"This thread is a great example that chauvinism and national prejudices come from ignorance"

Not a fair statement.
Most posters ( and the rest of the world) are more familiar with Spanish culture , art
and history.

>> Most posters ( and the rest of the world) are more familiar with Spanish culture , art and history. <<

Can it be that you mean most AMERICAN posters?

>> Not a fair statement. <<

Do you think it is fair to attack a whole nation just out of ignorance?

Sometimes I wonder why some people are full of hatred. Had this poster once a delayed flight at a Swiss airport? Or had he/she once unsuccessful business with a Swiss bank? Why does this person HATE a country so much?

Stop using the word hate, it is childish and inane.

I posted opinions without using volatile or accusatory words or sentiments. I tried to state opinions founded in facts.

Yet, you felt compelled to attack my educational credentials and my motives. That is nothing but a provincial reaction which is within keeping of my objections.

And now for some volatile words. We found Switzerland to be a beautiful country but with a humorless but brittle populace. And that was proven once again here.

Would I visit Switzerland again? Sure if I won a contest.

I'm married to a Swiss.

We vacation in Spain.

Switzerland is dang expensive and Spain is h@llish hot in August. Your call.

"Can it be that you mean most AMERICAN posters?"

there is a small number of posters who are not American ( I am one of them ).
I would think that Spanish culture is familat to more Europeans ( and the rest of the world )
than Swiss literature , architecture or art....
But , I may be wrong.

"HATE" ? " " under attack", " prejudice".. " ignorance"???

Not really necessary in a simple exchange of opinions on a travel forum.

>> Consider what the Spanish have contributed to western culture and then take a look at the Swiss. Can you name one Swiss writer, movie maker, composer, or actor? <<

>> childish and inane <<

>> I tried to state opinions founded in facts <<

I am not Swiss. I have nothing to do with Switzerland. Actually, today I have advised not to travel to Switzerland, because it has gotten so expensive because of currency exchange rates.

But I am siding with the victim of an unfair attack. And the one who attacks has to accept a blow.

The Swiss gave us the Red Cross, and the concept of a neutral nation, with some religious liberty.

The Spanish gave us the Spanish Inquisition and the Spanish Civil War.

Don't worry, we Swiss people are used to Swiss bashing.

A few remarks nevertheless:

Switzerland was a poor country of emigration with no natural resources until the second half of the 19th Century, with a population below 3 million people.
Spain had 6times more inhabitants and was incredibly rich because of all the gold and silver they stole all over America. Spanish kings could finance all kinds of painters and scientists, even the Ligurian captain Cristobal Colon.
Switzerland had neither money nor patrons as we killed the foreign peers and bailliffs who wanted to rule our country at the end of the Medium Age already. Otherwise we would never had got a free democracy.

Albert Einstein: it is true that it was born a few miles north of the Swiss border, but he entered Switzerland in young years, got a Swiss citizen, studied at Aarau and Zurich, did the Swiss military service and spent a lot of his life in Switzerland. The theory of relativity was developed at Berne.

Don't misanderstand me: I like Spain and it's population who consists, like in Switzerland, of 4 different peoples and cultures: Spaniards, Catalans, Basques and Gallegos. The only difference is that in Spain, these 4 communities were forced to become Spaniards, their languages were even forbidden between 1939 and 1976, whereas in Switzerland, the Alemanic, the French speaking, the Italian speaking and the Rumantsch speaking communities wanted to become a part of Switzerland and that all cantons have a large cultural (and financial) autonomy.

Middle Ages, NOT medium age, sorry!

"The only difference is that in Spain, these 4 communities were forced to become Spaniards, their languages were even forbidden between 1939 and 1976, "

A complately misleading statement.

There is much more to Spanish history than the dark period of the Civil War and
its aftermath under Franco.

"Nonconformist on Jun 18, 16 at 7:03am
The Swiss gave us the Red Cross, and the concept of a neutral nation, with some religious liberty.

The Spanish gave us the Spanish Inquisition and the Spanish Civil War."


Reminds me of the famous lines from " The Third Man"

" in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock".

