switzerland (1)

We took an unusual self-guided three week tour to Switzerland in September.

Right off the plane, we got a taste of this mountainous country's super efficient railway system by taking a train off the airport terminal and reaching our first destination in less than an hour.
 
Lucerne is a city tucked between a big lake and a few surrounding hills, at the outflow of a river from the lake in central Switzerland. Its indelible landmark is a footbridge that is the oldest wood covered bridge in Europe, with triangle paintings that depict Swiss Confederation history dating back to the 17th century. 

A visit to its old fortification wall and tower and a rock-cut monument commemorating the heroism of Swiss Guardsmen reminded me of the grit and the will of self-determination of the people that make the country what it is today.

Lugano is yet another beautiful lakeside city, at the very southern end of the country, bordering Italy. 

From there we took a bus east, traversing northern Italy to return to the southeastern tip of Switzerland, then boarded a train that took us up and down 2000+ meter high mountains and valleys, before reaching two highland hideaways—Pontresina, a tranquil one-street village, and St. Moritz, a one-time Winter Olympics host, somewhat chic-ish town—in southeastern Swiss Alps. 

Then we went to the northeastern corner of the country, and became accidental attendees to a once-every-25-year regional festival at a quaint little village, Appenzell, that featured an air show, an Oktoberfest-like celebration, and a wrestling contest.

St. Gallen, the major city in northeastern Switzerland, has an expansive cathedral-abbey built on the hermitage of an Irish monk who came to evangelize in the 7th century, with a library that keeps 160,000 volumes, including thousands of manuscripts dating back to the 8th through 15th centuries, and notes of cooking tips and dietary suggestions by the monks such as 

"May chopped herbs through the cross turn tart in the vinegar," 

"May mushrooms often stewed with blessings be imbued," and 

"In beer's careful brew, blessings anew."