My Favorite Swiss Celtic rock group Keltikon have a new exciting album out, The Black Boar, done and dusted at the start of 2020, this marks the band’s second full album so with all this in mind I decided to contact the lead singer, Olaf, to see how things are going for the band during the Corona plandemic and get the lowdown on the new album.
(me) The good news and the bad news (Corona)
(Olaf) Good news: a new album out from April:
“The Black Boar”
Well done, a mixed bag of Irish/celtic trad songs, English and German folk/ an Italian protest song, rocky numbers, drinking songs……an old favourite making a reappearance, “The Diving Dutchman” from the first album is back…….and “Heal My Shakra”, quite a eclectic album!
… yes, Heal My Shakra was one take of the whole band, never rehearsed before and a session just like in the seventies, interesting there wasn’t any weed around, somehow – lol. The Diving Dutchman is still one of our favorites and live a great battleship, so we decided to record it again.
Rocky road to Dublin, done in one take?
All songs on the album were done in one take but not necessarily the first one 🙂 At least drums, bass and rhythm guitar together and in some cases like ‚Rocky road to Dublin‘. We never played it live until today, fiddle and lead guitar were recorded afterwards.
“A local boozer”……………Bit of a Shane Macgowan sound there?
Interesting question. The intention of John O’Donnell Cotter was to write Pogues alike music for his poem, I had the honor to get the chance. Though he expected it become fast, I felt a walz and we discussed if a song needs to be fast to be Pogues-alike….
New violinist……Mélodie Pican?
Yes! We lucky bastards were contacted by Mélodie Pican, who joined the band summer and finished the recording – she’s on most songs of the album. In the beginning of the sessions we had to learn that it all became too complicated for our former violinist Sally Welti to coordinate it with here private life and she needed more than just a rest from playing for two months or so. My father died and I had to spend 10 weeks of the year abroad Switzerland and there wasn’t much up, except a supporting gig with The Rumjacks. So Mélodie called me and joined us for that concert quite spontaneously for the very first concert at Musikburg Aarburg- no overdubs, we could already hear there how good she fits.
I must say you have assembled a great set of songs. One I have to ask is the song “We Have Been (and we are still here)”, it’s like a folk ska song, my favourite song of the album, who is doing the guitar on it, and the violin is great too!?
The violin melody was played by Sally. The melody comes originally from the the very first fiddle player of Keltikon, Natalie Koula – she played 3 or 4 concerts with us in 2012. Every soloist, on fiddle or accordion adapted it as it gives it quite an oriental or gypsy flavour. All guitars, also this solo were played by the same bum – me.
Was it a long process, writing and compiling the songs?
Actually not, 5 of em were really new and needed a bit more work, the rest has been played live for years before.
What comes first in the process, the idea, the story, the tunes, do you hear the song in your head or…….write a tune around the words……
I’d say the best that can happen is if some refrain/hook line and words come in your mind the same time and you can develop from there. It’s much better than to have a nice tune and search for words, or the opposite. A good song comes into your brain suddenly and stays. If you haven’t forgotten it when your back home you know it could be ok :-
What does this album say?
FolkPunkRock’s not dead!
The title of the album, the Black Boar?
A little gloss/comedy on Tryon, also known as Twrch Trwyth a pagan creature that was fought by King Arthur in Celtic mythology… I think King Arthur was a jerk and it wasn’t fair, how the boar was treated.
Well produced album: Everything is always so well produced, from the sound quality of the album, the video and the Album case. You must have a great team working behind the scenes?
It’s been produced and mixed at Bau 2 Studios in Winterthur by Roger Baltensperger, he’s a great engineer and we had a great inspiring mood. Mastering has been done by „the guru“ Dan Suter (Echochamber) Zürich. The Cover was designed by me.
The Black Boar Video tie in, what was that like with the lockdown going on?
We already recorded the video in beginning of December and decided since a long time to release all in May…
So how has the Virus and the lockdown affected you and the band?
Many concerts dropped or postponed to next year, inclusive our Ireland Tour in summer. We hope we can play the very first regular concert in September again.
