Pearls summer

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.

There is a poetic beauty to Jobin’s fantastic collection of ancient musical boxes and jukeboxes. Yet no box can touch us like one we’ve made ourselves. Which is the big attraction here, where visitors can temporarily slip into the role of craftsman and make their own musical box. In addition to your favourite tune in a box, the package also includes an after-work drink and personalized certificate.

Lake Gruyère is surrounded by the most enchanting countryside. Embark on a one-hour boat trip on the lake and all you have to do is lean back and enjoy – and be astounded, too; at Rossens, for example, where nature herself has carved the head of an elephant in the cliff face, or at the medieval ruins and picturesque chapel on the tiny Île d’Ogoz.

Experience the sight of some 160 sheep being given a short back and sides – and help give it to them, if you like, if only to find out what sheep’s wool feels like when it’s still on the sheep. You can also try giving your animal a more stylish hairdo, or just admire the sheer skill and speed of the shepherds hard at work around 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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This extravagant tour in a horse-drawn coach has everything the gourmet could wish for, whether it’s a classic fondue, a zesty Raclette or meat barbecued to a crisp at your seat. And as digestif a shot of “Hengstwasser” (schnapps). All of which, thanks to the exceptionally romantic route taken through this legendary city of lights, makes for a two-hour tour of Lucerne at its finest.

An authentic slice of life in the Jura. The horses of the Pays de Fribourg have been part of the Jurassic landscape since time immemorial. Not surprisingly, therefore, the most stylish way of exploring this part of Switzerland is in a horse-drawn coach. Lovers of regional cuisine are strongly advised to interrupt their two-hour tour from Moutier to Crémines, Grandval and Eschert for a zesty cheese fondue or hearty farmhouse brunch in Grandval.

Stefan Grossenbacher is not just a goldsmith, but a professional gold digger, too. He’s also the kind of person who is happy to share his knowledge and skills with others, including how to separate gold from sand and gravel. The Napf Region, by the way, is famous for its gold rivers and is known to have attracted prospectors even in Roman times.

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It is hailed as the world’s steepest cog railway. Hence the impressiveness of the ride up the 2132-m-high Mt. Pilatus – within touching distance of fascinating cliff faces. Ride in the cab and you will get a grandstand view. And while the driver is telling you the story of the now legendary railway, you can take photos of the majestic peaks and precipitous drops all around you.