My Swiss colleagues in the office had been telling me a lot about the Swiss National Day Celebrations. I had thought to be in the United States to mark the July 4th celebrations with my friends but then I allowed myself to be persuaded to go to Switzerland instead. Well, I actually looked up the number of cheap flights to Europe and allowed myself to get convinced! Again, the dates were a bit close for me; July 4th for the United States and August 1st for Switzerland. Well, I packed my bags and got ready for my cheap flight Zurich, the land of peace.
The Swiss, as a discovered take the day off and only started doing so in 1993. Apparently, prior to that, they opted for a more work-oriented celebration. Hmmit means the Swiss are very workaholic people considering the fact that the event being marked has been in existence for about 700 years. This event as I learnt commemorates the day that representatives of three cantons; Schwyz, Unterwalden and Uri swore an oath of brotherhood. This oath mandated that they all act to protect their freedom from external aggression. The oath was taken by all three above the Lucerne Lake, on the Rutli field on August 1st 1291.
We flew into the Zurich Airport which remains the largest airport in Switzerland. These days it is much easier to get a
cheap flight Zurich as the airport now enjoys patronage from the low cost airlines offering
cheap flights to Europe from Zurich. The beauty of Switzerland is evident right from the airport and I eagerly drank in the air and festive atmosphere. One thing I found easy to do was communicate as a lot English is spoken in Switzerland along with German although their local language is Swiss-German. Getting from the airport my hotel was anything but difficult; thanks to the transport system that works likea Swiss watch.
I had some time to spend looking around before the celebrations so I visited the Bahnhofstrasse which actually happens to be one of the most exotic shopping areas in Europe. The amazing range of choices of watches, jewelry, accessories and shoes that abound here is truly thrilling. I must say that I mostly feasted my eyes here and when I was done window shopping, I went off to Langstrasse where the prices are quite less.
Well August 1st arrived and I went off with my friends to a farm belonging to a friend. We all gathered together and listened to the speech by the President of the Confederation. We strolled to the nearby town and watched the school children march through the streets with their Chinese lanterns in the evening. The town was bedecked with the national and municipal flags and there was obvious pride in the walk and talk of the indigenes. We bought some nice pastries which were beautifully decorated with the flag of Switzerland. It was truly overwhelming and I couldnt help thinking it was the quaintest National Day celebration I had ever witnessed.
We retired back to the farm and at night, lit the bonfire started the fun with songs round the fire. The evening wouldnt have been complete without the fireworks and we had a lot of fun setting them off one after another.
