A constant up and down in the hilly Appenzellerland; "every second house a Beiz", they say. It is a peculiar and peaceful farming country, a finely structured landscape at the foot of the Säntis, characterized by quaint dialect and mischievous wit.

The Toggenburg is richer in forest and harsher. A notched, humpy landscape, where water once ruled over death and work. Below, the alluvial plain of Linth, "Ziegerland" with huge limestone walls, Glarus once a textile region of world importance. On the ascent to the Klausen Pass, the Urnerboden, the largest Swiss alp, and beyond the 1'948-meter high pass, the Schächental, a mountain landscape with traditional, step-by-step farming.

Wild when the foehn blows: the mighty Lake Lucerne with its impressive panorama. Lovely, on the other hand, the shallow Sarnersee with the Obwaldner Bruder-Klausen landscape. A treat for those who like to take the bend: the panoramic road on the Glaubenbielenpass, a flight of fancy into the Entlebuch.

After the alpine marshland in rain-rich Glaubenbielen you arrive at the biosphere reserve around Schrattenfluh. Not less enchanting: the hills and dales of the Emmental, classic, pre-alpine rolling countryside.

From «cabbage country» through the rugged Sense ravines to Fribourg im Üechtland. The old city with its cathedral and 200 gothic house facades enjoys a picturesque position in a loop of the river Saane. Delightful landscape and a man-made lake: Lac de la Gruyère, land of «Crème de la Gruyère» and black and white cows. On a hill, the tiny castle town of Gruyère with its busy mass of tourists.

Much Quieter in Obergreyerz and uphill through lonely, rugged Alpine pastures to Hongrin, occasionally resounding with army artillery fire. Intoxicating 1'000 m descent to the mildness of the Rhonetal, a sensuous downhill run through all climate zones.