COVID-19 My Coronavirus Mount Everest Climbing and Fundraising Challenge

Phew - REALLY wobbly and very likely rather stiff legs tomorrow, but I have managed to jog up all 20 stairs today in two nonstop sessions! :yahoo:

This means that I am about a third up the path from the Rütli, but as I am still (virtually walking through the forest that covers most of the slope) and don't have much of view, I have decided to leave that until I arrive in Seelisberg on Friday evening, for a proper AWWing moment!

Tonight I have instead returned to my home patch and am overnighting by the little weekend cafe/pub at the bottom of the viewing tower just across the valley from us to enjoy some pretty stunning views across to my home village from the top of the tower as my lunchtime treat.

The tower is quite a landmark and was one of these landmarks that I walked to at least once a year during the monthly 4 hours Wednesday morning school rambles we had in our time at secondary school when the maxim 'healthy mind in a healthy body' was taken more seriously.
You were lucky if you had a class teacher who wasn't into serious rambling, so the monthly ramble was more of an amiable amble on the flat; unfortunately I was stuck with an uphill speed enthusiast (mind you, he was still one of the best or perhaps the best of my teachers; very strict, but he got results because he demanded them and he challenged us in a good way).
So instead of taking the bus up to a dip in the ridge and then a very pleasant walk along with an eventual descent into the valley, we'd walk smartly all the way up from the bottom of the valley (280 m/ 920 ft in height difference) - and then down again in time for lunch!

Sometimes we'd roast a sausage on a stick over the fire by the tower on a family walk on a Sunday, too. I have taken hub once but as the cafe was closed, the excitement palled very quickly...

Here is the view from my home village across to the tower.
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And here is the tower close up - the 30 m height is not quite as dinky as from several miles away! I will have worked up an appetite for a sandwich and a drink by the time I've raced up to the top in order to admire the view from the top tomorrow!
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Phew - REALLY wobbly and very likely rather stiff legs tomorrow, but I have managed to jog up all 20 stairs today in two nonstop sessions! :yahoo:

This means that I am about a third up the path from the Rütli, but as I am still (virtually walking through the forest that covers most of the slope) and don't have much of view, I have decided to leave that until I arrive in Seelisberg on Friday evening, for a proper AWWing moment!

Tonight I have instead returned to my home patch and am overnighting by the little weekend cafe/pub at the bottom of the viewing tower just across the valley from us to enjoy some pretty stunning views across to my home village from the top of the tower as my lunchtime treat.

The tower is quite a landmark and was one of these landmarks that I walked to at least once a year during the monthly 4 hours Wednesday morning school rambles we had in our time at secondary school when the maxim 'healthy mind in a healthy body' was taken more seriously.
You were lucky if you had a class teacher who wasn't into serious rambling, so the monthly ramble was more of an amiable amble on the flat; unfortunately I was stuck with an uphill speed enthusiast (mind you, he was still one of the best or perhaps the best of my teachers; very strict, but he got results because he demanded them and he challenged us in a good way).
So instead of taking the bus up to a dip in the ridge and then a very pleasant walk along with an eventual descent into the valley, we'd walk smartly all the way up from the bottom of the valley (280 m/ 920 ft in height difference) - and then down again in time for lunch!

Sometimes we'd roast a sausage on a stick over the fire by the tower on a family walk on a Sunday, too. I have taken hub once but as the cafe was closed, the excitement palled very quickly...

Here is the view from my home village across to the tower.
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And here is the tower close up - the 30 m height is not quite as dinky as from several miles away! I will have worked up an appetite for a sandwich and a drink by the time I've raced up to the top in order to admire the view from the top tomorrow!
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My OH says if you would like to send him all the places you’ve been and are planning he can do a map for you that we can post?
 
My OH says if you would like to send him all the places you’ve been and are planning he can do a map for you that we can post?
That's a really good idea. Unfortunately, mine will mostly be in the UK and mostly in the North, so not all that exciting, but I do have a far flung place to add to the mix in the next week or so. However, I've just thought that after another two weeks, I should have climbed higher than anything in the UK, so I'll have to look further afield.
 
