Fantasy Friday: Fun in the Thun

Switzerland in winter is every bit as beautiful as you imagine it. Limpid mountain lakes; proper snow-capped Alps; cutesy choo-choo cogwheel trains; clumps of snow clinging to the pines and even the fruit trees like cotton wool; and chalets so adorable you expect a cuckoo to pop out of the top window at any moment. (And, yes, having been very firmly corrected by a luxury watch dude on this topic, I now know that cuckoo clocks are Bavarian, not Swiss.)

Our first encounter with it? This little beauty, Thun. Set at the head of a 10-mile mountain lake, with medieval sluices, a turreted Gothic castle, adorable cobbled streets and a splendid 16th-century town hall. And, of course, the essential elements of any Swiss retreat: cheese-based cuisine, charming boutiques and eye-bleedingly expensive watch shops. I recommend it.