I come from a line of strong women. My mother, a schoolteacher, worked full-time in the early ’60s, when it wasn’t en vogue. Not because she had to, but because she enjoyed her job. My maternal grandmother, a farmer’s wife, never worked outside the home. But when my grandfather died fairly young, she didn’t sell the farmstead, but continued to run it, and all the male farmhands, with Thatcher-esque authority.
I definitely appreciate a strong woman, so when I travel, I’m always excited to find a good story that features a woman not afraid of adventure. To my surprise, a recent trip to Switzerland provided me with lots of inspiration.
My first stop was Herzogenbuchsee, a small village just a 30-minute train ride from Bern. It’s here I learn about Lina Bogli, Switzerland’s first female travel writer. After working in Krakow, Bogli decided to strike off on her own to visit destinations like Asia and Australia. In Bogli’s time, the late 19th century, it was a novel concept for a woman to travel alone, especially to such faraway countries.
Bogli wrote two books about her travels around the world, before settling in Herzogenbuchsee. I imagine she was drawn here by the verdant rolling hills and fertile plains and the stunning views of the Jura and Alps in the background. Called Switzerland’s “Mittelland,” this region is the heartland of Swiss farming and industry.
I’m staying at the historical Hotel Kreuz, which dates back to the year 1787. Today, the hotel is designated as a Swiss Historic Hotel and, accordingly, follows strict authenticity and architectural guidelines to maintain its originality.
In 1891, a woman named Amelie Moser bought the building and made it into a woman’s boarding house and the first alcohol-free community lounge in Switzerland. Bogli rented a room here until her death in 1941. Across the street, at the new Lina Bogli Centre, you can visit the permanent exhibition which depicts her life and travels with displays of artifacts like her diaries and original manuscripts.
A scenic train ride to Lausanne, followed by an even more scenic boat ride across Lake Geneva, brings me to Veytaux, a small municipality in the canton of Vaud. Here I check into Hotel Masson, the oldest hotel on the Swiss Riviera, as this region is known. The Masson, originally a mansion built by a rich winemaker in 1829, was later converted to a public hotel by Elise Masson, who hosted guests like Russian aristocrats, English and Germans.
Just up a steep mountain road is Caux Palace, stunning with its towers and coloured-tile turrets. A 400-metre-long terrace provides mesmerizing views of Lake Geneva below – the surrounding Alps range and lush-green lakeside vineyards reflected flawlessly in the crystal-blue water.
At the palace, I learn about the tragic past of Empress Sissi, wife of the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Although in North America she may not be a well-known historical figure, in Europe, Sissi is famous and beloved. Thrown into court life at a young age, she didn’t like formality and would often leave Austria to visit more relaxed environments, especially after the death of her son in 1889. Sissi would usually travel incognito, with just her lady-in-waiting to avoid public attention.
Even though Veyteux is just down the road from Montreux, home to the famous Montreux Jazz Festival and now a very popular tourist region, in the late 1900s when the Caux Palace opened, the region was still scarcely populated. Mostly natural woods and local farms and pastures, Sissi was free to roam on her own, undisturbed. It was widely known that unlike other aristocratic women of her time, Sissi had a passion for exercise (she also had a passion for diet and fashion, and after age 32, supposedly she did not sit for any more portraits or photos, as she wanted to preserve herself in youth).
Although the Caux Palace is no longer a public hotel, but rather a conference and seminar centre, which often hosts peace and reconciliation conferences (yes, Switzerland is still well known for its neutrality), it offers rooms for seminar guests year-round. The palace’s renovation process has maintained its history, with high ceilings and original period furniture, and you can still see the room where Sissi stayed when she was often a guest. Sadly, Sissi was murdered by an anarchist in 1898 during a visit to nearby Geneva.
My last stop is at the small mountain village of St. Luc, situated on the sunny eastern slope of the Val d’Anniviers, an Alpine valley in the canton of Valais, where I check into the historic Grand Hotel Bella Tola. From my room, I have a first-class view of the Alps, including the Matterhorn peak. The region is known for its hiking and mountain biking trails, and in the winter, you can meander a 60-kilometre network of ski lifts and trails.
I visit nearby Chandolin, a historical village of authentic Swiss timber-frame houses. At an altitude of 1,936 metres, Chandolin is known as one of the highest settlements inhabited year-round in the Alps.
The village is the epitome of nature, surrounded by jagged Alpine mountains and natural pine and larch woods. It’s no wonder that Ella Maillart, renowned traveller and sportswoman of the 20th century, chose here to spend the last years of her action-packed life.
Also ahead of her time, Maillart undertook a daring trip through the Middle East and India for an entire year (her life is documented in a 2015 documentary called Double Journey). In 1946, she settled in Chandolin and had a chalet built, where she spent six months a year until her death in 1997.
To honour her, the village has built a Maillart museum, a permanent exhibition that showcases items from her life, including photos of her drawings, articles, and posters.
Unexpectedly discovering the stories of these strong, intriguing Swiss women was a lovely travel gift. But I’ve also discovered that the pandemic has changed the way I want to travel. I’m finding myself drawn to less populated, more rural destinations. The discovery of so much history in such beautiful, off-the-beaten-path places in Switzerland was positive reinforcement that this kind of travel works.
When you go:
For more info, go to Swiss Tourism https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ca/
Exhibitions: Herzogenbuchsee – Lina Bogli Centre
Veytaux – Caux Palace
Chandolin – Espace Ella Maillart
Recommended accommodations –
Herzogenbuchsee – Hotel Kreuz – www.kreuz-herzogenbuchsee.ch
Veytaux-Montreux – Hotel Masson – www.hotelmasson.ch/en/Home
St. Luc – Grand Hotel Bella Tola – www.bellatola.ch/en/historic-hotel
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