Tutus, flying cows, CHF 2 billion of charity donations and an alpine solar plant – it’s been a tumultuous month on the world stage, but here’s our little bit of Swiss goodness from our corner of the world…
First up is possibly the most Swiss sight ever to be seen: cows are airlifted down from the mountains. This method is used each year to help bring injured cows down from their summer pasture. While it looks dramatic, one Swiss farmer said, “I didn’t notice any difference between the ones that flew and the ones that walked normally”! Rest assured, no cows were harmed during the process. Watch the full video of the cows on the moo-ve above.
The Swiss dug deep to support charities throughout 2020, with a total of CHF 2.05 billion donated to charitable organisations by private households, businesses, foundations and other institutions. Incredibly, every second franc was donated by private households and these membership fees and small donations kept charities afloat when large donations decreased. Full details available here.
For the past 12 years, a beautiful 77 year old dancer, Tzvetana Messerli, regularly dances her way across Switzerland. Originally from Bulgaria, she was classically trained until her teenage years, before carving her own creative path. Now living in Bern, she travels to various cities each week during the summer months to entertain the locals. After a brief hiatus because of the pandemic, she’s resumed her dancing duties and can be found in Geneva, Basel, Fribourg and Neuchatel, while practicing her arabesques to Adagio in G minor by Remo Giazotto. Watch Tsvetana dancing above.
At a dam 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) high in the Alps, construction has begun on Switzerland’s largest alpine solar plant aimed at helping the small country secure renewable energy throughout the year. When it is completed by year-end, the Muttsee site will be the largest alpine solar plant in Switzerland, with nearly 5,000 solar modules producing around 3.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Under the government’s “Energy Strategy 2050”, Switzerland plans to increase production of energy from renewable and hydro generation as it phases out nuclear energy, aiming to add 2 terawatts of greener electricity output by 2040. (Source)
