Swiss National day falls on 1st of August and signifies the formation of the Swiss Confederation of Helvetica in 1891, the dawn of Switzerland as we know it today. On this national holiday the weather is usually great so, the Swiss tend to celebrate their national day with grilled food or a brunch outdoors.
There is usually fireworks the night before Swiss National Day, on the Rhine that can be seen all around Basel however, this year they are cancelled to keep all of us safe. The Local, an online Swiss magazine, reported that firework sales have risen 40 percent this year as many plan to celebrate at home with private parties.
The star of day is the humble Cervelat, a large hot dog style sausage that is cut twice at the end so that it fans out like an edelweiss flower when cooked. This is traditionally paired with an Augustweggli, a soft zopf like bread and a dollop of herb mustard.
I love the brightly coloured boiled eggs that are often on sale for Swiss festivals, August 1st being no exception. Plums are just coming into season so if you want to taste what’s local and fresh then, they are a great option. Of course there are many other grill alternatives, like a lamb rack cooked with rosemary or chicken kebabs accompanied with peppers or pineapple, I will be marinating portobello mushrooms with miso, soya sauce and spring onions as the basis for a veggie burger that I will top with Gruyere cheese and added to a brown bread roll with salad and a slice of steak tomato. Maybe, I share the recipe for that later.
Migros and the Swiss Farmers Guild sponsor brunch on hundreds of Swiss farms on the 1st of August. There are four farm that offer brunch but sadly they are now all sold out. To search for a brunch option outside of the canton click here
Schallenurseli farm will also be open, based on the edge of Margarethen Park in Basel this seasonal farm restaurant offers brunch and lunch in an idyllic setting. Read my review of the restaurant here.
For those of you who hike a lot you will know that Switzerland has an abundance of well organised fire or grill pits that are for communal use and located on popular walking routes. I recommend the blogs From the Top of Switzerland and Swiss Family Fun to find some good walking routes. Swiss family Fun also have a blog post specifically about the kinds of food you can take on a hike.
I would like to wish you all a wonderful, healthy, 1st of August. Thanks for following my blog, two months in and still enjoying every minute of writing these articles.