Switzerland, near and far

As contest preparations are in full swing, participants enjoy excursions

As the official program on Tuesday only started in the evening, the participants had time to spend a day with their teams, doing excursions or other activities in their own countries. The Swiss team went on a bike tour around lake Zurich, from Zurich to Rapperswil-Jona and back. Originally, the plan was to bike the factory where the famous Lindt chocolate is produced. However, the team decided to instead take a longer, yet more scenic route. They didn’t get chocolate straight from the source that day, but they did still indulge their sweet tooth by buying some chocolate in the supermarket.

With the pandemic still keeping borders tight and events small, the Swiss team racing past the green fields and villages of the Zurich countryside is the only team to experience the host country of this EGOI in person. However, the organizers made sure that even from far away, the international participants would get some impressions of Switzerland. Over the course of the week, all participants are encouraged to try some typical Swiss recipes such as Zürcher Geschnetzeltes with Rösti, Birchermüesli or Älplermagrone. The host country was also the topic of Tuesday’s quiz show. In teams of up to 5 people, participants answered questions about Heidi, Roger Federer or the Matterhorn. The Swiss team, who probably would have had an unfair advantage, missed the quiz show - their bike tour took longer than expected and they only made it back to their rented accommodation past eight in the evening.

While the participants were out biking, playing escape room games and getting a good night’s sleep, the technical and scientific committee went through a very busy day. The tasks had to be finalized and translated to all the participating countries’ languages and everything had to be ready for the contest on Wednesday. We wish everyone participating in the contest the best of luck!