There are times when the reality of Switzerland puts postcard idealization to shame, surpassing tinted-indigo skies and advertising-image peaks with its own astonishing vividness. Those times happen often in the Berner Oberland -- the Bernese Alps. This region concentrates the very best of rural Switzerland: mountain panoramas that can't be overrated, massive glaciers, crystalline lakes, gorges and waterfalls, chic ski resorts, and emerald slopes scattered with gingerbread chalets.
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