Reddit reviews Switzerland (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

First the books:
Lonely Planet is great but the lack of pictures usually don't make them fun to read. I love the Eyewitness Travel Guides and the one from Switzerland is quite good.
A great book (and must read imho) is Swiss Watching by Diccon Bewes. He also has a blog with great insights of Swiss life/culture.
As for websites, myswitzerland.com does a decent job.

1. Try and see one of the many fireworks on 31 July and 1 August. Maybe get yourself a cheap little bbq and go to a lake and have your own little grill party. Many spots around lakes have already built bbqs and grills so you only have to make a fire.
   
   
2. Endless possibilities, I would almost say: you could hike anywhere.
   
   
3. All neighboring countries are fun to visit. Cool, and reasonable close destinations are: Lichtenstein (I think train-wise it would be covered), Lago Maggiore in Italy/Switzerland, or [Castle Neuschwanstein] (http://www.neuschwanstein.de/index.htm) in southern Germany (the castle the was the inspiration for the Disney castle.
   
   
4. As a foreigner living here I have realized that the Swiss love politeness and minding your own business. Most people won't appreciate it if you start chatting to them in the train. They're not trying to be rude, they just like everybody to have their peace. Also, Switzerland is small but every region has it's own dialect/language. The French speaking region in the west is totally different from, say, Zürich, which is also different from the Italian speaking region in the south east. I would recommend visiting as many regions as possible.
   
   Well, and if you're around Bern, just send me a message, we can have a beer!