Each story is rooted in real local history and landmarks
A child watches from the snow-covered meadow as the Breitling Orbiter 3 inflates at dawn in Chateau-d'Oex. Stowing away in a dream, they circle the globe in 20 days, seeing deserts, oceans, and the Egyptian landing from the gondola window -- discovering that three generations of Piccards have pushed the frontiers of sky, sea, and earth.
A child exploring an old chalet near Chateau-d'Oex discovers one of Hauswirth's lost paper cuttings hidden inside a wall. The intricate black silhouette comes alive, unfolding into a procession of cows, herders, and mountain flowers. Following the figures through the Pays-d'Enhaut, the child learns the story of the poor woodcutter who thanked his employers with the most delicate art imaginable.
A child joins the inalpe, helping herd cows up to the alpine pasture above Chateau-d'Oex. In a smoky chalet d'alpage, they learn to make L'Etivaz cheese over a crackling wood fire in a copper cauldron, stirring the curd by hand. As the mountain flowers perfume the milk, the child discovers why this cheese tastes different from any other -- because it carries the flavour of the summit itself.
Winter 1979: a child befriends the famous film actor who lives in the big chalet at the edge of the village. Together they stand in the frosty dawn and watch as 12 colourful balloons rise for the very first time over the snow-covered Pays-d'Enhaut valley, launching a tradition that will fill the January skies for decades to come.
May 1916: a child from Chateau-d'Oex stands at the train station as 700 injured British soldiers arrive from the front. Despite not sharing a language, a fragile friendship forms through shared meals, mountain walks, and the simple kindness of a village that was the first in Switzerland to open its doors to the wounded of war.
1936: a child peeks into a Dutch artist's studio in Chateau-d'Oex and discovers drawings where staircases go up and down at the same time, fish become birds, and the Pays-d'Enhaut chalets fold into impossible geometry. Escher, delighted by his young visitor, teaches the child to see the world differently -- where every pattern hides another.
A child visiting the balloon museum in Chateau-d'Oex learns about three extraordinary Piccards: grandfather Auguste floating in the stratosphere, father Jacques diving to the bottom of the ocean, and grandson Bertrand circling the earth. Three generations, three frontiers -- sky, sea, and around the world -- and a child who dreams of becoming the fourth.
A child exploring the largest wooden house in Switzerland discovers that each of the 113 windows shows a different scene from the building's 250-year history: a cheese merchant weighing 600 wheels in the cellar in 1756, Victor Hugo writing at a desk, and Balthus painting in the attic. The child must look through every window before the stories fade with the setting sun.
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