"Ich liebe Schokolade und d ..." a Switzerland Travel Page by feline01

Switzerland-the land of chocolate, fondue, the Alps and an amazing public transporation system. I thought I would like this place the first time I visited in 1987 and I did. I've been back at least 4 times since. One of my good friends, Susanne, lives near Zurich. We met in 1989 when we both worked for the Swiss Centre in London. She was Swiss so it was natural for her to work there. I was American, didn't know much about the country but had a work visa and they hired me. Susanne and I had many great adventures including a night drinking Polish wodka and dying our hair purple and blue (mine-purple, her's blue). We covered many pubs and clubs throughout London especially anywhere punk music was played. We also kept ourselves occupied at work by writing unprintable poems about the Swiss Centre and the management-these poems still survive and are hysterical, only to those who worked there. And I really learned a lot about Switzerland and the Swiss during my 6 months there followed up with the several visits I made to visit Susanne in her home country. So if I have a twisted view of Switzerland, you can blame Susanne and the Swiss Centre on it.

Why do I love Switzerland? There are many reasons. This picture sorta sums it up. I was in Grindewald in February and saw a brochure for hiking in the Alps during the winter. I put on my hiking boots, all my clothes that I had in my backpack, grab some water and chocolate (a must at high altitude) and hit the Alps. A cable car takes me to Bort, I get off and see this shot-a fraulein, Swiss flag and a St. Bernard. Perfect!
I begin my hike at 1570 meters and walk down packed snow trails. About halfway down, there's a little shack selling coffee, hot soup and sandwiches. Only in Switzerland! I was all by myself during the entire hike. It was one of the best days of my life.

And that is one of the reasons why I love this country.

Switzerland page on VT has once again stumped me. I can not submit any tips-only the intro. This time, I was smart. I scanned all my photos and saved them so if it is ever fixed, I will pay tribute to this wonderful country. If not, tough, you'll have to discover Switzerland on your own!

Check out my travelogues for more photos. I'll be adding more since I can't get this blasted page to work.

6/14/02 update: My friend Susanne found this page and loved the tribute to her and her parents. She is off camping in Locarno at Camping Delta today so she wrote she hopes to see more of my Switzerland photos when she returns.