For those of us getting ready to pack our smurfs and head over to Switzerland and Austria, every week I shall present you with some useful (or not) phrases and expressions.

Today is German lesson #1

Wo kann ich Lederhosen kaufen?
- Where can I buy Lederhosen?

Entschuldigen Sie mein schlechtes Deutsch.
- Excuse my poor German.

Now when you (and me) are in Switzerland trying to make sens of the throat languange that should be German but does not sound like it, do not panic, that is Schweizerdeutsch (the Swiss-German).

Schweizerdeutsch is a spoken language, not a formal written language, who can really make you loose your dignity, and it is bloody hard to understand.

On today’s lesson, I will give you some handful insight:

Grüezi — Hello
Guete Morge — Good morning
Guete Tag — Good afternoon
Guete Obe — Good evening
Uf Widerluege — Good-bye
Merci — Thank you (my own experience, do nto say Danke)