one hand and secluded areas on the other” quite practical. That’s the thing with tourism: you can escape the hordes by not following the herd. A “simple detour off the beaten track” is often all it takes to find quiet, he adds. Like going up a popular mountain from the ‘other’ side. Or staying close to home. “Head to wine country north of where I live on a misty New Year’s Day, and you won’t meet a single soul.” Widmer resides in Zollikerberg near Zurich. Beauty and reality On his walks around Switzerland, Widmer sees a country of great beauty. But he also recognises the looming reality of urban expansion or the threat to mountain villages. He mentions the recent storm event in Val Bavona, which branches off the Maggia Valley and is populated only in summer. Earlier inhabitants of Val Bavona made the inhospitable terrain their ally by topping boulders with soil to create extra arable space called “hanging meadows”. “I find human activities like these moving.” On a positive note, he mentions how the farmers have started selling their produce directly. He calls buying local produce at farm shops, bee honey or ice cream for example, “one of the biggest joys of hiking”. The same applies to traditional Alpine farms. “I can buy the finest cheese at Alp Siez to take home with me from the St Gallen Alps. It’s a taste of where I’ve been. Isn’t that great?” Widmer wants to continue hiking for as long as he is able. He has a growing list of walks to do. “I already know I won’t manage all of them in my lifetime. Sad but true.” here or there. “A hike is like a psychodrama,” he says. But for him, walking for pleasure also means “visiting an outdoor installation or lingering at a beautiful church”. Stopping by at the local inn is also part of the experience, not least because he wants to support the people who work there. Hiking as therapy Widmer got into hiking while reading Islamic studies in Berne, where he missed the rural scenery of his home patch. He now sees hiking as a sort of therapy to cope with the stresses and strains of modern life. On foot, time moves at a different pace. “I breathe better and my senses are heightened with every hour. I smell the flowers and the trees. Or a beautiful butterfly or deer will catch my eye.” In his opinion, the best hikes are the ones when he returns home extremely tired but happy. He believes that escapism is the reason why more and more people like to hike. “Tranquillity and space have become rare luxuries in our densely populated country.” However, the hiking boom has now brought Switzerland’s oft-discussed problem of overcrowding to the fore on hiking routes also used by a growing contingent of mountain bikers. Public transport connections in the Alps are excellent these days, attracting the throngs. BMX trails, bouncy castles and loud music greet visitors at the top of mountains. Escaping the hordes Widmer takes a pragmatic view. Anyone who has used a mountain railway or eaten at a mountaintop restaurant should accept a bit of responsibility and not complain too loudly, he says. Widmer actually finds “the stark difference between highly commercialised tourist areas on the Hikers on Bütschelegg mountain (canton of Berne), with the Mönch and Jungfrau in the background. “Walking with others means sharing the enjoyment and getting more out it,” says Widmer. Photo: Keystone THOMAS WIDMER “Neue Schweizer Wunder. Ausflüge zu kuriosen und staunenswerten Dingen”, Echtzeit Verlag 2024. 232 pages in German, CHF 28.00 Widmer’s hiking tips for the “Fifth Switzerland”: www.revue.link/wanderer Blog: widmerwandertweiter.blogspot.com Swiss Review / October 2024 / No.5
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