It's especially popular during the cold season, and it does its main ingredient proud: the Swiss cheese fondue.

My name is Lukas Pfaff, head chef at the Romantikhotel Muottas Muragl, and today I'm going to prepare a classic Swiss cheese fondue.

The Muottas Muragl mountain, at a height of almost 2500m, is a popular destination near the winter sports resort of St.

Moritz.

The oldest funicular in the Engadin takes you up to the viewing plateau, which is also the site of a hotel with several restaurants.

For a classic Swiss cheese fondue, you will need the following ingredients: Berg cheese, white wine, cornstarch, lemon, garlic, kirsch and pepper First, Lukas Pfaff grates the cheese.

He uses four different types for this recipe.

One of them is, of course, is from the Engadin.

All the cheeses are raw milk cheeses, so Bergkäse from cows milk.

It's the mixture that makes the right fondue.

Lukas Pfaff rubs the pot with garlic for extra flavor.

Next, cornstarch, white wine and lemon juice a mixed together and poured onto the grated cheese.

To begin with, you give it all a good mix.

Then we can slowly heat it.

And keep stirring.

The true-blue Swiss say only stir to the left.

So counterclockwise.

Now we had some black pepper.

And the last ingredient two cl of Kirsch.

I'd stir the cheese fondue over medium heat, not too hot, because otherwise the cheese can easily curdle.

It can take between 5 and 10 minutes.

It's nice and shiny now.

The cheese has melted properly without lumps.

The consistency, I'd say, is beautiful.

Et voilà: Swiss cheese fondue.

A Zurich cookbook boasts what is probably the oldest cheese fondue recipe, dating back to 1699.

At that time, however, it was still called cheese with wine.

In the 1950s cheese fondue really became popular and was first embraced by Swiss kitchens.

Today, it's found on menus nation- and worldwide.

Switzerland is very well known for its fantastic cheeses, the love they put into their Bergkäse, and alpine cheeses, the grass, the herbs that grow here, the animals that produce the milk, the whole chain and the hard work it all goes into making, such as super cheese, so to speak.

It's an ancient tradition, and it stands to reason that this is the Swiss national dish.

In the ski resorts, cheese fondue is one of the most popular dishes.

It's served in a caquelon, a pot that's usually ceramic and kept warm on the so-called rechaud.

A type of rye bread is speared with long fondue forks and then dipped into the melted cheese.

Cheese fondue stands for coziness and is usually shared by a group.

In the winter, when it's very cold, you come into a cabin like this.

I think it's just wonderful.

And just when you open the door, you feel the smell from this type of cheese.

I think that is really, really, really nice.

I think fondue is a must when skiing and this cheesy taste is really nice and very good.

As we all know, the simplest dishes are often the best, and this is certainly true for the world famous Swiss cheese fondue.

♪♪♪ Snow dusted mountains and glistening glaciers, rocky gorges and stunning ski slopes.

This is train travel at its peak.

Hi there, I'm Hannah Hummel and today I'm traveling on a Glacier Express.

The twisting track travels through some of Switzerland's most scenic landscapes... Which is why it's often described as one of the most breathtaking journeys in the world.

I'm starting my journey in St.

Moritz, a winter sports resort beloved by the jet set.

It's early, the sun is just rising and it's -ten degrees Celsius.

But hopefully it'll be worth it for the gorgeous winter views I've been promised.

Our eight hour long trip through the Swiss Alps begins in St.

Moritz, continues through Chur, Andermatt and Brig and ends in Zermatt.

The route connects two ski resort towns, often viewed as the winter playgrounds of the rich and famous.

The Glacier Express calls itself the world's slowest fast train, averaging just 38km an hour.

It passes through 91 tunnels and crosses 291 bridges, including the Landwasser Viaduct, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The train is making a somewhat longer stop to switch engines.

So I'm going to see if I can have a quick chat with the train driver.

Hello!

Can you tell me a bit about what it's like to actually drive a train like this?

In snow, it's quite challenging.

You need to have good concentration and an overview of the route, as well as know the mountains and where the dangerous parts are.

I hurry back onto the train just in time for lunch.

The Glacier Express prepares all of its food on board in this tiny kitchen.

It offers a three-course meal of traditional Swiss cuisine that goes perfectly with the surrounding scenery.

Verena Mürgele has worked on board since 2018.

