Reisen ins Landesinnere (Book Review)

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There are different ways to painting a picture. In "Reisen ins Landesinnere - Reportagen aus der Schweiz", Guido Mingels has skipped the broad brushes of stereotypes in lieu of many small and detailed ones. The result is a multilayered and fascinating collection of essays on Switzerland.

Do Swiss people have a sense of humor? How do teenagers spend their weekends? Are there any farmers with full-body tattoos? (yes!)

These are just a few topics which Mingels has covered during the past decade. My personal favorite is an essay on apartment hunting in Zürich.

In "Zürich ist zu" ("No vacancy in Zürich"), Mingels highlights the difficulty of finding a decent yet affordable rental apartment. Through his extensive hunt for a place to live, he finds that the simpler a classified ad has been written, the less lies are included and the more promising the place might be...

The essays are underlined with stark photographs by Andri Pol. One by one, each visual amounts to a photographic documentation of Switzerland. Often with a spark of humor, Pol has managed to capture scenes of everyday life - truly making this publication a feast for the eyes!

It turns out that Switzerland is a complex little country, which is ultimately reflected in the wide variety of journalistic and photographic coverage in the book "Reisen ins Landesinnere - Reportagen aus der Schweiz".