1. Tell us a little bit about your most recent Untour.
Two years ago, we visited Frau Von Moos in Giswil. We lucked into a great music festival at Ballenberg, a great concert at a church in Meiringen and, did I mention Shoenbuel, Planplatten, the Aare Gorge and the multitude of spectacular views?
In Luzern, though we had been there many times, we found there were still things to discover, like the Bourbaki Panorama and a gigantic farmers’ market, where the best fruits and vegetables were delicious. But, the long walks in the cool of the Schweiz days, absorbing the world from a different perspective, and relaxing makes each Untour special. The butcher shop, run by Frau Von Moos’s son, is excellent!
2. Why did you choose to go there?
This will be the fourth time visiting Giswil. Marvelous people, and a central location are two reasons for visiting there. I remember around Christmas, 1999, shoveling snow with Leo Von Moos, who was in his eighties and putting my Georgia snow shoveling “prowess” to shame! Two years ago, we sat in the park by the beach with Lizbeth Von Moos, enjoying the weather, the good memories, the zeitgeist. An Untour in Giswil has always been a time to relax and to enjoy a culture which, while similar to American, seems a bit more peaceful, a tad less hurried.
3. What is your favorite UnTours memory?
A variety of transportation modes transferred us from Giswil up to a mountaintop restaurant where we tasted the best food, the best drink, the best camaraderie… It was midnight, turn of the millennium, glass of champagne in hand, when, from the top of the world, high above the Brunig Pass, when we went outside to watch the fireworks far below us, coming out of the valleys. It was a unique sight, unparalleled, unforgettable, and never replicated! It was a time when many people were afraid that the computers would all fail (remember Y2K) and that the world as we knew it would “crash.” Had that happened, Schweiz did not seem like a poor choice of places to land!
4. How is taking an Untour different from other ways of travelling?
Having support without being “mushed along” is superior in two ways. It gives those unsure the stability of a support staff, planned events, help with the train schedules and so forth. It also gives travelers looking for value and seamless consistency in arrangements but who have personal goals, efficacy with the freedom to discover independently.
5. If you could describe an Untour in just three words, what would they be?
Relaxing, invigorating, cerebral.
6. Have you heard of our trailblazing UnTours Foundation? What do you think of a company whose profits have gone to create jobs among vulnerable populations through loans to pioneering, green businesses?
The core theme running through morality, whether found in the Tanakh, the Christian Gospels, or secular literature is “the song for the poor man,” a universal value that extorts one to help those who are vulnerable, the sick, the weak and the marginalized. This exemplifies the best of a culture, and UnTours has presented a model for realizing this moral imperative. I think it is to be lauded.
[Editor’s note: The Von Moos chalet is no longer available; click here to see other Swiss Heartland choices.]