Promotion of the album? Near impossible?
We’re still an independent band and I didn’t have too big expectations in sales, especially in those times. I’m very surprised about fast growing of our community on Spotify, as we’re newbees there. Of course it’s promoted a bit… it would be nicer to sell CDs – download cards at concerts as we’re a live band.
(I know ye guys do a lot of touring………….)
Cancelled gigs? You had 5 gigs at legendary music pubs in Ireland in 2019, the return this year for 2020 was cancelled
(what was Ireland like, did it live up to your expectations?)
It was fantastic to play in Ireland and we never ever expected such a warm welcome and great feedback.
Personal Level: Living in Switzerland during this period of lockdown and the like?
First of all a little shock. We just finished our last concerts in the Canton of Bern when the first restrictions for concerts where out and we knew Saint Patrick’s Day Party was gone… glad normality is back more and more…
Stress?
It became quite a thriller to hold the release date, as copyright associations and other partners became really slow due to the lockdown and changes because of home office. Provisionally the album is available online only at the moment. Physical CDs will be distributed in the next 4 weeks.
Positives? (band closer together? Fans rally around? More time to be creative?)
The positive maybe, if there is, will be that everyone at concerts, from the barkeepers over the audience to the drummer will enjoy concerts more than ever 🙂
When do you think you can gig again? Is there a definite timeline for the future?
We hope very much to play in at Celtic Festival Avenches on 29 August, also it looks like we play in Lenzerheide and Altstätten/SG in September.. But that being said; many concerts are postponed to next year, such as Openair Bischoffszell or Mary From Dungloe Festival and other festivals… the first show we should play is actually our CD release party. We expect it to happen somewhere in the late autumn.
Ok Olaf, thanks for that news on the album and the current situation. I hope you dont mind me just going over some old questions for any new fans of the band, etc. Cheers
Keltikon, What is the origin of the name of the band?
Well, it was founded in Pfäffikon ZH, It should be celtic and celtic in ancient greek means‚ keltikon‘.
How did ye guys all meet? How long have you all known each other?
Originally the band was formed by me and a pipes player. Our Drummer Chrigel is in the band since 2015, Dave on the bass since 2016.
When did the band form?
Keltikon was founded in March 2012
The Music: How would you describe the music that you typically create? How do you define the band. Celtic rock, punk rock, trad rock?
Names are smoke and mirrors 🙂 Let’s call it Celtic Punk Rock to keep it simple.
What is it about Celtic music that drew you to it?
The entry ticket were definitely The Pogues and actually they should stay our idols in any way; also because of their versatility which is just enormous.
Creative Process: Who writes the songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? (Drinking!) Do you think these topics will change over time?
The topics of my songs are quite different, not that much about drinking… from stock exchange managers as Kings in medieval times, TV esoteric shit, of part of an old tale about a mystic dog… the only song where beer is mentioned… and the last song ‚Local Boozer is written by John O’Donnell Cotter, not by me 🙂
What is the creative process like? Do you guys just tough it out in the studio, or do you go for a few beers, how do you trash out the tunes and how do you know if you got it right?
Mostly a song is quite prepared before I present it to the band – sometimes I even record a whole demo-track including drums to show how I mean it… then we work on it, talk about certain details bout drums and bass grooves and after 3 or 4 sessions it is done and sounds good – or the song was shit.
How do ye guys get in the zone, get into the right frame of mind for writing songs/making songs?
I personally still don’t know how it exactly works. Feels like luck to me to get an idea somehow. Sometimes it appears even if you’re really in a hurry and don’t even have time for it at the moment. Or you can go to holiday, open a bottle of wine, or drink whiskey… and nothing happens…
What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?
Haha, that’s a very long time ago, we rehearsed nearly every week… in the last years rehearsals have become less, because we played the songs so many times together… only for new songs actually we needed rehearsals
The Gigs/Touring:You have been on the same stage as Uncle bard, The Rumjacks, and FIDDLER’S GREEN,), anyone else that you would like to collaborate with?
