Stalls for Rent at Durondeau Dressage in Peer, Belgium Exceptionally Well Located Equestrian Facility in Wellington, Florida Well-built Equestrian Estate With Multiple Business Opportunities in Sweden Stable Units for Rent at Lotje Schoots' Equestrian Center in Houten (NED) For Rent: Several Apartments and Stable Wing at High-End Equestrian Facility Stable Wing Available at Reiterhof Wensing on Dutch/German border Real Estate: Well-Appointed Country House with Extensive Equestrian Facility in the U.K. Rémi Blot Receive our weekly Newsletterand set tailored daily news alerts Clothing/​Footwear, Sustainable Switzerland is to have its first automated recycling centre for used clothing in 2026 to be located in St Margrethen and building on the collaboration between textile collector Tell-Tex and Säntis Textiles the developer of proprietary RCO100 mechanical fibre recycling technology clothing collected by Tell-Tex was sold to certified sorting centres in Europe but this is due to stop from 2026 goods will be sorted fully automatically by material and colour on an industrial scale and then mechanically recycled “The new textile recycling centre is the first facility of its kind on an industrial scale in Switzerland,” said Ercüment Yildirim Tell-Tex currently collects around 20,000 tons of clothing each year representing almost a third of the used clothing collected in Switzerland Around 40% of the textiles collected – almost 8,000 tons – are processed into wipes Tell-Tex is investing Sfr 40 million but is well aware the used clothing trade is no longer as lucrative as it used to be and prices for collected textiles have fallen sharply Turning the waste into secondary materials is seen as the route to profitably keeping materials in a circular economy and the company also envisages increased business in the sorting of materials from institutions such as hospitals and hotels www.tell-tex.com First customer for Airborne’s Automated Kitting solution “I think my dream was (my) whole life to go to United States but (for a) long time I think it’s impossible,” said the Swiss emigrant sitting in his home between Oplin and Lawn located just over the Callahan County line “I found Texas is the right place for me,” he said starting his own company when he was 25 years old He became also deeply involved in politics dreams he now shares with travelers from all around the world who stay either at his ranch property or at a separate home in Potosi to have an authentic “Texas experience,” as Kriftner puts it whether using the property as a jumping-off place for further travel while a select few learn a foreign language – English – with a local instructor the nephew of Kriftner’s fiancée came for lessons and now is touring the United States Adolph caught the eye of former Abilene mayor Norm Archibald and in late June was given an honorary Abilene citizenship at a City Council meeting People  from all over – Switzerland Ireland and even the United States – come to stay at his properties still lives in Switzerland and helps travelers wanting to visit from that end She plans to move to America as soon as it’s feasible – hopefully next summer "I have three girls to grow in Switzerland," she said Many of Kriftner's guests have dreams or passions such as hot air ballooning or driving an American truck that particular adventurer wanting to see how different truck driving is here versus in Switzerland Another Swiss traveler had relatives that long ago came to Texas and worked at the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner He found Thurnheer and Kriftner on the Web and stayed here for a time “The first idea was that people learn the life you have a lot of rodeo and all kinds (of things),” he said Kriftner said that he’s developed a love for the people and history of the Lone Star State the history of Texas is also very important,” he said “All these famous persons from (the) Alamo and Sam Houston.” And Kriftner also felt a tie to the rugged sense of individualism he found here something he also wants to share with his guests the most important (thing about) Texas is the freedom,” he said “… I hope Texas never changes.” Kriftner felt inside that he was missing something  “When I was about 48 years old I think: It’s the last moment you can change your life,” he said “And that was the moment I think I look(ed) for (a) green card.” And then my youngest daughter was 16 — I have three daughters was in high school, two years in Cisco College and now she is in the Air Force in Little Rock going back to Switzerland from time to time He officially emigrated to the United States in 2009 An online story from the publication Tagblatt in 2008 talks about his then-wife and his family’s plans to move to Abilene The article marvels that during a recent trip overseas it took Kriftner “three hours of lawn moving” to spruce things up around his Texas digs.  and he had some detailed notions of where he wanted to eventually settle But it took some process of elimination to determine the Abilene area as his ideal He wanted a home within a decent distance of an international airport But East Texas had "too many hurricanes," he declared drawing a circle with a 200-mile radius around that city “It’s not the same when you’re living in town When you grow up in Switzerland (everything) is very small And here I have hope for the opposite.” brings people here to stay either in his Potosi house or on his ranch having “two lives,” one in Switzerland something he wants his guests to experience beyond simply their time here Kriftner was a member of parliament in the