Greetings from Switzerland

Saluti dalla Svizzera! That’s “Greetings from Switzerland!” in Italian, which is the language, and culture, of choice here in the Ticino canton of Switzerland. My husband and I arrived here last Thursday to attend the Travel Leaders International Summit in the beautiful city of Lugano.

            Just a few miles from the Italian border, Lugano is the largest city in the canton, or state, of Ticino, which is the only one of Switzerland’s 26 cantons where Italian is the predominant language. German is spoken in most of them, with French in the cantons to the west, and one nearby in which German, Italian, and the rare, Latin-based language of Rumantsch are common.

            Its multilingual nature is just one of the many fascinating aspects of this central European nation, which is not part of the EU or NATO and has historically been known for its world-class skiing and its banking. We’ve discovered that there’s so much more here, in a part of the country not generally well-known outside Europe.

            We arrived March 21 after a long, 20-hour trek from our home in northwest Wisconsin, but our lodgings at the Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola were worth the wait. A 5-star hotel built by a Russian nobleman in 1880, it has a distinct Old World Mediterranean charm and is a short walk from the shore of Lake Lugano. There’s a beautiful city park along the lakefront, leading to the downtown district with great restaurants and, of course, shopping.

            Ticino has mild weather thanks to the Alps, which block most of the weather trying to come south through Switzerland. The milder Mediterranean weather that graces Italy makes its way here, leading to the very agreeable climate. We enjoyed it tremendously, especially with our 34km bike ride on the 24^th, up the Maggio River Valley from the town of Ascona, right next to Locarno on yet another large, beautiful lake, Lago Maggio. Our route took us through some villages right out of “Grimm’s Fairy Tales.”

            Many of my colleagues from around the U.S. were here for the conference, and it was great to catch up with them and learn more about the latest trends in travel, especially regarding our host country. Switzerland has an amazing rail system, modern and highly efficient, and we really enjoyed riding it. There are passes visitors can purchase, allowing unlimited use of the rail system for days at a time, taking them virtually everywhere in the country.

            We’re writing this on Monday the 25^th as we ride the train from Lugano to our next destination, the town of Engelberg, where we’ll enjoy a few days in the Alps, including a day in Lucerne, before our final journey to Zurich and flight home.

            If you like gorgeous mountain vistas, charming villages, great weather and friendly people—not to mention an amazing rail system—then Switzerland is the place for you. Maybe you’ll even learn how to yodel while you’re here! Give us a ring, and we’ll help you get over here to see for yourself!