Basel

We went to the zoo in Basel and met this lovely family of five. They had two children and he had a second wife. Probably why he was so exhausted, he only got up once the whole time we watched them. But both females stood the entire time, one always by the cubs. Going to Switzerland really made me realize how much french we've learned. Because we couldn't understand word one of the Swiss German. And when the returning train neared Geneva they switched announcements from German to French and everything was easy to understand and we felt home again. Very odd, as we thought we were still lost in France upon leaving for Switzerland a week earlier. We learned that the Swiss have four national languages; Swiss-German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch. What's so fascinating about this last language is that it is directly derived from Latin as in very similar to Latin, but spoken, and considered very beautiful. In elementary school, the children choose to learn one language other than their native tongue plus everyone learns English.
While purchasing shoes and calling-cards in Switzerland we did meet some people who spoke little or no English and giggled at us some. Then we ended up giggling at someone speaking Swiss German to us later. This was all fun with no hard feelings which strikes me as somewhat different than our interactions in France. The French do take their language very seriously and I would never giggle at them. This might be due to the fact that one really is SOL if they can't speak any French in a little town like Cluny so it is a more serious matter. In Basel, there is always someone within earshot who could translate for you in a pinch. Or it might be just a matter of national pride. Or the fact that Basel has a University and is filled with light- hearted young people. Besides that, German is a funny language! I quite enjoyed listening to it all around for the week, not to mention the constant music playing and confetti dodging.