LET'S LOOK AT SWITZERLAND

snow tipped peaks and mirror lakes glaciers and waterfalls Edelweiss and the haunting calls of the alpine horn all this is Switzerland attained but still lovely savage an oasis of calm beauty in a troubled world the Rhine flows downstream from Lake Constance where it forms the natural border between Germany and Switzerland and falls in cascades near schaffhausen masterpieces of ingenuity the earth wind through the heart of Switzerland the farmland in the canton of Bern is among the richest in the country here is that we find the famous Emmental cheese and the well-known breed of Simmental cattle Bernie's farm houses are rather unique in style the barn is joined to the house and the house appears to be wearing a poke bonnet the Bernice themselves are a slow and easy going people rather like the Bears which gave their capital city its name ever since a party of hunters bagged themselves a bear back in 1191 the bear has formed the heraldic device of a city of burn the burn of today is much like the burn of old the city of arcades and flowers and fountains of distinctive signs over shop doors to tell the shoppers where to buy bears are still very much in evidence they figure in Burns medieval clock trooping around in a circle to the sound of a striking hammer the tinkling of tiny bells and the crowing of a at the lower end of burns main street is the bear pit where the heraldic animals nibble at the visitors contributions if the carrots and the peanuts don't come fast enough they lie down and holler for them the traveler hasn't traveled who hasn't been to Switzerland but there must be something special about burn for even the Swiss make a point of visiting their side by side with the American tourists are the costumed visitors from a pencil oppan cell itself is the chief count of a like named countin close to the German frontier in the lake constance area in the springtime when the leaves are green and the fruit trees blossom the tourists fancy turns to thoughts of up and sell some rustic up and sell is still where their present costumes about their daily work the second sunday after Whitson tight is the day of a great religious procession and on that day you will see appenzell costumes by the score costumes like these deserve surroundings to match in the fairytale town of up and sell the lion drug store is typical of the architecture with its painted eaves and plaques showing medicinal herbs down in southern Switzerland lies lake lugano in the Italian at canton of ticino it is said of ticino that the skies and lakes are bluer and the mountains greener than anywhere else in the world the Swiss postal code route starts from the town of lugano and climbs into the uplands of the Engadine to salaries Sam or it's is a tourist name to conjure with the playground of the world it's supposed to be but then so is all of Switzerland a mountain has never stopped a Swiss rugged climbers take the hard way railways spanned the mountaintops and tunnels cut deep through rocky towers summer 10 and 12 miles long with arcades like huge windows to let in brief glimpses of the sky or a deep lake far below when the mountain opens into the sunshine the scenery always breathtaking takes on a new and monumental splendor by different routes both the climbers and the tunnel travelers reach the peaks and exchange greetings on the mountaintop so many superlatives have been lavished on Lake Geneva that there is very little left to say travel writers and tourists have ruined adjective after adjective in their attempts to describe it and Lord Byron was not the man to desist from praising lovely lake-lehman Byron is particularly closely associated with the castle of CEO at Montreux his poem the prisoner of seal is a lyrical monument to the Swiss patriot bunny bar who was imprisoned there many centuries ago Byron draws a most pathetic picture of the Patriot in a dungeon below water level which it wasn't listening to the lake clapping about him so sad the heart bleeds for bulevar Byron's findings on the unhappy man are widely at variance with a known facts of history but this hasn't appeared to bother anybody you it's a short boat trip from mantra to lasagnes port on Lake Geneva one hears of the Swiss being called a nation of innkeepers which is hardly fair they might just as well be called a nation of watchmakers for cheese makers or chocolate makers they are all these and more but the fact is that the Swiss really have a genuine art of hotel keeping there are more than 7,000 hotels in this small country and not a bad one among them even the masses of publicity that have made the city of Geneva familiar to the world have not lessened it's real impact on the senses beyond all doubts and beyond all guidebook rhapsodies it is a city of magical charm by adopting the principle of permanent neutrality Switzerland has become a stabilizing element in international affairs the League of Nations had its home in Geneva until its formal extinction in 1946 the building in arianna park is now the property of the United Nations Switzerland has a double season for sports the Arctic and the subtropical about a short distance apart at Easter time one may choose between winter sports on the mountain slopes or a golf lesson down in the valley and there's tennis and swimming and horseback riding as well where there are no lakes and it's hard not to find them in Switzerland there are outdoor swimming pools some of these pools even have artificially manufactured waves in passing it might be noted that Swiss watches are not afraid of water some like volleyball others prefer the peace and quiet of the country ride the sound of horses hooves in the late afternoon mountaintops reflected in the liquid mirror of their own lucerne is one of the four forest canton's the next to join the union after the first three were united in the everlasting pact of 1291 today the Canton's number 22 lucerne is the nucleus of the forest canton's and yet another tourist and travel center it has the distinction of being the oldest tourist center in switzerland listen is all things to all people a residential town for some a vacation paradise for others a delight to those who like to do a little mild gambling in a Swiss kursaal or listen to the strange music of the alpine horn for others it is simply a place of business and holiday season new not activity goes on as usual in the marketplace no Sam alerts and Lake Geneva have slightly dimmed its glories loosen with its cool waters and gleaming beaches is still a perfect holiday spot this on to attracts among its swarms of tourists a large number of Swiss it's not only the Gaiety of a travel center or a lazy life on the beach that they come to enjoy their objective is the lake itself and some of its less publicized shorts it was a triply on the edge of the lake that three Patriots met to confirm the everlasting pact which United the first three Canton's the name sweets on the boat is the name of one of the original Canton's it is still the core of the country's name though nothing distinctive marks it the Alpine pastor called der Italy is the consecrated ground where freedom and independence were born in Europe it was on the shores of Lake Lucerne that William Tell and his son were supposed to have enacted the incident of the Apple but sad to say it's highly unlikely that there ever was a William Tell you the peak of nearby Mount Pilatus is reached by an electrified contrail Railway which cuts through rock to reach the heights listen and it's lovely Lake lie at the foot of bilitis more than 5,000 feet below naturally this being Switzerland there's an excellent hotel on the summit there are things about this Alpine land you will always remember the incredible cleanliness of everything you see the miracle of mountaintop railroads the sunlight coloring a thousand snow peaks with its ruddy glow for the holiday seekers heaven is in Europe and the world's goal is majestic Switzerland