Swiss Homes and Chalets

Interlaken is a quaint town at the heart of the Alps. It's architecture is traditional and typically Swiss. In the small city, rows of buildings, often three-and-a-half stories high, line streets, rivers, and squares. While the upper floors are used for housing, shops usually occupy the ground level. These buildings are simple, pale-colored structures, offen shuttered for protection. On the mountainside, one can not miss seeing chalets. These wooden dwellings, most common to Switzerland, have sloping roofs and eaves that overhang. The structures were originally farms for dairy cattle during the summertime. Milk, cheese, and butter would be produced at the chalet, and when the season was over and winter began to set in, the cattle would be brought back down to the valleys they were herded from. Today chalets are used as cottage retreats, homes, and even ski lodges.

Greg Scarmo