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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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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The annual polo World Cup at St Moritz is certainly one of the most fascinating events I’ve ever witnessed.
For a start, there’s the car parking. To me there’s just something wrong with driving onto the lake to park, even if it has been certified as safe by the Swiss.
And those people selling roasted chestnuts with fires raging to generate heat – don’t they understand what they are standing on?
And then the temporary grandstands, packed with people – just how thick is this ice?
Perhaps that’s best answered by the fact that the tractors used to sweep the playing area are …read more
When I first moved to Switzerland I lived in Konstanz (Constance), just on the German side of the Swiss border. One of the great beauties of the town is the lake there, the third largest in Europe.
The lake is surrounded by three countries, Germany, Austria and (you guessed it) Switzerland.
The Swiss part runs from Kreuzlingen (which merges smoothly into Konstanz, apart from the border crossing) along through Romanshorn and almost up to Bregenz in Austria.
The photo above is a sunrise taken from Arbon, which lies on the shore north of
St Gallen.
There’s also a much quieter part of …read more
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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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There are times when you have to admire the teutonic way of naming things. So logical.
Seealpsee (pronounced: say alp say) means literally “Lake Mountain Lake”. And you can’t argue with that. It’s a mountain lake, and er, a lake.
It’s located in Kanton Appenzell, on the eastern edge of Switzerland, allow a couple of hours to drive from Zürich, or a similar time to catch the train to Wasserauen. Then it’s about a four km (2.5 miles) walk to get to the lake, but I’m assuming that if you want to go to a really peaceful, quiet lake, then you won’t …read more
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It’s the time of the week for some lovely pictures to show different views of Switzerland at this time of year. I hope you enjoy these:
Lake Lugano: phaedra.sf
Near Lausanne LePhotographe
Lauterbrunnen superbubby100
Lavaux m x b ch r
Don’t you just want to get on a plane now?
I must confess to liking French chateaus (chateaux?) with pointy bits on the roof. Turn one into a restaurant and I’m even happier.
Present me with such a restaurant overlooking a stunning lake and some of the most impressive mountains ever, and I’m, well, really happy.
Down on the shores of the Thunersee (Lake Thun) Schloss (Castle) Schadau sits in a quiet park. The boats that carry passengers across the lake stop there, and in my opinion, it is a fine place for a summer lunch. It’s a fine place for a winter dinner too, which is why I’m telling you now. …read more
My brother Ken and his partner Samm are over visiting for a few days, and as it’s Samm’s first time in Switzerland, Ken drove her to Luzern for the day.
Luzern is probably the most visited city in Switzerland, and is pretty much slap bang in the middle of the country.
Easy to reach by car or train from anywhere, the main sight is the Kapellebrücke, now back to looking like a really old bridge after it was rebuilt at the end of the last millenium after 80% was damaged by fire.
The tower was originally a prison, and presumably wasn’t much …read more
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High up above the town of Locarno, there is a sanctuary located on a forested cliff; Madonna del Sasso. Sasso means rock, so hopefully I won’t be struck down for translating it as Madonna on the Rocks.
The church was consecrated in the 19th century when a local monk, Brother Bartholomeo, claimed that the Madonna had appeared before him whilst walking in the woods.
You can reach the sanctuary either on foot, if you are feeling energetic, or there is a funicular railway that winds its way through the trees and delivers you at a very pleasant bar with terrace looking down …read more
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