EN: Improve Your German for Free – Even in Switzerland!

Ittinger - my favourite Swiss beer, which I always order during our German Conversation at Brasserie Federal

This year I have started to work here in Zürich, so it is time I sum up how I went about improving my German before I found a job. Although I did not take any tests, I know that I made great progress during the autumn and I saw the biggest change in what previously used to be my weakest area, i.e. verbal conversation. If you live in Switzerland and would like to develop your German language, but at the same time need to keep costs down, I would immediately recommend you the following two opportunities:

The first one is linguistic training in pairs, where you help someone with your native language for eg. half an hour and the other person then supports you in the same way. Late last year, I used to have three active partners and learned tremendously much. In fact, I ended up having a waiting list of people who wanted to practise Swedish with me, so I could allow myself the luxury to only work with those who already had a high level, since that maximises the cultural interchange. In my case, that made me work with my German not only during "my" half-hour, but also when I was actively listening to and helping my partners with their difficulties in Swedish. Let us be honest, you need a vocabulary of a certain size for any conversation to be truly interesting - which in turn is a prerequisite if you want to strengthen your relationship in itself and your motivation to learn even more. I found my language friends through Sprach-Tandem.ch - a highly active on-line forum. It may sound strange but Zurich is full of native German speakers who want to learn Swedish!

The second one are the conversation groups within networks like InterNations and MeetUp. Here, time after time, I have been fascinated by how rewarding and fun conversations you can have even when there is not a single native German speaker in a group. Since everybody is in the same situation you are met by understanding and patience and, at least for me, this encourages me to try making up more complex sentences than those I would use when I first and foremost want to seem smart. MeetUp has the advantage that it is free, which means that many young people go there. My favourite, however, is InterNations for here the conversation groups are only a small part of more extensive networking activities - on the web-page as well as at events which attract a broad public. True, there is a membership fee, but you will rapidly earn back that money if you go on some of the network's popular parties.

This year I have less time for language studies, but still have the intention to continue exploring linguistic training in pairs as well as conversation groups – a few but very well invested hours per week.

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Svensk version 

EN: Skiing with Children in Arosa (Graubünden, Switzerland)

Our family's first ski trip in Switzerland took place during the children's Christmas holidays and went to Arosa (Canton: Graubünden). That time the drive took twice as long as it did when we went to Klewenalp over the day.

On the highway between Zurich and Chur we had perfect driving conditions, but after that you have to take a rather long and winding road up into the Alps. We were glad to have booked our hotel in Langwies because thanks to this we could avoid the last part, where the curves are sharper and the risk for snow on the road is higher. From our hotel to the slopes we instead went by train, which of course resulted in some waiting. In return, we got one of those experiences which we foreigners just love to make here in Switzerland: sitting with ski clothes and boots on in one of the coaches and observing how they are meander their way between mountains and snow-capped trees.

Arosa-Lenzerheide as the lift system is called is big and has many cable cars. Since we went with our children, we only tried a limited number of blue and red slopes, but had it not been for the distance I would want to come back here often.

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Deutsche Version
Svensk version

EN: Back on Skis in Dienten am Hochkönig in Austria

This year we have yet again been skiing in Dienten am Hochkönig (Salzburg, Austria). I write again, because throughout my life, I have visited this small village more than ten times, albeit only twice in the last twenty years.

Once upon a time Dienten actually played an important role in the development of my foreign languages. During my school years, this is where I once a year had one week's exposure to a German-speaking environment and that meant a lot for my motivation.

And it certainly felt wonderful to come back to a place where so many details have changed but the big picture is still so familiar. Seeing the mountain restaurant Fellersbach brought me great memories of how we, as secondary school students, used to meet up there for lunch. This time, however, we took our breaks from skiing at Liebenau Alm - strategically located next to the best children's slope! Not the same pace, but att least the same beer: Stiegl!

And I think that, from now on, we will be regular visitiors again. Compared with Switzerland, Austria is a lot cheaper while the lifts are more modern (in Dienten almost all T-bar lifts have been replaced with 4- to 6- chair lifts).

The little village Dienten am Hochkönig

The Alp Hochkönig in the sun

Spinach dumplings with a cheese sauce

Austrian potato hash: Gröstl

Tyrolerknödel (dumplings) with Sauerkraut

My last photo of the Austrian Alps: the train station in Saalfelden

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Dienten am Hochkönig forms part of the skiing area Ski Amadé.

