Alpine Hikes, Adult Trikeys, and Human Rights in Switzerland

Year after year, Switzerland comes in top on the tourism table of countries to visit. With its breathtaking alpine ranges, ski slopes, and lakes, it’s no wonder. It's also known for its luxury watches, fine jewelry, chocolates, fondues, headquarters to world organizations, and the birthplace of the beloved children’s story Heidi.

I visited Switzerland in the summer of 2018 in the middle of the 21st FIFA World Cup. What a fun time to land in Zurich!

From there, we drove southwest towards France, visiting Lucerne, Wengen, and Geneva along the way.

Zurich

We stayed in a small studio in Central, Old Town neighborhood. In the morning the sound of bells woke me up, and I opened the window to see a beautiful church.

For breakfast, we ate pastries and sipped espresso at a table outside a café while we watched the scene along the Limmat River.

We watched a World Cup game in a modern pub with rowdy football fans. But our favorite viewing was in a dive bar in the city center. We had the place and bartender to ourselves. She jimmied a broken toaster oven with a knife to cook our sandwiches as we watched the game from our booth, and when we were done, she threw two chocolates at the table and shouted "dessert!" as she walked past. Five years later, this still makes us laugh.

Lucerne

Switzerland's city of Lucerne, decorated with medieval architecture, sits amid snowcapped mountains on Lake Lucerne.

We enjoyed strolling the cobblestone streets and window shopping, marveling at the genius engineering and beauty of the myriad Swiss watches on display.

Stadkeller Restaurant

Eager for some authentic Swiss food and entertainment, we bought tickets to the Swiss Folklore Show at the Stadkeller Restaurant in the city center.

As we ate delicious cheese fondues, potato rostis, meats, and vegetables washed down with local lager, a band of musicians and yodelers entertained us. In traditional costumes, waving giant red Swiss flags, they paraded across the restaurant to take the stage. The yodelers performed vocal acrobatics as the band played traditional instruments, such as the accordion, hammered dulcimer, hurdy-gurdy, castanets, rebec, and cowbells.

My boyfriend volunteered to attempt to blow an alphorn (or alpine horn), and I danced a traditional Swiss dance arm-in-arm with my male partner.

Another musician brought an earthenware bowl, a talerschwingen, to our table to rotate a coin inside to mimic the sound of cowbells.

Delicious food and a fun time were had at the Stadkeller!

Before we moved on to our next destination, we rented a small dingy and zipped around Lake Lucerne to take in more of the mountain views.

Jungfrau Region

At the foot of the Bernese Alps, sits the Jungfrau Region. South of Interlaken, it consists of two valleys, Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen.

We spent two days hiking from our base town of Wengen, set in the middle of Wengen Jungfrau Mountain. Then we spent a couple days in Grindelwald to hike the other side of the valley.

Cars are not allowed in the mountains, which made me so happy. We parked in Lauterbrunnen and took a cog train up Wengen Jungfrau mountain. Jungfrau, German for "maiden handle," refers to a saddle of land connecting the two major 4000ers of the Bernese Alps: the Jungfrau and the Mönch.

Our room at the Hotel Bellvue had jaw-dropping views of the Jungfraujoch mountain range, village of Wengen, town of Lauterbrunnen below, and Trummelbach Falls.

Day 1 Hike: Wengen-Mannlichen-Kleine Scheidegg-Wengernalp-Allmend-Wengen

Eiger and Mönch peaks

We took a cable car to Mannlichen and hiked an easy 5 miles with a lunch stop in Allmend. We saw gorgeous wildflowers – yellow, purple, and pink – against a backdrop of green, rocky colossal snowcapped mountains. The famous peaks Eiger and Mönch remain to be the ones I see in my mind's eye when I do my "climbing the mountains" meditation.

We promised we would return one day to ski the Olympic ski trails we walked to Allmend that summer.

Day 2 Hike: Wengen-Lauterbrunnen-Grutschlap-Winteregg- Mürren

From our base in quaint Wengen, we walked 50 minutes down the mountain to the town of Lauterbrunnen, where we started hike #52 on the Wengen Jungfrau Region map.