Flogging Molly would be great…
Your fans? Groupies (females!)
Haha, no statements without a lawyer
Your gigs are very energetic?
Yes, but the fat creme of Irish Coffee will compensate the loss of calories.
The friendship has survived so long, even on the road?
Well, everybody’s got quirks and being in a band touring like that is can be demanding. But after many years you know and trust each other
……you can sense it on the stage ye guys are close, brotherhood……..
For sure musically 😀
The touring? Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues?
Keltikon played exactly 171 concerts since the foundation. I’d say there were a lot of ‚favourite places‘. As the big ones we could name our supporting gigs at Z7 or Headliner at Irish Open Air Toggenburg in front of thousands… but I personally will never want to miss the pubs and there is nothing that can replace that atmosphere. I can frankly say that most organisers in Switzerland were nice and generous. The worst concert was a pub, back in 2013 in Lucerne, the owner was as high as a steeper on white wine, ex-musician (dixieland) and told us what we’re allowed to play and what not… – especially „psychedelic“ songs, how he called it, shouldn’t be played, quite an interesting experience
Have you ever dealt with performance anxiety?
Sometimes a little bit, never too much.
What is ur favourite song to perform? The bands favourite? yo
Maybe ‚Taliesin’s Poem‘, ‚The Diving Dutchman‘ and ‚Kenny McDonald’s Jig“
Which songs do you perform most frequently? A most requested song?
Maybe still ‚Dirty Old Town‘ or ‚The Irish Rover‘ – LOL
Evolution: You have had a previous album, how has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
This is our second album. The first one was in 2014 and before was a Demo EP with a couple of songs. Think the music has changed me a bit, but still I feel that I’m a kind of punk/rock bastard 😛
The recording studio and equipment, over time has that improved? Rookie mistakes?
For our first album we recorded in an old bunker, simply on a portable tascam recorder with max. 8 tracks/mics at once (drums) loaded it on a pc. The tracks were mixed and mastered by a professional sound engineer. This time we recorded in a studio, with a good engineer supporting us.
What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? Why?
The favorite is for sure playing live. The least part? Well, sometimes booking or promotional duties.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
The biggest challenge might be if something technical breaks, your sound is gone and you keep a good mood playing air guitar… or if the audience is not the right one, you’re at a wrong place where your music is just not asked or you feel just consumed… luckily that happened not often… keep a stiff upper lip, don’t let anything show, keep the mood and fun between us
What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands? What is the best advice you have been given?
Do your own thing. Don’t listen to every advice because if you’d listen to all of them you’d just do nothing… don’t forget that communication and contacts will always be a big part of your success.
The rest: When you are not touring or preparing songs with the band, what is your down time?
Would say the last months have been a down time. We take it easy at the moment. Album is out, we don’t have too big expectations for this year. Let’s see how many gigs will be possible and where, one is confirmed so far…
What do your friends outside the band think or your relatives/parents?
In my personal area only a few people are really interested in my subjects, mostly it’s people from outside. We’ve never been a „a lot of friends, partners, brothers and sisters, football club or what ever coming“-band. Would say the interest of my relatives is quite low – lol
What’s next for you?
Wait and see what’s next.
Where can people buy the new album (all the usual platforms)?
It’s available on more the 260 download and streaming platforms and will be available as physical CD in about 4 weeks.
Follow the band on social media?
Facebook, Youtube or Instagram… not that much on Twitter, you’ll find all links on our homepage: www.keltikon.com
Thanks Olaf, and I hope to see you once again, hopefully in 2020 and not too long away.
Feldschlösschen is the best known beer brand in Switzerland. Their beers have been brewed at the Feldschlösschen brewery in Rheinfelden, the biggest brewery in Switzerland, since its foundation in 1876 and has been the leading Swiss beer brand for more than 100 years. Today its by far the leading brand in the country with 45 per cent of the beer market, with more than 40 Swiss beer brands, mineral waters, soft drinks and wine produced and shipped all over the country and beyond.
