In early September, shortly after Eileen and I returned from a month-long trip to Canada, I received a message from my cousin Jordan. He conceived of the trip, bought the plane ticket and departed all within a few days, so he left most of the details to organise en route.
For his visit, I wanted to take Jordan hiking in the high Alps. They include the ultra-famous Matterhorn and the two highest peaks in Switzerland: Monte Rosa and the Dom. The most famous place in the Val de Bagnes is perhaps the ski resort of Verbier , which lies midway up the valley. Jordan and I were bound for the head of the valley, above Verbier. My referencing all of these valleys may make for a plodding read, but it reflects my fascination with the differences between how Canadians and Swiss conceive of their geographies.
When I describe the location of places in Canada, for example towns or mountains, I usually begin by naming the province and then the nearest big city β the political geography of the place. Only occasionally would I use a physical feature for further description, and then just the features that are huge enough to appear on a world map: the west coast, Vancouver Island or the Saint Lawrence River, for example.
By contrast, for a long time in Switzerland, I found myself lost when a Swiss person tried to describe to me the location of their small hometown, their favourite ski resort or the town where their parents own a second home. I had a rough image of the Swiss political map in my head, complete with the big cities and some of the main cantons.
But in their descriptions, the Swiss often omit cantons and cities entirely, and situate places in the little valleys where they are found.