The guests are international.

There are new guests every day, which makes the job interesting.

We get to exchange stories, which makes the day so enriching.

Then she serves me a traditional schnapps.

Just for digestion, of course Thatll get you going!

The Glacier Express wasn't always a luxury tourist attraction.

It started running in 1930 as a way for locals to get around, but only in the summer months.

The vast amount of snow and ice made it too difficult to operate in the winter.

In the early 1980s, the Swiss began to recognize the train's tourism potential.

The railway line was overhauled so it could run year round.

The Glacier Express became one of the world's most successful and well-known tourist trains.

Several hours into the journey, we reach the highest point on the line: the Oberalp Pass, at an elevation of 2033m.

No wonder this is also a popular ski area.

This is definitely the most amazing view so far.

It's like being inside a snow globe.

So we've still got a few more hours to go.

I think I'm going to try and explore the train and see if there's anything else to see.

So I'm sitting in first class, but there's even an extra class: Excellence Class.

Let's go take a look around.

Tickets for these seats cost an eye watering 650.

So, unsurprisingly, there are only a few people in this carriage.

I order a negroni at the bar made with regional Swiss gin.

Cheers.

300km later, the train reaches its destination.

After eight hours, we've finally arrived in Zermatt.

It was like a winter wonderland, gorgeous scenery.

But now it's a really time to stretch my legs.

I even catch a glimpse of the famous Matterhorn, just as the sun sets over this beautiful village.

Pristine nature, breathtaking views, stunning architecture - the Swiss Canton of Graubünden has a lot to offer.

The new Alpine Circle route takes in all the highlights.

Hi, I'm Diana Piñeros from DW Euromaxx.

For two days, I'm exploring the Swiss Alps on an e-bike to visit the most beautiful places in the region.

Let's go!

My first stop is the City of Chur, where residents speak German, Romansh and Italian.

From Switzerlands oldest town, three different Alpine Circle routes lead you through the mountains.

One is 150km long, another 200, and a third 450km.

The middle route leads me to a stunning 65 meter high train bridge.

And finally, the famous Bernina Express is coming up, also known as ‘the little red.

Wohoo!

This view is fantastic!

I continue to the foot of the viaduct which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Look at this amazing view!

I meet Dieter Dubkowitsch from the Rhaetian Railway Company.

What makes this train so special?

This is a one meter gauge railway or narrow gauge railway.

Everything is a bit smaller.

The red carriages became the norm many years ago.

In the beginning the train was actually painted green.

Italians referred to the Bernina Express as the ‘Trenino Rosso.

I push on over rough terrain.

I cant do it!

But I won't give up.

I continue up the mountain.

What a relief to be on an e-bike.

I saw a lot during the first 100km.

My first day comes to an end in Pontresina.

Today, the journey continues with the cable car.

Im driving uphill to the Diavolezza - a ski station at an altitude of almost 3000m, The Diavolezza is famous for its jaw-dropping views of glaciers, and the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps: the Piz Bernina.

The Morteratsch and Pers glacier cover a total of 16km.

So, what can you experience up here?

up here in winter, there's the wonderful ten kilometer descent down the glacier to Morteratsch.

In summer you can do the glacier trail, which also leads down from the Diavolezza.

This Alpine scenery is really something!

The next 50 kilometer leg of the route to the next stop takes about 3.5 hours by bike.

By car it will be 50 minutes.

Graubünden has around 11,000km of bike paths in all.

The Swiss National Park with this 170km is the country's largest nature reserve.

Here, cycling is not allowed.

You have been working here for 26 years.

What kind of animals have you seen?

We get a lot of deer, goats and ibexes in summer.

I've spotted bears and wolves as well.

It was very special to see such predators.

My last stop is straight out of a fairytale... Heidis Village, here we are!

This mountain village above the town of Maienfeld inspired 19th century Swiss novelist Johanna Spyri to write Heidi, a world famous children's book.

It has been translated into over 50 languages.

Heidi, a five year old orphan, grows up in her grandfather's care.

Here visitors can following her footsteps.

I have to say, it was really demanding to explore five different places in two days on a bike.

But it was thoroughly worth it.

I especially liked Diavolezza!

A real experience that I can totally recommend.

The Alpine Circle route has over 20 highlights.

