The Switzerland Traveler

I’m trying to get a bit away from the football at the moment, so I’m also looking at featuring some of the ultimate destinations in Switzerland.
The Matterhorn is pretty much the symbol of Switzerland. It inspired Toblerone, and the Paramount logo is said to be based on it.
It’s a real mountain’s mountain. And this shot above shows just how majestic it is.

It’s quite usual for the mountain to have a tiny bit (or even a lot) of cloud around the top. I’m sure a geologist could explain it, but I don’t really need to know why.

At sunrise, you can get quite …read more

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Tuesday night was Italy against France in Zurich.
The clever money (ie mine) was on Holland fielding none of their best players and Romania beating them, which would mean the result of the big duel would actually be irrelevant. But The Dutch reserves were so good that that didn’t happen.
And so it was a straight fight between the two 2006 World Cup finalists. And like many big matches, it was dull.
Admittedly I was being plied with free beer and there was some very pleasant company, but the game was dull.

That didn’t stop the Italians celebrating though, driving through the city streets, …read more

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Just a few pics from L_K_M giving a bit of the party atmosphere. The first is looking out over the Fanzone at Sechsaläutenplatz.

The neatly lit Grossmunster in the background.

And a couple of nice shots of the bridge from Bürkliplatz to Bellevue.

Photos: Flickr – L_K_M

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Based on the popularity of my previous post on the subject, I thought it only right to play to the audience and deliver some further views of the wondrous Chateau Chillon. The first shot, above, was taken on one of those lovely days where the mountains seem to come so much closer. The Dents du Midi, near the skiing resort of Champery, are visible here.

This shot shows just what amazing skies can be seen, although I suspect a bit of filtering or photoshopping has taken place. Whatever, it’s beautiful and a great shot.

It’s worth a trip in winter too. Old …read more

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I don’t know why, but I really like this. OK, the photoshopping could be a bit neater, but what the heck?
A classic work of art, with an EM interpretation.
I wonder if Rodin’s model was contemplating his country being knocked out of a major football tournament?
The conventional wisdom is that Rodin was depicting the poet Dante contemplating his fate in front of the gates of hell, but having seen some of the sad faces round here after the Turkey match, I’m not so sure.
Still, at least we did better than Austria, our co-hosts. That seems to be the main reaction now.

And …read more

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Having mentioned Switzerland’s tragic record in the EM, I feel it only fair that I should mention that yesterday they beat the country that most pundits consider favourite for the title.
Not only that, they scored two goals – one from the penalty spot, which is more than they have scored in an EM finals game before.
So now we’ll all be backing Portugal, because if they win the tournament, we can say that we beat them!
Have you spotted that I’m now saying “we” to refer to the Swiss?
Picture: Flickr Frank

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A bit of a light-hearted post to take your mind off the EM.
Apparently in the film “21″ there’s a scene where Ben (Jim Sturgess) is cycling to the MIT, with a blue and white Freitag bag over his shoulder.
In the next scene, it’s slung over his other shoulder, which is a pretty neat trick while riding a bike.
So, either the continuity guys screwed up, or there are some magic bags being manufactured here in Switzerland…
I’ve written about Freitag bags before, look here if you can’t remember
Photo: Flickr Studio Mohawk

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 Switzerland is completely sport crazy at the moment.
Not only do we have the EM (Did I mention that?) but there’s also the Tour de Suisse, one of the biggest annual sports events in the country.
It’s not as big as the Tour de France, but then France is much bigger than Switzerland.
But as Switzerland consists mainly of hills and mountains, it is a major event for cyclists.

It runs over 9 days, and covers 1411 km (close to 900 miles). That’s 100 miles per day, over hilly passes. Rather them than me!
It finishes on the 22nd June, so still plenty of time …read more

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Lest we forget what it’s all about, here’s a photo of some actual football. One of the best exponents of the game with the ball at his feet.

Looks like rain?
Oh yes! My God it tipped down. Fortunately I was under cover, but still got soaked.

Two countries that have impressed so far – Holland and Portugal.  And the fans have all been remarkably well-behaved…

…even with the amount of beer that is being consumed!

Photos Flickr Sam Herd meckimac coyote agile rhurturbia  jacek NL

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I thought after the last world cup, that the Swiss had set one of the most unusual records: namely that they got knocked out without conceding a single goal, either in normal play or in extra time.
They also became the only team to take part in a penalty shoot out and not score a single one. In fact they have never scored from the penalty spot in a World Cup finals match.
But now, Switzerland have taken the record for the fastest exit from the EM for a home nation.
Four days into the championship, and they are out after losing 2-1 …read more

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