"I didn't appreciate it then - but I do now."
On weekends, morning trains are filled with elderly hikers heading into the mountains with walking poles. Packs of 10-to 13-year-olds gather for overnight mountain treks led by 16-and 17-year-olds, with nary a parent in sight. Young couples lug infants and toddlers on their backs as they trek up to see glaciers.
I've even seen a father hike up to the Matterhorn base camp, his prepubescent sons following eagerly, on a trail where one slip could mean an early death.
In the cities, Swiss toddlers zip along on tiny wooden balance bikes, expected to keep up with their parents.
And every day, hundreds of students, professors and office workers march up the hill to the University of Zurich along a slope so steep it also has a funicular train. Those 218 steps leave me gasping.
"It's the most direct route and I don't have to buy a monthly tram pass," explained student Lukas Schneider. "It's jammed during rush hour, but it's quite dramatic, don't you think?"
The Swiss penchant for movement is not limited to walking. All types of people - the old, the fat, bankers in suits, women in skirts - regularly ride bikes to get around, despite the many steep streets. Some Zurich postmen pick up the mail using little wagons attached to bicycles.
Part of our problem in America may be fear: Kids rarely walk or bike to school because parents are afraid of bad drivers and pedophiles. Part may be our speeded-up culture: Parents often feel too rushed in the morning to walk their children to school.
Jonathan Dorn, editor-in-chief of Backpacker magazine, in Boulder, Colo., says many U.S. towns also lack the infrastructure the Swiss have - sidewalks, safe street crossings, schools that are close to students' homes.
But he also thinks more American children could turn into lifelong walkers if parents broke some bad habits.
"Maybe it's not practical to walk your kids to school," he said. "But instead of letting them watch videos Saturday morning, take them out to your local park and walk. They will whine for about 10 minutes, then find a frog or climb a tree."
