The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1945-11-01
This charming winter fairyland.

lake st. Mor1tz q few hundred Ieet
below at the base of the valley. Dur
ing the winter months it is a Mecca
for skating enthusiasts and sports
men. To the south can be seen a
majestic twin mountain peak, snow
capped and rising to a height of
5000 feet. The valley is restful and
very quiet except for the occasional
tinkling of. cowbells which family
echo through the valley.
Central Swiss Alps
after too swiftly vanishing
stay at st. Moritz, filled with noun
tain climbing, sightseeing, photo
graphic sorties and relaxation, we
reluctantly board a train and head
west for an all day journey through
the Central Swiss Alps and an over
night stop at Andermatt.
A large part of the days journey
was spent high along the upper
slopes of the Alps and at times we
almost seemed to be riding the crest.
High bridges spanned precipitious
cliff-like drops to the rapid swirling
mountain streams below.
From the car windows we saw our
first mountain goats nonchalantly
grubbing their way along unbeliev-
ably steep mountain sides. We pass
ed through the Overalp pass and
were only a few miles north of the
famous st. Gotthard pass when we
finally arrived in Andermatt in the
late afternoon.
Unique Swiss Army Hospital
"After being assigned comfortable
accommodations in a local hostelry
we visited a waterfall nearby which
provided electric power for large
section of this part of the country.
We also saw one of the most unique
hospitals in the world. The Swiss
Army has a military hospital of 1000
beds which is literally built in the
solid rock of great mountainside
and is practically impregnable to air
or ground attack.
We are told by the guides that
this section was a part of the inner
fortress of Switzerland to which the
Army would retire in the event of a
successful attack of the Swiss 'front.'
iers. Mountain sides were bristling
with Notifications and the small but
efficient Swiss army is constantly on
maneuvers and working on military
problems in this inner stronghold.
"We entrained the following MORN
ing heading west through Gletsch
and toward Lausanne our ultimate
destination. Hopping off the train
a few miles before reaching Gletsch
we hiked to the famous Rhone
Glacier, a mammoth ice formation
and the source of the Rhone river
which flows through southeast France
to the Mediterranean sea. From the
summit of the mountain peak here
one may see Italy to the south
during periods of good visibility.
Enroute to Lausanne
"An excellent dinner at a large
tourist hotel in Gletsch partly al
layed the famished G. rs appetites
and put them in jovial and buoy
ant mood for the long trip west to
Lausanne. 1t quickly became APP
parent that we were approaching the
southwest part of Switzerland and
inhabited mostly by French and
Italian Swiss.
The architecture of the homes and
the unbelievable millions of grape
vines were the most noticeable out
ward signs of the social and econo-
mic contrast to the richer and more
diversified rural areas of the north
and east. However there was no
indication here of real poverty and
the carefree happy nature of these
people indicated that here must have
been other worthwhile compensa-
tions.
Lausanne proved to be one of the
most beautiful cities visited. Located
on the north-central shore of the
lovely Lake Geneva, largest of Swiss
lakes, this extremely modern resort
city of 100000 people, with fascinat-
ing shops filled to the brim with a
multitude of inviting commodities
was most tempting to our rapidly
diminishing reserve of French francs.
Our quarters at the palatial Palace
Hotel, rumored to be the temporary
abode of ex-King Alphonso of Spain
and other European notables did moth
ing to detract from our pleasures
Visit Swiss Fair
"A national annual industrial and
agricultural exhibition was under
way a few blocks from the heart of
the city and for so centimes (11hc)
we were able to see the manifold
products created by the hard work
and ingenuity of these industrious
and progressive people.
Their agricultural products and
farm machinery would not suffer In
comparison to the best shown at