"Aegeri hell"?

Some expats may be confused about the words “Aegeri hell”, a slogan which has been chosen by the Aegeri- Valley-Sattel Tourist Board (AST), to lure visitors to this higher-lying area. In German, “hell” means bright, the reference being that the high-level fog which hangs over lake-side Swiss towns from Geneva to Zurich on as many as 30 days a year is not a meteorological feature of the Aegeri Valley because of its higher altitude. Hence the slogan is being (re) used to encourage residents of the lower-lying areas to catch the number 1 bus service to go up there, escape the depressing fog and enjoy the sunshine.

The “Aegeri hell” sign will be put in the windscreen of the buses going up there from Thursday 1 November, as councillor Fridolin Bossard, who is also chairman of the AST, explained. To be absolutely sure the sun is shining up there, potential visitors can check first on the www.aegeri-hell.org website. Radio Sunshine will also be broadcasting whether the sun is out in the area between 8 am and 9 am.

The indication of whether the sun was shining in the higher-lying regions of the canton was something older residents of the canton will remember from years gone by, so there is a nostalgia aspect to the sign, too. A similar system told the denizens of Zurich whether the sun was shining up on the nearby Uetliberg (where the radio masts are).

Furthermore, with the acquisition of ZnachtXpass (evening pass) for just CHF 99, holders will be able to benefit from a three-course menu in some16 restaurants up there which are taking part in the scheme. “We noticed that last year this pass was often given as present,” said Peter Knobel a member of the board of the afore-mentioned tourist association, not least, as he went on to explain, because there is a wide variety of places to eat out in the Aegeri Valley. Restaurateurs also benefit by being able to meet up with new customers, too.

What is interesting is that the Aegeri-Valley-Sattel Tourist Board’s offices are actually within the complex of the recently opened swish Aegeribad pool and spa complex in Oberägeri.

A similar misleading bus destination for non-German-speaking expats occurs in Swiss towns where there is a central (Dorf) area, and a spa (Bad) area, where one can see buses heading off to the Bad Youth Hostel.