To hike the mighty Matterhorn,
and sip sweet mountain wine.
To savor Swiss chocolate,
from the heavenly to sublime.
To meet a Saint Bernard;
brave dog of the “einschneien”.
To see where little “Heidi”
and her grandfather lived and pined.
To take the glacier train and cable car,
for the thrills and chills of an alpine climb.
To hear the boisterous singing and music;
alphorn, accordion and the yodeling kind…
Yes, that’s definitely what I want to do,
when I visit Happy Switzerland next June.
-p.o.martig
*In my extensive post entitled Venice: Precious Jewel of the Lagoon, I mentioned that I was going to visit Venice and Switzerland next summer. My husband’s grandfather was born in Switzerland and the table conversation at many a Martig’s fireside. Apparently there is even a town at the base of the Alps call Martig’ny. So I get to enjoy Venice while John gets to touch ancestral ground in Switzerland. Happy two-some, happy vacation.
Land of Many Tongues, Heart of One
Interesting Facts About Switzerland (1)
1. Landlocked, with a population of 8 million, Switzerland is surrounded by five countries; Italy to the south, Germany to the north, France to the west, Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. It is a politically but armed neutral country. Swiss citizens have a centuries old right to bear arms. It is a very strong and practiced tradition within the confederacy. There are over 500,000 Sig 550 rifles in Swiss households and the primary reason Switzerland can experience one of the lowest crime rates in the world: the Swiss army is its citizens.
2. Switzerland has no capital, (although Bern is the seat of its federal authorities and considered a defacto). Instead, the Swiss Confederation (German, Italian, French and Romansh) is a federal parliamentary republic made up from 26 cantons.
3. Although Switzerland has 4 main languages within its federation: Italian, German, French and Romansh; Romansh was coined its official language in 1990.
4. Switzerland, though not unified through its ethnicity or language, has a strong sense of identity and community found in its historical background and alpine symbolism.
5. Switzerland has the highest nominal wealth per adult (financial and non-financial assets) in the world according to Credit Suisse.
6. Switzerland has the 2nd highest life expectancy, with Zürich and Geneva each ranked as top cities in quality of life.
7. Just recently, Switzerland has been honored as the world’s happiest country.
8. Jean Henri Dunant (8 May 1828 – 30 October 1910), also known as Henry Dunant, was a Swiss businessman and social activist. His book, A Memory of Solferino inspired the creation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863. The 1864 Geneva Convention was based on Dunant’s ideas. In 1901 he received the first Nobel Peace Prize together with Frédéric Passy, making Dunant the first Swiss Nobel laureate. The Swiss flag is a distinctive white cross with red backing, just the opposite of the Red Cross Flag and emblem which is the same cross but red with a white background.
9. The lovely children’s book “Heidi”, a story about a little girl raised in the Alps by her Grandfather, was written by Swiss author Johanna Spyre in 1880 and is recognized as the most popular children’s books ever written and best known book of Swiss literature. Heidi is so symbolic to Switzerland that a stamp was designed after her in 1951, and her image was placed on a 20 CHF commemorable coin in 2002.
10. The Alphorn, a wooden, trumpet-like musical instrument is yet another alpine symbol. It’s origins were designed, like that of church bells, as a signal in Medieval times. The Alphorn evolved into an iconic folk symbol and tourist attraction along with that of Swiss yodeling and accordion music.
11. The World-wide Web was conceived at the prestigious Cern research lab in Switzerland by Sir Tim Berner-Lee, an independent English contractor, in 1989.
12. The great metropolitan area of Zürich, has approximately 1.5 million residents and 150,000 companies. It is by far one of the most important and influential centers in the world.
13. Switzerland is also known for its durable but expensive watches. The Omega Speedmaster was the official watch of the astronauts during the Apollo missions. Switzerland produces nearly 50% of the world’s watches.
14. The Swiss were famous mercenaries for hundreds of years and were lauded for their unbridled discipline and loyalty. Swiss troops were considered the most powerful force in the 15th century and coveted guards at Foreign European Courts. Today they are primarily used as Pontifical protection units at the Vatican in Rome. Swiss Guards are staunch and unfriendly (they never crack a smile) but are truly impressive.
**There you have it. A speed course on the proud and magnificent country of Switzerland. Now for a quick synopsis of its beautiful countryside and the sights I will be exploring during my vacation of a life-time.
St Moritz
After our week’s sojourn in Venice we will be flying to heavenly St. Moritz to”gawk” for a day then catch the Glazier Express which will take us through some of the most picturesque landscape in the world on its way to Zermatt where we will be staying for the duration of our vacation.
The Matterhorn
The awe-inspiring Matterhorn is split between two countries; Italy and Switzerland. Since we will be visiting both countries we decided to approach the mountain from the Switzerland side.
Zermatt
John and I will be staying in the city of Zermatt , the German-speaking canton of Valais. Zermatt is widely acclaimed to be one of the best and arguably the prettiest ski resorts in Europe. It is also regarded as the mountain restaurant capital of the world, espousing 160 fine restaurants in the village and surrounding sloops. While skiing in Zermatt is possible every day of the year, it is also a great hiking destination in the summer and John’s dream experience. Our accommodation for 4 days and 3 nights will be at the Hotel Matterhorn Focus, a lovely 5- star stunner, just an electric bus ride away from our destination. (No cars in this beautiful city.) From there will be going on a guided hiking experience and a ride on the highest cableway in Europe to visit the Matterhorn glacier paradise.
Wow, I just can’t imagine I’d be doing this and pray it will come to fruition with no hitches!
(1) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland
(2) all videos are from YouTube (aren’t they grand!)
(3) all photos are from Google images (stupendous!)
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