Transhelvetica
Transhelvetica is an independent Swiss travel and culture magazine, published bimonthly out of Zurich since 2010, known for its distinctive design (it won a Red Dot Design Award in 2012) and for exploring Switzerland's lesser-known corners rather than the postcard version.
Every two months, they publish an issue, exploring one specific topic in Switzerland. In June 2026, “Duft” (Scent) was the title, and I had the opportunity to cover four stories.
The issue covered how a Swiss summer day smells and the memories that come with it: garden scents in the morning, sunscreen, fries by the lake, barbecue, summer storms…
the topics I covered in images:
→ Matthias Erb's research on “green leaf volatiles” (GLVs) at the University of Bern. Think of the smell of freshly cut grass (learned so much on this visit).
→Thomas de Monaco bottling everyday scents into perfume: rain on asphalt, salty sea... nostalgia in a bottle. My favourite: Sol Salgado.
→ A visit to Stefan Wiesner, “Der Hexer aus dem Entlebuch”, at his restaurant Mysterion, where everything is made in-house by the team, cooked over fire. For me, food is the most multidisciplinary art form. More on this soon ;)
→ A morning at the botanical garden, with a long exchange with the gardener, documenting storms, and a swim at Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen in non-swimming temperatures were part of the experience too.
The challenge: documenting summer while Zurich was still cold (with snow still visible in early May) - but I think we did manage to bring the warm mood to the paper.
An incredibly enriching experience - a huge thank you to the Transhelvetica team and everyone in front of the camera for the trust and enriching conversations along the way 🙏
Find the magazine online or in stores across Switzerland 🫶
