Swiss National Day

The 1st of August is National Day here in Switzerland. I had read up on what events would occur, but it sounded like it would be a low-key affair celebrated within the individual communes and ultimately it would just be a quiet day off work.

However, when we wandered around Vevey on Friday we found all sorts of stalls set up, and we started the day with a Raclette (molten cheese poured over boiled potatoes and cocktail onions) washed down with a glass of Rosé. I followed this up with a sausage and a beer, resulting in my feeling like it was time to go on a diet.

In the evening we headed out with one of our disposable BBQ's to have dinner in the park before the fireworks that were planned. We had bought our own fireworks - a real novelty coming from Australia where such things are tightly regulated.

While we were eating dinner people were setting off fireworks all around us, and we set off some of ours to join in. It was really fun setting off our small selection of fireworks.

Eventually it got properly dark and the 'real' fireworks display got under way. From where we were sitting we could see all the way from Vevey-est to Nyon, with all the towns in between, so we had an amazing view of all the fireworks along the lake. We were really amazed by the show that was put on, as we had thought it would be low key, but I think its safe to say that in Switzerland you can see where your taxes go!

The photos and video we took really couldn't capture the scene and atmosphere, but we had a really amazing time with a delicious dinner, spectacular fireworks, and the real feeling of community we experienced in Vevey.