Has a nice cool design on the can, cold icy colouring leaving you in no doubt this is best served ice cold.
The cities foundations are owed to the Benedictine Monastery of St. Leodegar founded in 750, later acquired by Murbach Abbey in Alsace in the middle of the 9th century, and by this time the area was called Luciaria, later to be known in Latin as Lucerna “lantern”, but why so no one exactly knows. In 1178 the city was independent and doing quite well, with a good economy and a rising population (3000). The Habsburgs, one of the most influential and distinguished royal houses of Europe, looked on and decided they would like a piece of the action. In response the residents of Lucerne along with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden formed the Swiss Confederacy, on November 7, 1332 as a bulwark to an attack. Later the cities of Zürich, Zug and Bern joined the alliance, and thus ending the Austrian rulers influence in Switzerland. This resulted in Lucerne expanding even more free from the fear of an attack from outside forces. The city developed its infrastructure, raised taxes, and appointed its own local officials.
Owing to its location on the shores of Lake Lucerne and within sight of the famous mountains of Rigi, Pilatus and Stanserhorn in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne is truly a city with one heck of an amazing setting. Add to this its well-preserved medieval Altstadt (Old Town), its souvenir and watch shops, which are always full of Chinese visitors, the many high quality restaurants and top of the range bars, and beautiful waterfront promenades. the town is for sure a top destination for many travel groups and individuals on their journey through central Switzerland.
One of the city’s famous landmarks is the Chapel Bridge, a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century, and hard to miss once you exit the train station, but be forewarned it is always bustling with tourists eager to take the best photo of the bridge. Not like anything I would do at all!! Other things to see and visit is the Lion Monument, or Löwendenkmal, found in a small park just off the Löwenplatz. The carving commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. The Swiss Museum of Transport is also well worth a visit, a large and comprehensive museum exhibiting all forms of transport, including locomotives, automobiles, ships, and aircraft. It is to be found beside the lake in the northern-eastern section of the city. but generally the best thing to do in Lucerne is just to walk around the lake shore and take in all the breathtaking views. Or you could also take a boat trip on the lake itself. I have done both options numerous times, and it is great for rebalancing the mind and spirit when the fresh mountain air runs through your nostrils and into your body energising you at the same time. Nothing like it. Love it. Love Lucerne. 
Getting to the city is very easy, its central location means it is never too far from Switzerland’s other main cities, either on the motorway or by the extensive rail network in the country. Roughly 40 minutes by car from Basel, Zurich and Bern, and by rail about an hour from these same three cities, showing just how central Lucerne really is. 
First pub of the day for me was to be the Anfield Pub, not that far from the main bridge of the city,crossing the street and down an alley. The exterior of the pub is pretty bland. I actually walked past it looking for it, I figured owing to its name it might have some red colouring, but no a boring black and grey and easy to pass by. 
The bar is fine but something must be up if you can’t entice customers in on a Saturday midday, considering all the people just off the main drag around the corner. It is also a bit cheesy as well, calling a bar after the home ground of an English team considering you are in one of the most scenic cities in Switzerland. Use your local history? No connection, just looks silly, in my opinion. 
Could have went for the usual suspects you can get in an Irish bar, Guinness, Smithwicks, or even a Kilkenny, but wanted to try something different so I went for an ale called a Braufrisch from the Feldschlösschen brewery in Rheinfelden. It looked lovely in the glass, and went down better. Very good beer. 
Sat at bar, got a good seat in the front and ordered a “Fursty Ferret“, an interesting amber ale they had on show. Well poured and looked very appetising, dived in and sure enough it was lovely. Well worth the try, so, so tasty and one to look out for again in the future.
Next pub wasn’t too far to find as it was right next to Mr. Pickwicks, Rathaus Brauerei also on the promenade near the Chapel Bridge. 
