Andreas Bitzi spricht mit mir über die Schweizer Berge, wo er gerne wandert.

Hello Gabi, hello everyone, how are you?

It's going wonderfully. Mountains? Well, when I look out the window, it's more like hills, yes, in the so-called Nassland, but these aren't really mountains yet. There are 1400 meters here on our local mountain.

That's correct, very much so.

The last bigger tour was here in Central Switzerland, where I'm mostly around. That was from Engelberg over Trübsee, which some who have been to Switzerland might know. Many people make a short trip from Lucerne to Engelberg, and then from Trübsee over the Jochpass, which is a crossing, and then onwards. That's a hike—if you walk fast, it's over 5 hours, plus always important to take breaks, enjoy the landscape, good weather, fresh air, the cows, and so on. Then it's maybe six or seven hours of hiking.

Exactly. Of course, there are many lifts. It's also a somewhat famous resort. There's a wonderful mountain there with a glacier on top. Many foreign tourists come too, understandably. There are Spaniards, many from the region. It's actually all Swiss hiking in the mountains, or are there also mountain-phobes who don't go at all?

No, of course not all Swiss. There are different preferences. But in my childhood, for example, I was often hiking with my parents, vacationing in the mountains. Only when puberty hit did we find it uncool—we wanted to go to the beach instead. Many friends had the same experience, and eventually, as you get older and wiser, you return to the old times and enjoy hiking again. I see it with friends here in the region—we call each other on weekends and say, let's go up our local mountain, the Napf. That's a short hike, under an hour if you're fast. I also have to say that during Corona, hiking gained massive popularity because you couldn't do much else, but you were allowed in the mountains. We had fewer restrictions than probably in Germany, and you could go out. The trails were sometimes a bit overcrowded, too many people, at least I wasn't there. But it sparked a real boom in these recreational areas—people went hiking or biking again, especially locals, since tourists weren't there. Now tourists are coming back more, but above all, the Swiss have rediscovered the mountains.

Not me. I still have an old bike that I haven't touched in probably 20 years. Maybe I should get back to it. But I actually prefer being on foot.

First and foremost, the desire to go to the mountains. Health-wise, it depends. You can do a very easy hike, for example, here on our local mountain—it's about 7-8 km one way, and then up for an hour, or an hour and a half if you're not fast. It's relatively easy, and there's a restaurant at the top where you can stop. There's a very famous dessert called 'Mering' in our dialect—it's something sweet with lots of sugar and cream.

Yes, I did that for a while with cognac, but I don't think I could have walked afterwards.

Well, you know, if you go to famous places like Engelberg or wherever—there are many, like Lauterbrunnen, Wengen—there are hiking trails for every taste. Some are flat, with a tavern every few kilometers to rest and refill water bottles. Or there are longer hikes where civilization is further away, going a bit higher. I like, for example, what we did recently—from Engelberg to the Melchsee-Frutt, which is about 1600 meters of elevation difference and perhaps 20-22 kilometers. You also do that, don't you?

As I said, I was just a child and teenager, a city kid, not often around. My parents were always out with mountain railways, and they once brought me a gift from there—you'll know where it's from. This glass that's actually tilted, but because the train climbs so steeply, it becomes straight again. Do you know it? The St. Gotthard Railway? No, I don't think so. I don't know where the Glacier Express goes, but I don't think that way.

Mountain railways have many interesting variants. When I go to the mountains, I prefer to walk up, not necessarily take the train. For example, the last time we walked from Kriens over the Pilatus to the summit and then took the train down. But after 8-9 hours, it's good to ride. I don't like going up by train. I appreciate panoramic trains like the Bernina Express or Glacier Express—I've never been on the Glacier Express, but I should maybe do it. I recommended it to an acquaintance—from St. Moritz over the Oberalp Pass to Zermatt, which they liked very much. I should do that myself. It takes 7-9 hours, and you can enjoy the landscape just looking out the window instead of walking, maybe with a little snack.

As a patriot, naturally not. No, I've never hiked in Germany. In Austria, I was a long time ago, also skiing, but it's been a while. Why not? But I have hiked in other countries in recent years, like in the USA a few times—California, there are 3000-meter peaks with snow, and I've summited several. I also encountered a rattlesnake one afternoon, but all was fine. They were learning. Arizona, the Grand Canyon, very beautiful. In Nevada, there are mountains in the north that many don't know about because they only think of Dubai. And in Russia, of course, the Caucasus, in Sochi and the region, I've hiked.

I haven't skied in quite a while. I should maybe start again, but I'm more of a summer person—mountains when snow-free or partly snowy. But never snowshoe hiking. Maybe next winter, but last winter I didn't do it, no.

Thank you, Gabi, and thank you to all listeners and viewers. Have fun and success!