2020 has been challenging, to put it mildly, so SWI swissinfo.ch would like to help you relax in the run-up to Christmas with four fun stops along the way. Sit back and click through some oddities and festive stories from our archives.
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I write articles on the Swiss Abroad and “Swiss Oddities” as well as weekly briefings and press reviews. I also translate, edit and sub-edit articles for the English department and do voiceover work for videos.
Born in London, I have a degree in German/Linguistics and was a journalist at The Independent before moving to Bern in 2005. I speak all three official Swiss languages and enjoy travelling the country and practising them, above all in pubs, restaurants and gelaterias.
As a member of our Multimedia team, my work focuses on everything to do with imagery - Photo editing, photo selection, editorial illustrations and social media.
I studied graphic design in Zurich and London, 1997-2002. Since then I've worked as a graphic designer, art director, photo editor and illustrator.
I am an experienced video journalist passionate about making complex topics accessible and engaging through compelling multimedia storytelling. Focused on social and environmental issues, I produce various video formats on a wide range of topics, specialising in impactful explainer videos with motion graphics and stop-motion animation.
During my studies in cinema, English literature and journalism, I’ve gained experience in radio, television, and print across Switzerland. After working with the Locarno Film Festival’s image & sound team, I joined SWI swissinfo.ch in 2018 to produce local and international reportages.
A silent blanket of snow has been covering Switzerland this week, and snowflakes will hopefully continue to twirl down throughout the winter season. In the mountains this usually results in walls of snow that then have to be cleared before visitors start arriving in summer.
Last year our journalists accompanied 15 men armed with shovels, chainsaws and avalanche detectors up on the old Furka cogwheel steam railway in central Switzerland. After three weeks of hard work the tourist attraction was ready to welcome the 30,000 passengers who board the train every year between the end of June and the beginning of October.
Here’s a sneak peek at what their efforts look like.
The locomotives have left the depot. At 6:30am, they whistle and bring the volunteers to the clearing site.
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
Breakfast time, when volunteers plan their day
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
A last look at the weather and avalanche danger before leaving to clear the snow
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
For safety, they strap avalanche detectors onto their chests.
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
The locomotive cannot go any further; the tunnel is blocked by metres and metres of snow that the volunteers will have to clear.
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
Hiking gaiters are strongly recommended, as the snow softens after a few hours and the feet sink. The snow is 16 metres deep in some places.
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
An avalanche has completely blocked the last tunnel, which must be cleared with a mechanical shovel.
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
The rack is frozen in the ice in some places.
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
Under the Steffenbach Bridge, the snow is so hard that the volunteers need chainsaws.
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
Close-up of a snow plough
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
The snow plough drivers have a lot of experience.
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
It is not always easy to get the snow ploughs where they are most needed…
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
Getting the Steffenbach Bridge cleared of snow takes some extra effort.
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
Time to go back to Camp Realp before avalanches become a worry
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
Time to relax after a long day shifting piles of snow
Thomas Kern/swissinfo.ch
Instead of the usual year-end look back at the past 12 months, we’ve gone back even further and raided the archives of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), SWI swissinfo.ch’s parent company, for quirky internal memos and letters from disgruntled members of the public.
Why were female staff asked not to wear stilettos? Why was the SBC sued for blasphemy after broadcasting a play about three farmers and a doll? And did you know that the SBC once debated whether it should use the internet? Discover these and many other “pearls from the archives” in this collection going back to the 1960s.
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Stringing together ‘pearls from the archives’
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Some of the more bizarre and entertaining memos and letters from the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation archives.
Now Christmas really is getting close and the goose – or plant-based alternative – is probably already fat, so to put you in the mood we’ve fished out an old audio file from our predecessor, Swiss Radio International. In 1996 we explored Swiss Christmas customs, such as the not-at-all-dangerous placing of real candles on the Christmas tree and the “correct” time to open one’s presents.
Join the conversation!