When the smell of roasted chestnuts fills the streets, autumn has arrived. A look at marroni, Ticino tradition and the Swiss dessert vermicelles.
What sparks us.
Stories, gadgets & good reasons from Lucerne.
Why the start of autumn in Switzerland smells like freshly pressed cider, what makes Hochstamm orchards so special, and why Thurgau is considered the apple canton.
Summer 2026 was the hottest on record in Switzerland, and the harvest began around three weeks early. What heat and water shortage trigger in vine and berry – from Oechsle to sunburn.
Misty mornings, damp moss, the scent of forest earth: Switzerland's mushroom season has begun. A journey through porcini and chanterelles – and the official mushroom inspection service that barely exists anywhere else.
31/08/2026
Plum Season: When Late Summer Smells of Cake
In late August, purple plums pile up at the market and a baking tray slides into almost every Swiss oven. The short, intense season of a late-summer classic — Basel's Zwetschgenmaa and the heroes of the Fricktal.
Well over 30'000 unicorns, around 170 products, fourteen years of sales history: no trend ever shaped our range like this one. A hype reconstructed — from a cat horn in 2012 to the ramen bowl still in the warehouse.
The 2026 alpine summer was one of the driest on record. Many herds came down weeks early, several descent festivals were cancelled. What that means for alpine cheese, milk quality and the winter ahead - and why the tradition endures.
Barrel-organ music, the smell of roasted almonds and fairy lights at dusk: the Chilbi is as much a part of the Swiss late summer as the föhn wind is to the mountains. We look behind the scenes of a tradition that's older than you'd think.
11/08/2026
Flamingo: How an Inflatable Bird Invented the Instagram Summer — and Why Not a Single Float Is Left
Between 2016 and 2019 the flamingo stood in every pool and on every second party table. The story of a trend built on rubber, Millennial Pink and Instagram — and why the pool floats were the first to go.