A HOLIDAY IN SWITZERLAND

Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 September 1927, Page 3

A HOLIDAY IN SWITZERLAND

ADDRESS BY MR G. H. BENNETT. Members of the Levin Chamber of Commerce Lunch Club yesterday listened with delight to an address entitled “A Little Holiday in Switzerland,” given by Mr G. 11. Bennett, of Palmerston North, who toured Europe last year. The gathering took place in the Oxford Booms, and there was an attendance of between 20 and 30 members. Mr W. Smaill presided, and welcomed two visitors from Wellington, Messrs P. D. Clayton and J. C. Morrison, of the head office of the Bank of New Zealand. He then introduced the speaker, to whose address, he said, the members had been looking forward with much interest.

Mr Bennett stated that from his boyhood days he always had a desire to visit Switzerland and a year ago he was able to gratify it. The journey up the valley of the Rhone, from France into the Alpine country, was very interesting. The sides of the hills were clothed with vineyards and orchards, and dotted, with little Swiss chalets, making a very charming picture. Nowhere was the traveller made so much at home as in the Swiss hotels, in which one received the impression that the staff were really glad to see him. The tourist traffic was far from being the whole source of revenue in Switzerland, which drew much from dairying, watch-making and other industries. Describing the city of Geneva, Mr Bennett stated that it was built on both sides of the Rhone and had a population of about 140,000. At night the scene was like fairyland owing to the lighting effects and' the reflections from the water. There was an air of prosperity about the people which he had not noticed in any other part of Europe. He visited the hall used by the League of Nations; and also visited the cathedral, a very tine specimen of Gothic architecture. At present the population of Geneva was about half Catholic and half Protestant, and the old religious animosities had died down. In the Palace of Labour he saw among the furniture some articles that had come from New Zealand.

The watch industry was of great magnitude in Switzerland, and the watches were very cheap. A dealer had had such confidence in him as a New Zealander that he agreed to take his cheque and also offered to send him a consignment of watches on approval should he desire it. '

Leaving Geneva by train in October he went to Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux. The country sloping down to Lake Geneka was one of the most intensely cultivated districts he had seen. There was a plateau extending for 150 miles from Geneva to Lake Constance, and it was from 40 to 50 miles broad.. The Rimutaka incline did not seem very terrible after some of the Swiss mountain railways, which evep had grades of one in two. Up the hillsides at Interlaken every inch of ground had been cultivated. Practically all the railways in Switzerland had been electrified, and that country was using over two million horse-power of hydroenergy. On the Rigi there were" three hotels on the summit, 5000 feet up, which were only kept open in the summer. In conversation with an intelligent Swiss he learnt that three crops of hay were taken from a pasture in a year. There were cables coming down the slopes of mountains, and it turned out that these wore used for conveying grass from the meadows above to the farms below. The Swiss people had to economise, in every possible direction. In a country not'much bigger than the Wellington province there was a population of six million, and the annual value of their agricultural products was 60 million sterling. In the winter the cattle were fed with oil-cake and with hay saved in the summer.

At Interlaken he went to an hotel which was a lasting delight for homeliness and comfort. The town was between' two lakes; the valley was dotted with farms and the population there seemed to be very dense. He went on the railway that climbs the Jungfrau, a height of 11,450 ft, but suffered from mountain sickness on reaching the summit. The passengers changed trains three times, and in the course of their journey they came to a part from which they had a magnificent view of the Bernese Oberland. For four and a-half miles on the last stage of the trip the train worked its way not over but through the mountains, passing through three of them. The view from the hotel on top was indescribable, and would remain in his memoryl as long as he lived. The return journey took the party by another route, by Grindewald., The panorama was so varied that the impression given was that of looking at a revolving picture.

Lucerne was, he thought, the most beautiful city he had scon. It was dominated by Mt. Pilatus, where, tradition said, the body of Pontius Pilate eventually found its resting place. The town was German, and he had the pleasure of attending a Rotary meeting there and meeting some of the leading citizens. The borders of the laker were laid out with trees and flowers, and everything seemed to be done to attract the tourist. The majority of the people that he* met spoke English. On travelling to the top of the Rigi he saw a scene which was like a lake of milk, through which the peaks of mountains showed like islands.

Lugano, on the Italian side of St. Gothard, was a pretty town situated near the lake of that name. After leaving Lucerne a difference was-'’noticed in the people and their ways, which did not compare favourably with those of the more northern part of the country, the inhabitants of which were more cleanly and industrious. In conclusion, .Mr Bennett .advised any of his hearers who might contemplate a trip to Switzerland to spend at least four days at Interlaken and a week at Lucerne. A hearty vote of thanks to Mr Bennett for his interesting address was moved by Mr K. Aitken, and carried by acclamation, Mr Bennett suitably responding.