Ich bin links

My friend Debbie (see the "100% Swiss" blog) and I recently went on a 3-day bike ride in northern Switzerland from St. Gallen to Basel. We rode along Lake Constance (the Bodensee in German), through Schaffhausen, home of the famous Rhine Falls, through forests and gentle rolling countryside all the way to Basel, which is in the northwest corner of the country, bordered by Germany to the north and France to the west.

Debbie conveniently speaks German from her days working in Germany and as an au pair in Austria.  The majority of Swiss speak Swiss German, which is mostly a spoken language that is apparently different than German German (or high German).   There are a few essential phrases that cyclists need while on the road – “hello” (or just a wave of the hand or nod of the head), “on your left” (or right), and “thank you” (if you’re the polite type – like I am).  I just loved saying “Ich bin links” or “Ich bin reichs” (on your left or right) and watching everyone move to the appropriate side.  I just had one instance of someone stubbornly staying in the way, in spite of my increasing insistence (in German) that I was on his left.  He finally stopped, moved to the wrong side, and when I approached he said “allons-y”  (opps, that’s French).

Doug and I have been cocooned in the French speaking section of Switzerland – which extends from Geneva to Montreux and most of the plateau areas north of Lausanne.  The dividing line is at about Fribourg.  It’s also apparently the dividing line for preferring beer to wine – or maybe those are just the German tourists that I’ve been seeing.  I should take back what I said – I’ve been immersed in the French speaking part of Switzerland.  Doug’s been commuting to German-speaking Berne, the Swiss capital, to work at the Inselspital Berne.  He’s resisting learning German, but after my trip I suggested that he just embrace learning a new language – it’s fun to speak, and you can make people move over to the side as you walk down the hospital corridor. 

Beautiful Stein-am-Rhine

Painted frescos

 New friend- what happens in the Bodensee, stays in the Bodensee

Old wooden bridge along the ride.
The Rhine is so clean you can see to the bottom,
notice the swimmer in the foreground.

Any guesses what this is?  Hint: it's not a car wash

Rhine Falls in Schauffhausen

Rudlingen - birthplace of my great-grandfather, Solomon Meier