canton serving an area of around 1.5 million people he estimated Kriftner  also for 10 years was the head of a political party in the region “I was my whole life in politics,” he said So he has had a detailed look at the ins and outs of Swiss life and policy and he likes what he has found here much better Switzerland is “the most expensive land in the world,” he said “That’s the truth,” he said “You can earn a lot of money in Switzerland The system of taxes in America is much easier than in Switzerland “They say we have the deepest taxes all over Europe in Switzerland,” she said and with their mutual interest in politics it was something neither was happy about “You have no freedom in Switzerland,” Kriftner said “You have so many people in (a) small place That includes everything from when you can work with a lawnmower to prohibitions on when you can shop Thurnheer said it’s interesting to see how the Swiss people might solve a problem and how the U.S. might solve a similar dilemma “Sometimes the Swiss way maybe is the better (way) and sometimes the US way is the better (way),” she said “And we can pick the best of it because we know both You can learn a lot if you see both kinds of life.” but said that he’s firmly in Texas’ camp “I never saw in Switzerland the big freedom like in Texas,” he said Kriftner admits he never formally learned English something that perpetuates both in the business he and Thurnheer run and in a long legacy Kriftner left behind in his home country One of his passions was making sure kids in Switzerland had a chance to learn English earlier on "The best success in my career in politics," he said.  “They learned maybe from the seventh grade on up," Thurnheer said "They start now in third grade with English because of him.” Travelers who have specifically come to Abilene learn English is are not many but one of Thurnheer’s daughters, for example taking an intensive course in English while she was here “For a lot of education in Switzerland or Europe it’s needed to pass these tests,” Thurnheer said “And most of the people go to Great Britain to learn or Ireland or Canada.” The first to seek instruction was a family of six that stayed with Kriftner two years ago “They wanted to stay for nearly half a year and all eventually decided they wanted to learn English while here though he already has some background in the language “I really enjoy it,” said Haught said of getting the chance to share English with the visitors “They come here hungry to learn.” Retired from the Abilene Independent School District Haught said she can individualize lessons for each student “They’re bright students and they learn quickly,” she said with additional satisfaction coming from helping them learn a valuable skill that will carry them through their professional lives he’d learned to memorize certain things Part of his business in Switzerland involved importing car parts from the United States from a company in Pennsylvania “I had learned the words not to talk but the words for the parts,” he said But my connection to the United States in this time was the fax machine.” though he still had many problems understanding exactly what they were saying So he worked for a short time in a small company in Tuscola and make some connections “to the people He went from designing and building machinery for the chemical industry and being his own boss to taking orders and cleaning windows “But for me for the importance for me was to talk with the people,” he said he’s looking forward to running cattle on his land soon – currently he leases it out – and spending some time rebuilding old tractors another passion even when he lived in Switzerland he financed with this hobby," Thurnheer said "I like to work with my hands," Kriftner said Kriftner is now looking forward to a profound next step in his journey it’s more important than the Swiss Pass." he wants to continue to bask in the joy he feels from his new home “I can see the history of Texas in this soul has implemented a ban on sales of meat and dairy with higher levels of PFAS than the maximum permitted limit after finding excessive amounts in these products from five farms PFAS (or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of 15,000 ‘forever chemicals’ – named so as they don’t naturally break down and are proven to accumulate in our bodies – that are used to make water- These chemicals are linked to serious health issues the federal government in February set limits on maximum PFAS levels in certain food products the canton of St Gallen has found dangerously high amounts of PFAS in animal products from the northeast part of the canton it has introduced a ban on products from these areas high levels of PFAS contamination on farmland and water were discovered three years ago the St Galle government found that the contamination expanded to other areas too The canton found “elevated or excessive” levels of PFOS – a harmful PFAS chemical – in meat and milk from some cows and cattle grazing in farms with contaminated areas The local government suggests that the cause could be the use of sewage sludge from PFAS-contaminated wastewater treatment plants which was allowed to be spread on agricultural land as fertiliser until 2006 According to federal regulations, the maximum amount of PFOS allowed in groundwater is 0.3 micrograms per kg But tests of meat samples from the five farms showed levels between two and 12 micrograms per kg – up to 40 times higher than the legal threshold St Gallen says the affected farms and companies can only sell their meat and milk for human consumption