The Fifth Switzerland puzzle: 1/800 000
Puzzle
- Puzzle
Family Thiessen, Slovakia
02.10.2026
The “Fifth Switzerland” is a colourful, varied and multilingual puzzle with well over 800,000 pieces. Today’s puzzle piece ...
… Elisabeth and Ansgar Thiessen, and their young boys Theodor, Frederik and Julius. The Theissen family have been living in Slovakia since August 2025.
In which location or country would you say, ‘This is our home’?
We have already lived in many countries around the world – with and without family. We always seem to travel to new countries on holiday too. This is why it is hard to pinpoint one specific place called “home”. But we can say without a doubt that family is home. It doesn’t matter where we are, family is always the “place” that feels right. Where we support and understand each other – and spend our time together, regardless of the location.
Is everyday life with your family multilingual?
Yes, it certainly is. We talk in dialect and in English when we are together. The boys attend the German international school in Bratislava, where they speak standard German as well as Slovak. And when we are on holiday, we always make a point of saying a few things in whatever the local language is.
Do you maintain contact with people in Switzerland through your work?
We both work for Swiss-based companies, so we are very much in touch with Switzerland. In Slovakia, we are also involved in the Swiss-Slovak Chamber of Commerce and are in regular touch with the Swiss embassy. We see ourselves as guests in Slovakia and want to reciprocate the hospitality and work collaboratively.
Your favourite memory of Switzerland …
… are summers spent in the mountains or near water. We actually always spent our summers in Switzerland: hiking from one Swiss Alpine Club hut to another, or swimming in Lake Zurich. When recalling nice moments, they are the ones we think of first.
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