The Switzerland Traveler

I’m sorry! I can’t resist it. You all seem to love the concept of Swiss national costume and dressed up cows, so here’s the round-up of this weekends animal activities.
This weekend sees the judging of the cows by the Kloster in Engelberg on Friday 12th. Also there’ll be a small funfair for the little ones. Plus of course the obligatory beer and Bratwurst.
In Lenk, in the Berner Oberland,  the cows are due to be “moved” down the mountains, back to the village. Who could resist the sight of the most attractive cow being crowned “Miss Lenk”? Maybe the crowds eager to …read more

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Did I ever tell you that I’m a bit of a closet trainspotter?
Not to the extent of wearing a jumper that my Mother has knitted me, and scribbling numbers in a notebook, but I do like trains. I even got to drive a steam train on the Bluebell line once.
So the annual Dampftreff at the village of Bauma near Winterthur is an ideal opportunity to get down to the trackside and smell the coal.
Not just steam trains, there are classic electric and diesel locomotives too. Expect to see famous trains like the “Red Arrow” and more importantly, be able to …read more

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I’m British and love cars, so no surprise then that I’m plugging the Swiss Classic British Car Meeting.
It takes place this weekend down at Morges on Lake Geneva, and should provide hours of fun.
Being centrally located, Switzerland is ideally located for foreign enthusiasts to drive their classic cars to, and the mountain roads are always fun, especially at the sort of speeds a classic car will achieve, as there’s plenty of time to look out of the window.
Last year there were over 1500 cars on show, and 25,000 visitors. And it’s all free!
Expect to see Bentleys, Jaguars and lots of …read more

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OK, I’ll admit that I couldn’t resist it. You all seem to love cows so much that I’m pandering to your wishes by telling you about the next bovine event in the calendar.
Each year various towns and villages in Switzerland celebrate the return of their beloved cows from the rich mountain pastures.
It gets a bit chilly up in the hills in winter, and the cows don’t like snow that much, so in the autumn the cows and farmers come down to the huts in the villages. The event is invariable celebrated by dressing up;  the farmers in traditional …read more

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When I was a child, I used to see adverts for “The Ideal Home” exhibition held annually in London. To me it was quite obvious what that meant, a racetrack in the garden, a very large garage, probably a football (it’s not called soccer!) pitch in the garden.
In later years, I discovered that it was more about furniture, bathrooms and kitchens than about the merits of a long straight following a slow corner.
Anyway, the Swiss version is nearly upon us, running from 21-30 September. It’s held in the main Zürich exhibition centre at the end of the 11 tram line, …read more

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One of Switzerland’s main attractions is of course, its mountains. And one of the best, if not the best, ways of seeing them is to put on a pair of stout shoes and go for a walk.
A good map is always recommended, but like most things in the country, walking is well organised.
Wherever you go, you’ll find signposts giving you directions and guidelines for how long a walk will take. Not only that, the yellow signs also tell you if it’ll be a simple path or a bit of a scramble.
And should you need to know, the signs …read more

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Those of you that know me will not be surprised just how soon I managed to mention motor racing in a blog about Switzerland, even though it has been banned here since 1955.
Last held in 1971, this retrospective celebrates the ten years when the hillclimb counted towards the European mountain Championship. It started in 1953, so you can expect to see exotic historics from the 50s, 60s and 70s taking part.
Classic Ferrari, Maserati and Mercedes sports cars will be there, alongside single seater racing cars which will undoubtedly set the faster times. It could probably be quite noisy, so maybe …read more

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