From Scuol-Tarasp station, the train winds its way through the Lower Engadine like a artistically staged performance. Along the Inn Valley, past the idyllic villages of Ardez, Guarda, Lavin, beyond Sagliains, through the Vereina Tunnel beneath the 3,410-meter-high Piz Linard reappearing near Klosters in the Prättigau. A little farther down, we arrive punctually back in an urban setting in Landquart: "Schöne Sunntig und uuf Wiederluege!" —“Have a lovely Sunday, and goodbye!”

A week-long vacation with our adult children is now behind us. Once again, we decided to stay at the youth hostel in Scuol, giving it our all in an attempt to become “Guests of the Month.” But repeatedly, we bumped up against clear and firmly drawn boundaries.  The elevator is for luggage only. Fair enough. Breakfast does not begin at 6:58, but at exactly 7:00; and with precision at 9:30 sharp—the coffee machine is shut down right under my nose. By the third day, we finally manage to order dinner before the latest possible deadline: 10 a.m. After eating, every guest disinfects their table without exception. For lunch, sandwiches are not self-made but prepared for you—provided they were ordered at reception by 6:00 p.m. the day before. Hummus, olives, and cheese are exactly two toppings too many.

The friendly clash of our grown children’s Berlin individualism with the Swiss kitchen chef’s sense of duty has me laughing to tears. Respect. The few rules that exist are meant to be followed. A simple principle that in Germany, the land of compromises, has somewhat faded from view.

For thousands of years, the major trade routes bypassed the Alps. The valleys were isolated, the mountains nearly impossible to cross, and hunger a constant companion. Anyone who had been a servant and longed for freedom had to climb farther up the steep hillsides, clear forests, and hope to survive the coming winter.

Even today, discipline and a love of freedom shape this direct democracy, one without a head of state but with four languages.  The 26 highly autonomous cantons compete for businesses and citizens through increasingly efficient institutions and ever lower tax rates. Even urban planning in Zurich, Basel, or Zug is understood primarily as a matter of competitive positioning. This system of few rules and great personal responsibility has created a strong economy with high wages and an even higher quality of life.

New buildings integrate themselves into their established surroundings while remaining clearly recognizable as contemporary additions, without contradicting the discipline and Protestant asceticism of previous generations. 

The tunnels and bridges now draw people from all over the world into the mountains. The contrast could hardly be greater. The once barren, rocky slopes have transformed into amusement parks. From train and bus stations, the cable cars, chairlifts and tow lifts, whisk thousands of carvers, skaters, and skiers up to the rule-free peaks. Artificial snow softens the effects of climate change. Mountain huts sell thousands of chicken nuggets. Ski schools slalom downhill in caravans of cheering, wobbly beginners. Paragliders float over snowboarders in the terrain parks. Everything is in disarray, and helicopters fly the injured away.

And yet, in Swiss society, conflict does not seem to give rise to the kind of ill-tempered, angry citizens so commonly found on the German side.

There, nearly everything is regulated by law, with compromises then negotiated on a case-by-case basis.  But when rules apply only to others and exceptions become the rule, any regulatory policy is quickly perceived as the work of an overreaching state.  It then feels ever more responsible, makes policy for the margins, becomes overwhelmed, and loses sight of its core functions. A spiral of absurdity.

The real estate industry, too, longs for the freedom of the fairground, yet for six years has postponed the hard labor of clearing the land. Like mountain farmers, it must first pull the old tree stumps from the rocky slopes in order to become capable of action again. Only once bad loans have been written off and blocked properties returned to meaningful development will the path be clear for new projects.