once the PFAS levels in the animals are reduced to the maximum permitted limit It will ensure compliance via on-site inspections and laboratory analyses The canton also adds that companies aren’t allowed to shift and remove soil or excavated material from the contaminated land without permission St Gallen is offering bridging loans to farms it recommends these farms grow food and feed the animals from the municipality’s drinking water They should also be grazed on uncontaminated land if possible The canton is now in contact with Agroscope since farms across Switzerland will likely be affected by some form of PFAS contamination it is calling on the national government to implement a national action plan to tackle the country’s growing PFAS problem While there are maximum limits for certain foods there’s no such threshold for meat and dairy products St Gallen’s response to PFAS contamination comes amid reduced animal consumption in Switzerland, with 58% of its citizens consciously avoiding meat, dairy and eggs several times a month, as per a 2,221-person survey in January The trend is driven by the so-called ‘substitarians’ – omnivores who eat plant-based meat seafood and dairy – who make up 56% of the population While climate change is the key driver, health is third-highest on the list of motivations. For over-45s, though, the latter is the main reason for eating more plant-based meat and dairy analogues. Diet is a major source of PFAS, and research has found that vegans may have lower levels of these chemicals than omnivores Founded by serial entrepreneur Sonalie Figueiras in 2011 Green Queen is a multi-channel digital news platform and a trusted global impact media brand Our award-winning reporting reaches millions of readers globally Green Queen is the world’s leading food and climate media with a focus on future food innovation and food system decarbonization one of the most important consumer products and investment opportunities of our time Our coverage includes breaking news and product launches and exclusive interviews with entrepreneurs and key ecosystem players from every continent Green Queen is an editorially-driven media publication Over 98% of our content is editorial and independent Paid posts are clearly marked as such: look for 'This is a Green Queen Partner Post' at the bottom of the page This is a premium article and requires an active subscription You will need your print Customer ID ready to set up an account you'll find this on your welcome email and cover sheet delivered with each print magazine Register now Key Publishing Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with Company Number 2713662 Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Switzerland Switzerland hasn't been engaged in a military conflict for over 150 years but hidden beneath the country's surface is a vast network of military bunkers and fallout shelters that exist to protect the Swiss people from potential onset of war and nuclear devastation Many of these were built during the Cold War when the threat of nuclear bombs seemed very real indeed Although the exact number of military bunkers isn't known a common estimate is that there are around 20,000 bunkers dotted around Switzerland There are also more than 300,000 private and public fallout shelters around the country All of which means that Switzerland would appear to have some potential protection for its citizens if nuclear conflict did occur although it's not known just how effective these shelters – some built many decades ago – would be against modern-day threats But that doesn't stop us from taking a look into some of these mysterious spaces, thanks to a photographer calling himself Kecko, who's chronicled some of the most interesting bunkers and shelters in Switzerland. Here are a few of our favourites. It's a different set up for civilian shelters, as nearly 400 people were expected to live in these underground communities should the worst happen. Built in 1983, this lounge and dining room area would have to feed the survivors for many years.Swiss Civil Defense Bunker, Berneck8. Better pray nobody snores...The dormitories for civilians do look a bit more inviting than the military's sleeping quarters. Switzerland's obsession with fallout shelters stems from the cold war and the looming threat of nuclear war. After the Cuban missile crisis, the country passed the first laws for the creation of fallout shelters in 1963. This may look like a giant "Thunderbirds" type camouflaged doorway, but this is actually part of the bunker's ventilation system. Although the size and extent of this bunker facility has not been revealed, many bunker tours still pass through here to marvel at Switzerland's feats of engineering and ingenuity.Gasterntal ©KeckoFrom deep below the mountain's belly to its highest summits, the Swiss are able to built fortifications at any altitude. This structure is an a decommissioned artillery bunker at fort Fuchsegg.Furka Pass16. Bunkers are everywherePerhaps Switzerland's greatest strength doesn't come from having a huge army or arms, but the psychological effect on any potential invaders to doubt every rock, cave or mountain top as positions for Swiss military. This entire mountain top is under the control of the Swiss army as a secret bunker complex, serviceable by cable cars.Oberalppass, Uri The world's steepest funicular railway' is located in the Alpine resort of Stoos. PARTNER CONTENT Get more great tips on Switzerland with the  UBS Moving to Switzerland Guide Thanks for subscribing! 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