It is an abbreviation for Switzerland that you see on postal addresses, cars, coins and stamps. But why CH? The SW was already taken for Sweden? Well, not exactly. The CH stands for Confœderatio Helvetica. The Helvetica name dates back to Roman times, and the people of Switzerland were known as Helvetii. Today, the name still stands and is primarily used when using four different national languages is inappropriate. The national languages are German, Italian, French, and Romansch (similar to Latin). Each language is spoken in different areas of the country. So, the term Switzerland in these languages is "Schweiz", "Svizzera", "Suisse", and "Svizra". Therefore, it makes sense to just use CH. For example, the abbreviation for Swiss Francs is CHF.
This weekend we explored Augusta Raurica, which is the best preserved Roman city North of the Alps. The site dates back over 1800 years, and includes preserved ruins from an amphitheatre, temples, bakery, and houses. We learned a lot about gladiators, or "barley guzzlers". Landon and Willem may perhaps appreciate the history more when they're older, but here they are in the amphitheatre preparing for battle:
There were 20,000 Romans living in the area at one time. While on the site, we saw farm animals that would have lived then, such as geese, donkeys, and pigs. Landon particularly enjoyed learning about how bread was made in the bakery; actual millstones from Roman times were there for grinding different grains and the oven was like a wood-fire stone hearth. Replicas of the wooden block-and-tackles (pulley system) were also on hand for us to practice lifting heavy bags of grain.
Here is a picture of the theater that is on site. Theatrical plays would have taken place here:
Our weekend was unseasonably warm weather, so it was nice to be outside and walk on the trails around Augusta Raurica. Winter will be here soon, when we will be exploring all that Switzerland has to offer for winter sports and Christmas fun!
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