I imagined Switzerland with its meadows where cows graze with their bells, the mountains, and the Swiss comfortably seated on their benches. It's a bit like that, but it's also a country where the valleys are a vast industrial park, with state-of-the-art factories allowing skilled and well-paid workers to lead comfortable lives. What's extraordinary is that, with the changing terrain, you go from this vast industrial park to hilltop neighborhoods of log houses with spectacular views, to a forest where seasonal chalets slumber, to alpine meadows where the bells of fat cows jingle, to the alpine tundra where snowfields and glaciers persist, slumbering in the cool altitude. You can travel from one to the other in an hour or two by car, or in two or three days on foot along a network of trails that stretches across the entire country. A hiker's paradise. Hidden away in the mountains, you can even find refreshment stands where you can enjoy a cheese fondue before heading back down for a nap in the fresh air. I certainly didn't miss out.