Countdown to Switzerland
30th June 2011
The countdown is now on until we depart for our Summer Camp to Switzerland. For anyone interested in seeing where we are going, click on the link to show you a little bit about Adelboden.
Just Hours to Go !!! - The Swiss Flag consists of a white cross on a red squared background and was adopted in 1898. The Swiss flag traditionally stands for freedom, peace, honor and fidelity.
1 Day to Go - A view of Adelboden in winter and the sounds of the Swiss Alps!
2 Days to Go - Kandersteg International Scout Centre is a World Centre of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM). The Centre began in 1923 with Lord Baden-Powell, who, after the first World Scout Jamboree, had a dream about a place where all Scouts from all over the world could meet. Kandersteg is in the next valley to Abdelboden and is one of the places we will visit.
3 Days to Go - The first "Bond Girl" Ursula Andress was Swiss, so was James Bond's mum.
4 Days to Go - In 1908 Theodor Tobler and Emil Baumann (Tobler’s cousin) invented a unique chocolate bar, Toblerone! Toblerone’s special recipe, triangular shape and instantly recognisable logo made it distinct. "Toblerone" is a play on the names "Tobler" and "Torrone", the Italian word for honey and almond nougat.
5 Days to Go - The 1969 James Bond Film, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" or OHMSS was filmed in the Swiss Alps with Blofeld's Lair being the Schilthorn Revolving Restaurant where we will be going next week!
6 Days to Go - The Swiss National Anthem
7 Days to Go - Swiss tennis champion Roger Federer was given a cow for winning Wimbeldon for the first time in 2003, by the championships in 2007 the 800kg cow had been slaughtered for not producing enough milk.
8 Days to Go - It was once against the law to slam a car door in Switzerland, it is currently against the law to cut your grass dressed as Elvis.
9 Days to Go - 60% of Switzerland's electricity comes from hydroelectric power.
10 Days to Go - Fondue was originally a peasant meal designed to use up old bread and cheese.
11 Days to Go - Swiss Army Knives are red so that they can be seen in the snow.
12 Days to Go - In Switzerland you are never more than 10 miles from a lake.
13 Days to Go - On this day (17th June) 1917, Georges de Mestral was born in Switzerland, he invented Velcro.
14 Days to Go - Adelboden hosts a round of the skiing World Cup every January, the men's giant slalom course is one of the most challenging on the World Cup circuit.
15 Days to Go - St Bernard dogs are no longer used for alpine rescues but do participate in dog sports. The breed holds the World Record in strength, in 2008 a St Bernard pulled over 2 tons.
16 Days to Go - Celine Dion won the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland in 1988 with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". This was Switzerland's second and to date last victory in the competition.
17 Days to Go - 0.9% of Adelboden's population speak Portuguese, the third most popular language in the region after German (95%) and Serbo-Croat (1%).
18 Days to Go - Did you know Renee Zellweger's dad is Swiss.
19 Days to Go - Switzerland has a population of 7.4 million people.
20 Days to Go - The highest mountain in Switzerland is the Dufourspitze in Canton Valais, at 4634 m (15,203 ft)
21 Days to Go - Bern is the captial city of Switzerland but Zurich is it's largest city with a population of over 380,000 people.
22 Days to Go - Switzerland is made up of 23 cantons. Some are Greman speaking, some French speaking and one Italian speaking.
23 Days to Go - Switzerland is landlocked and shares borders with Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
24 Days to Go - Switzerland's official name is the "Swiss Confedration", in latin Confoederatio Helvetica, which gives Switzerland its international abbreviation, CH
25 Days to Go - Switzerland formed in 1291 as a union of three states and became an independent country in 1815 after the battle of Waterloo.
26 Days to Go - Tonight Switzerland drew 2-2 with England at Wembley, leaving them 3rd in their qualifying group for the European Championships 2012.
