Friday, May 19, 2006
02/2006: Zermatt: 'how many languages do the Swiss speak? Fabulous food!'
Grey and snowing. View of Matterhorn completely obscured.
My hotel has managed to find me a room for Sunday and Monday night after a cancellation, but it looks like a cardboard box for Saturday. No room at any of the inns. The tourist office laugh incredulously when I ask them if they know of anything available.
Have noticed that all the locals switch effortlessly between German, Italian, French and English. This makes me resentful, I was schooled in a country which has a ridiculously lax attitude to the teaching of foreign languages. However, whichever language I say hello in, the reply is always in a different one. Hmm. I smell smug Swiss. Bus driver tells me they speak “valley German” which is different to normal German and for this reason it is best to speak to a local in English. I don’t tell him I have no choice. He also tells me they can all speak French but prefer not to. I can understand that. This whole Swiss language thing is very bizarre, in Visp, the next nearest town, they speak Italian, whereas in Saas Fee, 30 miles away, it’s all French.
I’m on half board which is usually nothing to write home about – limp salads, dodgy meat dishes of dubious provenance and overcooked slimy pasta. Here the food is gourmet-style 4-course dinners – tonight was a selection of hors d’oevres, followed by chicken consommé with curry dumplings, fillet of beef stuffed with shitake mushrooms, and apple strudel - all beautifully presented and served. Am very impressed, not to mention fat.
Grey and snowing. View of Matterhorn completely obscured.
My hotel has managed to find me a room for Sunday and Monday night after a cancellation, but it looks like a cardboard box for Saturday. No room at any of the inns. The tourist office laugh incredulously when I ask them if they know of anything available.
Have noticed that all the locals switch effortlessly between German, Italian, French and English. This makes me resentful, I was schooled in a country which has a ridiculously lax attitude to the teaching of foreign languages. However, whichever language I say hello in, the reply is always in a different one. Hmm. I smell smug Swiss. Bus driver tells me they speak “valley German” which is different to normal German and for this reason it is best to speak to a local in English. I don’t tell him I have no choice. He also tells me they can all speak French but prefer not to. I can understand that. This whole Swiss language thing is very bizarre, in Visp, the next nearest town, they speak Italian, whereas in Saas Fee, 30 miles away, it’s all French.
I’m on half board which is usually nothing to write home about – limp salads, dodgy meat dishes of dubious provenance and overcooked slimy pasta. Here the food is gourmet-style 4-course dinners – tonight was a selection of hors d’oevres, followed by chicken consommé with curry dumplings, fillet of beef stuffed with shitake mushrooms, and apple strudel - all beautifully presented and served. Am very impressed, not to mention fat.
# posted by hotelreviewer @ 11:55 am 