That's a really good idea. Unfortunately, mine will mostly be in the UK and mostly in the North, so not all that exciting, but I do have a far flung place to add to the mix in the next week or so. However, I've just thought that after another two weeks, I should have climbed higher than anything in the UK, so I'll have to look further afield.
If you can send your info to us he’ll see what he can do, he’s quite good at GIS and plotting so it will be fun for him too! We come from Barnoldswick and Harrogate so true northerns and our northern landscapes are spectacular too!
 
That's a really good idea. Unfortunately, mine will mostly be in the UK and mostly in the North, so not all that exciting, but I do have a far flung place to add to the mix in the next week or so. However, I've just thought that after another two weeks, I should have climbed higher than anything in the UK, so I'll have to look further afield.
For some of us the UK is exciting, and it is so lovely to see and hear abut places that we may have never even heard of before.
I love the UK countryside, and wish I had spent more time exploring it while I lived there, so I an really enjoying your adventures @Posyrose
 
If you can send your info to us he’ll see what he can do, he’s quite good at GIS and plotting so it will be fun for him too! We come from Barnoldswick and Harrogate so true northerns and our northern landscapes are spectacular too!
That's a really good idea. Unfortunately, mine will mostly be in the UK and mostly in the North, so not all that exciting, but I do have a far flung place to add to the mix in the next week or so. However, I've just thought that after another two weeks, I should have climbed higher than anything in the UK, so I'll have to look further afield.
Nothing wrong with the north. Plenty walks and hills xx
 
That's a really good idea. Unfortunately, mine will mostly be in the UK and mostly in the North, so not all that exciting, but I do have a far flung place to add to the mix in the next week or so. However, I've just thought that after another two weeks, I should have climbed higher than anything in the UK, so I'll have to look further afield.

Hey, even after nearly 20 years in the UK I still feel like a kid in a candy shop with having such a BIG and beautiful country to discover and explore! Keep in mind that we have members from all over the world, so for a number of us seeing the UK is very exciting! I've never heard of Castle Crag before, for instance.

Switzerland is very small in comparison. You can cross it, spend some hours sightseeing and be back home in just one day by car or by train! There is is not a lot of space left outside the mountains and even that is mostly heavily built up valleys and hills. If you want some flat ground, you have to get in a boat or get your feet wet as you'll inevitably end up in a lake.
But it is ideal for my own climbing challenge because it is going to take me about halfway up Mount Everest - and I have the advantage that I am on my own home ground and know places and things that may be of interest but are not always necessarily famous; although there will be those, too.

But please never underestimate the draw of climbing familiar hills and mountains - that gives other UK members the feel of 'yeah, I have been there and have seen that', which has its own appeal as you tap into their own memories and experiences that they can relate to instantly. Staying in a certain area and exploring that may inspire some to actually go and visit the places themselves on a holiday or even go and climb some of the hills for real! :tu:

Between the two of us we are creating a very appealing mix of the exotic and the familiar, you know!
But which is which is very much in the eye of the beholder. I still find the UK exotic, you know, because it is so very different from where I have grown up while for most of you Switzerland is very exotic because it is not your typical holiday country.
 
Hey, even after nearly 20 years in this country I still feel like a kid in a candy shop with having such a big and beautiful country to discover and explore! Keep in mind that we have members from all over the world, so for a number of us seeing the UK is very exciting! I've never heard of Castle Crag before, for instance.

Switzerland is very small; there is is not a lot of space left outside the mountains and even that is mostly heavily built up valleys and hills. If you want some flat ground, you have to get in a boat or get your feet wet as you'll inevitably end up in a lake.
But it is ideal for my own climbing challenge because it is going to take me about halfway up Mount Everest - and I have the advantage that I am on my own home ground and know places and things that may be of interest but are not always necessarily famous, although there will be those, too.

But please never underestimate the the draw of climbing familiar hills and mountains - that gives other UK members the feel of 'yeah, I have been there and have seen that', which has its own appeal as you tap into their own memories and experiences that they can relate to instantly. Staying in a certain area and exploring that may inspire some to actually go and visit the places themselves on a holiday or even go and climb them for real! :tu:

Between the two of us we are creating a very appealing mix of the exotic and the familiar, you know!
But which is which is very much in the eye of the beholder. I still find the UK exotic, you know, because it is so very different from where I have grown up and for most of you Switzerland is very exotic because it is not your typical holiday country.

