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This lovely small village is my home and I couldn't be happier with the charming surroundings, the wonderful neighbours and the surrounding vineyards. Thank you to Sabine Hooij from Discover La Côte for this article on Vich and for the beautiful pictures. You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook for more wonderful images of our region or reach out to her for relocation information. DiscoverLaCôte has started with a series of photo reports of the picturesque villages around Nyon and to start off, VICH is in the spotlight! The village has 1,038 inhabitants and is ideal for young families and couples with modern, old and historic residential areas. It is located at the foot of the Jura at 456m elevation, surrounded by vineyards and it's a 10-minute drive from Nyon. There is direct motorway access, regular bus connections, and the village is conveniently located close to the train station of Gland. Vich's local épicerie Tapassion offers some of the best croissants and pain au chocolate around! They do need to be ordered in advance or you may be disappointed in the morning. The recently renovated Croix Verte restaurant that always has a nice plat du jour on weekdays and friendly staff. Aside from the local shops, there is an Aldi and a big Coop for shopping. Health facilities are around the corner with the Clinique La Lignière that also offers great gym and pool facilities open to the public, as well as the Clinique de Genolier both a few minutes away. Hiking, biking and strolling opportunities aplenty with the direct access to the Jura for bikers and to the “ Sentier de Toblerones ” and the “ Bois de Chêne ” for hikers. To learn more about the boutique relocation service of Discover LaCôte by Sabine please go to the website: www.discoverlacote.ch

La Lignière is the well-known clinic located along the Route Suisse. But did you know they offer a large variety of English speaking medical specialists and hi-tech sports facilities open to the public? Although we've all driven past the beautiful grounds on the "Route Suisse", not many people know of all it has to offer and that it is open to the public. La Lignière was founded in 1904 by Dr. De Foret who worked together with Dr. Kellogg. Yes, that Kellogg ! The link between the nutrition and health industries is still very present in their establishment today. The building, originally an annex of the Château de Prangins , today is made up of 2 sections. The first is the traditional building that houses the clinic with 95 beds. Approximately half of the beds are attributed to the clinic and the other half to the public sector. That's right, instead of the CHUV, you can also be hospitalised here! They treat predominantly cardiovascular, neurological, and orthopedic rehabilitation. It remains a not-for-profit foundation whose responsibility is to protect the heritage and the property as well as the clinic. The second building is the newly built outpatient center that was opened in 2017. It's a light and airy space that houses over 40 specialists, almost all of whom speak English. They have a well-developed diabetes branch offering some of the best and up to date treatment options in the area. Furthermore, they offer neurology, psychology as well as nutrition, and a large variety of other specialisations. You can consult the full list of specialists here . Their hi-tech fitness facilities are also worth knowing about. This gym is open to the public and has some of the latest technology available in terms of fitness in the area. the e-gym machines allow you to log in with your personal badge and they monitor your progress, adapt the exercises to keep track of your goals, and have your own data easily accessible to you. Aside from the fitness, there is also a lovely pool area that offers aquagym courses on a very regular basis. The schedule for both the fitness and the aquagym can be found here . You can easily find a slot that suits you and try them out. Now the summer months and outdoor sports are slowly wrapping up, make sure you keep in shape anyway! :-) La Lignière has a lovely mix of traditional values and modern culture. I had the pleasure of visiting recently and meeting the welcoming, professional, and high-spirited management team. When asked to describe the culture in the establishment in 3 words there was not much doubt: It's centered around people, has the best at heart for all, and there is a spirit of closeness. These values rang true throughout the visit. The team has been working together for a long time and know each other well. There is a clear attachment to the patients and their colleagues. We stopped several times during the visit to have a quick chat, introductions were made spontaneously and questions flowed freely all around. Next time you are looking for a good specialist or great health and fitness facilities, be sure you have a look at what La Lignière hs to offer!

