Some German words sound like they mean something very different to Anglo listeners. Today, we celebrate Auffahrt!
Auffahrt, which Babelfish translates literally as "ramp", actually refers to Ascension Day. This compound word is a fusion of two simple German words, auf, meaning 'up' in this context and fahrt, meaning 'journey' or 'trip'. Literally, "the up journey".
Unlike most religious - that is, of course, to say Christian - holidays in Switzerland, a single day is sufficient for a proper celebration. The observation of Auffahrt, the bodily Ascension of the resurrected Christ up to heaven, only involves schools and businesses being closed today (Thursday). Life returns to normal tomorrow.
Easter, on the other hand, can come as quite an inconvenient surprise to unprepared ex-pats. A day, even a weekend, is nowhere near enough time to celebrate Easter. Many schools & businesses close early on Wednesday afternoon and remain closed through the following Monday. If you failed to prepare by Wed morning with enough groceries to last a week, you'll have to tighten your belt until the following Tuesday.
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