There is a reason why the Swiss excel at digging tunnels: they have been doing it for a very long time. In 1680, tunnels were dug into the Vaud Alps near Bex to get at salt buried there more than 200 million years earlier. According to legend, a young shepherd noticed his goats preferred to […]
Chaplin’s World – enter the home and life of a comic genius
Film legend Charlie Chaplin spent 24 years living in the Manoir de Ban, a grand old mansion above Vevey in Switzerland. In 2016, his charming former home and grounds were cleverly and artfully transformed into Chaplin’s World and opened to the public. Wandering through the rooms of the mansion it is easy to imagine you’ve been […]
Geneva to Zurich for half the price of a Swiss train
Switzerland’s transport authority (OFT) recently gave Domo Swiss Express SA, a Zurich-based bus company, a green light to run three routes across Switzerland. The first will run from Zurich to Lugano, via Basel and Luzern, the second from St. Gallen to Geneva airport, via Zurich and Bienne, and the third from Chur to Sion, via […]
CERN tours – go on, expand your universe
Would you like to take a tour of the universe, and also get a glimpse of the smallest subatomic particles currently known to humankind? At CERN, the world’s largest scientific research complex, physicists and engineers from 80 countries send protons racing around a 27-km. race track at nearly the speed of light, then smash them […]
The Rhaetian Railway – probably Switzerland’s best train journey
Rounding another curve on the Bernina Express, sometimes we glimpse something – an ancient stone hut, a cliff naturally carved with a quizzical face, a shimmering snow-covered village – then wonder later if it was really there. Sitting comfortably in our train car with panoramic windows is a little like being on a slow-motion toboggan, […]
FILM: OTTO BLOOM – a man whose life runs in reverse
12 January 2018. THE DEATH AND LIFE OF OTTO BLOOM **** Australia has a fine culture of exceptional films. As in this fascinating tale of a dazed young man found by the police and brought to a clinic. His strange story – that of a man who goes through time in reverse, from the future […]
The nations most in love with Zermatt
Brought to you by Matterhorn Chalets. Not surprisingly, Zermatt is most loved by the Swiss who flock there in large numbers in both winter (113k) and summer (116k). Who ranks next depends on the season. Zermatt is a true year-round resort. In 2016, 42% of the 487k annual visitors came from May to October, the […]
Zermatt accessible again
According to the company Mattherhorn Gotthard Bahn the first trains connecting Zermatt with Täsch started running this afternoon at 17:15 after two days of closure. Trains from Täsch to Visp are expected to open tomorrow. Until then a replacement bus service will operate. Road access to the Saas valley has also been restored. The Gornergrat […]
5 tips for winter fun in Switzerland’s capital
Longer winter nights mean bright lights and festive gatherings. Our supposedly quiet little capital city in Switzerland is no place to hibernate. Mulled Wine The heart-warming elixir for cold outdoor Holiday shopping is mulled wine, that hot mess of steaming red wine and spices. Herewith, some cauldrons around town recommended by Bern Tourism. Christmas Markets Christmas […]
Rotating carriages keep passengers upright on world’s steepest funicular
Over the weekend, Swiss president Doris Leuthard officially opened the world’s steepest funicular railway. The track, which runs from Schywz to the Alpine resort of Stoos in central Switzerland, has a gradient of 111% at its steepest point, according to the company ABB which built the motors. This is 48 degrees, 90 degrees being vertical. […]