The small country we live in has a population of 8.57 million people and 4 national languages. It's in the middle of Europe and yet has managed to stay famously neutral. But how did that all come about? This informative series of short articles: "Inside Switzerland" is brought to Living in Nyon thanks to Jon Wyler. It gives us some insight into our wonderfully complex and highly efficient country . You’re living on the " bassin lémanique " but haven’t quite figured out Swiss culture or how to interact with the locals? A good starting point is understanding the origins of Switzerland itself: History Central to trade in Europe, the alpine passes were sought after by many powers. Today’s Switzerland originated in 1291 when the communities of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden* formed an alliance to ensure their freedoms under the House of Habsburg . This was not yet an uprising - although that would soon change. Today the "Helvetic Confederation" is composed of 26 cantons since the Jura seceded from Bern in 1979 and the half-cantons* were officialised in 1999. Government Switzerland has a unique political system . It is managed by 7 members of the Federal Council, who take turns being president every year. The term managing a country opposes that of governing. Specifically, it means the role of elected officials is to manage the country’s public operations & policies as per the people’s wishes. The president has no additional power, and is tasked with representing the country. The Federal Council is elected by parliament, whose members are in turn elected by the people. The Federal Council is composed of two representatives from the Liberal Party (PLR), two representatives from the Swiss Social Democratic Party (PS), two representatives from the Swiss People’s Party (UDC), and one representative from the Swiss Christian Democratic Party (PDC). Switzerland is a direct democracy, meaning the people can vote on almost everything. Have a closer look at the most recent vote results in English from the 27th of September with an interactive and informative map. Next up in this series are the regions and the cantons. What's decided on national or regional level and what's up with the röstigraben? *Today the cantons of Nidwalden and Obwalden *Basel Stadt & Basel Land, Appenzell Innerrhoden & Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Obwalden & Nidwalden ----------------------------------- Jon Wyler is a Swiss/Luxembourg bi-national. He grew up between Geneva, Hawaii and Beijing. Hospitality-trained, he has for most of his life followed his passion working in live music production, which took him around the world. Jon recently settled on the shores of lake Neuchâtel with his German wife who’s trying to figure out the in’s & out’s of her adopted country.

Ideally located on the heights of the Jura, on a spot well known for its outdoor activities, the new Mountain Biking club of St-Cergue came to life in February 2020 as a new addition to the region’s offering thanks to a group of real enthusiasts. This article is provided thanks to Sebastien Fonteyn. He is one of the motivated volunteers of the association that participated in the set up of VTT St cergue. St Cergue is located approximately 15-20 minutes away from Nyon. Most of the links lead to French sites but If you prefer to have a contact in English let us know via Living in Nyon and we will put you in touch with Sebastien! By welcoming young riders ranging from10 to 20 years old. No pre-existing level or experience is required, the primary objective of the club is to promote and develop Mountain Biking in St Cergue region. Participants have the possibility to improve their technical and physical abilities within a fun, safe and structured environment. According to demand, the club would be happy to consider creating activities more specifically dedicated to adults wishing to discover or improve their skills in the sport. Do let us know if you would be interested in this! Trainings are usually twice a week (Wednesdays and Saturdays) and are given by certified instructors. The committee's, objective to build a group of roughly 30 young riders was achieved very quickly in spite of the pandemic situation. The reach of our participants today goes from Founex to Gimel, passing by Genolier, Trelex and everything in between. If anything, this showed that there was a real need in the region to provide a dedicated structure to the sport. Thanks to the very engaged collaboration of the commune of St-Cergue as well as other local supporters, the club has already started developing an outdoor structure with obstacle courses and technical riding courses for riders to come and train on. Completion of the course is anticipated for early 2021, though the parc is already ridable today. This and the above will really highlight the benefits of St Cergue and all it has to offer for riders in the region. The club is of course open to any potential partners at this stage and is proud to soon join the ACCV (Association Cycliste Cantonale Vaudoise) as well as Swiss Cycling in the near future. Interested to know more? Check out our website on www.vtt-st-cergue.ch (in French only for the time being).