The place was quite busy, and people were not only drinking but eating from the extensive menu on show. Food served looked good coming hot from the kitchen, but I was happy enough with the nourishment I was getting from the beer, going down well. Had a nice chat with a lovely gentleman who was telling me that there is actually a 70-meter long underground line through the Rathaus to the fermentation and storage cellar in nearby Eisengasse, piping the wort through. Cool. The copper brew pans are also on show behind the bar and restaurant and there are lots of cellars to be seen on your travels to the toilets!!
Took his advice and ventured in. Small enough place, really just a tiny circular bar with a few tables and chairs and not much else. Sat at the bar and ordered a Eichhof from the very friendly bar man.
Got chatting to two Lucerne FC supporters, and enjoyed the casual atmosphere in the place, a good friendly vibe to the place, very chilled. Seemed it was made up of mostly locals, which is cool. 
Got a bit lost and tired so popped in here to charge the phone and recharge my own batteries. Nice enough place, kind of a cafe type bar, easy going relaxed atmosphere building, with a nice modern interior. Sat at bar and ordered a Feldschlossen beer, just a regular lager on the tap, served fast and with a nice smile by the friendly bar lady. 
Followed the music that was coming from afar, it was pumping from the entrance to this bar and restaurant. A DJ was playing some great dance tunes from the 90s and early 2000’s, banging them tunes out. Brilliant.
The place is pretty big inside, they do a lot of food and have enough room to pack out a big crowd. I decided to stay outside and have my hot food and beer and enjoy the music from the DJ. Later I read they do good pizza’s, perhaps next time I am this side of the world.
A club was to be born, called “FC Luzern” and was mentioned in an add in the local paper, the “Luzerner Tagblatt“ in 1897, in which a meeting was called in the Café Alpenclub for ideas on how to get the ball rolling and start up this team in the city. Owing to a slow initial response it was 4 years before that team came into existence in 1901, initiated by friends Adolf Coulin, Ernst Haag and Hans Walter, with its official launch in the Restaurant Seidenhof, near the train station. Two years later they joined the Swiss FA, starting off in the third highest division. 
The club got a professional manager in 1921, Dionys Schönecker from Rapid Vienna of Austria, and his appointment was an instant success as Luzern faced Servette from Geneva in a title decider on 25 June 1922 in Basel. They were unlucky and bowed out 2-0. 
Afterwards the club did nothing of substance for many years and even skirted with the idea of going out of business as the debts racked up. In 2001, their centenary year, they entered administration and had to be rebranded and repackaged in order to continue, with much thanks to the effort of their supporters who helped financially when the call was put out for help. 
The club play at home in the Swissporarena which was newly built in 2011, at the cost of EUR €60 million, on the site of the old stadium, Stadion Allmend. The stadium is used mostly for football matches of FC Lucerne, but the Swiss national team use it at least once in every qualifying campaign for the World Cup or Euros. Its capacity is of 16,800 spectators. 
Tickets for FC Luzern matches can be bought online, at the Fanshop at the stadium, or at the Neue Luzerner Zeitung at the Pilatusstrasse 12 (about 200 metres from the main railway station). Don’t worry about not getting a ticket, as so often with Swiss football, Luzern will only sell out at the very odd high-profile match.
The ground itself is all modern and kind of funny looking, with golden looking stands formed all round, it’s kind of shit looking to be honest. Not the most attractive stadium I have ever seen for sure. Inside it looks a little better, all seats decked out in the club colours of blue. 
Not long after the second half got underway Thun were right back in it with a well taken goal by Marvin Spielmann, rifling it into the net. Nice one, game on. Now at this stage a lot of the fans were further retreating back into the stands due to how bad the weather was. It was near torrential at this stage, making it hard to stay focused on the game, for us the supporters never mind what it was like for the players to kick the ball around the soggy pitch!!
Calanda Bräu is a Swiss brewery from the small town of Chur, which is reputedly the oldest town in Switzerland, and lies next to the waters of the Grison mountains, which are part of the Alps.
Sold in Coop supermarkets nationwide in Switzerland.
Taste is sweet and light, of course, nice and soft on the tongue, nice enough, but quite light in flavour but enjoyable enough all the same.
