Haus am See
I never thought about traveling to Switzerland until Francesca and Marcel Falk spent six weeks with us in Berkeley, the Summer of 2007(?). They were our first and most important SERVAS guests.
SERVAS, an organization for travelers, was founded by an American Serviceman following World War II on the premise that people who know others from cultures and countries are far less likely to demonize, accept stereotypes and go to war again those they do not know .
After the Falk’s visit with us, they insisted that we come to Switzerland to meet their families. We did that the following summer. First we traveled to the small town of Reineck on the Lake of Constance, where Francesca and Marcel had grown up. We were very warmly received by both their families. Their parents belong to our generation
We cycled with Francesca’s mother and father. Swam in the Lake of Constance, enjoyed several delightful family meals together that included the siblings of both Marcel and Francesca as well as their parents.
After our visit to their families’ homes, Marcel and Francesca invited us to spend a week at the Haus am See located on the western shore of Lake Lucerne.
Lake Lucerne is a long, long shimmering stretch of pristine water sliced between the alps on the east and north and rolling hills on the west.
Now in June of 2025, we made a third visit to Haus am See with Francesca. Before we arrived by train from Bern, she told me that she usually swam at 6 am just after awakening. I felt amazed, so early, I asked myself.
The chalet, a merely twenty paces from the glittering water of Lake Lucerne, makes taking a swim at any time almost as easy as taking a bath.
On June 16, we arrived at the Lucerne train station, then took an air conditioned bus along the lakeside. As soon set our suitcases down in the chalet, we jumped into our bathing suits heading directly for the lake to dive into its refreshing waters. Francesca managed to swim more than a kilometer to Kastenianbaum the next village along the shore, while I explored a bay-let to the south.
Then next morning when I woke at 6:12, to my amazement, I felt ready to jump into the water. The temperatures in Switzerland had been up to 15 degrees (Fahrenheit) above normal r!eaching the high 80s
Haus am See is a classic small Swiss chalet at the bottom of an elegant property sweeping down a steep hillside. The property once belonged to a Swiss ambassador who bequeathed it to the local municipality of Kastenianbaum. The great house has been used as an international school, while Haus am See is made available to writers and artists as a retreat haven to work undisturbed.
Being familiar with our location, Robert and I were eager to take a favorite walk-through verdant hill of pasture and farmland rising behind the lake. Amid low moos providing a bass line to the clanging of cow bells, we came upon the ram shackled hut we’d visited years before. Inside were tables ladened with jams, cheeses, butter, home baked breads, vinegars and fresh picked berries. Some things change, but thank goodness, this hidden farm shop had not.
During the four summer days we spent at Haus Am See we walked , swam, read and , of course, talked with Francesca as well as her brother Ricki who came for dinner by train from Zurich. Ricki’s is a founder and editor of a new Swiss magazine, The Republic, whose mission is to provoke discussion about current topics and controversial issues. Among these are immigration. Switzerland treats immigrants very strictly although immigrants perform many of the necessary low wage jobs.
Sounded very familiar to me… the hostility to migrants was as apparent in Switzerland as it is currently in the United States.