Once again, we had amazing views of the alps and couldn't believe we were hiking this magical place.

After riding a cable car down Schilthorn mountain from Mürren, we walked along a farm road back to Lauterbrunnen. Its common to see farms displaying cheese for sale at the end of their driveway.

These hikes and more can be found on All Trails.

Helicopter ride over the glaciers.

Grindelwald

From Wengen, we drove to Grindelwald to explore another area of the valley.

Top of Adventure

We drove an hour to the town of Bort and took a cable car to the top of Grindelwald-First Mountain, also known as the Top of Adventure. From here we chose two bold methods to take us down the mountain – the mountain tricylce and the trottibike.

This was the most amazing experience! We strapped on helmets and rode adult trikeys – three wheeled carts – down graveled paths that lined the mountain. Adrenaline and laughter rushed as we learned the breaks and tried not to skid off the mountain face. I laughed as I sped through cow plats to another backdrop of glorious mountain ranges.

We stopped for lunch mid-way down the mountain before boarding our next mode of transportation – the trottibike – which is like a gigantic razor scooter with oversized tires and a seat. On a pavement path, we whizzed by meadows, rivers, and eventually a town – a sign our hour-long ride was almost done.

Exploring the mountain in this way was thrilling!

Geneva

Best known as home to the largest world organizations, such as the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, Red Cross, and of course the United Nations, Geneva has an ambiance of humanitarianism. You see it in the signs and statues that adorn the beautiful, picturesque city.

During a bus tour through the city neighborhoods, I came cross a stunning statue in a park at the Place du Bourg-de-four in the Old Town. Standing tall, naked, and sad, 'Clementine' has come to represent the suffering of women. People leave posts about child abuse, prostitution, female genital mutilation, and domestic violence next to her.

Later that day, we walked around Lac Leman (or Lake Geneva) with its famous 'jetto' water fountain. Lining the promenade were 30 posters of the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by The United Nations Human Rights’ Office of the High Commissioner.

An awe-inspiring list of things I take for granted, the posters created a bit of a somber mood as I remembered some people are deprived basic freedoms. That an organization had to establish them as 'rights' is sad, but at least we live in a world where people fight for the rights of others.

Pictured above is Human Right #26 "Right to Education," which states, "You have the right to go to school, continue your studies as far as you wish and learn regardless of race, religion or country of origin.”

Later that evening we had dinner at the outdoor restaurants among the 16th-18th century-old buildings in the Old Town.

No words can describe the beauty of Switzerland, with its old cities, quaint villages, majestic mountains, and deep, dark blues and charcoal greys of the lakes. Every nature scene was something out of a movie. Even before COVID normalized remote working, I found myself saying, "how do get a remote job and just live here in the mountains?" Switzerland, and in particular the Swiss Alps, is a place I would definitely return.

I’m fortunate to have these options. On that note, I’ll end with this. According to United Nations, the following 30 basic human rights are recognized around the world and should be protected by law.

30 Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1: We are all born free and equal

Article 2: Freedom from Discrimination

Article 3: Right to Life

Article 4: Freedom from Slavery

Article 5: Freedom from Torture

Article 6: Right to Recognition Before the Law

Article 7: Right to Equality Before the Law

Article 8: Right to Remedy

Article 9: Freedom from Arbitrary Detention

Article 10: Right to a Fair Trial

Article 11: Presumption of Innocence and International Crimes

Article 12: Right to Privacy

Article 13: Freedom of Movement

Article 14: Right to Asylum

Article 15: Right to Nationality

Article 16: Right to Marry and to Found a Family

Article 17: Right to Own Property

Article 18: Freedom of Religion or Belief

Article 19: Freedom of Opinion and Expression

Article 20: Freedom of Assembly and Association

Article 21: A Short Course in Democracy

Article 22: Right to Social Security

Article 23: Right to Work

Article 24: Right to Rest and Leisure

Article 25: Right to Adequate Standard of Living

Article 26: Right to Education