First season - Autumn

Enjoy a train ride through Switzerland's colorful autumn landscape. The golden, shining vineyards in Valais or in the Lavaux (World Unesco Heritage Site) are especially recommended in this season. It's also the perfect opportunity to go to Herbstmesse in Basel and be surprised by the exhibitions and activities planned for all the visitors.

Autumn goes on since my arrival in Switzerland. After spending three months in Switzerland, here a short report of my feelings.

LANGUAGES

Multilingualism is an integral part of the Swiss culture and most of the population often speaks at least two languages. Foreigners living in Switzerland also contribute to the country's linguistic diversity. Although there are 4 official national languages and many Swiss are multilingual, do not assume everyone speaks all of them. For some, English can be the "second language" even if they studies another official language at school.

Living and studying in the German part, people speak most of the time in Swiss German, a dialect derived from high German. However I was really surprised and impressed to see the very good level of English of Swiss people. Train controllers switched easily from one language to another one. In train, grocery shops or administration wherever you are in Switzerland you won’t have any problem to find someone speaking good English or French.

WEATHER

By taking the train everyday it was surprising to see that the weather is not the same between Bolligen and Olten. I could leave Bolligen with sunbeams and arrived with fog in Olten. In Switzerland the weather is localized, you need to check it every time before going out (if you don't want to have unpleasant surprise). Nevertheless the weather in Olten is more or less like in Paris. Olten is located in the hollow of a valley. It means that when it start to be cloudy it can be like that during one entire week (contrary to Bolligen where it can rain, sunshine, snowing in a day).

The first snow appeared at the end of November. Contrary to Paris, when it start to snow it's not the little French snowflake but abundant Swiss snowfall. The city and Swiss railways are very well organized to cold weather. I have never had a problem.

To face minus temperature (-5°C to -10°C) I highly recommended you to pack a good coat, a sweater, good walking and warm shoes, a beanie and gloves (especially if you intend to go hiking), sunscreen, sunglasses, a compact umbrella and/or a light rain coat. Due to microclimates it can be snowy in Bern area but if you take the train to go to the south (i.e Italian part) the climate is almost sub-tropical where palm trees thrive and sunshine is the norm.

DISCOVER SWITZERLAND WITH INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

I traveled a lot during these months as well in cities and mountains. I was so glad to met international students. We travel a lot together with the advices of Swiss students. I can noticed that the behavior of students depends of their original country. For example, the Spanishs always need a nap and they are more extroverted than the Finishs.