Global Series postcard: Lausanne

The circus has come to Lausanne!

Circus Knie, the national circus of Switzerland, has set up its big top on the shores of Lake Geneva, and right across the street from the NHL hotel.
The circus is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, with shows at 33 different locations across the country.
The big show features clowns, animals and acrobats in a family friendly environment. No photography is allowed during the show, but one of the highlights was Constantin Ciobotaru and Dan-Florin Tazlauanu, each from Romania, lifting each other in what the circus calls hand-to-hand acrobatics. I was able to snap a quick picture of them rehearsing and it was impressive.

There's also a zoo with more than 80 animals for people to interact with, where a long line of kids waited for pony rides, and just as many checked out the horses in their stables. Others took time to meet the alpacas, and there also were pigs, goats, camels and birds to see.
They even had a bull, who was calm enough that children were able to get close without any issues.
Four brothers, Friedrich, Rudolf, Karl and Eugen Knie, began with an open-air tightrope and artistic company in 1803, and then in 1919 the family formed the circus. Now the sixth, seventh and eighth generation of the Knie family work in front of and behind the scenes running the family business.
And that business has brought them to Lausanne through Oct. 9.