Alps

The three founding cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden have a history of confederacy that goes back to more than 700 years. Actually, it was 1291 that those three forest cantons signed the Federal Charter. This puts Switzerland arguably among the world's oldest republics. The charter united the involved parties in the struggle against the rule by the Habsburgs. I personally remember, the Battle of Morgarten on November 15, 1315. It wasn't until 1353, that the three original cantons had been joined by the cantons of Glarus and Zug and the city cantons of Berne, Luzerne and Zurich. The last cantons of Geneva, Valais and Neuchatel that joined the territory of Switzerland wasn't until 1815.

The Alps cover 65% of Switzerland's surface area, making it one of the most alpine countries. At 15,203 ft, Monte Rosa is the highest mountain in Switzerland, although the Matterhorn (14,692 ft) is probably the most famous. Both are located within the Pennine Alps in the canton of Valais. A restaurant in a genuine mountain chalet in Verbier, the Restaurant Pierroz from top chef and owner Roland Pierroz, author of "Vertiges" a superb French book of recipes, proposes top-level creative gourmet cuisine based on seasonal market products. In the same building, you will find two more of his restaurants. These are the restaurant La Pinte, which has a fine and informal menu and the warm and welcoming "restaurant Baravin". A friend of mine that now lives in Switzerland was meeting me at the Pierrez. We had the most exquisite meals, "chaud-froid" a marvelously juicy fig with almonds and possibly the best honey in the world, bought in the Cevennes. My friend Ruhr, who is an actor by the way, ordered a seafood salad and noted that it was "half an aquarium on his plate". Ruhr enjoys living in Switzerland because of the privacy. But he is originally from Germany, which borders to the Northeast.

The summers tend to be warm and humid at times with periodic rainfall so they are ideal for pastures and grazing. The winters in the mountains alternate with sun and snow, while the lower lands tend to be more cloudy and foggy in winter. A weather phenomenon known as the föhn can occur at all times of the year, even in winter, and is characterized by a relatively warm wind, bringing air of very low relative humidity. It is a warming nostalgic feeling of the Mediterranean

* German (64%, yellow)

* French (19%, purple)

* Italian (8%, green)

* Romansh (less than 1%, red)

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