Zermatt to Geneva Part 2
Michael Portillo completes his journey through Switzerland. He is caught up in a war zone with the Red Cross and tries watchmaking, James Bond style.
Michael Portillo uses his 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway guide to complete his journey through Switzerland. En route, he is caught up in a war zone with the Red Cross, takes to the skies in a vintage bi-plane and tries his hand at watchmaking, James Bond style.
Fortified by railway wine and Swiss fondue, Michael makes his way to the capital, Bern, where in a 1930s bi-plane, he follows in the slipstream of the Swiss pilot Oskar Bider, first to fly across the Alps.
At Biel or Bienne, Michael tries his hand at watchmaking and learns how a timekeeping innovation by Omega became indispensable in the trenches of the First World War.
Arriving in Geneva, Michael is thrust into tense conflict training at a military checkpoint as he explores the city's famously international character, beginning with the International Committee for the Red Cross.
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