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Switzerland & Austria Europe

Switzerland & Austria:
Odds and Ends

Book Reviews

Slow Train to Switzerland
Diccon Bewes, an English expat who lives in Bern, describes a trip in the footsteps of Miss Jemima and her companions on Thomas Cook's first Conducted Tour of Switzerland.

Coffee

Vienna's Coffeehouses
"Sit and sip" has been a Viennese tradition for more than 300 years.

Cow Contests

Swiss Cow Fights
There's no Waltz of the Toreadors in Switzerland's Valais region, but bovine battles for the title of 'Queen cow' offer a bloodless, crowd-pleasing alternative to bullfights.

Food and Wine

Emmentaler and Gruyère cheese
If you think "Swiss cheese" is a pale rubbery substance in a plastic packet, it's time to sample the real thing--preferably at the source.

Salzburger Nockerln
If you can't get to Austria, enjoy a taste of Österreich in your own kitchen or dining room with "Salzburg Dumplings" (an easy-to-make soufflé that resembles cathedral domes in a baking dish).

Holidays

Swiss Christmas Markets
Shop for ornaments and gifts, nosh on baked goods, and soak up the Advent atmosphere at Switzerland's traditional Christmas markets in late November and December.

Jewish Travel

Jewish Travel: Switzerland
Web links to kosher restaurants, hotels, Jewish communities, synagogues, mikvahs, schools, and more.

Music

Alphorns
In Switzerland, it's okay to blow your own horn--provided it's 10 to 12 feet long and made of spruce with a hardwood mouthpiece.

Shopping

Shopping Hours
Swiss and Austrian shops keep shorter hours than their counterparts in many other countries, so print out these tables and take them on your trip.

Travelogue

Rescue 117
It started out as a simple elevator ride--and turned into a public event that starred two parents, a baby, and the St. Moritz rescue squad.