It's a scenic route you can explore by bike, car, or even on foot.

The Akris label embodies some 100 years of timeless fashion with an artistic touch - and it enjoys international renown.

So how does the brand maintain its appeal A century later?

It's Switzerland's only fashion label to present its own collections at Paris shows.

I don't know if we would be talking here if I hadn't taken this step.

It's wonderful to have studios in St.

Gallen.

And I continue to make all the collections from there.

But to communicate with the world, Paris is best.

The brand was inducted into the official program of the Parisian Chamber of Haute Couture in 2004.

It was a great honor, but also upped the pressure on designer Albert Kriemler.

Of course, that was a key moment for our company and its entire history.

From that moment onward, I had to create this image every season, and of course, I needed to consistently aim to make wearable, modern clothes - often timeless but interesting.

And I wanted to find an additional message.

I then very subjectively applied the first inspirations from artists.

Sometimes just colors, sometimes themes.

But he needed more.

The designer didn't want to simply draw inspiration from the artists.

He wanted to work with them.

One of his closest collaborations is with Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto.

Kriemler was particularly fascinated by his 2013 temporary installation shown in London, entitled the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.

I stood in front of this white cloud and thought: Wow!

Minimalistic architecture can be so sensual.

And in the end, he created it from a white piece of metal and a glass plate.

And yet this structure stood delicately in front of these green park landscapes.

And I said: I want to meet him.

The fashion designer and the architect ended up meeting in Paris and Tokyo, where they formed a strong bond.

Alberts works gets impressions by my architecture.

Then he transforms by his own way.

So his work is already something new for me, but still have a connection.

The collaboration resulted in the 2016 Summer collection currently being shown in the Museum for Gestaltung in Zurich.

The 100th anniversary of the family business gave way to the current exhibition.

The fashion house was once founded by Albert Kriemlers grandmother, who sewed aprons.

She actually created the basis for what we do today.

We clothe women who make things move in life.

And back then she made clothes for working women, as well as aprons for mothers for day to day tasks.

And now we're continuing that tradition all over the world.

And there's even a princess wearing his creations.

Charlène, Princess of Monaco.

Kriemler first met her in his boutique in the tiny country 13 years ago, and she's been wearing Akris dresses regularly ever since, like this one.

She wore it at the Grand Prix last year.

She's the epitome of a sporty, modern woman when she's being herself, which she can't always be.

But I really appreciate that.

And so we're here to help.

Whether as a princess, businesswoman, mother or artist, you have to feel fashion, not just see it.

That's the Swiss designers motto.

And that's why visitors to his exhibition even sometimes get to try on the cashmere coats.

Ernesto is two and a half years old, and the first child in this small Swiss mountain village of Corippo in about 50 years.

His parents threw everything overboard and came here a year ago.

Désirée Voitle and Jeremy Gehring are helping turn Corippo into a hotel village.

They run in osteria and rent out rooms in some of the old abandoned stone houses.

The village in the Ticino region once had 300 inhabitants, but now there are just nine, counting Ernesto and his parents.

We heard about this project by chance.

And we saw it as an opportunity to do something together.

At first we had a lot of doubts, but we wanted to give it a shot.

Now it really seems to be working - and we hope it stays that way.

The hotel has a total of ten rooms so far, but they call it an 'albergo diffuso', a hotel thats spread out across the village.

The alleyways are the hallways and corridors of the hotel.

The osteria is the main building and reception area.

Désirée Voitle is trained in the hospitality branch, while Jeremy Gehring is a gourmet chef.

We're passionate about our work, the hotel, the cuisine, the choice of ingredients and hospitality.

It's a tough job, but we really enjoy it.

But we can't handle everything on our own.

We have employees and that livens things up here.

Corippo Is a listed site, so they were only allowed to make minimal changes when restoring it.

The rooms are named after the people who once lived here.

The residents left the village because it was no longer possible to make a living here through forestry or farming.

A foundation tasked with saving Corippo from decay came up with the village hotel concept and bought ten old buildings.

Jeremy Gehring prefers to use local products to cook in the hotel osteria - like polenta from the village mill.

Corippo lies to the north of Lake Maggiore, and the surrounding nature attracts many hikers and sport enthusiasts.

It's the first season for the new albergo diffuso, but already on the weekend, it's fully booked.

It's a good idea to create jobs in remote valleys.

