Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy explore Thun, one of the most beautiful medieval towns in Switzerland and the gateway to the scenic Bernese Oberland.
Switzerland… the very name invokes images of a romantic holiday in cosy wooden chalets and ski resorts, wild flowers bobbing in alpine meadows, warm fondue and raclette on wintry evenings, and cows grazing in idyllic pastures—their bells tinkling softly—as farm-fresh milk is crafted into fine chocolate and 450 varieties of cheese. For years, Switzerland has been the gold standard for what a mountain destination should be, with hill stations around the world claiming the epithet, ‘The Switzerland of ....’ Only when you visit Switzerland do you realise that every cliché—picture postcard homes, snowy peaks, and placid lakes the colour of copper sulphate—is actually true.
It’s not hard to see why artists, poets, and writers have always been enchanted by Switzerland. Johanna Spyri set the tales of Heidi in the Swiss countryside. The glaciers, lakes, and mountains inspired Swiss painters like Caspar Wolf, Ferdinanad Hodler, and Giovanni Giacometti, poet Lord Byron, and writers like Mark Twain. Composer Goethe wrote his poem Song of the Spirits over the Waters after seeing the Staubbach Falls in 1779, while JRR Tolkein based his Lord of the Rings saga of ‘Rivendell’ after a trip to Lauterbrunnen Valley.
India’s love affair with Switzerland is largely credited to director Yash Chopra, who spent his honeymoon there in 1970. Captivated by the heavenly natural beauty, he featured the Swiss meadows and mountains for the first time in his 1985 film Faasle. The saga continued with his 1989 film Chandni and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in 1995. Millions were captivated by the landscapes, cobbled streets, and pretty bridges of the Swiss countryside. So much so that Lauenensee, a lake in Canton Bern that served as a prominent locale in the films, was dubbed ‘Yash Chopra Lake’.
Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av Travel+Leisure India.
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Denne historien er fra February 2019-utgaven av Travel+Leisure India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Lunching In Leh
Turtuk, the last town of India in Ladakh, is having a culinary and hospitality renaissance, discovers Harsh Surti
The Medieval Charm of Elsinore
Elsinore, in eastern Denmark, is a charming city full of surprises, such as its interesting link to Shakespeare, discovers Ami Bhat
Natural Selection
In other parts of the world, natural wine production can be raw, wild, and a little messy. But a road trip through southeastern Austria reveals that, in a land where order and understatement reign, even the low-intervention bottles are elegant and refined.
Where the Wild Things Are
Uncovering Rwanda's natural treasures-and the gift of multigenerational travel
FROM THE VOICE WITHIN
A hit new season of a cult show, a brand new production venture, and a baby girl-it seems Ali Fazal is on top of the world right now. Amid a new parenting journey, the actor talks to SAMREEN TUNGEKAR about his travel persona, his instincts, and what feeds the artiste within him
MONSOON IN THE WILD
For nature lovers craving the lush serenity of monsoon forests, off-season safaris in national park buffer zones offer rare rewards and vital support to local economies, discovers Chandreyi Bandyopadhyay.
Ray of Sunshine
Getting diagnosed with life-threatening ailments can spell doom, but for actor Lisa Ray, it became a testament to her resilience. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2009, the former model maintained a positive outlook, blossomed into a vocal advocate for cancer awareness and support, and turned author with a book chronicling her story. In a chat with Bayar Jain, she gets candid about her journey of hope and healing
Championing Change with Conversations That Matter
Aditi Mayer is a responsible storyteller who likes to look at fashion through a lens of social and environmental justice. She tells Samreen Tungekar about how she manages her own mental health and wellness despite work that promotes positive change and requires mental bandwidth
Travelling Through Conscious Well-Being
In the ever-evolving landscape of wellness, where data meets intuition and science aligns with ancient practices, Deepak Chopra stands as a unique bridge between these worlds. Chopra talks to Dipali Patwa about how travel, when intertwined with wellness, becomes a powerful catalyst for personal transformation.
Transcending The 'Trend'
For Rimzim Dadu, the creation of a collection is about lending the pieces a timeless quality. Samreen Tungekar talks to the designer about her creative process, and how her travels intersperse with her approach to design