The Switzerland Traveler

Feb 1 sees the start of an exhibition of Adolf Wölfli’s works. Or as the official view goes, hs personal and obsessive view of the universe.
Wölfli was born in 1864, and died in 1930 and I think it’s safe to say he was not happy with his life. Not his real life anyway.
His imaginary life, which he put down in 45 volumes totalling 25,000 pages (which seems like a lot to me) enabled him to get round his problems which included (but not limited to):

childhood abuse
molestation
unhappy career in the army
working as a farm labourer
being orphaned
mental illness
violent tantrums

He evolved …read more

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It might sound like a religous festival, but Rabadan is one of Ticino’s more interesting festivals.
It’s essentially the Bellinzona version of Fasnacht. A twist is that the keys of the city are handed over to King Rabadan, who according to tradition is the most notorious carnival king of Ticino (Tessin).
There’s the usual Fasnacht-style procession for girls and boys, but this takes place on Friday, not Thursday as is often the case in German-speaking parts of Switzerland like Luzern.
The carnival bands come out in force on Saturday and Sunday,  based around the Piazza Collegiata.
Food, drink and dancing are catered for through to the …read more

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I know I mentioned Fasnacht a couple of weeks ago, but one of the big ones starts this Thursday, and if you are in Switzerland, you might want to go along and see it.

Fasnacht is an amazing carnival, where strangely dressed people play music to blow away the winter.
 
This year, Fasnacht in Luzern runs from Thurs 31st Jan to Tuesday 5th Feb.
Two parades are planned, One on Thursday, one on Sunday. Both begin at 14:00 The route of the parade runs from Luzernerhof – Schweizerhofquai – Schwanenplatz – Kapellplatz –  Fritschibrunnen –  Seebrücke – Bahnhofplatz – Pilatusstrasse – …read more

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Adelboden is an attractive and not over-populated resort at the southern end of Kanton Bern. It’s linked with Frütigen and is an attractive place for a family ski holiday.
In response to requests for more than just skiing, they’ve opened up 35km of snowshoe trails.
The sport is beginning to attract more and more people, maybe in response to the number of skiers, and the increasing speeds being seen on the slopes.
 
The routes have been designed with wildlife in mind, mainly to protect the animals, but you never know when you might come across a deer or a snow bunny. And …read more

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The Swiss are justifiably proud of their mountain railways,
Now, you can have the chance to feel what it’s like to drive one of the Rhätische Bahn trains across the beautiful landscapes through the alps.
Tunnels through mountains, spectacular bridges across deep gorges.
And guess what? You can start in St Moritz! Actually there are quite a few trips you can do,
The engineering on the Albula and Bernina lines is truly impressive, especially as it is set against the backdrop of glaciers (so go soon before they melt) and of course, the mountains.
For 850 CHF (which means you have to be …read more

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Rather than focus (yes, the pun is intended) on yet more snow, I thought it would be interesting to look at other photos from Switzerland. A couple of slightly more artistic shots this week, it’s a very cultural country:

Luke Stearns near Mendrisio, Ticino

vabellon Geneva before a storm

viernullvier Zürich at night, double exposure

bdebaca Lake Constance (Bodensee)

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So if you don’t fancy St Moritz, and you’re not keen on skiing, well, how about taking a hike?
New this winter, the Alpavia travel agency will take the backpack from your shoulders while you walk through the winter wonderland.
And your luggage is guaranteed to be at your overnight rest hotel before you.
The classic tour is from Interlaken to Kandersteg, taking in the Jungfrau, the Gemmi Pass (a historic link between Berne and the Valais, see photo above) and Lauchernalp.
The hotels are of good quality (this is Switzerland) and a 6 day trip costs around 880 CHF/person.  This includes breakfast …read more

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After a hard day’s skiing, like I had today, there’s nothing better than relaxing in a hot tub.
At Diavolezza, just down the road from, you guessed it, St Moritz, they now offer an amazing service.
After the lifts close, apparently they heat a log fire under a whirlpool full of fresh mountain water and heat it to 41 degrees C. Which is pretty warm – it must be over 100 degrees F.
The air temperature is chilly though, around -25C so you’ll probably want to be fairly agile when you get out.
It costs 15 CHF if you are staying …read more

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No, I’m not being paid by the St Moritz tourist board!
There just happens to be loads of stuff going on there that I think the world needs to know about.
And playing cricket on ice is about as eccentric as it gets.
As you may know, cricket is similar to baseball, but to we British it is simply superior. There’s much less excitement for one thing, and is characterised by the fact that a five day international test match, 30 hours of playing time, is quite likely to end in a tie. No winner after five days? Ah you see, …read more

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Easter is early this year, and so, therefore, is Fasnacht.
Literally, Night of the Fast, it represents time to go mad (that’s my interpretation) before the fasting period of Lent kicks in.
That’s the theory, except of course it wouldn’t be much fun if all the parties were on the same night – like you have to have at New Year. So the pragmatic Swiss arrange to have their pre-Lent festivals at slightly staggered times.
And it’s a family occasion (thus qualifying for our b5 theme day) so everybody can dress up.

Typically there will be an Umzug, or parade, for children …read more

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