First up, Bremgarten, a small town in Kanton Aargau, 45 mins from Zürich. Late afternoon. Photo: Dave
A wintry day on Lake Luzern. Photo: Akcija
Work in progress, a stage being constructed near Lake Neuchatel. Photo: gozef
And finally, a run up to a white Christmas – snow in the alps. Photo: youngrobv
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How many times have you heard people talk about flying pigs?
Of course, more often it’s done a bit more subtly, in answer to a request – such as looking out of the window and replying "well, we might be able to do that, if only those darn pigs would stop flying past".
But in Switzerland anything is possible. Well nearly!
A cow-shaped hot air balloon, who’d have thought it?
But maybe a ride in a normal hot air balloon ride would be interesting? HB Adventures offer a range of flights from 300CHF per person.
HB are reachable on +41 56 424 31 44 …read more
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On a recent trip to Zermatt, we had occasion to feed ourselves with a decent meal, and opted for the Restaurant Avena, just along the road from the Papperla bar, renowned for its apres ski atmosphere.
The Avena is a traditional restaurant, offering classic French-style dishes, with the emphasis on quality.
The whole party opted for the Chateaubriand, and were far from disappointed, it being perhaps the most tender beef I have ever eaten.
And while it might sound like heresy, we chose a bottle of the local Petite Arvine wine to complement it. The wine is quite similar to a Sauvignon Blanc, …read more
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It’s the time of the year that local ski resorts are beginning to open.
Last year we didn’t really get any snow until January but this year resorts are already opening, if only partially.
Elm is open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at the moment, before opening for the season in a week’s time.
Elm is a classic family skiing resort, ideal for a day out, with an added advantage in that you can also sledge there.
There is a 4km sledge run, and you don’t need your own sledge. Just turn up, pay the man, go up in the cable car and …read more
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So here’s an idea for you.
Get a few of the boats that carry passengers round Lake Zurich in the summer. Tie them up at Bürkliplatz, and fill them full of stalls giving away whisky and cigars. 800 types of whisky (and possibly even whiskey) are there to be sampled.
OK, you have to pay CHF20 to get on, but that’s not a bad deal. Of course, the aim is to sell you bottles, rather than just give away wee drams, but if you’re canny, you can have one of the cheapest nights out in Zürich.
It runs from Thursday, 6 …read more
Please feel free to skip this if you’re not a Rufus Wainwright fan!
But Munich isn’t too far from Switzerland, so it kind of fits in to the theme! And I can thoroughly recommend Märliplatz and the Haus der Kunst, which housed the most magnificent piece of art I’ve ever seen. Totally Bonkers!
It’s basically a 20 ton block of red wax, tailormade to fit the massive door openings, and it runs on rails at about 5cm/minute, along the room and back again. Fantastic!
But back to Mr W: I just had to post the pic of me with Rufus, …read more
When I was a child, Father Christmas, or Santa if you prefer, used to come on the night between 24th and 25th December.
But in Europe, things aren’t the same everywhere. Many countries celebrate during the evening of the 24th, and the Spanish (amongst others) celebrate the 6th of January as the day when the kings arrive.
In Switzerland, 6th December is the day that the man in red turns up.
Bearing gifts for the Children, he doesn’t sneak down the chimney, but comes through the front door. Or maybe to school.
And he doesn’t come alone. His sidekick, Schmutzli, leaves no doubt …read more
Just a short post today on the Montreux Comedy Festival.
Montreux is usually known for jazz in summer, but it has also been hosting a comedy festival for ages.
Now I’m not sure if this week’s festival is the same one that used to award the Golden Rose to programmes such as Monty Python, and in fact I suspect it’s not. But it might be.
Isn’t that helpful?
Even worse, I don’t even know if the comedy will be in English!
The website appears to be only in French, so if you do parler Francais, it might be worth popping along.
Oh, and don’t forget …read more
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Time for more views of the beautiful country. Snow is starting to fall in many places, so no excuses for basing the theme round mountains and Christmas. First up, the Christmas lights in Zürich.
And a sunset taken from the train down to Lauterbrunnen:
And another sunset, this time at ZRH, aka Zürich Airport
And finally a cold mountain view…
Photos: claudia stucki, zap358, renidens, Tim Blessed
Just back from a few days rest, first in Zermatt and then in München, or Munich as you probably know it.
We just missed the Kriskindlmarkt in Münich, but as we got off the train in Zürich, our very own one was opening there.
And do you know what? It’s Christmas Market time all over Switzerland. I’m not a lover of the home-woven yoghurt that tends to be sold at this type of thing, but that’s just me.
If you’ve never been to one, then it’s worth it just for the atmosphere, which is invariably helped by the smell of Glühwein and …read more
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