PS: @Posyrose
I won't be able to see my shielding elderly mother again until there is a widely available vaccine for travellers (which is rather unlikely until next year at the best); she doesn't do anything more modern than a phone nor is she willing or able to learn how to use video or social media. :(
My thoughts are with my own family so far away of course. Going there in my mind and reliving some treasured memories is my way of coping with my worries and feelings of separation. ;)
 
Here is the reason why running up the tower to have a well deserved lunch break at the top was worth it before I say goodbye to my home area! No quite on the scale of the Alps, but nothing to sneeze at, either! My home village is straight ahead on one of the hills.

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(Picture credit: photocommunity)

Here is the tower with a view towards the built-up Rhine valley and Germany with the Black Forest at the back; which I am bound to visit once or twice!
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Here is the reason why running up the tower to have a well deserved lunch break at the top was worth it before I say goodbye to my home area! No quite on the scale of the Alps, but nothing to sneeze at, either! My home village is straight ahead on one of the hills.

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(Picture credit: photocommunity)

Here is the tower with a view towards the built-up Rhine valley and Germany with the Black Forest at the back; which I am bound to visit once or twice!
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Fab views! So sorry you won’t be able to visit your Mum, but you will have such a reunion when it happens x
 
Well today I reached 585m which means that I exceeded the height of my next hill, Shining Tor, the highest point in Cheshire. I couldn't find any pictures of the top, but here's the view, with the third highest hill in Cheshire in the background - Shuttlingsloe, nicknamed the Matterhorn of Cheshire because of it's shape @Wiebke 😉. On a good day you can see Manchester and spot Jodrell Bank's radio telescope dishes.

Shining Tor - 995759 - James Pictures

I've been up both of them in real life and there is an annual fell race up Shining Tor. Shining Tor fell race 6mi. 20/07/2011.
 
Well today I reached 585m which means that I exceeded the height of my next hill, Shining Tor, the highest point in Cheshire. I couldn't find any pictures of the top, but here's the view, with the third highest hill in Cheshire in the background - Shuttlingsloe, nicknamed the Matterhorn of Cheshire because of it's shape @Wiebke 😉. On a good day you can see Manchester and spot Jodrell Bank's radio telescope dishes.

Shining Tor - 995759 - James Pictures

I've been up both of them in real life and there is an annual fell race up Shining Tor. Shining Tor fell race 6mi. 20/07/2011.

Well done! You are definitely into rock scrambling now!

PS: I did get this picture here when I googled for Shining Tor. Definitely worth the scramble!
I can see why it is being called the 'Matterhorn of Cheshire'.
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[QUOTE="Wiebke, post: 2431015, member...another good view from the top![/QUOTE]

thanks for posting the picture. It's definitely worth the view!
 
An update on my further travel today.
I'm now two thirds up on the serpentine path up to the stretched out village of Seelisberg, right in the middle of the steepest part of it (if I remember correctly it was a bit of a slog before you were turning more to going back climbing along the hill).
I should reach the village by tomorrow evening and share the great views from the village with you then!
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However, as it is not exactly an ideal place for camping, I have done another convenient whizz north to St. Blasien (or St Blaise in French and English), the main spa and market town on the eastern side of the High Black Forest. It is my favourite Black Forest town as it is a LOT less touristy; mostly hikers or cyclists in summer and cross country skiers in winter.
It has a wonderful bakery cum tearoom with a enormous buffet of absolutely delicious cakes for you to choose from. For me it is always a slice of Black Forest gateau first and foremost (what else)? I make my own for events, but not on quite the same level of perfection!

