Switzerland; water in all its forms

saarisweg
May 23, 2015
2 min read

It's for a good reason that this is called the land of water: rain, snow, glaciers, lakes, fog, waterfalls, Switzerland has it all. All the other cliches, about chocolate, everything that runs on time, four languages to confuse you and idylic Alpine meadows, are true too. And it's damn expensive!

Wether visiting in summer or winter, all year round this country offers great outdoor posibilities; hiking, biking, climbing, rafting, skiing, paragliding and much more. And the beauty of it is that because of the extreme amount of variety, you can start without being some pro-mountaineer.

On top of that are cities with numerous cultural centres: there is no other country with as many museums per head of the population as Switzerland. The Swiss are good with design, architecture and fashion too, is there anything these people can't do?

So why don't we see a lot of travelers there or all pack our stuff and move there right away? The thing is, everything really is expensive, there are a lot of rules concerning living and work, there's no beach and the people are nice but a bit hard to get to know. Still definitely worth it to go and see for yourself!

Information on Switzerland:

Official name: Swiss Confederation

Capital: Bern

Language: French, German, Italian, Romansch

Currency: Swiss Franc

Time zone: UTC +1 (or +2, depending on summer/winter-time)

Top things to see and do in Switzerland:

Matterhorn Epitome of skiing in the world, this mountain is wonderful all year round. And you will finally recognize the logo of your delicious Toblerone bar.
Creux du Van This round valley-head was formed by a glacier and is about 1400 meters wide and 150 deep. It's absolutely stunning, and did I mention the wild goats?
Jungfraujoch To be fair, I've never been all the way up there myself because I think it's ridiculously expensive. But take the train from Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen up to Kleine Scheidegg and walk around the base of the Eiger North Face when you get a chance!
Chateau de Chillon A real castle from the picturebooks, this medieval fort offers great views of the lake, a dark prison basement, tons of weapons and 700-year-old toilets.
Saltmines of Bex These 230 year old saltmines are interesting and teach you stuff about salt you'd never even wondered about. The audio-tour is great and I loved the little train ride through the tunnel.
Lucerne A city that has it all: city life, a lake and mountains. Considered one of the world’s prettiest cities and most famous for its 14th century Chapel Bridge and Water Tower, said to be the most photographed monument in the country.
Go sledging If you're there in winter, please go sledging, you won't regret it! I know it sounds a bit crazy and childish, but there are so many sledge-runs that require you to plow through meters of snow between frozen lakes and high summits for hours first and they are obviously the best.