as the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons. ;-).

    I always wonder why it is not the Lake of the Three Forest cantons. That is, Schwyz, Unterwalden, and Uri. Maybe there is an elementof Swiss precision here. If it might have been named “Three in the past, once Canton Nidwalden split off with thte most prosperous parts, leaving behing poor Obwalden, it surely became necesary to make the name confirm. 😉

    When I write in this Forum, I should use “Lucerne,” because the official language here is English.

    However, I have chosen in that case to use “Luzern” because that is what people will see on signs when they are in the canton or, for example, in Zürich Hauptbahnhof, looking for trains to Lucerne.

    Once in a while, some one asks – “Is Luzern the same as Lucerne?’

    When speaking, it does help that the German “z” is pronounced as the English “ts” is thus similar to the French pronunciation.

    And, one of the graceful things about most of Switezrland, is that if they are able, the Swiss will return a comment or answer a question in the language used to provide it.

    Slowpoke

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    5 December 2017 at 21:59:39 #872571

    Hello to anybody following this thread.

    I was going to upload the following videos and then remembered that I did so last year.

    Looking Across Lake Neuchâtel Just Before Sunrise – youtu.be/X1tGkZH1VxA

    Sunrise over Mont Vully seen from Petit-Cortaillodyoutu.be/Pwnhi1Mal1U

    Lake Neuchâtel Panorama Lac Neuchâtelyoutu.be/CAjF_MDNE-I

    All three videos recorded on October 4, 2016. The first two in the early morning from the dock in Petit-Cortaillod and the third one in the city in the late afternoon. The mountains are already starting to turn pink in the fading sun. All are a bit wobbly as I had left my tripod at the house.

    Peterli
    Participant
    1206 posts
    5 December 2017 at 23:01:54 #872572

    Hello again,

    Your handle may be “Slowpoke” but you certainly are not a “Langweiler” when it comes to doing posts.

    You wrote: Of course not. I know that you know better. You would refer to it as the Lake of the Four Forest Cantons. ;-). I always wonder why it is not the Lake of the Three Forest cantons. That is, Schwyz, Unterwalden, and Uri. Maybe there is an elementof Swiss precision here. If it might have been named “Three in the past, once Canton Nidwalden split off with thte most prosperous parts, leaving behing poor Obwalden, it surely became necesary to make the name confirm. 😉

    From what I think I know, the older name for this lake was Luzernersee. The word “waldstätten” means forested settlements, not cantons, and the reason “Vier” precedes the rest of the name is because they added Lucerne (pardon, Luzern) to the other three: Schwyz, and Unterwalden, and Uri. I also figure that waldstätten becomes waldstätter (n goes to r) because it is now modifying the word “see”. But who am I to know, as I only studied German for one semester.

    You also wrote: Interesting. I always thought that Lac Léman was the “real” French name, but that in Romandie, Lac Genève is preferred by the Swiss. Don’t know where i heard that, so it may not be true.

    I think you will find that Lac Léman (or simply le Léman) is preferred by Swiss Romands, particularly the Vaudois who live beside it. I suspect that Lac Genève is more used by the tourist trade to reduce any possible confusion. Personally, I just call it “le Léman”. For example, I would say: “Il y a beaucoup de beaux villages sur les rives du Léman”. (instead of saying du Lac Léman).

    Did you check out Marie-Thérèse Porchet ?

    Slowpoke
    Participant
    7567 posts
    5 December 2017 at 23:26:32 #872573

    <<“Did you check out Marie-Thérèse Porchet ?”>>

    Did not.

    Fully intended to, but had to go to get groceries.

    Will give it try now.

    Slowpoke

    Olga
    Participant
    346 posts
    6 December 2017 at 9:44:05 #872574

    Hello Chantal,

    Welcome to this great website. I hope you will enjoy answering and reacting – anyhow, the country you live in is beautiful so it must be nice to talk about it! Have fun!

    O ja, ik ben ook Nederlands en ik woon er ook. Maar na ruim 30 keer Zwitserland zie ik dat als mijn tweede land :).

    Veel plezier hier,

    Olga

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