"Moi Aussi" is an association founded by Laura Mulcahy speading the message of inclusion amongst children. Their lovely song with the same title: "Moi Aussi" is being used as a resource for public schools.  This inspiring article is written for Living in Nyon by Eoghan O'Sullivan. When this Vich-based Irishman isn't busy being an independent communications consultant , he dabbles in songwriting. He writes here about his most recent musical project, which aims to encourage more inclusion and integration.All of the heart-warming photos have been taken by Hayley Hay. Just over three years ago, I was asked whether I could write a song to celebrate the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition raising awareness of people with Down syndrome. I had been commissioned to write songs before, but this one came with a specific challenge: it would ideally be in French. As someone whose French is largely self-taught, I wasn't confident that I could do it. However, taking the captions accompanying some of the photos as a starting point, the song somehow came together. Ruth Foley, who commissioned it, and Laura Mulcahy, who founded the association Moi Aussi that organised the exhibition, were both very pleased. Laura was convinced that we could and should do more with this song, but we couldn't decide what that "more" would be. Until now... RESOURCE FOR SCHOOLS As of this month, a professional recording of the song Moi Aussi has been made freely available to schools as a resource for teaching children about inclusion. The recording, which we somehow managed to complete during this year of restrictions and confinement, features kids from a 4P class in Lausanne's Floréal school. It is accompanied by a heart-warming video, and sheet music, lyrics and guitar chords have also been made available for download. The recording and video were funded by the Moi Aussi Association . Laura hopes that the song can contribute to the association's aim of encouraging society to be more inclusive, not just of people with Down syndrome, but for any kind of 'difference' or disability. Her own daughter Emer, who has Down syndrome, features in the video alongside her classmates – she is included fully in the life of her school, epitomising the spirit of the song's lyrics. I'm personally proud to have written the song at the heart of this project. I learned a lot of my French by listening to songs – if you're trying to learn the language and you like music, you should seek out some of the great francophone songwriters. But this project is also an example of the rich contribution that expats/immigrants are making to life in this region. Alongside myself, Ruth and Laura, also involved in this project were the photographer Hayley Hay and the videographer Elma Okic. I think for all of us, this has offered a chance to give something back to this wonderful country that has welcomed us. HELP US SPREAD THE WORD We would really appreciate it if you could help spread the word, particularly among school communities and with music teachers. You can find the song Moi Aussi on all of the main digital music platforms; the video, plus the various free downloads, can be found at www.moiaussi.org/chanson And if you'd like to read a bit more about the story of this song, you can find a longer post on my website .

The local art scene has so much to offer! Thanks to Uli Van Neyghem for providing us with this vivid article and images on Jean Dubuffet at the The Musée d'ethnographie in Geneva on until the 28th of February! Uli Van Neyghem is a professional artist and free-lance art journalist living in Céligny. Uli’s art can be recognized by its serene atmospheres and often takes inspiration from living in Switzerland. Have a look at her website or follow her on Instagram: @ulivanneyghem Why use the term ‘barbarian’ in connection with one of Europe’s leading artists in the second half of the twentieth history? In fact, Jean Dubuffet himself would likely have been very pleased with the radical sounding title given to the temporary exhibition at the Museum of Ethnography in Geneva. Dubuffet shook off aesthetic norms and conventions surrounding art like very few artists did, and thereby reinvented it. By doing so, he has become an inspiration for many other iconic creatives like Keith Haring or Jean Michel Basquiat. But who and what inspired Dubuffet? The present exhibition at the MEG provides wonderful insights into this question. In fact, crucial impulses for Dubuffet’s revolutionary approach came from visiting the museum himself in the summer of 1945, together with the just as visionary architect and designer Le Corbusier . Rather than disqualifying the artifacts from around the world exhibited there as ‘primitive’, he was fascinated by these pieces so radically removed from the Western academic field and its conventional art culture that he found suffocating. During the same trip to postwar Switzerland, Dubuffet visited a number of psychiatric clinics in Geneva and Bern and was deeply impressed by the profoundly expressive works produced by some of their patients. More inspiration came from extensive travels and the folk art he studied and collected during those. The MEG’s exhibition strings all of these together into a fascinating mix of Dubuffet’s artworks, juxtaposed with objects from the collections of the ethnographic museum and ‘Art Brut’ ( a term that Dubuffet coined himself ), artworks created by patients in mental asylums or prisons. They all have in common that they are pure expressions of individuality: spontaneous and undiluted, full of sincerity and directness. Jean Dubuffet was an artist who refused to be put in a box. He cultivated playfulness, perpetually experimenting with using materials and techniques in unconventional ways. Very much in line with his unorthodox thinking, the exhibition at the MEG starts the tour with one of his last paintings, rather than his early works and any chronological order. Fittingly, ’ Jean Dubuffet - a Barbarian in Europe ’ pays tribute to this extremely unusual artist, by ‘reshuffling’ notions of conventional art or ethnography museum exhibitions.

