Switzerland

What comes to my mind when I hear the word Switzerland?

I know that Swirzerland is a montainous country in the middle of Europe. I see lots of cows feeding on grass. It reminds me delicious bars of chocolate and expensive, precise watches. I learnt about Bern (the capital) and Zurich and it was a neutral country in the Second World War. I could watch the family Trap crossing the border from Austria to Switzerland to escape from Nazism in the film, caled The sound of music, I watched the film in Spanish "Sonrisas y Lágrimas". Switzerland borders other countries too.

More details now.

Switzerland is a western, central and southern country in Europe. It is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons.

Switzerland is a landlocked country bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. 

There is another important city, called Geneva. Zurich is the largest and Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland. Another important city is Basel, that is the third is size. Finally, Bern is the fourth one.

The population of Switzerland is about 8,5 million people. They are known as Swiss in the English language. They have four official languages: German, French; Italian and Romansh. 

It is not only a mountainous country. It is geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285 km² (15,940 sq mi), and land area of 39,997 km² (15,443 sq mi). It is not the most mountainous country in Europe. Indeed, Andorra should be if we use the average height.

Mont Blanc, Italian Monte Bianco, mountain massif and highest peak is located in the Alps, the massif lies along the French-Italian border and reaches into Switzerland. It extends southwestward from Martigny, Switzerland, for about 25 miles (40 km) and has a maximum width of 10 miles (16 km). The summit is in French territory.

Have you ever seen this strange musical instrument? It is called alphorn. You can hear it clicking on the following link.

Let's talk about Swiss cuisine. Some dishes such as fondue, raclette or rösti are omnipresent through the country. Swiss cheeses, in particular Emmental cheese, Gruyère, Vacherin, and Appenzeller, are famous Swiss products. The most popular cheese dishes are fondue and raclette. Rösti is a popular potato dish.

Chocolate has been made in Switzerland since the 18th century but it gained its reputation at the end of the 19th century with the invention of modern techniques such as conching and tempering which enabled its production on a high quality level. Also a breakthrough was the invention of solid milk chocolate in 1875 by Daniel Peter. The Swiss are the world's largest consumers of chocolate.

Finally, we have heard about some celebrities born in Switzeland, such as Roger Federer, Leonhard Euler, Jean Piaget, Louis-Joseph Chevrolet and Willian Tell, among others. You can read about them on the Internet.

Enlaces útiles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland#Geography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cuisine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qWu6Jv15wA

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/switzerland.php