Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1955-05-13
e OUR
"a TOWN


and its wonderful country is
the envy of all Europe. Beauty
is a thing that people work at
here. not only does Lausan-
ne have beautiful lake Leman
which is bordered by the
snow-capped Alps, but it is
beautiful in itself. Flowers
grow everywhere in profusion
and all the trees are in full
bloom. The air smells like
Chanel Number S enhanced
with ozone. 1t is just great.
Coming here from Stressa,
Italy, is an adventure in itself.
From Stressa to the Simplon
Pass is breathtaking with the
mighty Alps on the eye every
inch nj the way snow gleam-
ing in the sun that makes you
sQuint even in early morning
or late afternoon. The Sinplon
Pass has been closed by an
avalanche so our "autobuS" is
loaded on a flat car and we go
into coaches for the ride
through the 17-mile Simplon
Tunnel. The air must be let
out of the bus tires SO that
the bus will clear the tunnel :
this causes some delay at the
other end at a Swiss town
called Brig.
From Brig land back on the
bus once more) we proceed to
Sierre, Sion, Martigny, Aigle,
Montreaux, Vevey and then
Lausanne. The languag e
changes as you ride along -
Brig is as Italian as can be
but the scene gradually
changes until at Lausanne,
everything is French. Leave
Lausanne and go to Berne, we
are told, and it will be Ger
man! All this in a hundred
miles! But these people are all
Swiss citizens and claim the
Helvetians as their ancestors!
This is a little difficult to un-
derstand but is also entirely
o. K. with us as the people
are very courteous, friendly
and handsome a great comb
ination in any language.
Despite the apparent blue
stocking appearance of the
Swiss, they like music, wine
and laughter and the night
spots have some of the spi-
ciest shows seen anywhere! No
wonder the men yodel all the
time.
And the kids and dogs! The
children are the healthiest
looking we have ever seen and
the dogs are the best behaved.
We have never heard a child
cry nor a dog bark. Most
dogs carry their leashes in
their mouths and heel at
any hesitation on the owners
part. Manners are a carefully
nourished commodity In these
parts and a joy to behold.
Bicycles, motorbikes, scoot-
ers, motorcycles and midget
cars go speeding along in what
seems to be turmoil but nary
a customer gets rundown. The
best way to avoid disaster is
for a pedestrian to take a bead
on the other side of the street
and slowly, but with determin-
alton, make his way through
all this. Such practice, we
have found, allows the cyclist
or driver to gauge your speed
and therefore, miss you. "a
thrill but it works.
Food? All, yes, my friends,
and of the best. Our hotel, the
De La Paix, is high above the
lake shore on a cliff SO that
the Alps cast a snowy halo
over all. On the dining terrace
we dine on consomme with
little strips of omelette float
ing therein. Next comes noun
tain trout like that of Colora-
do. Then broiled chicken, tiny
fresh peas the like of which
there amt, plus brussels
sprouts the size of marbles.
Top this off with crepe suz-
cites and, brother, you have
had 1t! (And / didn't mention
a salad of egg-sized tomatoes
and artichokes and a dozen
varieties of cheeseD
Shops? The finest. Here are
the fashions past, present and
future direct from Paris
Rome and America Chic, ex.
pensive and plentiful and made
of the finest of the world. Al
sundown the sidewalk tables
are filled with the best dress
ed people you'll see anywhere
And Swiss jewelry equals any
thing found anywhere II
workmanship and design. We
have already formed a pro
found liking for the Swiss al
does everyone who comes
here. A shopkeeper even tool
our personal check for pur
chase and didn't bat an eye
nor did he ask us for any iden
ffficatiopi He told us late