St. Moritz, Switzerland
My time in Colombia ended, and I had to return to Switzerland for freelance work as a cameraman. December is a busy month, and I accepted many jobs. My schedule was tight to arrive back in time. Not much time to recover from jetlag. But what I underestimated was the temperature difference. Coming from 35° warm Medellin (Colombia) to -15° St. Moritz (Switzerland) was hard work for my immune system. A 50° difference in temperature was definitely the craziest thing I experienced so far. So here I was, working in the snow for the Ski World Cup in St. Moritz as a cameraman, within snowfall and cold winds. Despite these constraints, I would love to be back working for TV, a passion I have had since I was a teenager.
Fribourg, Switzerland
After I almost directly landed in Zurich, arrived in my hometown, repacked things for the skiing race, and left for work, I had a day off to enjoy with my mother. We decided to get a day pass train ticket and visit a city in Switzerland called Fribourg—a city I’ve never stopped at. Yes, I can’t just rest and do something; I’m always exploring. But I had to go in this direction anyway because I needed to go to Bern, so we combined everything.
My mother and I arrived in Freiburg and walked around the city. It’s built on multiple levels, and we walked down into the old town, where we crossed a bridge and walked by the river. The water was very high because of the recent snow, and some trees were already underwater. Afterwards, we went for lunch in an Italian restaurant.
Bern, Switzerland
After this visit, I headed to Bern, where my office is. There, we had an Xmas dinner with the team, and I tried to be able to join them. It’s always great to meet with co-workers, primarily since I rarely work in the office. Every year, we go to an excellent restaurant and enjoy the food. Afterwards, we continued to some bars to enjoy and talk.
Zurich, Switzerland (Music concert)
There was a concert in Switzerland’s biggest arena, the Hallenstadion in Zurich. A famous Swiss singer who plays kids’ songs was on an afternoon show. He became especially renowned for Christmas songs, and almost every child in Switzerland knows at least one of his songs. There, we did a live production for the show again.
Bern, Switzerland (TV Production)
Things got busy. I’m hopping from city to city to work at different concerts and shows. It’s a very different life from my usual remote work, and I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s exhausting and very long days. Completely different aspects are important. I’m grateful to be able to work in the area I’m passionate about when I’m back in Switzerland since this is almost impossible to combine with travelling and working remotely.
A famous show called “Das Zelt” was happening in the capital. Our job was to record one particular show by Helga Schneider, a Swiss comedian. We were there with a live production team and five cameras and did the recording, which later got fine-tuned and released on Swiss Television. It was an interesting production, and quite some preparation went into it. We set up our gear and did some testing for the live show with the audience.
Igis, Switzerland (Xmas with family)
After celebrating Xmas with the company in the form of a dinner, Xmas with the family was approaching on the 24th of December. We usually gather at my parents’ house. Grandmother, cousins, aunts and uncles are coming, and we enjoy a delicious dinner together. It’s one of the few occasions I see my entire family nowadays since I’m rarely in Switzerland. So I enjoyed it a lot.
Davos, Switzerland (Spengler Cup)
Every year again, except for 2020/2021, when it was cancelled because of the pandemic, there’s an ice hockey tournament. But the tournament is back. It’s the time of the year for ice hockey fans. The oldest international tournament in ice hockey is taking place in Davos. Six teams from five different countries are playing for the trophy.
Our production team went to the mountain village to prepare. We needed around a day to set up all the studios, offices, and gear for the event. There’s quite a big team of us in and around the stadium producing content for social media, feeding the big screen live in the stadium, and recording a podcast show with different well-known guests in the field.
After the final tournament on the 31st, which the home team won, it was time to pack our things in record time to return with the family for New Year. We’ve done it many times, so we’re experienced. We always try to be as efficient as possible and even think during setup how to minimize the time later.
My parents invited friends to a traditional Swiss dish at home – fondue. My best friend from Germany also joined. So it was a cosy evening talking and moving into the New Year with a glass of champagne or Rimus (a wine for kids, as I prefer).