Alexander Solzhenitsyn Tour

Erwin Fässler, a Swiss native, will drive you out of the city and into the hills outside Zurich. You will be dazzled by the meadows of alpine flowers where birds chirp peacefully in the background. All of the Swiss Alps will be laid out before you. Even the Zurich locals don't know about the astonishing beauty of this area.

It's not just the scenery - we'll soak up the area's history, somehow finding a connection with the USSR, through the Nobel prize winning author, Aleksander Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn wrote about his experiences in a Soviet work camp in his book "The Gulag Archipelago" and so offended the Soviet authorities that he had to flee to Switzerland in 1974. His location was a secret, but one Sunday morning a local carpenter stumbled across Solzhenitsyn's refuge. In exchange for keeping the secret, Solzhenitsyn signed the carpenter's copy of the Gulag Archipelago.

Who was this carpenter? None other than Erwin's step father. Until now, this secret has stayed in the family. But now that Solzhenitsyn has sadly passed away, Erwin would like to share this experience with other people who respect the work of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Erwin will take you to visit Solzhenitsyn's secret hideaway. You'll sit on the grass where Erwin's stepfather found the author and enjoy a lunch of local cheese and sausage, whilst discussing Solzhenitsyn's work.