Photos by Tracy Baim. Pictured: 1 ) A view from above in Lausanne. 2 ) An Olympic Museum statue. 3 ) The old-style signs indicating what the building housed. 4 ) Our Vogay speakers. 5 ) Well, we were not naive about anti-American sentiment across Europe, including in beautiful Lausanne. Hey, sometimes we feel that way! 6 ) The box is for used syringes—how forward-thinking. 7 ) Vineyards along the lakeside Lavaux highway. 8 ) The train ride to Davos. 9 ) Hiking high above Davos. 10 ) Yes, it's real, a scene in the valleys of Davos. 11 ) And oh yeah, it happened—A million folks of all kinds in the streets of Zurich for Street Parade. 12 ) Barfusser, Europe's oldest gay bar, opened in 1956. And images from Street Parade. Many more photos in the Aug. 13, 2003 issue of Windy City Times. ( Use the Browse Archives function in the left column of this page to find WCT 2003-08-13. )
In these days when tourism is down but gay people are still believed to have discretionary travel money, tourist bureaus are rolling out the red carpet for gay travelers and the gay press who can reach them. That's how I found myself in Switzerland for the second time in my life.
Last August, during the worst heat wave Europe has seen in many decades, I was part of a group invited by the tourist board and flown courtesy Swiss Air. The tour group included writers for the gay community from New York, Los Angeles, Toronto and Chicago in search of the gay experience in Switzerland. The group was squired by local tourist representatives, some of them gay, through three cities representing a great variety of what Switzerland has to offer. Our first two nights were spent in Lausanne, in the French-influenced area; our next two nights in Davos, a tourist and skiing area; and our final day and night in Zurich. Both are German-influenced. That final stop coincided with the city-wide street fair, the largest, wildest and gayest mainstream event I've ever attended.
A trip like this, in which the participants are guided through every step of transportation, dining, lodging and sightseeing, has none of the frustration factors which can be such a part of foreign travel. Some travelers love that challenge, but having done it both ways, I'd take the native-speaking guide dedicated to my comfort who knows what's worth doing and knows who you have to know to do it.
Lausanne
But, starting in Lausanne, the running joke was the lack of gayness on our gay tour.
Our French-influenced first stop had restaurants and shops and scenery of interest, with most people happy to converse in English but few able to speak of gay issues, at least in the way American gays might have expected to speak of them.
The population of Lausanne numbers 123,000 on the northern bank of Lake Geneva. Only maps made for tourists will call the lake by that name, by the way, according to one of our hosts. Locals don't name their lakes but call it something that simply means the lake by Lausanne or Geneva. The town boasts a 12th-century Gothic cathedral and the 14th-century Chateau St. Maire. Many private vineyards sprawl near the town along the Route de Vignoble ( Route of the Vineyard ) , the oldest part of town is called the Cite with restaurants including the Jet Lag tucked into winding streets and staircases.
We first met up with our group at the Alpha-Palmiers on the Rue De Petit-Chene. The tourism-host who met us there and stayed with us for most of our tour was a gay man who had lived all his life in the area. He had arranged for two leaders of Vogay, a gay group, to join us at lunch to talk about their organization, which cannot be said to be more social or political; just gay. Gay pride was not unknown in this part of the country; parades had been held in alternating small towns from year to year. Acceptance of gays was, of course, a prime question from our group, but a hard one for our hosts to answer. It is not an issue, they said, and let us draw our own conclusions. The written list of gay establishments in our tour packet was edited on the fly during our visit. Expect to ask the locals when you visit as, even in America, gay clubs change all the time.
Lausanne is the home of several international corporations, sport federations, sport arenas and the Olympic Museum. We toured the museum, a wonderful place to learn about the history of the Olympic movement through written and visual displays of the Olympic Games. We asked about the Olympic lawsuit against the Gay Olympics' use of the name ( while special Olympics continues on ) , but our guide pleaded ignorance. Despite that bit of anti-gay history, the Olympic Museum is a wonderful tribute to the sports movement, with great historical photos, and memorabilia such as gold medals and old running shoes from famous Olympians.
We dined at the restaurant Le Saxo, and visited the vineyards along the lakeside Lavaux highway, stopping to taste at the Bacchus Vinobar in Rivaz.
