I ate my dinner in the hotel's Gaststübli with the kind of enthusiasm that only a day's walk in the mountains can inspire. Rich local cheeses, a broth flecked with small dumplings, and an aromatic loaf of bread comprised a filling, if simple, meal. All washed down with a bottle of Melser Federweiss, a locally produced white. Joschi sat on the floor at my feet, his head resting … [Read more...]

Travel, for all its potential to broaden one's point of view, can encourage primal fears that we desperately try to rationalize away. Incomprehensible tongues fall upon our ears, and we assume that we must be on the outside of a very inside joke. When faced with the unfamiliar, our well-intentioned but bumbling genetic structure offers up a generous serving of mistrust, fear, … [Read more...]

I couldn't be certain of Joschi's particular destination, but mine would be the village of Weisstannen, by virtue of having earlier booked a room for the night. My new friend and I walked together the entire day. The path contoured high above the Seez, a charming river whose waters would eventually reach the Lake of Zürich. The belvedere offered commanding views to the head of … [Read more...]