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Diplomats know a good thing when they spot it. That’s why so many international organizations choose Switzerland as their headquarters.
The World Health Organization, the Red Cross, the International Olympic Committee, and a cornucopia of United Nations outfits are based in this landlocked country in the heart of Europe.
You can’t blame them. Switzerland is simply gorgeous. It is stable, rich, welcoming and provides a treasure trove of memorable sites. As we don’t all have diplomatic expense accounts, the country can be a tad expensive. But it’s worth the splurge.
Considering its size – you could fit 15 Switzerlands into Alberta and still have space to spare – the variety is remarkable. So, choosing which part of the country to visit isn’t easy.But experiencing the charm of Bern, its fairytale capital, before taking advantage of the ever-efficient Swiss rail system for a one-hour journey to Interlaken with its surrounding alpine beauty, takes some beating.
One of the smartest men who ever lived chose Bern as his home when developing theories that revolutionized our understanding of time and space and thus changed our world. Today, you can peek inside the small house where Albert Einstein lived and then enjoy a wonderful exhibit exploring his life and times that is a permanent and integral part of the larger Bern Historical Museum.
Another of the city’s famous sons, painter Paul Klee who merged expressionism and surrealism with almost childlike glee, is celebrated in a magnificent museum at the edge of the city, the Zentrum Paul Klee. It carries a huge stock of memorabilia of the painter’s life along with his works, so displays constantly change. He’s buried nearby, so ardent fans can also pay their respects.
Bern is remarkably charming for a capital city, helped by a population well below the half-million mark. Its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with quaint alleyways, gilded statuettes, covered walkways (perfect for sheltering during the occasional downpour) and, famously of all, the remarkable Zytglogge (clock tower). Every hour crowds gather to gape at the ancient figurines twirling and circling the clock face as the time is announced in dramatic fashion.
Take a tour inside and understand the remarkable feat of engineering that fashioned this massive 13th-century timepiece that’s still tended daily by local volunteers – including one of Bern’s prominent lawyers – to keep it in pristine working order. In a world in which our latest gadget often lasts less than 12 months, it’s a reminder that things were once built to last hundreds of years and still keep on ticking. (By now you’ll gather the Swiss have a certain affinity with time; whether ancient clock towers, theories of relativity or Patek Philippe watches.)
But before leaving this wonderful city, one with a youthful exuberance to balance its storied history, it’s almost obligatory to visit the bears that are connected to Bern’s coat of arms.
Legend suggests a bear was the first animal hunted by the city’s founder, therefore giving the place its name (Bern being the Germanic origin of bear). Today, Bern’s bears aren’t hunted but pampered in a comfortable enclosure that draws visitors and locals alike.
Saying bye-bye to the bruins, we boarded the train to Interlaken.
Here the glories of the Alps dominate the skyline. The vistas have drawn tourists for centuries and these days are augmented by a culture that promotes thrill-seeking at its finest.
Checking into the recently refurbished Hotel Interlaken, with views of that holy trinity of alpine mountains – the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau – visible from our room, there was enough time just to drop cases and head out for a tour of Lake Brienz, one of the two lakes the town bisects: hence its name.
This is heaven. Even with the clouds hanging low as we sailed towards the picture-perfect town that gives Lake Brienz its name, there endures a singular majesty in being surrounded by such towering peaks. Wonder where J.R.R. Tolkien found inspiration for Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings? It was these misty mountains that provided the catalyst for him on a 1911 visit.
But the lake journey was simply an appetizer.
The next day we boarded one of the world’s most famous trains, a cog-wheeled locomotive that took us ever-skyward for an hour, finally stopping at Schynige Platte, the mountain terminus that’s the stepping-off point for a variety of wonderful alpine hikes, all relentlessly framed against the backdrop of those famous, snow-capped trio of mountains.
There are a variety of trails for every fitness level, but if wandering among alpine flowers is more appealing and you subsequently wonder if edelweiss would grow in Calgary’s climate – I’ll let you know next spring – there’s a botanical garden that, at 2,000 metres above sea level, manages to stretch green-thumbed incredulity.
If hiking at such altitude isn’t a kick enough, Interlaken provides a multitude of adrenaline-inspiring activities: abseiling waterfalls, taming white water rapids or hang-gliding over the town itself.
This is indeed the gateway to adventure, contemplation and subsequent reflection. It was a shame to leave. But that, too, can be said of this beautiful country at the beating heart of Europe.