(I know..the cuckoo clock was invented by Germans.)
The back and forth about the " better" country is rather silly.

Unfortunately the psychological and historical scars of the Spanish War still lingers today.

As an unintended consequence of the persecution, murder, exile, and torture of the Inquisition, it was the beginning of the end of the Spanish empire.

On the other hand I have never met a Spaniard that was neutral about anything.

And besides the languages and cultures cited by neckervd there are many dialects and regional idioms and influences. For political reasons the Catalans recognize Aranese as an official language. And Southern Spain is heavily influenced by the Moors while in Galicia, there is a Celtic influence as the regional instrument is unfortunately the bagpipes.

Basque is non-aryan language of unknown origin.

Switzerland is a stunning country and I am so glad we visited in 2010. The scenery takes your breath away, the people were very friendly, and so easy to travel around.
We had a lot of amazing meals as well. One of our best holidays. Important to note scenery is my thing.

"There is much more to Spanish history than the dark period of the Civil War and its aftermath under Franco"
I fully agree. But I never said the contrary.

"Basque is non-aryan language of unknown origin"

What do you call "aryan"? I suppose not the nonsense that was developed in Germany in the first half of the last century.

AFAIK, Aryans are a peaceful and tolerant community in Iran who have absolutely nothing to do with Germans.

BTW: there may be other non Indo-European languages in Europe:
Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Etrurian (extinct), Maltese, Chechen, Georgian, but not all of unknown origin

Here Neckervd, I did your homework for you.


http://www.dictionary.com/browse/non-aryan


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan_languages

"Funny you should mention the Nobels, as the Swiss have won two in 115 years and Hesse was actually born in Germany"

I find this comparison completely absurd. For European countries, you should at least consider other famous awards like Prix Goncourt or Goethe Preis..

..and all Europeans know, that the actual national borders have often not much to do with cultural borders.

But if you want to compare Nobel prizes, consider at least the number of inhabitants in each country.

In the last 100 years, the following countries got 1 Nobel Literary Prize winner for ..... inhabitants:

Iceland 1 for 0,3 million inhabitants
Sweden 1 for 1,2 mio
Norway 1 for 1,3 mio
Eire 1 for 1,6 mio
Danmark 1 for 3 mio

Switzerland 1 for 4 mio
Bosnia-Hercegovina 1 for 4 mio
France 1 for 5 million inhabitants
Greece 1 for 5 mio
Finland 1 for 5,5 mio
UK 1 for 6 mio
Israel 1 fo 8 mio

Spain 1 for 9 Mio
Chile 1 for 9 mio
Austria 1 for 9 mio
Hungary 1 for 10 mio
Germany 1 for 10 Mio
Italy 1 for 10 Mio


Poland 1 for 10 Mio
Belgium 1 for 11 mio
Portugal for 11 mio
Guatemala 1 for 15 mio
Australia 1 for 23 mio

USA 1 for 32 Mio
Canada 1 for 35 mio
Colombia 1 for 47 mio
Russia 1 for 48 Mio
South Africa 1 for 57 mio
Japan 1 for 63 mio

Turkey for 80 mio
Egypt 1 for 90 mio
Mexico 1 for 123 mio
Nigeria 1 for 183 mio
India 1 for 1255 mio
China 1 for 1370 mio

I was not going respond any further, but I will to clarify the point neckervd has attempted to make.

The comparison was between Spain and Switzerland. And the last Nobel for literature was 70 years ago to Hesse, who was born in Germany. Hesse has become more of a literary curiosity than an influence.

Even so, and as noted above, the Irish have a smaller population but their lasting literary influence on western culture is immeasurable. Swiss writers collectively have less of an influence than many of Irish writers have individually such as, just to name a few, Joyce, Sterne, Beckett, CS Lewis, Shaw, and Wilde.

And the comparison to Spanish writers withers as well.

And if you want to speak of Nobel achievement for a small population, the world Jewish population is just over 14 million but have garnered over 20% of the Nobels.

Why are you carrying on about writers and Nobel prizes, when someone asks a simple question about where to travel on their vacation?

They wanted to know a comparison about food, weather, and the local welcome in the two countries. Sheez louise.