ters(4,264 feet). Coniferous forests (like pine, Scots pine and spruce) grow at up to 1,900meters (6,232 feet).Water: Europe's sources are in SwitzerlandSwitzerland has 6% of Europe's stock of fresh water. The Rhine, Rhone and Inn all taketheir source here, although their waters flow into three seas: the North Sea, theMediterranean and the Black Sea. In addition, Switzerland has over 1,500 lakes. Water iskept clean. Ninety-five percent of households are connected to sewage plants. Water isthe only raw material in the country. Hydroelectric power supplies about 60% ofSwitzerland's energy needs.FootpathsA dense network of 50,000 footpaths covers the country. Walking is very popular,especially among the German speaking Swiss. The footpaths are well signposted andwell-kept. The yellow signs are everywhere, with information about destinations, walkingtimes, distances and altitudes. But even when out walking you find you can't go very farwithout coming across inhabited areas.The world of mountainsIn a country whose people pride themselves on keeping everything pretty and neat, themountains, with their cracks and crevasses, their sheer faces and often unpredictableweather could not offer a more daunting contrast. Down below, everything is small andon a human scale. But look up, and the immense size of the mountains is overwhelming.In a hectic, ever-changing society, the mountains are a constant. To enter the mountainsmeans to enter another time zone, another world, leaving everyday life behind. They givea new perspective, both literally and figuratively. People's attitudes towards themountains have changed over the centuries. In mediaeval times they were seen as thehome of malevolent spirits. Scientists started to take an interest in them in the 18thcentury, and shortly afterwards writers and artists fired by the ideas of the Age ofRomanticism began to extol their beauty. As the 19th century progressed, more and morepeople, especially foreigne...