Château de Prangins presents a major first: a new role-playing exhibition for families. Visitors of all ages are invited to imagine themselves as an English tourist or a young chimney-sweep from Ticino traveling around Switzerland on foot, by train or by boat.  There is a new permanent exhibition at the beautiful Château de Prangins and it comes in the form of role-play in the Castle's basement! Gone are the days museums were boring and dusty for children. The aim is to attract the youngest of publics to the museum and offer them an adventure in the form or time travel with 4 languages to select from - English, French, German or Italian. Two levels are available the first for children between the ages of 4 to 10 and the second for children as of 11 years old. Choices of roles are available and depending on the selection made, the trip takes anywhere between 5 to 20 minutes. Here is a sneak preview of the characters available on the website of the Château : - A young, 18th-century baroness called Lucie who decides to take her coach out for a picnic with her three children. - A girl called Gina from Intragna, one of many young chimney sweeps from Ticino in the 19th century, setting off to find her brother who has been taken to Milan to do the same job. - A young boy from Graubünden named Kaspar , who, at the age of 10, leaves his village of Vals in 1901 to go and work on the land in Swabia, along with thousands of other children known as Schwabenkinder. Participants discover authentic objects and travel by boat, coach, train or even a paddle steamer all whilst surrounded by authentic objects from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The curators of the exposition are Marie-Hélène Pellet et Ana Vulić. After the fun and games there is the café at the chateau for a well-deserved break. Sounds like a good idea for those of us with children and in need of a family outing on a rainy day!

This afternoon, 28th of October at 16:15 there was a new press conference from the Swiss government to inform us of new measures and restrictions implemented in an effort to curb the COVID-19 spread further. The press conference was broadcasted on the RTS where you can find more information on the new measures implemented. For the time being it has not yet been translated to English. Switzerland is currently a "hot spot" with over 8'000 new cases in 24 hours this morning. The main message was that by now we all know theoretically how to curb the spread of the virus, and there was a call to the Swiss citizens to play their part and be socially responsible when it comes to our behaviour during this pandemic. There is also a clear hope and effort to avoid a confinement as drastic as the one we experienced in March. Specifically, the new measures are the following: Public manifestations are limited to 50 people. This includes events such as weddings, sporting events, or religious gatherings. Private gatherings are limited to 10 people. These have often a source of multiple infections as precautions are less strict with familiar people Nightclubs will close Close contact sports and events of over 15 people are banned Bars and restaurants will close at 23:00 and A limit of 4 people per table at a restaurant is implemented (with the exception of single households that have a larger number) Masks will be worn in more public places (markets, parcs) Working from home is recommended whenever at all possible Higher education learning will be done remotely as of Monday The big news on testing is that the so-called rapid-tests or "test rapides" have proven to be reliable enough to roll them out. This means that they will be available in certain pharmacies, clinics, or other places as the canton decides. They give a result within 15 minutes, thereby giving much more clarity and insight and to reduce the waiting times and potential spreading of the virus in case of a positive result. There is an FAQ section regarding COVID (albeit it in French) on the swiss administration site . To all our readers, keep safe and healthy!

The city of Nyon has decided to pedestrianize its downtown area. A first test phase started on the 2nd of November by eliminating part of the transit traffic. Bus traffic and parking remain available. The commitment to "soft-mobility" in Nyon is taking shape and has been planned in several phases. The first phase that started this week consists of the following changes you may have already noticed: A meeting area for pedestrians at the end of rue de la Môrache, and on the northern section of rue de la Gare and on rue Just-Olivier. In this sector, pedestrians now have priority. Nevertheless, vehicles are authorised at 20km p/h and they should not be hindered. The sidewalk in the northern part of rue de la Gare is widened in order to maintain a secure path. The central Rue de la Gare has been or the most part pedestrianised and vehicles can no longer cross Place Saint-Martin with the exception of certain residents. A few parking spaces have been suppressed and a new signage campaign has been put in place by the police to create awareness and guarantee safety. These first measures will actively participate in revitalizing the city center by reinforcing its commercial attractiveness and will enable the population to reclaim these public spaces. New facilities and steps are foreseen for spring 2021. In the meantime, despite the shopping centres still being open and the pedestrian city centre, do remain vigilant and take the necessary COVID precautions a little longer. Wishing you all a safe and healthy day!

