Back in Switzerland

May 6, 2023

Spring is in the air and the seasonal overcast and rains have gone from Switzerland as I write this on Friday, May 5, from the terrace deck in back of my brother Woody’s home above Lake Geneva outside Lausanne.

I made three trips between 1995 and 1997, before Christi and I had kids and just after we left Chicago. At his daughter’s wedding reception last September, Woody reminded me of my promise to resume traveling here once our family reached the empty-nest phase. My response that night: “I’m in.” Seven and a half months later, here I am.

Grateful to explore the beauty of this incredible country once again. Switzerland is a special place. Everywhere you look, there’s magnificent scenery, history and modernity.

A defining characteristic of the Swiss national identity is its precision. The most visible examples would be the handcrafted watches the world knows well, and the gleaming railway trains that pull away from the platform precisely when the second-hand hits 12.

There’s a popular joke that says if a train here arrives one minute late, there are only two possible explanations: the first is the train is not Swiss; the second is your watch is not Swiss.

The Swiss are a culturally broad population, with most people here conversant in German and French. In Ticino, the Italian-speaking region, they also speak German. Nearly everyone speaks English.

One of the West’s most tradition-rich places, Switzerland is also the world capital of privacy. And banking. And private banking.

The standard of living here is as strong as Switzerland’s military, consisting of citizen soldiers who join at 19, report in annually and remain in the same platoon until about age 40. And yes, here every roadway shrub is trimmed without a stray branch, and the cable car to the mountaintop has undergone rigorous inspection. 

Anachronism versus technology, an austerity that is also comfortable, and a simplicity that belies its luxury and wealth. This is classic Switzerland stuff.

Swiss blood runs in my family, and the Americans in it have had a passion for this country for at least four generations. Seven years my senior, Woody has lived here since 1982. He came for his career and later got married and had two children, solidifying his commitment.

Like the Swiss flag, Woody’s relocation here all those years ago has been… a big plus.

My mother’s maiden name, Romey, traces back to the tiny Swiss village of Sorvilier. Woody tracked it down some years back and took a few photos. Our maternal grandfather William Romey spent considerable time in Zurich, Lucerne and Lausanne during his lifetime. Ben Wade’s middle name is Romey.

During the 1990s, Woody and I created a Switzerland travel newsletter. This earned me, for a time, the yearly gig of fact-checking the next year’s Fodor’s Switzerland guidebook. Annually I would spend three weeks exploring the country, meeting with tourism bureaus, hoteliers, and immersing myself in all things Swiss — a terrific crash course in this timeless and yet timely place.

Despite all of that, it would be another 26 years before I set foot here again — first for Claire’s wedding last September, and now for this.

There’s a memorable Orson Welles line about Switzerland from The Third Man:

“500 years of democracy and peace. And what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”

Despite that shot, the Swiss are proudly independent and retain a strong national identity. (And the cuckoo clock? It’s actually German.)

It is a pleasure to be here again. We’re going flying Saturday morning.