As with most of our stay, we would recommend the area for its gorgeous scenery and history—not really the gay nightlife or circuit parties. This was a wonderful place to visit for many reasons, just not for partying. Our own trip was made very enjoyable because we were on a gay press junket—so the gay and lesbian party was with us whatever bar or restaurant we gathered in.
Davos
Davos is the largest and the highest mountain tourist region in Switzerland. The town boasts five hiking areas, well-maintained nature trails, cable cars, and facilities for many types of summer and winter sports. The high-altitude climate is thought to have health benefits and Davos has an interesting history of healing sanatoriums, plus many present-day well-known specialized clinics and health institutes.
We were taken on a mountain hike and the look of our companions suggested that Davos citizens can set out on a four-hour hike into the clouds with much less thought than we visitors might require. We were in a cable-car lift ascending the Jakobshorn for 10 minutes, and then adjusted to thinner air as we crossed a wooden platform to board yet another cable system which climbed for yet another 10 minutes. We started our walk many miles above the treeline, stunned giddy by the views and clicking cameras in every direction. There were no bad angles. After several memorable hours walking in the clear thin air we ate very well at the family-owned Walserhuus in the Sertig Valley. A brook circles the back of the Inn, where we had time to rest up and visit with wild baby goats before a shuttle came to take us back to town.
The Congress Centre in Davos is also known as the site of the World Economic Forum. While in town, we experienced a small street party, with a few original and personable performers. There were so many straight guys dressed gay ( they are way ahead of the 'metrosexual' curve ) and women in all sorts of high fashion that our crew's gaydar was on the blink. We enjoyed great food and stayed at the Morosani Posthole, which was, even though in the center of town, every bit the picture of the Swiss Chalet I'd had in mind since childhood.
Parts of our group also went to visit via cable car to Schatzalp, a large hotel that was formerly a sanatorium and now reminds one of old Hollywood films. There was a summer sledging course that was too fun for words—and one which would never exist in the litigious U.S. Without protective gear or helmets, you would fly down on thin boards, twisting and turning and setting your own speed in a summer equivalent to downhill winter sledding. My trip companions couldn't stop boasting about the experience during our usual evening wine tasting.
Switzerland has an interesting history in relation to Jews. While some of our guides were very forthcoming about the country's internal battles over remaining 'neutral' when people were being killed nearby, as well as the most recent controversy involving Jewish assets in Swiss banks, some of our guides wanted to avoid the topic entirely. Anti-semitism is certainly alive and well throughout the world, and sometimes more heavily in Europe. One of our guides in Davos even talked disparagingly of Jews, not knowing one among us was Jewish—and her attempt to get out of the debate was equally offputting. But other guides were far more open, and in Zurich we were shown the streets dedicated to the history of Jews in Switzerland.
Zurich
Travel by train in Switzerland is more than passage between two points. Train system maps are easy to understand keys to a complex system of rails. Train passes are cheap, good for the entire country, and include the alternative bus transportation that can get you to even the smallest and most remote places in the country. They also connect easily with neighboring countries. Trains are punctual, often with bare minimum time for connections. Trains and stations are clean, but people smoke everywhere. You have a choice of cars designated 'quiet cars,' but don't sleep while riding: the housing styles change before your eyes from villa to chalet as you move from the French to German influenced areas. The gorgeous views from the train rides we took were worth the visit.
