By Kim Gray
Our Swiss immersion begins when my husband and I board an Edelweiss aircraft in Calgary on a direct flight to Zurich.
The plane has a fresh, stylish feel with uniquely Swiss fare on the menu, including Quöllfrisch Appenzeller Bier, which we thoroughly enjoy after lifting off into a powder blue Alberta sky.
As we point towards Europe, I’m reminded of the words a Swiss dignitary shared at a gathering of travel journalists shortly before our departure.
Canada and Switzerland, Pascale Bornoz remarked, have much in common given our histories as global diplomats and strong trade partners.
Bornoz (Consul General of Switzerland in Western Canada at the time) noted that we each have French as one of our official languages, that our flags are red and white and that our countries are ranked among the highest in the world when it comes to quality of life.
He even ventured, rather endearingly, to say that you might consider our nations as “soul mates.”
I would add that both of our countries also offer endless possibilities for outdoor pursuits.
After a rollicking adventure spent cycling, hiking and canoeing in this small but impressive country, I‘d like to offer the following six reasons why Canadians — especially those of us who like to play when we travel — should put Switzerland on their radar.
1. Warm-hearted hospitality
Swiss people want visitors to enjoy the best of what their country has on offer.
We experience this warm-hearted hospitality throughout our time in Switzerland, especially when we tour Ticino’s Verzasca Valley on e-mountain bikes with BikePort Swiss cycling guide Stefano Bergamaschi.
With Stefano in the lead, we feel like kids again as we explore this southern region’s spectacular countryside — ripping up mountains, along trails, past stone houses, over bridges and into storied villages such as Brione and Sonogno, where we lunch outdoors and devour tasty, rurally inspired cheeses and cold cuts at Grotto Efra.
We even make a stop at the world’s most famous bungee jump, featured in the 1995 movie GoldenEye with Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. No leaping from the 220-metre-high Verzasca Dam for me, but definitely cool, if not dizzying, to see.
Stefano — knowledgeable, friendly and full of mischief — is a delight to spend time with. That’s him in our lead photo, sitting with his trusty bike against an old stone house, and then again just above, catching air in one shot and cooling off with my husband by a waterfall in another.
We highly recommend this young cycling guide to other Canadian travellers heading his way.
2. Fabulous food
If you like to chase adventures when you travel, then you’re going to be hungry, too; it’s a good thing that much of Swiss culture centres around its legendary food.
Based in Ticino for the first half of our visit, we stay at Locarno’s centrally located Garni Muralto hotel.
One evening, we dine at local restaurant Osteria Borghese, where I choose a fig and Castelmagno cheese ravioli as a main course and my husband enjoys chocolate quadrelli with sage, lemon slices and Parmesan “petals.”
Located alongside Italy’s northern border, Ticino is known as a region “where Swiss efficiency speaks Italian.” It’s one of 26 distinct states or “cantons” in Switzerland, with the country boasting four official languages: Romansh, French, German and Italian.
I grew up with an Italian grandmother and I’m reminded of her often in Ticino. Like my Nonna, its people are friendly, generous and joyful. They also love a good meal.
I know she would have savoured the delicately flavoured pasta with clams that we order at Ristorante della Carrà, an elegant restaurant located near Locarno in a charming lakeside town called Ascona.
3. Legendary landscapes
One of the highlights of our Swiss immersion involves taking the Ritcom funicular up to a path leading towards Ritcom Lake, the largest high alpine lake in Ticino. Its steep, stomach-churning gradient, reaching 87.8 per cent, makes for an exhilarating ride.
This scenery is reminiscent of the legendary Swiss landscapes I grew up hearing about and, yes, like so many young Canadian girls, reading about in the classic children’s novel Heidi. Written by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, it’s listed as one of the world’s best-selling books, with an estimated 50 million copies sold since its publication in 1880.
The mountain valleys at this elevation are vast and beautiful and the lakes are bluer than blue.
We stop often to feast on the views during this half-day excursion and are rewarded with a well-earned lunch featuring slabs of Piora cheese, prosciutto and yummy pastries — including Torta di albicocche or apricot cake — at the popular mountain hut Capanna Cadagno.
Dairy cows graze next to us along the trail as we start our journey back down the mountain. Charmed by the rhythmic chime of their handcrafted cowbells, we relish our encounters with these gentle giants.
4. Effortless travel
Switzerland is home to the most efficient transportation network on the planet, which makes navigating from one adventure to another within its borders a dream.
We first taste this world-famous efficiency with Edelweiss flying from Calgary to Zurich (landing right on time, of course) and the experience continues as we use our Swiss Travel Passes to move around the country.
