The Washington herald., 1908-06-07
VACATIONS OF THE SWISS
By ETHEL THERESA HUGL-CAMP.

Thousands upon thousands Of people
from all over the world come to Switzer-
land every year 10 spend their vacation.
But what about the Swiss himself and his
vacation? Where can he go 10 find
scenery 10 compare with that in the midst
Of which he lives and moves and has his
being all the year round? What noun
tains dare hold Up their heads in the
presence Of the majestic Jungfrau and
the chain Of the Overland. the daily feast
of the Bernese weather permitting?
What combination OF lake and mountain
can replace for the inhabitant of Luzerne
the divine irregularities OF the Vierwald-
slater Lake and the mystery and charm
Of the hills that hang over It? And the
.Genevese-to what part Of the compass
shall he turn to find the peer Of that
snowy peak. mat "sov-ran Blanc" re-
hected in the blue waters Of the Iake2
AS the essential pleasure OF a vacation
lies in a complete change. Ct is easy to see
that the Bernese, the Lucerner. the Gene
vese. will choose something quite different
from what his eye is daily accustomed to.
Thus II is that either he goes boldly up
into the mountains he has been looking
at the whole year round. in this way
changing his viewpoint from that Of a
valley dweller gazing upward to that OF
mountain dweller looking down on the
fertile valleys and their tiny cities. or else
he boards a train and goes of strange
countries for TO see. preferably fat coun-
tries. there 10 study man and his habits,
instead OF nature. in the form of noun
tains and lakes.
So much for generalities. Let me tell
you in detail Of some Of the vacations
planned and carried out by divers OF our
Swiss friends. lawyers. doctors. and bust
ness men, in the Easter vacation just
passed. This holiday is two weeks long
and is observed in the schools, the univer-
sity, and even in the court
A young lawyer. an acquaintance OF
ours, with his wife and several other
young married people, are just back from
an ideal trip. One morning. the morning
Of the first day OF the Easter holiday.
they checked their wheels and a few
necessary articles through to Airolo. the
first station as one leaves the big Gott-
hard tunnel. and took the : o'clock train
from Berne. catching the o'clock ex-
press in Lucerne. At Airolo, emerging
from the monster tunnel. they mounted
their wheels and gayly pedaled down
through the interesting Italian landscape.
I say Italian. for the canton OF Tessin.
though politically Swiss, is geographically
and linguistIcally Italian.
At sunset they came to LocarnO. on
one Of the Upper Italian lakes. Dusty
and tired. they chose a modest hotel, a
hotel called second rate" in the guide
books. not because il is no good, but be-
cause the phrase second rate" In hotel
parlance on the continent means less
pOmp than first rate" and dusty people
have no heart for pomp. The next day
they took the straight white road. with
the lake on the left and wheeled down
20 Pallanza, crossing the frontier into
Italy on the way. Here they spent an
other night. and the next day were rowed
over 10 the lovely islands in the neigh
borhoOd-Isola Bella, Isola Madre. and
Isola del Pescatori.
After that they idled around from one
place to the other, using their wheels
when practicable and the lake steamers
when preferable; and finally, when the
time was up, came back home TO Bern,
brown and merry. They sent home by
our parcels post system any quantity
of beaten brass and copper. a speciality
Of Locarno and that locality. and had
many curious stories to tell OF queer
settlement OF nature seekers. broken
down brain workers from all over the
world, who have a colony and sana-
forum near there and who live on ce-
reals and wear but one garment These
odd-looking individuals. brown. hairy, and
unkempt. can be seen stalking all over
that vicinity in search Of health. and the
natives tell spicy yarns about their rules
of life,
Another friend and his wife, desiring
to see some large cities, as complete
change from Bern, anG also wishing to