In 2010 I spent some time in Switzerland, visiting many of its cities and towns.

Zurich is apparently the wealthiest city in Europe.

There is a legend that the saints Felix and Regula were executed on the site of the Wasserkirche, and that Charlemagne founded the Grossmünster on the site of their graves. Centuries later, the reformer Zwingli preached there.

Château Chillon sits on the eastern edge of Lake Geneva, near Montreux.

Lord Byron once visited Château Chillon and wrote a poem about its famous prisoner, François De Bonivard.

Fribourg is a small, perfect gothic town, with hundreds of ancient houses along narrow streets.

The tower of Fribourg Cathedral was completed in the 1490s, apparently following the example of Freiburg (in Germany), which in turn was influenced by English perpendicular.

Lausanne is a very hilly city on the north side of Lake Geneva.

Medieval architect Villard De Honnecourt drew the distinctive design of the rose window in his notebook. In the nineteenth century, the famous architect Viollet-Le-Duc performed restorations on the cathedral.

Geneva is associated with the Protestant Reformation and international bodies like the League Of Nations.

The beautiful Chapel Of The Maccabees dates from 1400, although the exquisite decoration dates from after the Reformation, naturally. The reformer Calvin preached in the small chapel adjacent to the cathedral.
The huge monument to the Reformation is inscribed with the motto post tenebras lux and includes many prominent figures such as Cromwell, Calvin, Zwingli and Knox.

My base of operations was Crans-Montana and neighbouring Sierre, in Valais.