.jpg) |
| Source: the Internet; Credit: Unknown |
Good to have you back for Day 12 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Today's writing prompt is to answer a question that keeps coming up.
Well, it's not so much a question than the recurring assumption that 🇨🇭 Switzerland and 🇸🇪 Sweden are one and the same country.
So much so that when I took my theoretical driver's license test in the USA, they gave me the questionnaire in Swedish. Which - since I'm Swiss - I don't speak. apart from a few essential words like
Hejsan = Hello
Tack så mycket = Thank you
Köttbullar = Meatballs
i don't know why this confusion is so ingrained in people's minds? Is it simply because both countries' names start with Sw?
Are China and Chile or India and Indonesia also mixed up? I don't think so.
So here's a list of typical props for each country:
Sweden, part of Scandinavia, in Northern Europe
ABBA, IKEA, member of the European Union, monarchy, the King of Sweden is Carl XVI Gustaf, the Queen of Sweden is Queen Silvia. The official language is Swedish. People's last names are Andersson, Johansson or Karlsson.
Ice Hockey Worldchampionships wins: 11
Switzerland, landlocked country that is bordered to the west by France, to the north by Germany, to the east by Austria and Liechtenstein, and to the south by Italy
Roger Federer, neutral confederation governed by a group of seven councils, watches, cheese, chocolate, banks, The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. People's last names are Müller, Meier, Schmid.
Ice Hockey Worldchampionships wins: 0, sadly we were the runner-up against Sweden twice in the past few years.
That's all for today. Short and sweet. Hope you're having a wonderful day!
I don't know why people would be confused. They are two entirely different countries in different parts of the continent.
ReplyDeleteNice! You've got some helpful geography lessons here.
ReplyDeleteI love that you incorporate the hockey history of each country along with its differences. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI am surprised by the level of confusion. I spent a couple of hours in Switzerland during my Italian bus tour. We drove into Switzerland, shopped, and drove to Milan. I would like to go and actually spend some time there one day.
ReplyDeleteThough it puzzles me that people would confuse the two, I loved your summaries of what makes them who & what they are. I particularly liked the last name part.
ReplyDeleteAs someone with a family coming from Switzerland, I am surprised and shocked at the mixup or confusion. They are obviously not the came country. I liked reading about the last name part being that my name is SCHMID-LIN! And a good friend of my Dad for years is Muller- I kinda have a reason for a lifelong friendship, LOL!
ReplyDeleteThis is too funny! I did not know that people confused Sweden with Switzerland! ☺ One of these days, Switzerland WILL win that Hockey World Championship! They have played some impressive games recently. Surely there are more famous Swiss people than Roger Federer? Actress Ursula Andress, the first movie "Bond girl", for example. Also, psychiatrist Carl Jung - who made way more sense than Freud, IMO. Then there's the artist Alberto Giacometti, and the writer Herman Hesse. Switzerland has much to be proud of. And the scenery is absolutely magnificent! ♥
ReplyDelete