On arrival in Zurich we checked into the Hotel zum Storchen ( the Stork's Nest ) on the Weinplatz ( Wine Plaza ) , an elegant, 650-year-old hotel. We took a quick daytime tour of what was called the gay area of town. It was a less obvious gay strip than Chicago's Halsted or Clark: fewer rainbow flags and gay symbols, lots of fun shops but few overtly gay, and many fewer erotic shop windows. In our welcome packets, gay and gay-friendly bars were detailed in a list put out by the tourism bureau. That looked more promising than it actually was. The list needed revision and updating but we kept it in hand. Our guides took us on daytime visits to the best-known bars—the longest running gay bar in Europe is Zurich's Barfusser, founded in 1956. The new owners serve sushi in this orange-themed club, and our bartender was Megan from Texas, who has worked in Zurich for eight years. Other bars included Cranberry and Odeon, where one of our straight female colleagues received a very warm welcome from a cute gay guy. ( For up-to-date leads, a visitor might want to pick up the gay magazine Kontakt and newspapers on the shelves in those establishments. Check out advertising for bars and parties. Although the narrative is not in English, bar names and addresses in current ads were easily understandable and the ad illustrations for men's and women's dance parties would have been hard to misunderstand. We also found it quite easy to get info from usually gay-friendly hotel employees. )
The most common language used in Zurich is a Swiss brand of German, with plenty of English available. Many people begin conversations by asking which language you wish to speak. The city, home to 350,000 residents, is an international banking and cultural mecca. The roster of operas, concerts and musicals is always full of new attractions, according to the tourism bureau. There are more than 50 museums, 100 art galleries, plus jazz clubs, nightclubs, cabarets and discos open until 4 a.m., with the alps looming nearby. Theater can be found in French, German, Italian and English. There used to be a law that one restaurant had to close before another could open, but since that law was changed in 1998, the growth is unrestrained. Six hundred new restaurants sprung up just during 2002.
The hot areas of town are the Bahnhoffstrasse ( central railroad station neighborhood famous for shopping ) , Niederdorf ( Old Town ) , Zurich West, and the Christmas markets. Visitors can explore them with the Zurich Card for unlimited public transport for the equivalent of $15. Find out more about the card at www.zurich.com . While in Zurich, we stayed at the Zum Storken overlooking the river. The glassware, crystal, clothing and craft shop windows on the same and nearby plazas were promising, but doors were locked as our visit was timed to coincide with Zurich's huge street fair and festival.
Also in Zurich, St. Peter's Church has the largest clock face in Europe: nearly nine yards in diameter looming over a plaza at the top of a hilly brick street. We were told that visitors should not to miss the The Blind Cow restaurant which sounded memorable, as it is staffed in the dark by blind servers. We did not actually have time to go, searching as we were for the aspects most clearly of gay interest.
We spent our time before the street fair touring Old Town. That part of Zurich is comparable in size ( and a little bit in feel ) to Chicago's Andersonville and features historical guildhouses, ancient houses, small shops and restaurants on winding and hilly pedestrian-only cobblestone streets. Cars are parked far away on the outskirts for a quiet and clean shopping and dining area. Walking the scenic and historical main streets of Old Town on a quiet day required many hours; the side streets and actual shopping would have required many more. Picturesque stone water fountains in old town are plentiful and the water's purity is a matter of pride. Medieval, Baroque and Romanesque churches keep history in the present.
The famous Chagall windows at Fraumunster church are worth seeing and reading about. Sit in the church and just look up in awe at the inspiring stories told in stained glass. Chagall's stained glass creations are only in six countries—and he was more than 80 years old when he worked on these amazing masterpieces.
Cast iron shop signs, which hark back to times before common use of written language, must by law continue to show what the building once was, so the symbols of shoemakers and candlemakers swing suspended from iron arms and keep the old-world feeling alive.
Our guide for Old Town spoke extensively of church architecture and history but advised, when asked, that gay people could not be too open on the street without risking some reaction. His advice didn't sit well until much later in the day when this straight-appearing man mentioned his deceased male partner and his only passing awareness of gay political issues. We felt that he might be the source of answers to our questions about real gay life in Switzerland, but, again, his answers to gay-specific questions never seemed to be on-point, as if the way the questions were framed surprised him.
Most of our group found it necessary to do more research into the bar scene after our late dinners with town and tourism representatives. The gay North American group got to know those bars after dark and, I heard in the morning, turned some friendly straight bars gay for the evening. We did find the large Aeschbacher, a gay bar one night per week, and the Lebol, which is open for women only one night a week and only till midnight. It was near the end of a train line that, we found out, did not run all night. And, while you can count on finding many English speakers, we learned the hard way that finding a cabdriver who understands what you mean by the words 'lesbian bar' is not something to count on. And trying to pantomime the concept may be fun—but it doesn't work. Since our guide was a gay man, and since gay men are more visible in every part of the world, finding the lesbians is a 'Where's Waldo' trip of its own. There is also certainly a very 'macho' attitude, and gay women simply do not come out as frequently as gay men. We were glad we had a nice balance of lesbians, gays and a straight ally with us in our group.
