Ariel Pierre Haemmerlé publishes his 7th book about Geneva

: Published: 17 November 2024

Ariel Pierre Haemmerlé with the newly published book

Back in 2021 we wrote an article about Ariel-Pierre Haemmerlé at this link, the tour guide with a big personality. This lovely man has just published his seventh book! Check out another article in 2022 about his fifth book at this link. We met up with him again to find out more and get our hands on a copy of Geneva, a Voyage through its History... laced with a detective story.

This is an updated and completed version of the book “Genève et la tentative d'assassinat de la chancelière”, of which the 2nd edition was published in 2019 – and has been translated into English by the author himself.

In 14 chapters over 300 pages, this book takes you on a guided tour through the historical sites of the City and Canton of Geneva. As the author, Ariel Pierre Haemmerlé, is a professional tour guide for the city, he has been able to pass along his knowledge and integrate it into the storyline. In an entertaining way, the book tells how Geneva has become that City of Peace we cherish today with its history of 15’000 years.

To add another dimension to the story, a fictional attempted assassination of the Chancellor mixes into a routine tour one day, and all the tribulations that follow.

An excellent overview on the history of the protestant Reformation with Calvin and John Knox, a great number of events threads itself through the book. It’s the only book available in English on the fabulously rich history of Geneva.

: Published: 30 October 2024

Pamela Hunziker and Marie-Claire (Lorem) recently published a children's book that is worth knowing about. They were inspired by the Swiss culture they were surrounded by every day as they worked together at the Château de Prangins. Marie-Claire has also written short stories for the Château de Chillon. This is the first book they have collaborated on.

Pamela goes on to tell knowitall, "In all there will be 5 volumes. We are waiting to see if this one sells before starting volume 2! There is a lot of research to do as we must be accurate which is fascinating but time consuming."

She explained that the biggest obstacle was starting this project just before COVID. They finally finished it 4 years later. "It wasn’t easy finding a publisher because everyone wrote a book during that time… But we did and we are very pleased with Jets d'Encre Editions."

What is the storyline?

Pimprenelle and Léo are two adorable young Saint Bernard dogs born in Martigny, Switzerland. They will soon be nine months old, and the time has come for them to acquire the qualities worthy of a Saint Bernard. Being one of Switzerland's emblems has to be earned!

: Published: 15 September 2024

raclette

Almost every household in the area has a raclette machine. With the cold snap early this year, the desire for melted cheese is calling out! Most of you will have a set of wooden pine spatulas or heavy duty plastic ones but imagine replacing them with a series of beautifully smooth and unique olive wood ones like in the photo above!

I met Othmane at the Nyon flea market last winter. I was immediately very excited to see these amazing olive wood utensils and bought a set for myself and another as a gift. Othmane and his wife, Elaie, have created this business and items can be chosen in person at any event they will be attending (see below) or by appointment at the Epalinge location. In fact this weekend they will be attending the Garden Festival at the Château de Coppet and are offering our readers a special discount!

: Published: 13 September 2024

swissattractions

Switzerland has many attractions to offer, but these four have made it into the new stamp series:

CHF 1.00: The Geneva Water Fountain (Jet d’eau), a feature created out of necessity that became a landmark. This is suitable for 2nd class postage (courier B).

CHF 1.20: The appealing and often photographed Landwasser Viaduct over the Landwasser Valley. This is suitable for 1st class postage (courier A).

CHF 1.90: The Rigi and its spa resort region, which once had a mobile letter box. This is suitable for postage to letters outside of Switzerland within Europe.

CHF 2.50: Zermatt’s all-year-around ski resort, where winter sports stars and fans can enjoy themselves on the snow in summer. This is suitable for 1st class postage on A4 size enveloppes for Switzerland as well as international letters up to 20g.

Competition

Scan the “Swiss attractions” stamps from 5 September 2024 with the Post-App to win a luxury trip in Switzerland and other attractive prizes! Win the main prize of six nights in a 4-star hotel for two people including excursion, wellness and gourmet vouchers, plus many other attractive prizes totalling around CHF 15,000! Click here for link.

: Published: 05 September 2024

We caught up with the organizer La Vie En Mieux, Laurent Geinoz, and wanted to find out more to pass along to our readers. There is still space left if you are interested in participating... in any case, mark your calendars now and bring your friends and family on the weekend of the 19-20 October 2024 being held in Morges.

Why did you start? What has been the inspiration?
La Vie En Mieux is a concept centered around well-being in all its forms. Health, good humor, fun, art, decoration, sharing, meetings... in short... everything that makes life beautiful every day. Our goal is to support everything that is done in Romandie and to energize our beautiful region.

Have you been working on this idea forever, or was it something that came to you recently?
We already held this event last year, but following the success we had, we decided this year to think bigger with more than a hundred stands, concerts, conferences and lots of other activities and all this for free.

What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?
It took us 1 year to prepare this event and it is complicated to offer such an infrastructure completely free for visitors, without asking exorbitant prices for exhibitors. Budget management is, therefore, one of the key points for this celebration to be a success.