switzerland...
more Japanese tourists than I expectedJuly 2006
Efficiency, class, structure, and some of the most dramatic scenery in the world, Switzerland is a place to definitely visit. Pity that the place isn’t nearly as efficient as the stereotype makes it out to be. There seems to be a whole set of secret rules and structure that they love to abide by, but aren’t advertised to the outside world. The more I stay, the more I am reminded of Singapore. Reserved, friendly if you make the first move, and efficient if you already know what you are supposed to be doing.
It is, though, a place of vast inspiration. The incredible Trummelbach Falls are the main drainage system for 3 of the highest mountains, shifting some 20000 tons of rock detritus a year, and consisting of a series of 10 waterfalls connected to each other inside a mountain. The Jungfraujoch, the “top of Europe”, which until recently was the highest train station in the world (now overtaken by China with a station in Tibet, according to www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.07/chinarail.html), has some incredible views.
Each of the places we visited was interesting – Zermatt, the closed off mountain resort (accessible by horrendously expensive train); Andermatt, the walker’s paradise; Interlaken, the summer paradise (where we swam in a fresh Alpine lake at 6.30pm with the sun still burning bright) and the bigger cities of Geneva, Lucerne and Lausanne – interesting cultural centres which take you from German-speaking to French, and back, and then to Italian in one nice train ride!
But beyond scenic photography, what else did I get from Switzerland as a designer? I picked up some great feelings and conceptual inspiration for structure, and cleanliness. The overall feeling was placid continuity – a place of serenity that keeps on rolling. Lausanne’s tourism has some beautiful design, which really highlights this – it’s clean, structured and very scenic. Geneva and Lucerne, as cities, also accentuate this – structured, scenic cities which seem to emphasise serenity and continuity. No chaos here, or layers of ambitious idealism – just a sense that things have their place, and keep to them very well. The division from German-speaking Switzerland to French Switzerland is incredibly easy to find. You cannot miss it when you cross from one region to another.
Switzerland is brilliant inspiration for the proper use of “negative space” – there is so much there that seems almost overwhelmingly empty, but is indeed a wonderful vista, a scene of real beauty to be appreciated because it IS empty. It is minimalism in the lack of people. No chaos here, just beauty in the simplicity and elegance of white, stripped through with a few strokes of green trees.
The other inspiration is the hordes of hikers from older generations! The walks up those mountains are real killers, and there are experienced older (as in, they looked late 60s to 70s) ladies who power up those hills faster than I can power my way through a steakhouse. We managed to crawl our way to the top of one mountain in Andermatt, complaining all the way about the dangerous incline, and sat proudly near the top, only to be passed by a middle-aged lady jogging her way to the top, followed by her dog.
Many of these hikers were Japanese. They even hike in large tour groups. Rock on.
