One Day in Germany: Constance

Fast approaching my 2 month landmark of being abroad, I faced the unavoidable task of having to get my hair cut. Everyone in Zurich is well presented and well groomed, so the thought of getting a dodgy trim in the city, due to not knowing where to go and where to avoid hadn't really crossed my mind. What had crossed my mind however was the price, and haircuts – like everything else in Zurich it seems are no exception – they're expensive. Then I had the idea to head across the border into Germany, where I could also do a bit of sightseeing in a new town and buy a few other things I need cheaply. So, Constance it was then.

Constance straddles the border between Switzerland and Germany.

Constance is only just over the border and about an hour's train journey from Zurich, and although the weather was a little overcast when I arrived, the town is really pretty. Lots of old buildings and plenty of tight, twisting streets revealing quite a few gems. Like Zurich, it has it's very own lake - Lake Constance or the Bodensee.

Constance is pretty small, but definitely worth a visit.

Upon my arrival the first hair dresser's I saw were offering a haircut for €17 (£15), much better than what I would've had to pay in Zurich – 50 CHF (£40) and so I made an appointment for the same day. Thanks to the fact that I also had two railway subscriptions (Halbtax Abo & Gleis7), I saved enough to include the cost of the train journey and then some!

It's possible to take a boat around the lake, but maybe I'll save that for another time, when the weather is more appealing.

Having spent so much time in Switzerland already, I had already got used to Swiss prices. My very first thought after walking around Constance was that everything was ridiculously cheap – even if it wasn't relative to Germany! I treated myself to Currywurst for lunch for example, and was hugely surprised to find that I still had [quite a lot of] change for a tenner. Now I realised just why Constance is so appealing to the Swiss as a town to simply go to for the savings made on grocery shopping...

Constance is often frequented by Swiss loading there bags full of cheap shopping before heading back over the border into dearer Switzerland.

Another observation that was immediately noticeable to me, was that I heard High German on the streets! It seemed like a novelty to hear German German again after being in Zurich for so long, I had to keep reminding myself that I was no longer in Switzerland and so saying 'Grüezi' or 'Merci' would only return curious looks.

Although the German spoken in Constance is peppered with the Badisch dialect, it made a change to hear High German on the streets again.

I would definitely recommend a day trip to Constance to anyone in Zurich who could benefit from buying a few things cheaply. It's worth the trip, especially if you have the train subscriptions, and besides, Constance is a nice town in it's own right. Just make sure you go on a sunny day to make the most of it...

A Dummy's Guide to Swiss German

Grüezi mitenand! [Hello everyone!]

Anyone flying into Switzerland and expecting to be greeted in German by a customs officer may at first think they've ended up in the wrong country upon hearing the local language. We're told that Switzerland has four official languages: German (64%), French (21%), Italian (7%) and Romansh (<1%), but this isn't quite the case. What people actually speak here is Swiss German (a range of Alemannic dialects), rather than German German (or 'High German') and they differ quite a lot.

The variant of Swiss German spoken in Zurich is called Züritüütsch.

Swiss German differs from city to city - and from valley to valley - too. One of the noticeable differences between High German and Swiss German is in pronunciation. For example the High German 'ung' is pronounced as 'ig', 'ei' as 'ie', 'n's are often omitted and if you seem to hear people with throat infections, you're probably just mistaking it for the throaty 'ch' which the Swiss say instead of 'k'! As can be seen in these common examples:

High German: __________Swiss German: __________English:

Kuchenkasten __________Chüchichäschtli _________Kitchen cupboard

Verzweigung ___________Verzwiegig _____________Intersection

Lebensgefährlich _______Läbesgföhrlech __________Deadly

Not only does Swiss German have it's own pronunciation, but it also has it's own vocabulary and grammar – for instance, there is no simple past tense or genitive case in Swiss German, although it does have it's own set of articles etc..

Of course, despite the difficulty of picking up Swiss German, I really am quite enthusiastic about learning it properly. Swiss German sounds very pleasing to the ear and somehow more 'natural' than High German, perhaps due to the sing-song nature of the dialect's intonation.

Thankfully - for those of us more familiar with High German – Swiss German tends to be just a spoken language. All university lectures and written communications are in High German (excluding informal text messages or emails etc.). Or more accurately – Swiss Standard German – which is pretty much the same as High German, except for a few peculiarities.

Bicycles – or Fahrräder in High German- are given a different name here in Switzerland: Velos. The same is true for motorcycles; the Germans call them Motorräder, whereas the Swiss Töffs.

Although Swiss Standard German is supposed to be like High German, there are quite a few interesting differences. The Swiss tend to like to make themselves different to their German neighbours in any way possible, and this is especially true with their written language. Where perfectly adequate words exist in High German, the Swiss tend towards their French influences, saying quirky hybrids such as 'Merci vielmal', (thanks very much).

You won't find any Fahrräder (bicycles) in Switzerland for example, rather the Swiss cycle on Velos – which originates from French (except with it's own unique Swiss German pronunciation). Even where French words are used in High German, the Swiss opt to be awkward and choose another French synonym to use! A Friseur is what you'd ask for when you'd like a haircut in Germany, but in Switzerland you'd ask for a Coiffure.

I'm gradually getting used to the language(s) here; the mental 'hangover' of speaking, hearing and having to understand High German & Swiss German the whole time is exhausting – although it is becoming a little easier every day...

For those of you who would like to learn more about Swiss German, I can recommend some online resources that may help:

Learning resources:

http://www.eldrid.ch/swgerman.htm (Highly recommended)

Swiss German media:

www.wilmaa.com (TV and Radio within Switzerland)

www.drs3.ch (Radio)

www.videoportal.sf.tv (Swiss TV)