It was a fresh May morning. Wavelets gently lapped against Lake Lucerne's shoreline. The nocturnal croaking of the frogs had been replaced by shrilling swifts in search of a muesli breakfast of mosquitoes. A cool breeze shifted the veil of mist and life stirred in the lakeside village of Weggis in Central Switzerland. Below my balcony, a uniformed tour director, clipboard in hand, counted the valises lined outside our hotel.

I was not alone in my musings. Novelist Mark Twain had also been enamoured by this village: "This is the charmingest place we have ever lived in for repose and restfulness, superb scenery whose beauty undergoes a perpetual change from one miracle to another."

Eager to explore this slice of paradise, I shouldered my backpack and walked to the nearby boat station cum visitor center. Determined to shake off our transatlantic jetlag, my husband and I opted for a refreshing hike along the escarpment behind Weggis.

Known as the Rigi Kulm which stands at 1800 m., it is a mere infant compared to the Eiger and the Jungfrau which top 4000 m. An enclosed gondola whisked us above Weggis and over pristine alpine meadows dotted with red-and-white Simmental cows. I pondered on the fact that a century ago, the elite including Queen Victoria, were carried up the slopes in sedans and chairs. Isolated from all traffic, the Rigi was indeed a perfect place for hiking and picnicking and our return by cog railway was exhilarating.

The next morning was crystal clear so, taking advantage of our Swiss Rail pass, we traveled to the mountain resort of Engelberg at the base of snowy Mount Titlis (3020 m).

Our final ascent was aboard a revolving gondola which looked like a giant blue and white tuna can. At the summit station we put our non-slip-hiking boots to the test by taking an eerie walk through the ice tunnels of the Glacier Grotto. Afterwards we joined the throngs of warmly clad visitors and skiers who were basking in deck chairs on the sun terrace. With much laughter and slipping, a colorful delegation of sari-clad ladies was scouting out the glacier as a prospective film location. Leaning over the steep precipice, I forfeited my packed lunch to the mountain birds that deftly caught morsels on the wing.

Feeling a little chilly, we returned to the valley to visit the Benedictine monastery and cheese factory in Engelberg. A little more conservative than the magnificent Baroque Abbey in nearby Einsiedeln, the bucolic setting alone would bring peace to the even the most troubled soul.

My favorite waterways are the twin lakes of Thun and Brienz which are separated by the Victorian resort town of Interlaken. From here steamers zigzag across the lakes calling at picture-perfect villages such as the fairytale castle at Oberhofen.

At Merligen on Lake Thun, we disembarked for a hike up to the St. Beatus caves once inhabited by an Irish monk. The guided tour took us through a limestone forest of stalactites and stalagmites and beside pristine underground lakes. A must-see on Lake Brienz is the Ballenberg open-air museum. Spread over 200 acres of countryside, visitors are introduced to more than 80 century-old buildings transported from almost every canton. Although we kept up a reasonable pace, we only succeeded in covering a third of the area so it is earmarked for a return visit.

For a little cultural diversity, we decided to leave the German-speaking area and explore the French-speaking part by travelling west to Neuchatel. A town with a relaxed atmosphere, shoppers linger in the street markets and cafes spill out onto cobblestone streets.

Its historic center is a hilly, heart-stopping climb up to its 12th century castle, church and prison tower. From the ramparts we absorbed the breathtaking view across Lake Neuchatel and the hills clothed in vineyards. From the marina, we took a leisurely boat trip through the canal to the fortified town of Murten. This place is truly a historical gem and we spent the rest of the day wandering along the city walls, ramparts and towers.

For the last section of our tripartite visit, we took a morning train to the exotic town of Lugano in the southern canton of Ticino. On arrival, gesticulating Italian-speaking Swiss directed us to the little funicular which took us down to the shoreline of Lake Lugano.

With wooded mountains marching steeply down to the turquoise waters, it is no wonder that the town is dubbed "Rio of the Old World". The Mediterranean sun was intense so armed with a cool Gelato, we boarded a lake cruiser destined for the village of Gandria.

This sleepy little town is an artist's paradise. Stepped passageways and cobblestone alleys wend between ochre-colored houses and lead up to a little Baroque church. Green shutters keep out the sun while passionflowers and wisteria cascade from mold-encrusted terra cotta pots.

Our last lakeside port of call was a visit to Swissminiatur at Melide. Popular for young and old alike, visitors wander through a model of the architectural highlights of Switzerland built in stone to a scale of 1:25. Each feature is linked by perfectly-synchronized trains, boats and cable cars.

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