St. Blasien with the cathedral and view of the Feldberg (the highest mountain of the Black Forest)
You can see why the fir forest has given the mountain range of mostly rounded hills with forested slopes its name.
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Despite it being just a smallish market town, it has a stunning cathedral from the Counter-reformation when the Catholics were pushing back in the 17th century in a rather unusual shape. The centre is encasing a perfect spacial globe, and everything is done in pristine white marble. The architectural perfection is so very striking - but at the same time the cathedral is so very cold and sterile. Beauty without soul...
It is truly a monument to the determination of the Catholic church to win back the areas lost during the reformation by might and hold them forever.
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If you ever come this way, it is really worth a stop to see the cathedral and muse about it over a piece of cake or two (or if you are my hub-to-be) even three if you struggle with choosing!
 
Indicentally I have passed the highest point in Dartmoor yesterday, High Wilhays at 621 m.

Pretty chuffed with myself, especially as I am able to do all my daily 20 stairs at a jog now and am adding another 53 m with every passing every day.
WOW - I am not just climbing but actually running uphill, which is more than I would have ever expected to be able to do; especially just two weeks into my challenge!
(You should have seen the look of sheer terror and revulsion on my hub's face at this particular fitness news... :D )


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Indicentally I have passed the highest point in Dartmoor yesterday, High Wilhays at 621 m.

Pretty chuffed with myself, especially as I am able to do all my daily 20 stairs at a jog now and am adding another 53 m with every passing every day.
WOW - I am not just climbing but actually running uphill, which is more than I would have ever expected to be able to do; especially just two weeks into my challenge!
(You should have seen the look of sheer terror and revulsion on my hub's face at this particular fitness news... :D )


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Well done @Wiebke!

I'm glad you are finding it much easier now. :)
 
Well done @Wiebke!

I'm glad you are finding it much easier now. :)

It has been creeping up slowly and very gradually in tiny increments - I am still having pudding legs after each session but the sessions themselves are going better, sometimes a little more than others.

I hope that you have a similar experience overall!
 
I have miscalculated my arrival in Seelisberg - I am still 75 m short so that will have to wait until Sunday lunchtime.

So instead I am going to take a little visit to Fribourg/Freiburg (about 610 m/2000 ft), a striking city right on the language border between the French speaking and the German speaking part of Switzerland; it's on the railway line from Bern to Geneva and has been built on an easily defendable rocky ridge. Not to be mistaken for the German city of Freiburg I'm Breisgau in the Rhine valley just north of Basel (very pretty too, with a big gothic cathedral).

One of my uni friends grew up on the language border in the Biel/Bienne area where the distibution of French to German speakers is about equal. According to her, it is not necessarily like everybody is just speaking one language or the other but it is often that what you talk about with your mates determines which language you use - anything factual you may prefer to dicuss in German Swiss dialect and anything to do with emotions and moods is better expressed in French.
In the Basel area where I have grown up, we are all part of the Allemannic (German) tribe, whether we are Swiss, from the French Alsace or from the German Baden/Black Forest southwest corner, so we all speak the Allemannic dialect but influenced by the dominant language of the country each of us lives in. Because of the close ties across the borders, the dialect has survived strongly.
Dialect use is very strong in Switzerland and part of our national identity; unlike in other nations it is not tied to a class system. The dialect is very regional and changes over rather small areas so you can guess where anybody is from rather easily!

For me it very much depends on who I am speaking with - with my mother and sister I speak in German; with my nieces, brother-in-law and brother in Swiss dialect and with my husband obviously in English. Sometimes I switch languages in the middle of a sentence, depending on who I am looking at.

We call the language border between the German and French speaking cantons, which often vote differently in referendums (4-6 times a year) the 'roesti ditch' after the favourite Swiss dinner.

Here are some pictures of Fribourg and how the historic town descends along the ridge towards the medieval river bridge at the the bottom; but you can see the overall more dominant French influence clearly in the town hall!
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And there is a very convenient funiculaire to take you back up to the railway station after a walk along the river bend...
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I have miscalculated my arrival in Seelisberg - I am still 75 m short so that will have to wait until Sunday lunchtime.

So instead I am going to take a little visit to Fribourg/Freiburg, a striking city right on the language border between the French speaking and the German speaking part of Switzerland; it's on the railway line from Bern to Geneva and has been built on an easily defendable rocky ridge.

