Swiss Mix

Blue Angel - Rail City Zurich

I won't write much about Switzerland. Not because I didn't like it. Quite the contrary. It has left me rather speechless. Breathless really. How such a relatively small country can encompass such diversity of terrain and culture and language. Well, I wasn't fully prepared. I'd come with preconceptions. And Switzerland surpises.

So rather than describe Switzerland, I'm going to let it speak for itself through photographs. I'll give you a little background, but other than that, sit back and enjoy. If you are thinking about visiting Switzerland, I'll be happy to fill you in personally about the specifics of my journey, places to stay and eat and check out. Also, I must thank Alex Escher who pointed me in the right direction from the start, and is responsible for introducing me to many destinations I would have never otherwise found on my own.

*****

On Alex's advice, I went to Interlaken where you can watch paragliders descend from the mountains into the park in the middle of town. This field, actually, is home to a few grazing cattle who seem unpurturbed at strangers landing in their midst every few minutes.

I found that I love the sound of cowbells. You hear them everywhere. All the cows have them - and there are a lot of cows in Switzerland. Such a soothing sound - like wind chimes. I talked to a Swiss businessman on a train who told me he hates cowbells - and presumably the cows who wear them - as he made a little shotgun gesture and sound to reinforce his point. I guess if you had to listen to them all the time, it might get irritating, but for me its perfect relaxation. So, like the geek I am, I go into a music store in Luzern - a serious music store mind you - and ask for a cd of cowbell sounds. Which is embarrasing enough. But worse is that the guy I'm talking to speaks not a word of English, and I'm sorry, I just don't know the word for "cowbell" in German. In restrospect, I suppose I could have resorted to French, but I don't think of that at the time. So I ludicrously act out "cow" and "bell." All those evenings of charades in Debbie and NoJo's den pay off at last. And I am now the proud owner of a very soothing cd, including not only cowbells, but I believe a few sheepbells as well. Now that its safely on my ipod, feel free to borrow it anytime.

*****

View from Eismeer

From Interlaken, I bought a train ticket that would take me on one of Switzerland's most scenic journies - to the Jungfraujoch - billed as the "Top of Europe." And it is indeed the continent's highhest altitude railway station at 3,454 metres (11,333 feet). The route takes us first by cogwheel railway along an other-worldly landscape of glacier streams rushing over boulders to Kleine Scheidegg, at a mere 2,061 metres. From here we switch to the Jungfrau Railway which climbs to the station at Eigergletscher, which looks exactly as I'd always imagined Santa's North Pole. Another train switch, and now we are climbing through the Eiger tunnel (basically, the train is traveling inside the mountain) to the stations at Eigerwand and Eismeer, with a five minute stop at each to get out and take photographs through huge observation windows hewn from solid Alpine rock. When I finally reach the Jungfraujoch, I realize that on this day, at least, the "Top of Europe" is. smack in the middle of a cloud. When I walk out onto the glacier plateau, I can barely see my hand in front of my face, let alone the Black Forest many kilometers to the west. However, the Jungfraujoch offers other attractions, such as something called the Ice Palace, which I learn is a series of tunnels carved entirely from the glacier featuring elaborate ice sculptures. Apparantly, if I'd come a month earlier, it would have been the "summer," and I could have gotten a husky-drawn sledge ride.

*****

Glacier Blue
The water in this area of Switzerland is this amazing color I've come to think of as Glacier Blue or maybe Glacier Green - I'm not sure. But it is so extraordinary. It looks cold. And fresh. Hmmm. Makes me wonder why I don't hear more about Swiss vodka - especially these days when pure glacier water is all the rage in making premium vodka (e.g. Siku from Greenland, www.sikuvodka.com) . So I've gone online and guess what? There is a Swiss vodka made with - you guessed it - glacier water. It's called XELLENT (http://www.xellent.ch/). I think it's begging for a taste test, don't you?

*****

View of the Matterhorn from my room at Coeur des Alpes in Zermatt - a great way to start the day!

There is a small graveyard in Zermatt dedicated entirely to those who have lost their lives in the attempt to scale the nearby peaks such as Matterhorn. What I find most moving about this place is that many of the grave markers have inspriational sentiments presumably reflecting the outlook of the person buried there, such as the one in the photo to the left which simply reads "On Brethern. I Chose to Climb." So many ways you can interpret that. As an encouragement for his friends and family to get on with life. As an exhortation to make life an adventure.

Or the one below:

In pround and loving memory of Jonathan Henry Conville

born 2nd December 1952 who fell from the North Face of the Matterhorn on 29th December 1979

Let me go climb these virgin snows~Leave the dark stain of man behind~Let me adventure-and heaven knows~Grateful shall be my quiet mind.

*****

Locarno, on Lake Maggiore which is shared by Switzerland andItaly, is indescribably beautiful. The photo on the left is of the pilgrimage church of Madonna del Sasso, and I am glad that unlike the pilgrims, I had the funicular for the ride up, and only did the walk on the way down.