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Deutsche Version 
Svensk version

SE: Tillbaka på skidor i Dienten am Hochkönig, Österrike

I år har vi återigen åkt skidor i Dienten am Hochkönig (förbundslandet Salzburg, Österrike). Jag skriver återigen, för sammanlagt i mitt liv har jag besökt denna lilla by mer är tio gånger, om än bara två under de senaste tjugo åren.

En gång i tiden spelade Dienten faktiskt en viktig roll för utvecklingen av mina främmande språk. Under skolåren fick jag här årligen en veckas exponering mot en tyskspråkig miljö och det betydde väldigt mycket för min motivation.

Och visst kändes det underbart att komma tillbaka till en plats där så många detaljer har förändrats men helheten fortfarande är så välbekant. Vid raststället Fellersbach väcktes härliga minnen av hur vi som gymnasieungdomar brukade sammanstråla där för att äta lunch. Den här gången, däremot, förlade vi våra raster i skidåkningen till Liebenau Alm – strategiskt belägen vid den bästa barnbacken! Inte samma tempo, men åtminsone samma öl: Stiegl!

Och jag tror att vi, från och med nu, blir stamgäster på nytt. Jämfört med Schweiz är ju Österrike enormt mycket billigare samtidigt som liftarna är modernare (i Dienten har nästan alla släpliftar ersatts av 4- och 6-stolsliftar).

Den lilla byn Dienten am Hochkönig

Alpen Hochkönig i sol

Spenatknödel med ostsås

Österrikisk pyttipanna: Gröstl

Tyrolerknödel med surkål

Sista fotot av de österrikiska Alperna: tågstationen i Saalfelden

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Dienten am Hochkönig ingår i liftssystemet Ski Amadé.

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English version
Deutsche Version

EN: German Book Recommendation: "Blind Birds" by Ursula Poznanski

Recently I have begun to read crime novels in German. The suspense guarantees that you do not get bored. Non-demanding stories allow you to make use of the short moments you spend on Zurich trams and local trains. And the language does not require for you to hold a dictionary in the other hand... ;)

The first book I have read in this way is Blinde Vögel (Blind birds) by Ursula Poznanski. Here we follow Beatrice Kaspary at the Salzburg police while she investigates a series of particularly brutal murders, where the only thing which seems to unite the victims is that they belong to a Facebook group with a focus on poetry.;)

I found this novel easy to read and thanks to its well thought through plot, I recommend it for anyone who wants to practice their German. Personally, I had hoped that the story would also give a picture of Austria today, but apart from geographical references in Salzburg, I did not find that here. What I instead bring with me from the reading are images of a war whose horrors the author really managed to remind me of.

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Blinde Vögel by Ursula Poznanski can be borrowed at the Pestalozzi libraries in Zurich.
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Deutsche Version (kommt bald)
Svensk version

SE: Åka skidor med barn i Arosa (Graubünden, Schweiz)

Vår familjs allra första resa för att åka skidor i Schweiz ägde rum under barnens jullov och gick till Arosa (Kanton: Graubünden). Den gången tog bilfärden dubbelt så lång tid som nu senast (alltså vår dagstur till Klewenalp).

På motorvägen mellan Zürich och Chur var körförhållandena perfekta, men därefter måste man ta en ganska lång och slingrig väg upp i Alperna. Vi var glada för att ha bokat vårt hotell i Langwies för därigenom slapp vi den sista biten, där kurvorna är skarpare och risken för snö på körbanan dessutom är högre. Mellan hotellet och backarna åkte vi istället tåg, vilket naturligtvis innebar en del väntetid. I gengäld fick vi en av de upplevelser som vi utlänningar älskar att göra här i Schweiz: att med skidkläder och pjäxor på sitta i en vagnarna och se hur de slingrar sig fram mellan berg och snöklädda träd.

Arosa-Lenzerheide som liftsystemet heter är stort och har många kabinliftar. Eftersom vi åkte med barnen provade vi bara ett begränsat antal blå och röda backar, men hade det inte varit för avståndet hade jag gärna kommit tillbaka ofta.

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English version 
Deutsche Version