Swiss Watching

New updated edition of the international bestseller, featuring new statistics and a new epilogue, as well as new sections on the Swiss elections, the Swiss citizenship test and how Brexit has affected Switzerland "A great subject for a cultural anthropologist and Bewes is a perfect guide." Financial Times, Book of the Year One country, four languages, 26 cantons, and 7.5 million people (but only 75% of them Swiss): there's nowhere else in Europe like it. Switzerland may be hundreds of miles away from the nearest drop of seawater, but it is an island at the center of Europe. Welcome to the landlocked island. Swiss Watching is a fascinating journey around Europe's most individual and misunderstood country. From seeking Heidi and finding the best chocolate to reliving a bloody past and exploring an uncertain future, Diccon Bewes proves that there's more to Switzerland than banks and skis, francs and cheese. This book dispels the myths and unravels the true meaning of Swissness.

Diccon Bewes is a travel writer. A world trip set him up for a career in travel writing, via the scenic route of bookselling. After ten years at Lonely Planet and Holiday Which? Magazine, he decamped to Switzerland, where he managed the Stauffacher English Bookshop in Bern. In addition to grappling with German, re-learning to cross the road properly, and overcoming his desires to form an orderly line, he has spent years exploring Switzerland. Following the incredible success of Swiss Watching, he is now a full time writer. See his website at www.dicconbewes.com