Pearls summer

Not everyone has a garden, but everyone can have an apple tree – by sponsoring a tree in the apple-growing village of Altnau, for example, or by planting a new one, in which case you can choose the variety and location yourself. Every sponsored tree has a sign with the name of the sponsor, who naturally gets to harvest the apples as well, either whole or in the form of freshly pressed apple juice.

Lots of animals come alive at night. But the Walterzoo is the only zoo in Switzerland to admit visitors after dark to enable them to watch four-legged predators in action – naturally from a safe distance! Supper is served in an Indian-style tipi and after that it’s time for bed so that next morning you will feel sufficiently rested to take a look at the zoo by day.

Many people regard cows as the most amiable of creatures, but few realize that they can literally be taken for a ride. After a brief introduction at the Bolderhof, guests get to saddle their own cow ready for a three-hour tour across meadows, along riverbanks and through woods. The leisurely ride is an excellent opportunity to get to know these extraordinary animals even better. And you’re sure to love them even more by the end of it!

Just imagine being able to make your own soft cheese in a huge copper kettle over an open fire! This is what you can do at Hemishofen, an organic farm where you can learn how to lend your cheese its own special flavour and how to refine it with herbs. You can also churn your own butter and sample it on freshly made bread. And those wanting something to wash it down with can help themselves to a glass of fresh milk by milking one of the farm’s many forbearing cows!

Not the animals, of course, but a kind of gingerbread which is a speciality of Canton Appenzell. And because Biber – the German word for beavers – taste best when you make them yourself, it helps to watch a master baker at work and take your cues from him. With your beavers in the oven, you can watch the local wood carver fashioning a typical Appenzell cutting board, which like the beavers you will be able to take home with you.

Spend a whole day learning to be a dolphin and sea-lion trainer! This is what you can do at the theme park Conny-Land. The first job of the day is to get the sea-lions out of “bed”. And then, after learning a few important tricks, you can give them their breakfast, too. The next highlight is sure to be your session with the dolphins. The day also includes important, but less glamorous jobs such as taking water samples and learning how to portion fish.

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At nightfall in the old town of Schaffhausen and Stein am Rhein, the Middle Ages comes back to life; for this is the hour at which the night watchman begins his rounds. And if you accompany him, you will get to see not only the town’s best beauty spots, but also its best kept secrets. Your guide, moreover, will regale you with tales both instructive and ghoulish, ranging from the town’s brothels and the iron hand of the law to plague epidemics and conflagrations.

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