Bern, a German speaking city and capital of the canton of Bern, with a population of about 140,000, is the de facto capital of Switzerland. Technically the Swiss Confederation, with its many Canton’s, has no capital but since Bern has so many governmental institutions within its walls, such as the Swiss parliament and the Supreme court to name but two, it is referred to by the Swiss as their “federal city“. It is the political HQ of the country.
It is definitely a city rich in ancient architecture and lots of lovely sights to see. A very pleasurable experience walking round the streets, while looking for some bars to pop into, cough! The historic old medieval town (“Altstadt“) in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, and includes an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets and a covered shopping promenade, all along a beautifully cobbled street. 
First bar of the day was this little place in the heart of the city called the Burgundy Bar. Small but cozy, at that time of the day, which was midday, it was quiet. Easy to pass by as the frontage looks more like a discreet bookshop rather than a bar. 
Sat down and asked the friendly bar man (Alex) for some advice on what to order. Alex was kind enough to give me the low down on a few of the house specials. All beers are unfiltered, natural and are made without chemical additives. I opted for their Canadian Red Ale, which sure enough tasted fantastic. Even though the place was very crowded it was very easy to get a seat and also service was fast and efficient. I’d say you might have to wait if ordering food, didn’t look to be much spare room in the restaurant side of the place. It is a big place though so you never know!
They do offer tours of the brewery and explain how they make the beers, but unfortunately it’s only available in German. Hopefully they will offer an English tour in the future. 
Made my way to the “Altstadt“, along the cobbled streets in search of an Irish bar. On the phone it got me the exact location but I just couldn’t spot it, until I noticed that there are some shops and the like doing business at below street level, down cellars. So looking closely I managed to find the small Irish bar, at ground level, and down some steep stairs, so be careful!
Got chatting to the bar man, Mark, who was very friendly, chatting about football and the bar. I was surprised when he told me that the bar does live music. I couldn’t quite picture where exactly they would play in such a small bar, but then it is an Irish bar so I guess those considerations never really matter! Even musicians from as far as Ireland itself were due to play in the place over the next few weeks! Nice one. 
Not far away from the Irish bar, just down the street and at the corner is a football bar called Die Berner Fussball Bar. Another bar in a cellar where you have to step down into. 
Sat at the bar and ordered a Felsenau lager, a local brew. Bar was busy enough, a few Young Boy fans having their beers. Funnily enough I seemed to be the only one drinking from a large beer glass, while the young boys were all sipping beer from small glasses, typical Swiss style! Can never understand that kind of thinking, if you have a chance to drink beer, ALWAYS GO LARGE!!!!
Not much banter as everyone was concentrating on the football, but the bar man was friendly enough, had a nice demeanor. I spent the time just looking at all the scarves and shirts behind the bar. Boy I love stuff like this!
Have to say the three young women working behind the bar were pretty hard working, handling all sorts of interesting orders and all with good grace, excellent to see such good work in a bar. Was really good to see such friendly staff that care for the work they do providing good beer to the thirsty masses, take a bow the bar ladies of Barbière.
FC Breitenrain Bern are a football team from Bern, Switzerland, who currently play in in the 1. Liga Promotion, the third tier of Swiss football.
Good enough game from two teams who are mid table in their league. Possibly Basel could have shaded it in terms of play and style, but FC Breitenrain battled hard all game and deserved the draw in the end.
Founded in 1898, BSC Young Boys, or Berner Sport Club Young Boys to give its full official title, is a Swiss professional football club based in Bern, Switzerland, that plays in the Swiss Super League, the top tier in Swiss football. It is widely referred to as Young Boys, and the club’s colors are yellow and black. They are one of the longest-established and most successful clubs in Switzerland, with 12 Championship and 6 Swiss Cup titles. They play 
After WW1 the team moved to Kirchfeld, winning another league in 1920. In 1925 the club moved again, but this time to the new stadium called the Wankdorf, with a capacity at the time of over 20,000. YB now had a nice spanking new stadium, which annoyed their city rivals FC Bern no end, because the older association continued to play at the small and outdated Neufeldplatz. A championship win came in the new stadium when Young Boys once again won the title in 1929, and a first Cup title came in 1930 in front of a home crowd of 30,000 (Capacity expanded in time, upto 60,000 for the 1954 World Cup!) crowding Wankdorf as the YB beat FC Aarau 1–0. And that was to be it for a good long while, 15 years in fact until the next league title or cup victory!
