Grüezi, dear Swiss people and residents of Switzerland!
Today, on February 15, 2025 – two weeks later than planned, as I tend to have a soft spot for idleness – I set off from Vienna to Zurich to fulfill my long-cherished dream of living in Switzerland. This deep wish was born during five unforgettable summers in Sils in the Engadin, where I fell head over heels in love with this fantastic country. By the way, my great intellectual love Friedrich Nietzsche brought me to Sils, who spent his summers in this picturesque region for over seven years and considered Sils his place of inspiration.
While following in Friedrich’s footsteps through the breathtaking landscapes of the Upper Engadin over several years, I quickly realized that I felt far more at home in Switzerland than in my native country, Austria. The deeper I delved into Swiss culture and history, the greater my admiration for this unique country grew. And believe me, I’m truly not someone who easily falls into admiration – quite the contrary 😅!
For the first time in my life, I actually felt a connection to a country, a feeling that Switzerland ignited in me. Surprisingly, I could suddenly understand what ‘national pride’ means. Yes, even as a foreigner, I’m proud of Switzerland! I admire your direct democracy, your sense of personal responsibility, and your – in my opinion, completely justified – pride in your country.
I hope every Swiss person is aware of how lucky they are to have been born in this – probably the best country in the world. Even more, I hope that every newcomer understands it as an extraordinary privilege to be allowed to live here and integrates as best as possible. As a native Austrian, I must say: Compared to Switzerland, Austria almost seems like a developing country to me. I don’t just share this here, many Austrians have heard this from me in recent years – whether they wanted to or not 😅.
By the way, my first stop after arriving was the supermarket COOP. I only knew the COOP in St. Moritz from my past summer stays, and I actually looked forward to this supermarket every year before my departure to the Engadine. I always walked through COOP in a state of bliss and sent photos of the product range there to my friends in Austria. Now one might think I actually come from a developing country if even a supermarket in Switzerland can excite me so much, but any Swiss person who has ever been to a Viennese supermarket will probably understand me 😂.
Of course, I also want to learn Schwiizerdütsch and have decided to take a corresponding course as soon as I’ve settled in a bit here. I would be extremely pleased if the Swiss gentlemen would speak Schwiizerdütsch with me on our dates, as this would be a great opportunity to familiarize myself with this dialect.
I’m immensely happy to now be in my dream country and to be able to live here. I’m very much looking forward to experiencing great dates with you in Switzerland and hope, of course, that you’ll be at least a little bit as fond of me as I am of this country 😘!
Yours, Ava-Sophie
P.S.: Actually, I wanted to take a photo of myself with the flag, the mug, and the book for this blog entry, but I only arrived today and am too tired for a little photo shoot. Maybe I’ll catch up on that in the coming days.