User Reviews

I am a confirmed travel show addict, and I'm so glad I stumbled upon this series. While watching, I noticed that Alana uses a hearing aid, and I became curious about her backstory. She was born with a rare birth defect that left her with profound hearing loss, but her disability has clearly not stood in her way. She makes for a very enthusiastic travel guide, and she has an unguarded but natural way in front of the camera that reminds me of some of the great hosts in the genre. When she explained to the camera how it felt to paraglide off the mountain, there was absolutely nothing rehearsed about her giddiness and elation. I appreciate that this show does not put Alana's disability front and center. It's important to have representation for Deaf and hard of hearing people that simply shows them doing great things, and I can think of no better current example on television than this show (and the llamas are really cute).

There is a moment in episode 2 that I especially loved. Like any good travel host, Alana is up for basically anything and approaches every new activity with fearless good humor, but there is one moment where her resolve almost wavers. When the (cute) Swiss guide tries to cajole her into jumping off a 65-feet high platform, Alana has some serious second thoughts. I love when travel shows have moments where the host is completely in the moment and seems to forget about the ever-present camera, and I kind of loved watching her argue with the guide about whether or not she should go through with the stunt. When you are watching a travel show from the comfort of your own home, you rely on the host to help you feel like you are experiencing the thrill of travel and discovery too, and Alana is a natural at this. I'm so glad I found this show! It's a big world out there, and I love watching Alana explore it.

Alana explores the story behind Johanna Spyri's 1881 novel Heidi. This is arguably one of the best-known Swiss books (though I didn't fully realize it was Swiss until I saw episode 4!) and it makes sense to spotlight it on a show all about the wonders of Switzerland. Alana visits a Heidi "museum" of sorts. It's funny to have a museum for a fictional character, but it gives an interesting glimpse into rural Swiss life in the late 1800s, and the guide who shows Alana around Heidi's "house" is quite possibly the most gentle and soft-spoken museum guide I have ever experienced in my life. I would travel to Switzerland just to have him whisper sweetly to me about Heidi. Between the childhood nostalgia of revisiting Heidi and seeing Alana play with fluffy adorable St. Bernard puppies, this is the cutest installment of a travel show I have ever seen.

For a show about Switzerland, this season of "Follow Alana" took its sweet time to get to the subject of Swiss cheese. In episode 4, host Alana Nichols meets a museum guide who helps run a museum dedicated to the 1881 children's literary classic Heidi. He was the most gentle, soft-spoken man and I loved him. Well, I think I have met his match in this installment, where Alana meets a kindly cheesemaker who walks her through Swiss cheese-making methods. I haven't been this jealous of Alana since I saw her playing with the St. Bernard puppies. I want to make cheese with this guy! The Swiss are proud of their culture and traditions, and it is hugely important to them to preserve these traditions for generations to come. Don't believe me? Watch this episode and see how these people make cheese.

I am currently binge watching this show and at this point, I am ready to book my next flight to Switzerland. I didn't know this (and I suspect Alana didn't either), but this fifty-plus year old revolving restaurant is (apparently?) famously featured in the James Bond Film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." The best travel shows make you want to visit the locales as soon as possible, and I am officially desperate to have a glass of wine at this retro masterpiece of a restaurant. The mountain views are simply breathtaking, though as someone who is deathly afraid of heights I found myself wincing a little when Alana reclined in a net hanging over a sheer drop into the valley below. She's such a fearless host.

If there is one goddamned thing, I have learned from this show so far, it is that the Swiss are an outdoorsy bunch, and Zermatt seems to be an epicenter for skiing, adventuring, and mountaineering. The coolest thing about Zermatt is its proximity to the Matterhorn, which is a major draw for visitors. I have obviously heard of the Matterhorn before, but it was really something to see the way it looms over the little town. To me, it looks like a shark's fin jutting ominously out of the water, but I'm afraid of heights so take that as you will. Summiting the Matterhorn is clearly a challenge that should be approached with respect, and it was interesting to be shown around (via our trusty host Alana) by a climbing guide and lifelong Zermatt resident. This is like the third time while watching this show that I thought to myself "man, these rugged Swiss mountain men are cute," but that's another story.