I grew up in a mountain village myself.

It's very innovative and a way to get people back into these valleys, to enjoy the peace and quiet - and the landscape.

The few locals left hope the project will bring their village back to life.

The hotel doesn't bother us because otherwise the village would die out over time.

Because the few of us left here aren't young anymore.

Ernesto attends a kindergarten in the valley below.

It's a 15 minute drive away.

Désirée Voitle is glad hes gotten used to village life.

In this tiny place, everyone knows everyone and Ernesto likes it.

He says, “There's Valentino drinking a cafe macchiato!” and when we go upstairs, he yells, “Bye, Max!

Bye Silvana.” He knows everyone and that's great.

Soon, another two rooms are due to be added to the albergo diffuso.

Because the hotel is doing so well - at least in summer, they want to stay open all year round.

The French/Swiss couple aren't afraid of getting lonely in winter.

In the winter, the osteria will be more important.

Not so much the hotel.

We need time.

We're just getting started.

But we're pretty confident.

Désirée Voitle and her family had comfortable lives down in the valley before moving up to this remote mountain village.

But they haven't regretted their decision for even one minute.

I'm in the middle of nowhere, and this is probably the most isolated hotel in Switzerland.

Why would anyone build a hotel here?

That's what I want to know.

But getting up here is not easy since the only road leading up to the hotel is closed in winter time.

It's freezing here.

But before I jump in the jacuzzi, I'm going to show you how I got here.

The adventure begins at an altitude of 600m in Innertkirchen, a village with about 1000 inhabitants, two hours from Zürich.

In winter, you can only get to the hotel with the guide and Luzius Gartmann is already waiting for me.

Together, with 16 other travelers, we drive to Handeck.

But not everyone is heading all the way up to the hotel.

So at this point the road is closed.

Yes.

But at the moment it looks pretty good.

It would be no problem at the moment, but quite often - like here we had several times big avalanches that went over the street, like three meters high.

Oh, wow!

Yes.

After 20 minutes by bus, we take the cable car through the Alps to Gerstenegg, a well-known climbing spot.

Then we continue underground through the tunnel to the Grimsel hydroelectric power plant.

From there two more kilometers of tunnels await us and before returning to the daylight, we make a stop.

This crystal fissure was discovered in 1974 during the construction of the tunnel.

Crazy!

Finally, one more cable car.

So, the weather today is fantastic.

It's beautiful.

Beautiful.

But if the weather gets bad, can this route be dangerous?

No, no, if it's very windy, if there is a storm, it's possible that this teleferic cannot start anymore.

Oh, okay.

And is there any alternative for that?

Yeah.

We have to go to an old tunnel down 260 steps.

So we are lucky today.

Yes, we are lucky.

We all are.

Whoa, whoa!

At last, we arrive.

So after an hour and a half, we made it.

We are now at an altitude of 1980m above the sea level.

But I'm kind of used to it.

My city, Bogota in Colombia, is 2600m high.

So let's see how it goes.

I start trekking up the highest point to taking the views.

The Grimsel Hospiz, now perched above a reservoir, has been an important stop for travelers crossing the Alps on foot since the Middle Ages.

But in 1929 it had to give way to the dam walls, and it was subsequently rebuilt on a rock.

Markus Meier has been running the place since 2019.

So, why should someone visit the Hotel Grimsel Hospiz?

It's a unique place in winter, at least in Switzerland, if not worldwide.

The journey alone is worth it with the tunnels, power plants and the Crystal Gorge.

Then, you get the panorama and this quiet.

What is it like for you to run a hotel here in the middle of nowhere?

Managing a hotel here is, of course, very exciting.

It's nice, but very demanding at the same time.

We exclusively use fresh produce in our kitchen, and that has to be transported up daily.

Twice a week.

The hotel receives deliveries, big and small, depending on the number of guests.

We take both bus and train, just like the guests do.

It's time for the comfy part of my trip being served a six course meal for dinner.

And just look at those views.

I think it's really beautiful here, high up in the mountains with the calm and the snow.

Wonderful.

I can only recommend it.

I'm sure we'll be back in the summer.

And after a long day, here comes my reward.

Or maybe not.

I do have to admit once that you are in here, its just wonderful.

Cheers!

The Grimsel Hospiz is really remote, but the journey was totally worth it.