Switzerland Today

Greetings from Bern,

Here are the latest news and stories from Switzerland on Monday.

Keystone / Martial Trezzini

In the News:  Additional Covid-19 measures – such as the reintroduction of compulsory masks – will soon be implemented, predicts the president of the Conference of Cantonal Health Directors.

• The comments on Monday by Lukas Engelberger come days after Interior Minister Alain Berset ruled out tightening measures against the pandemic. Switzerland goes to the polls on Sunday to give the thumbs up or down to the Covid-19 law, including the use of certificates to enter restaurants and other buildings.
• UBS shares were up in early trading today, holding up better than other bank stocks, after the nomination of Irish banker Colm Kelleher to succeed president Axel Weber. Analysts view Kelleher’s appointment as positive.
• Zurich airport has reportedly again turned off its webcam to let the camera-shy King of Thailand slip into the country. “What has Rama X got to hide?” wondered BlickExternal link today. Although the airport’s website says the public can follow events via its webcam “round the clock”, not for the first time did the screen go black when Rama X, who reportedly prefers to spend time at his home in Bavaria than in Thailand, touched down. Despite this, photographers managed to get a few shots of the king from a distance.

Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Could you work from home in the Alps? During the pandemic, some skiers have been doing just that. Yet for all the romance of the vision, how does a 21st-century city dweller adjust to the unpredictability and realities of mountain life?

Having a crash pad in the Alps for weekend escapes is one thing, but working and living there for extended periods brings a different approach. “People are now looking for a second home in the true sense of the word – which is less likely to be in the thick of the action, but a larger property on the quieter fringes of town,” estate agent Alex Koch de Gooreynd tells the Financial Times.

The paper spoke to various mountain-loving English-speakers from around the world who have been tempted by year-round living in the Alps.

Many already have chalets, such as Stuttgart-born Arne Zimmerman, who for the second winter will be taking his two daughters to school by snowmobile and running his Tribeca art gallery remotely. “The pandemic was the trigger for us to decamp [from New York] to our chalet,” he says. “We’ve skied North America, but the girls loved the adventure of being in [Swiss resort] Verbier. Being here is a refreshing contrast to the competitive environment of New York, everyone is welcoming; respectful. It’s been the best time ever we’ve had as a family.”

There are challenges, however. In Swiss resorts, the number of second homes is capped to 20% of a municipality’s housing stock, and strong domestic demand during the pandemic has pushed up prices.

In Verbier, favoured for its back-country skiing, there are thin pickings, says estate agent Florian Steiger. Among the buyers seeking to upsize are people based in Geneva swapping their main base with their weekend home in the Valais, helped by the fact that 96% of the Swiss population enjoys 5G coverage.

As a London family who bought a farmhouse in neighbouring France said: “We came out to do a few weeks’ skiing but have discovered so much more to do. We’re not the only ones who came for the winter and stayed for the summer.”

Keystone / Peter Schneider

Finally, a story that will bring tears to your eyes. This year Bern’s Zibelemärit (Onion Market) has “fewer onions, fewer stands and fewer people”.

Bern’s biggest market goes back more than 150 years, but last year it had to be put on hold because of Covid-19. This year it’s back!

The action kicked off, as usual, at dawn on the fourth Monday of November. This year the city of Bern set out a series of protective measures for the event, which normally attracts tens of thousands of people from far and wide.

Stalls are not allowed to sell alcoholic drinks – if you need booze at 5am you’ll have to go to a nearby restaurant – but they may sell cheese pies and other take-away meals as well as non-alcoholic drinks.

This year the supply of onions is much smaller than usual, as the rainy summer and hail have taken their toll on many market gardeners. According to Swiss public radio, SRFExternal link, no more than 20 to 25 tonnes of onions will be available. That’s only half as much as usual.