Category Archives: Switzerland A castle, cheese, wine and chocolate: what’s not to love about Gruyères? We were meant to be hiking around Leysin in the Swiss Alps, but it was raining, and had been for days. We went through the guide books and asked locals about alternative amusements (q.v.: A Trip to the Salt Mines). The medieval town of Gruyères was three train-hops away […]  Salt. “Worth ones salt.” To be of value; worth ones pay. The English word “salary” comes from the Latin salarium (where sal is Latin for salt), thought to have been the allowance given to Roman soldiers to buy salt. Since time immemorial, salt – sodium chloride (NaCl) – has been recognised for its critical importance to the life of humans and animals […]  “You do know, don’t you, that we don’t live in the mountains? Zurich is in the “Low Country!” my friend exclaimed. We were making plans for our summer visit to their Swiss home, and I was day-dreaming about Johanna Spyri’s Heidi, high-mountain meadows, and hiking in the alps amongst cows and goats with bells on. And, of […]
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