Zurich is known for the largest street parade in Europe, called appropriately Street Parade, the one I call the gayest mainstream event I ever hope to see, with huge slow-moving techno music floats and a one-day migration from throughout Europe that exceeded the hotel rooms available and had some young partygoers sleeping in parks. Think a European Carnivale crossed with Mardis Gras. It would be wrong to call it a parade—the 30 large flat-bed-truck floats moved in a procession at about one mile per hour, but the crowd's attention was focused on the crowd. People didn't stand on the sidewalk watching the floats, they danced to the continuous heavy beat from the massive speakers on the floats, half-dressed, masked, painted and feathered, through the entire city, performing for themselves and each other. Each year the Street Parade has a 'partner' country as special guest—in 2002 it was Brazilia, in 2003 it was Croatia. Floats featured DJs from all over Europe.
With the thumping techno beat, the city itself seemed alive, full of motion, the old red brick streets pulsing, the beat moving down the twisting side streets like blood moving through veins.
The railroad station, where the hoard arrived, had its own Mainstation Party going on as visitors detrained and the huge party inside flowed into the party outside. Only a few years ago the fair was an act of civil disobedience and, while legal and sponsored by the city now, retains that spirit. The costume of the day was as little costume as possible and I think I can say, from direct observation, that the average citizen, young or old, is in way better shape than the average American. Our group could hardly walk and keep track of each other in the throng until the hour the fair was to end. When it was scheduled to end, it did, quite promptly. City services went to work, and the streets were amazingly clean within hours.
As for meals, don't be in a hurry. We experienced no food in any part of Switzerland that could be called fast. Throughout Europe it is expected that you'll be at the table for hours so service is slow and you are expected to settle in and be comfortable before and after the meal. Typical foods were something called rocklette and other kinds of cheese, fondue, veal, regional perch, and roosti ( pan-fried potatoes ) .
What we learned about Switzerland while lingering over late meals? The population of Switzerland is German, 65%; French, 18%; Italian, 10%; Romansch, 1%; and other 6%. While the country has strong ties to neighbors and a presence on the world stage, it only became a UN member in 2002. The vote was granted to women only in 1971 and in some parts of the country it is still unusual for mothers to work. The country is a loose confederation of independent provinces, called Cantons. Each has its own laws. The federal government is not the primary seat of power. It consists of seven people who rotate the presidency and keep their own ministry while in office. Marijuana is decriminalized; not exactly legal but not pursued. Same-sex couples began registering their partnerships in Zurich in 2003.
Manners wherever we went seemed present day and old world at the same time. Failing to shake hands on meeting and parting, like rushing the meal, is considered rude. Observing the pleasant and easy social customs opens the way for friendly citizens to show you the best, even if not the gayest, of Switzerland.
There was so much of the country we could not see in just seven days. The Masoala Rainforest has 17,000 tropical plants and animals, the Grand Casino Ballroom, shopping ( oh were the Swiss into fashion and high-end labels ) , other top cities such as Geneva, and the slopes in winter months.
Because our experience was made so much more fun with a group of gay, lesbian, and friendly folks, and we had a gay Zurich native as our guide ( thanks so much to Stephan Bernhard ) , you might want to think of getting a few friends together or joining an existing tour. The country is mostly 'live and let live,' so outright hostility is not common. But Zurich is your main place to be out and loud—and even there they tend to say 'don't be obvious' ( except during Street Parade! ) .
So, if you're not visiting for the amazing winter sports, come during August for the Street Parade. It could be the gayest straight time you'll ever have.
— Also contributing: Tracy Baim
RAIL TRAVEL
www.sbb.ch
www.railaway.ch
www.zvv.ch ( About Zurich transportation )
GENERAL
www.switzerlandtourism.ch
www.tourismus.ch
( About hotels, restaurants, attractions )
ZURICH
www.zurichtourism.ch
( The official site of the Zurich tourist board )
www.myswitzerland.com
Gay and Lesbian Info
www.lesbenberatung.ch/ ( A one-pager, not in English, with email contact. )
www.vogay.ch/ ( A one-pager, not in English, with email contact. )