One of my uni friends grew up on the language border. According to her, it is not necessarily like everybody is just speaking one language or the other but it is often that what you talk about determines which language you use - anything factual you may prefer to dicuss in German and anything to do with emotions and moods is better expressed in French.
In the Basel area where I have grown up, we are all part of the Allemannic (German) tribe, whether we are Swiss, from the French Alsace or from the German Baden/Black Forest southwest corner, so we all speak the Allemannic dialect but influenced by the dominant language of the country each of us lives in. Because of the close ties across the borders, the dialect has survived strongly.

For me it very much depends on who I am speaking with - with my mother and sister I speak in German; with my nieces, brother-in-law and brother in Swiss dialect and with my husband obviously in English. Sometimes I switch languages in the middle of a sentence, depending on who I am looking at.

We call the language border between the German and French speaking cantons, which often vote differently in referendums (4-6 times a year) the 'roesti ditch' after the favourite Swiss dinner.

Here are some pictures of Fribourg and how the historic town descends along the ridge towards the medieval river bridge at the the bottom; but you can see the overall more dominant French influence clearly in the town hall!
View attachment 140778

View attachment 140773

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And there is a very convenient funiculaire to take you back up to the railway station after a walk along the river bend...
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It is very beautiful. 💕
 
I have miscalculated my arrival in Seelisberg - I am still 75 m short so that will have to wait until Sunday lunchtime.

So instead I am going to take a little visit to Fribourg/Freiburg (about 610 m/2000 ft), a striking city right on the language border between the French speaking and the German speaking part of Switzerland; it's on the railway line from Bern to Geneva and has been built on an easily defendable rocky ridge. Not to be mistaken for the German city of Freiburg I'm Breisgau in the Rhine valley just north of Basel (very pretty too, with a big gothic cathedral).

One of my uni friends grew up on the language border. According to her, it is not necessarily like everybody is just speaking one language or the other but it is often that what you talk about determines which language you use - anything factual you may prefer to dicuss in German Swiss dialect and anything to do with emotions and moods is better expressed in French.
In the Basel area where I have grown up, we are all part of the Allemannic (German) tribe, whether we are Swiss, from the French Alsace or from the German Baden/Black Forest southwest corner, so we all speak the Allemannic dialect but influenced by the dominant language of the country each of us lives in. Because of the close ties across the borders, the dialect has survived strongly.
Dialect use is very strong in Switzerland and part of our national identity; unlike in other nations it is not tied to a class system. The dialect is very regional and changes over rather small areas so you can guess where anybody is from rather easily!

For me it very much depends on who I am speaking with - with my mother and sister I speak in German; with my nieces, brother-in-law and brother in Swiss dialect and with my husband obviously in English. Sometimes I switch languages in the middle of a sentence, depending on who I am looking at.

We call the language border between the German and French speaking cantons, which often vote differently in referendums (4-6 times a year) the 'roesti ditch' after the favourite Swiss dinner.

Here are some pictures of Fribourg and how the historic town descends along the ridge towards the medieval river bridge at the the bottom; but you can see the overall more dominant French influence clearly in the town hall!
View attachment 140778

View attachment 140773

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And there is a very convenient funiculaire to take you back up to the railway station after a walk along the river bend...
View attachment 140777
Anthony says "vorsicht von der Roestigraben, gau!".
We know a joke about Fribourg, sadly it requires hand gestures so it wouldn't work here very well! It was told us by a Swiss lady from Muentzingen, the equivalent of an English person telling an Irish joke I guess ;)
 
Anthony says "vorsicht von der Roestigraben, gau!".
We know a joke about Fribourg, sadly it requires hand gestures so it wouldn't work here very well! It was told us by a Swiss lady from Muentzingen, the equivalent of an English person telling an Irish joke I guess ;)

Oh, yes - in my childhood we had lots of regional jokes. The people from Zurich are the clever and fast business minded ones, the ones from Basel have a big mouth and pretend to be cleverer and classier than the people from Zurich (there is a long standing ongoing rivalry between the two cities especially in football, a bit like between Sunderland and Newcastle), the Bernese are very, very slow (the joke club meets on the Tuesday to tell jokes and on the Friday to laugh about them), the people from Thurgau east of Zurich steal (the railway line is making lots of bends to allow the train driver to check whether the last carriage is still attached), the ones from Appenzell (in the Northeast) are very short so they can suicide by jumping off the carpet edge. And the Fribourgians were not known to the be cleanliest...

