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The laid-back multiculturalism of Switzerland
While many countries are stubbornly monocultural and others only turned multicultural recently, Switzerland has throughout its modern history been a melting pot of different cultures
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While many countries are stubbornly monocultural and others only turned multicultural recently, Switzerland has throughout its modern history been a melting pot of different cultures.
Traveling through some of the major cities in the country, and especially if you ride the country's extremely reliable railway network, you can see that multiculturalism is truly in the nation's DNA.
When you arrive in Zurich, you think this is just another modern German metropolis, where everybody speaks German with a thick accent and where everything is punctual and tidy and the only thing that could remind you that this is a city that is quintessentially Swiss are the ever-present stores displaying some of the country's best-selling brands of timepiece, and the Marc Chagall-designed Fraumünster cathedral.
But once you arrive in the country's southwestern region, you think you are in the wrong country. With everybody speaking French and Belle Epoque architecture dominating the landscape, it is easy to think that you may have boarded the wrong train and end up on the wrong side of the border.
Travel further eastward and you arrive in regions steeped in Italian culture, places like Lugano or Ticino where everyone speaks Italian and probably travels to Italy more than they visit Zurich or Geneva. Adding to the mix is the Romansch-speaking people in the eastern part of the country, making up more than 0.7 percent of the population.
And as if it were not complicated enough to have four different cultures in one country, Switzerland has no problem absorbing more influences from the outside world, pop culture in particular.
In the small city of Yverdon-les-Bains, the museum of science fiction, utopia and extraordinary journeys La Maison d'Ailleurs was founded for celebrating fantasy and utopia, places where modern legends like Star Wars and the Lord of the Rings are celebrated as if they had their cultural roots in this polyglot country.
This museum's latest exhibition is a showcase of items from Star Wars, featuring items including Lego miniatures of the Millennium Falcon and Death Star.
The museum, with its display of these staples from modern science fiction, is situated in downtown Yverdon-les-Bains, next to what could be one of the oldest castles in Europe, where once the Savoy dynasty defended the city from attacks.
But Switzerland is not only on the receiving end of this cultural transmission. It has made its contribution to the world's popular culture.
One of the country's most well-known ambassadors is HR Giger, the chief designer who decided how an extraterrestrial being would look like in Ridley Scott's Alien. Even if you miss going to his museum in Gruyères, the science fiction museum has a shrine dedicated to the work of Giger and others.
And then of course there's Montreux, the place that gave the world the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival, Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water and Led Zeppelin's swan song Bonzo Montreux.
It's hackneyed now to recite how classic rock tune 'Smoke On the Water' was written, with the roof of Montreux Casino catching fire, giving members of Deep Purple the impression that smoke was coming from the water.
What is less known, however, is that Montreux has links to one of the biggest icons in rock, Queen's Freddy Mercury. He has a special place in Montreux, so special that locals built a statue in his honor. The bronze statue on the waterfront of Lake Geneva, situated in the center of the annual Christmas Market, has become one of the city's most famous attractions.
Mercury recorded some of Queen's material in a local studio and had a winter home in the city, just like a number of Hollywood celebrities today keeping their winter homes here.
It is easy to understand why Freddy Mercury, Shania Twain or Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore kept coming back to Montreux. Situated in the hills above Lake Geneva, in the border region between Switzerland and France, with or without Casino Montreux, this city has a breathtaking view.
It is also one of the most strategic places in the center of Europe. A passageway that connects southern and central with northern Europe, Montreux was where local rulers collected tolls from merchants and travelers.
Chillon Castle, which is built on a rock on the edge of Lake Geneva, is witness to the strategic role that Montreux played in the past, before the arrival of modern transportation.
The castle, built over the centuries by different families that reigned over the city, also bears the scars of past brutality. In the castle's dungeon, probably hundreds of locals were tortured to death, persecuted by the ruling clan, who adhered to a hardline version of Catholicism.
Once you learn about what happened inside the castle, the lives that were lost in defending it, you can appreciate the strange and eerie beauty of this castle.
Today, freed from its violent past, Montreux takes a casual approach toward religion and tradition, just like any other secular city in Europe.
If you happen to visit the city at Christmastime, the primary tourist activity is a climb to the top of a hill, where Santa Claus allegedly makes his stopover from his trip to drop Christmas presents to kids the world over. 'We hope Santa is at home today,' a local tour guide said, with a knowing wink. Of course, Santa was not home when we got there.
Everybody who signed up for the trip knew how the trip would end, but none of them could complain about the breathtaking view of Montreux from some of the best vantage points in the city. And once you reach the elevation where snow covers the landscape, you will not regret your decision to believe in Santa.
Selling Santa to tourists may sound ludicrous, but this is one of a number of ingenious ways to attract more tourists to Switzerland these days, with the country no longer able to sell bank confidentiality as its largest source of income. The US forced Switzerland to drop its bank confidentiality law earlier this year.
The trick gets better in Zermatt, one of the most popular ski resorts in Europe. Here, tourists are given the chance not only to enjoy the sport, but also try out some more extreme challenges, including a trek through the snow to lunch on cheese fondue in an open-air restaurant in temperatures as low as -12 degrees Celsius.
And as if munching your fondue with the threat of hypothermia looming was not daring enough, next to our restaurant were igloos built for newlyweds to enjoy a night in the snow.
So if you think that your beachfront summer vacation home is no longer inviting, try heading out to Switzerland; thrill seekers are all invited.