Halfway through our trip, we travel effortlessly from Ticino to the canton of Lucerne, where we hop one train to Bellinzona and then a second train through the Swiss Alps before finishing with a picturesque boat trip across Lake Lucerne’s turquoise waters.
On another day, we catch an aerial cable car from Brunnen in the nearby canton of Schwyz up to Mount Rigi’s easternmost tip for a memorable lunch at Timpelweid.
To our surprise and delight, our guide, Aron Lötscher (seen above in the hat) pulls out a small accordion from his pack and plays a handful of spirited, heartfelt songs for us.
Eventually, we take the cogwheel railway to Rigi Kulm, from where we hike with local guide Josef Arnold to the mountain destination Rigi Kaltbad.
It’s a foggy day during our hike with Josef so instead of feasting on world-famous alpine views, we look down towards our feet and hunt for the rare Edelweiss flower.
This national symbol of Switzerland is otherwise known as Leontopodium alpinum or “Alpine Lion’s Tooth.” (You’ll see in the photo below that we are successful!)
We relax after our hike at Rigi Kaltbad Mineral Baths & Spa, designed by famous Swiss architect Mario Botta and constructed to allow for as much natural light as possible. “Bubble lounge chairs” embedded in the pool’s warm, inviting mineral waters leave an impression, as does the “naked” sauna.
Swiss Travel Passes, it’s worth mentioning, give holders free admission to more than 500 museums throughout the country. Featuring the history of mobility, the playful Swiss Museum of Transport is one of our favourites. Care to virtually climb the Matterhorn? We sure do.
5. Culture of excellence
One observation I make repeatedly during my visit to Switzerland is that its citizens embrace a culture of excellence.
It’s no coincidence that this is the birthplace of Suchard, one of the world’s most coveted chocolate brands. Or that the country is synonymous with internationally acclaimed luxury watches, including Rolex, Omega and TAG Heuer. Or that exceptional wares from other countries adorn the windows of Swiss shops, including Spain’s iconic Lladro figurines, shown above.
In the city of Lucerne, excellence goes beyond goods that can be purchased to an overall feeling. The very city, considered one of Switzerland’s prettiest, seems to offer itself to us on an exquisitely decorated platter, which makes being here a joy.
I experience this feeling one night at Art Deco Hotel Montana when I gaze out its expansive restaurant windows to the glittering city below.
I feel it while staying at Hotel Walstätterhof — which proves to be the perfect basecamp for a visit to the city’s famous Chapel Bridge, dating back to the 14th century — and when my husband and I explore Lucerne’s colourful, historic town.
And I’m reminded again of this sensation while dining riverside at Restaurant des Balances, which features on its menu everything from Irish lamb to Scottish salmon to Swiss beef filet served with, I’m excited to see, Canadian lobster.
6. Feels like home
As a Western Canadian, mountain culture has always been central to my life.
Given that the Swiss Alps cover 60 per cent of Switzerland, it’s not surprising that I feel at home here. Nor am I surprised to learn that the majority of Canadians who travel to Switzerland come from British Columbia and Alberta.
My husband and I are canoeists back home, so we seize the opportunity to go for a guided paddle on Lake Lucerne with Adventure Point. I crack a smile when I see the company advertising an ambitious “large Canadian canoe” experience that welcomes up to a dozen people in one boat.
But it’s not just the mountains and the impossibly turquoise, high-altitude lakes that feel familiar. It’s other curious things, too, like the Swiss cuckoo clocks for sale in store windows.
These delightful kitchen clocks were all the rage, to the delight of grandchildren everywhere I’m sure, during my grandparent’s era back in Canada. It’s comforting to see they still exist.
Wherever I turn in Switzerland, I recognize a brand that originates here — like Ricola cough drops and Gruyère cheese. How many Canadians own Swiss army knives, made by the Swiss company Victorinox? A lot, I’d venture.
We visit the Victorinox store in Brunnen, where we buy matching bride-and-groom-style Swiss army knives as a wedding gift for our first born niece and her husband-to-be. At a workshop downstairs, my husband assembles a personalized Swiss army knife of his own from scratch. Naturally, the first item he builds into it is a corkscrew.
When I return to Canada, I order a custom-made pocket knife from Victorinox for myself. It’s compact and white, featuring all of the brand’s classic accoutrements: tiny scissors, a toothpick, tweezers and a sharp knife that I use when I peel oranges.
Today, my Swiss army knife lives in a hand-stitched, smoked moose hide sheath that I commissioned in Calgary from Moonstone Creation.
I keep it tucked, ready for action, in the top pocket of my daypack. It’s a sweet, even soulful, reminder of my Switzerland adventure and a connection between two nations.
Note to reader: Our writer was a guest of Switzerland Tourism, which did not review or edit this story before publication.
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