Diccon Bewes

A fun series of illustrations using false cognates in English and German for the puns.

This book does what it sets out to do - comparing and contrasting travel in Victorian times with the present day. The notion is a good one, following in the footsteps of the first organised Cook's tour to Switzerland, bringing out how much the country has changed - becoming immeasurably wealthier.

I certainly would not have read this if I hadn't lived in Geneva for three years. If I had started it, I would not have finished it. As it is, I did get through it although I often was irritated by the author. I should have skipped the epilogue. I also marked down for the stupid font (in the German edition). The weird question marks detract from reading.

I'm biased! Switzerland is my favourite country outside the UK, and this book describing two parallel journeys 150 years apart concentrates on my favourite areas, Geneva and the Alps, the Bernese Oberland and Lucerne and its surroundings. I was astonished at the level of hardship gentile middle class travellers on Thomas Cook's first tour were prepared to endure; the length of their traveling days was frequently 14 hours and upwards. This is a nice gentle read which informs as it entertains.