SWITZERLAND, Final Thoughts

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I love mountains but had never seen the Alps. It was most likely my last major range to see … I have been fortunate to have visited the Andes, the Himalayas, and my home country’s Rockies and Sierras. Earlier this year, I visited Mount Fuji. AND I had made it to the outskirts of the Alps at Salzburg, Austria. So My elder cub finally put this trip together for she and me. Younger cub then said “ a father – daughter trip … I’m in “ And my wife then saw the imbalance in sending three and announced her joining. So our first immediate family trip in decades was planned.

We all had a great time, and the cubs reconnected during the trip. It was great having them here and I consider myself incredibly fortunate that they still like to spend time with us !!

In terms of general comments, I have to start with the opportunity to actually see the Matterhorn. This is no doubt the most famous mountain silhouette in the world and I grew up with it at Disneyland. And it did not disappoint. Neither did the Swiss ventures that built gondolas, trams, and railroads up their mountains to bring the sights so much closer. There is no way to convey the awe and admiration for these incredible structures, especially the cog railways. I constantly marveled at the results and still can not totally grasp the efforts needed to complete them. In my country I grew up hearing stories about our Irish and Chinese immigrants who built our transcontinental railroads with significant loss of lives !! These project seem well beyond the scope of what was completed in the USA.

Which makes me wonder why they did it. In part it was to utilize the high mountains into their way of life. It is a part of Swiss life that the cows venture up into the high meadows during the summer. There had to be a way to get the milk, cheese, and people up and down the mountains. Which leads me back to my guide telling us that “ it isn’t really a Swiss mountain unless there is a tram to the top.”

AND the Swiss are an interesting people of nationality and neutrality. For example, during WWII Swiss neutrality played a vital role in the way the war played out. People fled to the safety that Switzerland provided as illustrated in The Sound Of Music. Yet the Swiss never really trusted the Germans … their mountain tunnels and transportation systems allowed them to shelter the population safely in bunkers and fight the enemy from their fortified bunkers. thankfully this wasn’t needed and now the tunnels and transportation can whisk me to the views at the summits.

Which leads me back to actually seeing the Matterhorn !! The Alps are an impressive mountain range that was carved out by glaciers. Many of the mountains are craggy and sharp, like pieces have been shorn off. Which makes them even more impressive to gaze at. The trains, roads, and rivers tend to travel in narrow passages that often seem to go up box canyons. The mountain trains and trams then take you to the tops of the canyons.

Let me wind down by talking about the things Switzerland does well. First, as seen by two of the pictures above, their water is spectacular. Whether it is in lakes or tap water, Swiss water is glacier fed or snow melt. This was a railroad – based travel trip, but the time we spent cruising lakes was every bit as good. AND I’ll admit that the restaurant water in bottles could have been right out of the tap without losing anything except the charge !!

Anything DAIRY in Switzerland is terrific. Their cheeses are world class, the butter is great, and their “DoubleCream” is downright deadly. They serve it with hot chocolate or ice cream and it is richer than the chocolate sauce.

The Swiss know what they are doing with chocolate. The Lindt Company has a Chocolate Museum in Zurich that explains the whole process and provides samples for tasting. But there are many individuals and companies that make their own. It is hard to go anywhere in Switzerland without running into a chocolate shop.

And almost as common in Switzerland are stores to buy upscale watches. I didn’t personally check this out, but it seemed that almost all these watch makers have multiple dials on their faces. It’s not enough to tell the time … you have to have a stopwatch, a face for the time somewhere else, and some other function. The skil to coordinate all these functions makes these watches stand out.

If you are into sausage, you’ve come to the right country. I had a sausage sampler one night. Seven varieties on a skewer to compare. I felt my arteries hardening as I sampled, but what a way to go !!

And finally, the technology of their transportation systems is amazing. Switzerland has the most concentrated system of trains in the world. I really don’t know if you need a car here with their mass transportation systems. And everything always runs on time.

a couple more pictures to end. Hopefully I can return soon!!