Toastmasters is an organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Nyon has a fantastic anglophone club of its own where its members challenge and inspire each other to become better all-round communicators. It provides an opportunity to improve public speaking skills, communication styles as well as overcome stage fright or simply improving your English skills for some. It fosters learning, self-discovery, and personal growth in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Have a look at the facebook group to get an impression. Every meeting is held in high spirits and allows for its members and guests to test out new ideas, receive valuable feedback and have a whole lot of fun. This really is thanks to the challenging and supportive environment that facilitates learning and developing skills. The club is made up of a vibrant set of international and local members from all walks of life. The large mix of professional backgrounds from the corporate business world to entrepreneurs to people simply looking for an inspiring way to meet others. This mix always provides for interesting presentations and diverse points of view. Come and visit us! Meetings are held virtually (due to the pandemic) every 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month and you are welcome to attend as a guest! The next meetings are on Wednesday the 11th and the 25th of November and start at 19:30. Please contact Mandy (yes me again) as I am currently the VP of membership at the club. I will happily send you the link to join our next meeting.

Dalia Imadalou's exposition will go ahead with the sanitary requirements respected between the 30th of October and the 5th of December at the Galerie Marchande in Nyon, under the theme of "spirit of the mountain". Growing up in a family of artists in Algeria, art has always served as Dalia Imadalou’s window into her emotions and the world around her. Depictions of the natural environment feature heavily in her work as they provide her a space to contemplate; an important aspect of her creative process. Her paintings embody intuition, emotions, and a poetic interpretation of nature as she puts it. An exposition of her paintings can be seen at the Galerie Marchande in Nyon. It has been maintained and respects all the sanitary requirements. After completing her masters in Canada and France, she is now based in Nyon, sharing her artistic talents through a number of exhibitions around Switzerland, Italy and France, as well a teaching art classes at Ecole-Migros and L’Adac. Over the course of this month, Dalia Imadalou will be showcasing her work in two exhibitions, one at the Art Fair Lausanne and the second at MAG Montreux. For more information you can visit her website or follow her on Instagram @dchaouane and on facebook as Dalia Chaouane .

4 national languages, 26 cantons, rotating presidents... Inside Switzerland demystifies the confederation for us! This informative series of short articles: "Inside Switzerland" is brought to Living in Nyon thanks to Jon Wyler. It gives us some insight into our wonderfully complex and highly efficient country . Now that the history and the foundation of the country are clearer. What's with all the languages and what law applies to where? Regional differences Switzerland is commonly divided into 4 linguistic regions - German, French, Italian and Romansh . While the progressive cantonal additions and languages explain regional differences, these have been maintained because the Helvetic Confederation* was founded as an alliance originally, never a country. Someone from Geneva is likely to have more in common with a person from across the French border than from Lugano, who in turn will feel closer to someone from northern Italy. The strongest divide can be felt across the röstigraben * with Germanics often being looser in family relations and more rigid at work. The welschs*, commonly the term Swiss Germans will use to refer to the French speaking population, are considered the opposite! The Cantons Some things are national such as the military & currency (both of these only since 1848), while cantons retain a large degree of independence. This is why for example the “ Jeûne Genevois ” and the “ Jeûne Fédéral ” (the link is in French) are not on the same day, or why the following Monday is a Public Holiday in Vaud but not in Fribourg. Although strongly influenced by neighbouring cantons, border cantons are also influenced by neighbouring countries - people in Geneva say “quatre-vingt”* like France whereas those in Vaud and Fribourg say “huitante”. There are cantonal stereotypes, which in Switzerland are good-heartedly used to chide each other. Up next in the series: The Swiss values and their underlying meaning!   *The official name of Switzerland *The “rösti ditch” - an imaginary line separating the french and german speaking regions *Originally meaning “non-German speaker”, it’s the term used to describe the french speaking population by Swiss-Germans *80 ----------------------------------- There are some great movies that provide insight into the country's heritage Bienvenue en Suisse (FR) - Welcome to Switzerland Die Schweizermacher (DE) - The Swissmakers Jon Wyler is a Swiss/Luxembourg bi-national, who grew up between Geneva, Hawaii and Beijing. Hospitality-trained, he has for most of his life followed his passion working in live music production, which took him around the world. Jon recently settled on the shores of lake Neuchâtel with his German wife who’s trying to figure out the in’s & out’s of her adopted country.