Anna Hartley is an Australian writer.

She has lived in Paris and Beijing since 2011.

Her work has been published in The Washington Post, France 24, Forbes Travel Guide, The Houston Chronicle, The New Zealand Herald, The Vancouver Sun, the Beijinger, and Babbel Magazine.

Mountain High, Yodel Low: One Unforgettable Week In Switzerland

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Mountain High, Yodel Low: One Unforgettable Week In Switzerland

Before August of this year I’d never knowingly tasted a drop of Swiss wine, and I haven’t tasted one since. It’s not that I wouldn’t like to, it’s just that Switzerland only exports 1% of its yearly production so it’s not terribly easy to come by.

That’s Switzerland in a nutshell: full of interesting treasures which it is happy to share, but which you will have to go there to enjoy. Luckily, I got a whole week to explore some of this small but remarkable country. 

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This Swimming Life

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This Swimming Life

The glacial waters of the Aare River flow through Thun with an icy-blueness that astounded me at first. I joked that the people of Switzerland must be adding dye to the water to impress me, because I couldn’t reconcile the astonishing colour with my Australian idea of a river- dark tannin and mud water lazily flowing through bush valleys. My Swiss hosts shrugged away my demands for an explanation, ‘It’s just that way’. 

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