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Grazing cows in Switzerland Switzerland is notoriously at the top of every “Most Expensive Country in the World” list, which makes it exceedingly difficult for budget travelers to visit. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Even the most budget-conscious traveler should have Switzerland on his or her bucket list. Switzerland is full of dramatic landscapes that can take your breath away. It’s where you find lush green rolling hills that have quaint little chalets with cows roaming freely around them. It’s where mountains meet lakes ; where you can eat endless amounts of delicious chocolate and of course…cheese. It almost seems that it’s too beautiful to be a real place. If these aren't reason enough to want to pack your bags right now than we don’t know what is! Straight out of a fairytale So how do you visit one of the most expensive countries in the world without breaking the bank? It’s easier than you might think. Here are 10 helpful tips to keep more money in your pocket w...

The Paradise Apartments hotel in Arosa, near Zurich, Switzerland. (Courtesy of Paradise Apartments hotel ) (JTA) — A chuckle tickled my throat as Ruth Thomann, a Swiss hotelier who posted signs urging her “ Jewish guests ” to shower before entering the pool, assured me that she has “nothing against Jews.” To be clear, I don’t find racism particularly amusing, especially not these days. But there was something comical about how her earnest voice – she was speaking in broken English with a thick Swiss-German accent – contrasted with the glaringly discriminatory character of the laminated signs that she posted last week in her Paradise Apartments hotel in Arosa, near Zurich, provoking outrage in Israel and beyond. Besides, in over a decade of reporting about Europe, I have heard more variations of this weak defense than I can remember — including by people who immediately contradicted themselves. Last year alone I heard it from the professional anti-Semite Dieudonne M’bala M’bala and...

'Your home is wherever you stop and that's what's really, really cool about that whole idea' Rain patters on the roof of John Salhany's 2006 Mercedes Sprinter van as he points out the half-finished ceiling of tongue-and- groove pine paneling that will eventually continue down the walls over layers of plywood and reflective insulation. Items strewn in the hollowed back include a dusty climbing rope , a road bike and a six-pack of Upslope Brewing Company 's Citra Pale Ale . All his essentials will soon have their places once the van build-out is complete, when Salhany will have a bed big enough to accommodate all 6 feet, 2 inches of him, a countertop with a sink and drawers, and maybe even a backsplash with the cutout of the mountains — amenities like that of a house. "I have a lot of friends who are buying houses right now who are just getting to that age, all on the East Coast and I'm just like, how do you guys know where you want to live?" said...