If you were to ask a room full of UnTourists where their fondest travel memories are from, we’d bet that the majority would respond with two words: the Heartland. This part of Switzerland regularly tops our list of most visited destinations, and it’s not uncommon to come across an UnTourist who’s visited more than once. And really, it’s no surprise – the Heartland is where UnTours was born.
As we gear up to celebrate UnTours’ 50th anniversary, we’re taking a moment to look back—way back—to where it all began: Switzerland’s Haslital, in the Bernese Oberland. Around here, we lovingly call it the Heartland. It’s a place of striking alpine beauty and deeply rooted hospitality—the kind that sparked an entirely new way to travel.
The First UnTour
The yellow buses that wind their way from town to town in the Swiss Alps are called PostBuses. Traditionally, they’ve connected Switzerland’s many small villages to one another and the wider world by ensuring the flow of people and mail. And like most things in Switzerland, they arrive reliably on time, no matter the remoteness of the bus stop or the incline of the road leading to it.
Hal Taussig, the founder of UnTours, loved riding the PostBus, and he made sure every UnTourist had the information needed to ride – and love – them, too. One of the PostBus stops in his beloved Hasli Valley was at the Post Office in Hohfluh, a scenic village nestled above the valley floor. Margrit Winterberger worked at that Post Office, and once she and Hal met, they built a partnership that transformed the way thousands of UnTourists experienced this corner of the world.
UnTours’ first Swiss office opened on the ground floor of Margrit’s three-story Swiss chalet in Hohfluh. In the early days, it housed many UnTours staff members who came to manage logistics and scout the nearby trails and attractions.
Margrit soon became UnTours’ Swiss coordinator, fielding every request, question, and logistical puzzle from the Heartland. Her care and attention to detail embodied the warmth and authenticity that defined UnTours from the very beginning.
As the program grew, Hal and Margrit ran into an unexpected problem: they’d run out of apartments to rent. To keep up with demand, UnTours expanded into the area near Lake Thun, beyond Interlaken. But because both areas were part of the Bernese Oberland, UnTours needed new names to distinguish them.
The Haslital became known as the Heartland, a name that evokes the heartfelt hospitality Hal encountered there and wanted to share with others, as well as its distinction as the first UnTour – and still the standard bearer of what an UnTour can be.
The Heart Still Beats Here
Today, when travelers book an UnTour to Switzerland, they’re following in Hal and Margrit’s footsteps—quite literally. Many still stay in homes overlooking the same valleys, walk the same trails, and share coffee with hosts whose families have been welcoming UnTourists for decades.
The Haslital remains the Heartland not just because it’s where UnTours began, but because it still captures what UnTours stands for: genuine connection, deep cultural immersion, and heartfelt hospitality.
As we celebrate 50 years of UnTours—and the thousands of travelers who’ve been part of this journey—we honor the place where it all began. The Heartland will always be more than a destination. It’s the soul of UnTours.