There are people who think you have to live in or near Zurich because there is always something going on there. Far from it, because even in the Bernese Oberland there is a lot on offer for residents and tourists. There is the wrestling and alpine festival, alpine parades, livestock shows, horse jumping tournaments, yodeling evenings, the Blue Lake, the country festival and much more. (There is currently even an open-air theater in Frutigen with the performance «Lötschberg – A valley on the upturn».)

And then there is also the BLS, which offers interesting tours around its infrastructure. Last year we went on a hike along the Lötschberg north ramp. This time we took a guided tour through a section of the almost 35 kilometer long Lötschberg Base Tunnel which runs from Frutigen to Raron, in Valais and was opened in 2007. The construction cost around 4.5 billion Swiss francs – one billion was spent on security alone.

The tour, carried out by two motivated and recently retired BLS employees, was an experience. We will never forget when, protected by a six-centimeter-thick bulletproof glass pane, we saw a passenger train rushing past at 200 km/h.

PS: If you want to know more about this tunnel, read here.