But the Championship remained elusive, that is until the early 80’s when success came under manager Alexander Mandziara and his brand of attacking football that brought a title win in 1986, the first in 26 years, and 11th overall. Another Cup victory, the 6th came in 1987, when Young Boys defeated Servette FC 4–2. Beating Real madrid one nil at home in the European Cup, albeit losing the tie 5-1, another rare highlight in the 80’s.
I like watching Young Boys, they were definitely a team of unbeatables under Adi Hütter. Winning back to back Championships is some feat, but they did it in style, taking total control of the league and losing games at a rare rate. Watching Kevin Mbabu bombing down the wings is a treat, its a shame that the Swiss national manager, Vladimir Petković, takes the piss and continues to ignore his celar skills and ability. No wonder the Swiss national team are dull and dour. Other players that stand out to me are the Goalie, Marco Wölfli, defenders, 
The old ground was site of the 1954 World Cup final where Hungary were beaten 3–2 by West Germany in front of 62,500 excited fans, at that time a huge upset as the “Magnificent Magyars”, with the legendary Ferenc Puskás in their team, were the Brazil of their time. But that’s the Germans for you, grinding out a win no matter. 
Pretty much the whole game was Young boys attacking, especially down the wings and mostly with Kevin Mbabu whipping in perfect crosses for the YB forwards to hash it up again and again. Love watching Mbabu, easily my favourite player in this league. I do wonder when, and not if, he will leave to better pastures. 
Neuchâtel (“Newcastle”) is a small city and the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel located on Lake Neuchâtel, in the shadow of the Jura mountains and facing the Alps, in West Switzerland, not too far from the border of France. The French speaking town has a population of about 34,000 people and was originally part of the Holy Roman Empire and later under Prussian control from 1707 until 1848. (Prussia, a historically prominent German state, in case you didn’t know!!)
As for a day out, Neuchâtel’s has an attractive Old Town, with about 140 street fountains, a handful of which date from the 16th century, and classical Burundian architecture with rows of contiguous narrow houses on three or four storeys and through corridors. The beautiful Alps far off in the distance on view from the lake also offer something to behold. 
PMU Race Cafe 
This place wasn’t to far off the stadium so ventured in. Was intrigued as it had horse racing on, and seemed to double as a betting shop, a first for me to see in Switzerland. Fancied a flutter but unfortunately (or fortunately) it was only French racing so let that pass. 
Was heaving with Xamax fans who were very boisterous and all good fun. Had a few cheap lagers and sat down to enjoy the “show” the home fans were putting on…….smoke bombs and pyro, horse play on the roundabout, all good fun.
Had a few beers, well quite a few, in this bar, waiting for my train. Bar is dead handy as it is right next to the train station which is just damn perfect for me! Bar right at the door, dont have to make any effort so! Managed to grab a 
Small bar, but quite busy, as you can imagine what with it beside the train station. Service wasn’t exactly very friendly, bit grumpy in fact, dont think they were Swiss to be honest. A fella, serving behind the bar, Jesus a smile wouldn’t kill you! The waitress wasn’t much better. Ok we get it, a lot of noisy football fans are in town, but Jesus no one is forcing you to do work in a bar!
The name Xamax (and club nickname) comes from legendary Swiss international ‘Xam’ Max Abegglen, one of the founding members of the club. 
In May 2013 a merger happened between Neuchâtel Xamax and FC Serrières, another side from Neuchâtel, to create Xamax Neuchâtel FCS, to continue top tier football in the city. The quick success continued as the team won back to back promotions to find themselves at the Challenge League division, three successive promotions to the second tier of Swiss football. And then in the 2017–18 season, the club were finally promoted back to the big time, to the Swiss Super League. It was has if the near death of the club had never happened! 