Mostly these days you speak in English between the French and the German Swiss because the ideological barrier is not there and both sides speak it about equally well or badly. Otherwise the French expect you to speak perfect French because they are a Minority and deserve to be respected for that
In numbers: about 65% are German/dialect, 23% French, 8% Italian speaking and 1/2% speak Rumantsch (where Latin met the mountains tribes of the Southeast). But foreign languages are quite a large part of school lessons! You have to learn at least another Swiss language and English.
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Oh, yes - in my childhood we had lots of regional jokes. The people from Zurich are the clever and fast business minded ones, the ones from Basel have a big mouth and pretend to be cleverer and classier than the people from Zurich (there is an ongoing rivalry between the two cities especially in football), the Bernese are very, very slow (the joke club meets on the Tuesday to tell jokes and on the Friday to laugh about them), the people from Thurgau east of Zurich steal (the railway line is making lots of bends to allow the train driver to check whether the last carriage is still attached), the ones from Appenzell (in the Northeast) are very short so they can suicide by jumping off the carpet edge. And the Fribourgians were not known to the be cleanliest...

Mostly these days you speak in English between the French and the German Swiss because the ideological barrier is not there and both sides speak it about equally well or badly. Otherwise the French expect you to speak perfect French because they are a Minority and deserve to be respected for that
In numbers: about 65% are German/dialect, 23% French, 8% Italian speaking and 1/2% speak Rumantsch (where Latin met the mountains tribes of the Southeast). But foreign languages are quite a large part of school lessons! You have to learn at least another Swiss language and English.

:) hahahhahaha, that's just such a microcosm of Europe.
 
:) hahahhahaha, that's just such a microcosm of Europe.

I haven't even started on the Austrian jokes, or the East Friesians jokes (of which I learned a lot because my name is Friesian from German/Dutch North Sea coast), so the school bullies took delight in taunting me about that when the jokes were in fashion. The best way of dealing with that was topping the bullies with a couple of even better East Friesian jokes...

The East Friesians are the reasons why there a tides, you know - when the North Sea met the East Friesians it got such a shock that it withdrew quite a way. Since then is coming back twice daily to have a cautious look whether the East Friesians are still there.
 
I haven't even started on the Austrian jokes, or the East Friesians (of which I learned a lot because my name is Friesian from German/Dutch North Sea coast) so the school bullies took delight in taunting me about that when the jokes were in fashion. The best way of dealing with that was topping the bullies with a couple of better East Friesian jokes...

The East Friesians are the reasons why there a tides, you know - when the North Sea met the East Friesians it got such a shock that it withdrew quite a way. Since then is coming back twice daily to have a cautious look whether the East Friesians are still there.

Hahahha, if it's any consolation the Friesians are the closest surviving linguistic group to the English XD It's a bit like the time I went on the racism lecture, we all just dislike each other equally.
 
Hahahha, if it's any consolation the Friesians are the closest surviving linguistic group to the English XD It's a bit like the time I went on the racism lecture, we all just dislike each other equally.

I know; I once visited some distant relatives on a farm near the Danish border with my dad and the old generation were all talking their local dialect (somewhere between Friesian, Angles and Jutes). I could follow my dad (as my grandfather insisted on talking with us in Low German when we were little), but not them! That was a bit too vernacular and fast.

You may find this video about Swiss dialects from different parts of the country interesting - and I can assure you that Basel dialect is very different again!
 
I know; I once visited some distant relatives on a farm near the Danish border with my dad and the old generation were all talking their local dialect (somewhere between Friesian, Angles and Jutes). I could follow my dad (as my grandfather insisted on talking with us in Low German when we were little), but not them! That was a bit too vernacular and fast.

You may find this video about Swiss dialects from different parts of the country interesting - and I can assure you that Basel dialect is very different again!

Thank you Wiebke :) I shall watch it in the morning. I've always loved your cultural contributions as well as the guinea pig and managment efforts you make :)
 
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