TEN SUISSE OBSERVATIONS

10. FRANCS - The Swiss don't use the Euro, which is a smart move given their history of strong economic performance. The currency is Swiss Francs (CHF). They have a 5 CHF coin, which is dangerous because it makes it seem like you aren't spending much when you actually are - especially when beers are 6 CHF.

9. CLEANLINESS - Switzerland is very clean, whether you pay 2 CHF to use the public toilets or not.

8. CHEESE - Saw a lot of different types of cheese. Whose idea was it to have so many types? Coming from someone who doesn't like cheese, it seems a trifle unnecessary.

7. WATCHES - Watches in Switzerland are more popular than eski's in Australia or guns in the USA. Every second shop sells top quality watches, as well as Swiss Army Knives, but I guess here they're just called 'army knives' (but in German).

6. COWS - Cows are presumably quite a commodity in Switzerland, what with the cheese fetish and all that. The safety of the cows is a high priority - they have massive reinforced steel & wire fences erected along the mountains to catch any cows that fall and roll down towards the roads.

5. SNOW - it's almost summer here, but we've seen it snow twice. It's bloody cold, but it looks awesome - postcard-worthy.

4. TUNNELS - There's probably just as many tunnels in Switzerland as there are watches. Given that most of the country is alpine or hilly the Swiss said 'stuff it' and just smashed out a heap of tunnels for their major roads. It's pretty impressive and efficient, but it does take away a lot of the views when you're travelling. The good thing about the tunnel design is that they all have a lot of emergency exits, probably every 100m. Sly Stallone would have much less issue in the event of a cave-in. I guess the movie Daylight would probably only have gone for 11 minutes though... hardly seems worth it.

3. PUBLIC TRANSPORT - Given the epic & random terrain the public transport on the mountains has to be creative. The mountain trains and cable cars are very cool to ride. They're also great if you're afraid of heights.

2. HOSPITALITY - The Swiss people are a very friendly and hospitable bunch. I guess they have a good quality of life, and never have a problem with running late.

1. VIEWS - I could harp on about it, but there's no need, you have to see it for yourself. The natural scenery is breathtaking.