(Photo courtesy of state.gov)

As we all sit cooped up in our houses and apartments, week in and week out, I’m willing to bet I’m not the only person who has been spending even more time than usual trolling kayak.com, Priceline, and various travel websites – dreaming of adventures to come, just as soon as quarantine is lifted.  Right?  (In fact, I know I’m not: read my friend Katie’s musings on travel dreams during quarantine.)  And while I think I know where our next trip will be, whenever that happens (we’re overdue for a visit to my brother in Colorado) I have big Alpine dreams, too.  Steve and I have been discussing making another trip to Europe in the next few years, with the kids in tow, and we’re pretty much decided on Austria and Switzerland (and maybe a detour to Germany?) as the destination.  My ancestors came from both – and Poland and Hungary too; I’m a hodgepodge – and I’ve long wanted to see something of the region that is part of my family history.  Since this trip is a couple of years away even under the best of circumstances, for now I’m contenting myself with armchair travel.  Mostly, it’s working, although I’m yearning even more for that long-awaited first sight of the Alps.

First of all, no virtual trip to Switzerland could possibly be complete without Joanna Spyri’s childhood classic, Heidi.  I’ve lost count of how many times I read Heidi as a little girl, but I’d never picked it up as an adult – although I own a copy of the gorgeous Puffin in Bloom edition.  Despite the decades-long hiatus, I found the image of little five-year-old Heidi, struggling along up a mountainside to her grandfather’s hut immediately familiar.  I’d forgotten most of the other plot points, but something of the aura – of mountain wildflowers and goat’s cheese – had certainly stayed with me.  Heidi is as pure and wholesome as the Alpine air, and cynical adults may find the plot contrived and unsatisfying – certainly everything always works out tidily for Heidi, Grandfather (or “Uncle Alp” as the villagers call him, because of course they do) and the other characters.  Deserving characters like Clara, Grandmamma, and Peter’s grannie are rewarded with things like soft white rolls, cozy beds, and the ability to walk; those who need to be punished are punished.  And the sun continues to rise and set the mountains aglow.  This is a children’s book, and it reads like a children’s book, but it’s a rich and colorful one with a strong sense of place, and there’s something to be said in these anxious times for picking up a book in which you know it’s all going to turn out just fine and everyone will eat cheese.

All right, you’ve read Heidi and you’re ready to plan your trip.  Where to begin?  Switzerland is a gorgeous country with all kinds of diverse scenery – from crystal clear lakes to towering Alpine peaks to sophisticated European cities.  Before you book your tickets to Zurich, Lodestars Anthology: Switzerland can help you narrow down your destinations.  (Lake Lucerne and the Bernese Oberland for me, please!)  I’ve been following along with this gorgeous quarterly travel journal for some time now, picking up the issues that interest me; I’m not looking to track down out-of-print issues, but if a destination appeals I’ll grab a copy on its run.  Last year, Lodestars published their issue on Switzerland and I knew I needed to add it to my shelves, if only for the stunning photographs of the Alps.  I’ve flipped through it a few times, but earlier this month I finally sat down and read the whole thing cover to cover.  It has everything – from profiles of sophisticated hotels to an evocative piece about the winter wanderweg tradition to a breathtaking article about flying over the mountains in a hot air balloon (new bucket list item alert!) and I closed the cover even more anxious to visit and explore.

BUT since we’re all still stuck at home and most of us are not going to be wandering those Alpine paths anytime soon, the best that we can do – the best I can do, anyway – is Meredith Erickson’s absolutely stunning Alpine Cooking.  This was the one and only cookbook I requested for Christmas this year, and I was delighted to unwrap it on Christmas morning.  Erickson is a Canadian tastemaker who has a long-standing love affair with the Alps and everything about them.  Alpine Cooking is her love letter to these mountains – part cookbook, part photography collection, part travelogue – and it is lush and gorgeous and so tempting.  The book is organized into chapters for each country that can claim an Alpine tradition, so you’d better believe that Switzerland features, and prominently.  Raclette is there, of course (CHEESE!), and so is Rosti, but there are more unexpected joys.  I’ve got my eye on the hot chocolate with Alpine herbs.  It’s acceptable to have that even if you haven’t been skiing all day, right?

As of this moment, none of us know when we’ll travel again – just going to the grocery store feels like a big adventure these days.  But the day WILL come that I find myself back in the terminal at Dulles Airport, and I hope I’m destined for that plane to Zurich very soon.  In the meantime, I’m going to keep reading and dreaming of hikes through Alpine meadows, followed by bubbling pans of raclette.  It’s going to be so sweet when it finally happens.

What’s your dream destination?  Where are your armchair travels taking you these days?