• Responsibility for one's actions remains a mainstay of the Swiss culture. Honesty, order, correctness (not just political), and consideration are all factored into this concept. Things are done as if the person doing them had to sign his work for all to see. Stores leave goods out front at noon (and sometimes all weekend) because they do not expect theft.
• There is a gentleness toward others here. I would never think of seeing a male friend and not shaking his hand, or in the case of a woman, giving her a kiss on her cheek three times (left, right, left, don't ask me why).
• There is a great sense of personal privacy. You do not invade one's space unless invited, and then with some degree of hesitancy. I have to make my friend open my mail when I am away. He is blown away that I would leave my back up hard drive with him on those occasions.

After 7 Untours to Switzerland, Elliott and Susan Vorce explain why they keep going back:

• Switzerland is like going home. There is nowhere else we have experienced, from Lebanon to England to Greece to Morocco, which imparts the ambiance of a friendly home-like atmospheric welcome quite like Switzerland. Their particular brand of hospitality is not to be found in any other experience we have had…the Swiss landlords/landladies/Untour staff are at once caring, concerned, warm, friendly, instructive, and interested in all we do. Reason number one for us is, in a word, "people!"
• The spectacular beauty of the scenery, the cleanliness of the cityscapes, the freshness of the bracing mountain air, the purity of the mountain streams and rivers, and, of course, the majesty and spectacular panorama of the mountains and their ever-changing vistas. It’s difficult not to sound verbose or trite when describing Swiss scenery, but it is simply incredibly beautiful, no matter where one looks next. 
• The Swiss lakes are also high on our list of attractions. When one considers Switzerland, of course one considers mountains. Yet, one of the most alluring facets of Swiss life, for us, is the lake attractions ­ from the way the Swiss have transformed them into gorgeous tourist attractions (and not something just to be "gotten around") to the charming villages and attractions everywhere…on every lake. 
• The intangibles ­ best described in phrases, not sentences…so bear with us! The baleful look of the magnificent Brown Swiss cows when you meet them on the trail…the pungent wonderful odor and taste of mountain cheese…the satisfaction in "picking up" a little German (even though most Swiss speak better English than some Americans)…never having to drive a car…713 years of democracy!

The entire experience is magic ­ it both pushes and pulls you to return. We will be back; and we will be back again.

• The Swiss company Nestlé, famous for chocolate, began when Henri Nestlé, a pharmacist, developed and marketed milk for feeding babies. Today, the Swiss eat a world record 23 pounds per person per year – roughly one ordinary-sized bar for every single person, every day of the year.
• Swiss Guards, dressed in uniforms purportedly designed by Michelangelo, still protect the Pope at the Vatican and are the only remaining vestige of a military unit that medieval popes established.
• Ticino has been controlled by the Swiss since the early 1500s but did not officially join the Swiss Confederation as a new canton until 1803.
• Switzerland is a politically neutral country, yet it has more soldiers per capita than any other Western democracy.
• The origins of the Fondue are thought to be from the high valleys that during the long winter months were unreachable. The foods that kept the longest were stale bread, cheese and pickles.
• The Pre-Alps and Alps cover over 60% of Switzerland.
• The novelist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle chose Meiringen’s Reichenbach Falls as the setting for the death of his character Sherlock Holmes. In The Final Problem (1891), Conan Doyle has the detective meet his archenemy Professor Moriarty on a ledge above the falls; the two become locked in an intense struggle before both plunge presumably to their deaths.

Home away from Home: Favorite Swiss apartments

The charming Chalet Berit apartment in the Swiss Heartland whose hosts, the Greuterts, are among Untours' most beloved landlords can comfortably accommodate up to 4 people. The surrounding views from the terrace are outstanding.

The newly renovated Hermann Lower apartment offers Swiss Heartland Untourists excellent, easy access to the spectacular scenery of the Hasliberg mountainside, yet is just a few minutes' walk to public transportation, stores and restaurants.

With excellent access to public transportation, spacious living quarters, and a wrap around balcony that provides suberb views of the alpine landscape, the Christiane apartment is the perfect homebase for exploring the Swiss Oberland.

The Swiss Ticino's spacious Zanitti  apartment is a comfortable accommodation that features 2 bedrooms, a modern kitchen and lovely views. It is also conveniently located to public transportation.