As for Europe they have had some small success, relatively speaking for a small club. In the 1981–82 season they managed to get to the last 8th of the Uefa Cup, beating Sparta Prague, Malmo, Sporting Lisbon along the way before eventually losing to Hamburg, narrowly 2-3 on agg. If you thought that was impressive, well in 1985–86 season they repeated the trick, once again getting to the last 8th of the Uefa, but once again losing out 2-3 on agg, this time to the mighty Real Madrid, not without a brilliant 2-0 home win though. Pretty good stuff I think. They haven’t since reached those heights, but they did knock out Celtic in the 1991–92 UEFA Cup, four of those goals coming from the Egyptian footballing legend, Hossam Hassan, a result I well remember at the time as the Scottish giants were definitely not expecting their trashing, 5-1 in Switzerland. In that competition they were knocked out by Real Madrid, 4-1, but not without a lovely one nil win at home. In the 1987–88 European Cup, they also had an impressive victory over Bayern Munich at home, 2-1, but alas going out 2-3 on agg. So one can see, for a small club, they have had some notable achievements in European football. 
The team play in red with black stripes and line out in the Stade de la Maladière stadium where the club play its home games. Opened in 2007 the ground has a total capacity of 12,500 supporters. The attendance record stands at 25,500 spectators in the undeveloped Stade de la Maladière when, in 1986, Real Madrid came to town in the second leg of the last eight of the Uefa Cup to see the team win out 2-0 which sadly wasn’t enough to overturn the tie. Nowadays the stadium has been renovated to include a shopping centre, a sports halls and even a fire station! But its not all that impressive as the ground has a fucking plastic pitch, urgh! It is owned by the city council. 
Getting to the ground was dead easy as its not too far from the station, and you head downwards. The Maladière stadium is near the lovely Lake of Neuchâtel, and a stones throw from the red bricked Notre-Dame Cathedral that dominates the local skyline, you really couldn’t get a better location for a ground. 
Not the best game in the world, few chances, a lot of slow build up play, and huffing and puffing and hard endeavor, but will little quality on display from both teams.
After that chances were few and far between, with both teams having an opportunity to steal a winner, both the game petered out for a draw. A fair result to be honest.
It all started in 1788, when daddy François Piller, owner of the “Zum Lachs” inn, in the town of Fribourg, decides to have a brewery built for his son, who just recently graduated as a Bavarian master brewer, a nice fatherly thing to do (if you have the money!).
Available to buy in Coop, one of Switzerland’s largest discount stores. 
I like it, very smooth, a nice light bodied lager that is so very easy to drink. But fuck all in the bottle! Lots of malts and barley, grains, all balanced very well, mild hops, no bitterness or offensive tastes. 
Valaisanne, a small Swiss brewery, that produce exciting craft beers. They produce a range of beers, a Zwickelbier, a Pale Ale, and a Weizen. 
Comes in a very decent looking bottle that has a well designed label and logo with pretty lettering, stands out. Bought in Coop, local supermarket. 
Aroma of fruits and straw, all light though. Getting a red berry note. 
The Obermühle Steinen mill wanted a beer to celebrate its anniversary, so they approached Wäfler, a Lucerne based brewery, with the idea of producing a beer made from corn, as a gift to its customers. Unfortunately, over time, the brewery went bankrupt and so was the end of the special beer. But there was a clamour from the public who had got found of this unique beer. So a new brewery was needed to continue this production. Not least the beer was a financial hit for the mill too! In 1978, the Rosengarten brewery was asked if they would be prepared to produce a specialty beer with the maize from the Obermühle Steinen, and they agreed, and so in 1980 , the brewery launched the Maisgold.
The beer is brewed with a share of about 30% corn from the Bruhin mill and from the Linthebene, barley malt and hops. The corn causes it to be tasty, light and rather sweetish.
Initial taste is that its a very light beer, with a lot of malt.
Not a whole lot in the bottle too which is a bit disappointing.