The Switzerland Traveler

Artosa. Art, in Arosa – brilliant!
15 international artists are exhibiting sculptures in the open air: in the pastures and meadows around Arosa.
There are also great natural sights to see, such as the reservoir shown above.
The Hotel Sorell is offering rooms in Arosa from CHF 90 per person/night for the summer period, 14 Jun – 28 September.
So you can indulge a taste for nature, art and fresh air, at a reasonable price.
Sounds good to me…
Arosa Tourism
Poststrasse
Postfach 90
7050 Arosa
Tel. +41 (0)81 378 70 20
Photo Flickr – keiko

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You can pretty much guarantee in Switzerland that it’ s not very often that there is no exhibition of Ferdinand Hodler’s work going on.
This summer, it’s Bern’s turn, with an exhibition at the kunstmuseum.
It runs until Sunday 10th August.
There will be over 130 of his paintings – some of which are by no means small.
The works cover his early, more traditional work, moving on to the abstract, impressionist stuff.
The Swiss view him as someone with a symbolist vision of man and nature forming one harmonious unity. 
I look on him as someone that painted pictures of mountains in a …read more

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It’s quite common for Swiss resorts to offer special offer packages at the start and end of the ski season.
So if you fancy a break in a car-free resort, why not try Bettmeralp for a change?
It’s in the Valais, the area to the east of Lake Geneva, so it would take a couple of hours from Geneva, or three from Zurich.
Bettmeralp is located on a sunny terrace above the Rhone Valley with a view of the four-thousand-metre-high peaks of the Valais: the Weisshorn, Dom and Matterhorn.
The resort is renowned as being very family-friendly. For example, the hiking trails have …read more

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Old photo, new thrills.
This week sees 24 of the world’s top freeriders, both skiers and snowboarders, taking part in the 12th edition of Verbier Xtreme.
It’s the final of the Freeride World Tour (www.freerideworldtour.com) which visits Mammoth USA; Sochi, Russia; the O’Neill Big Mountain Pro, which is a mobile event in the Alps; and Tignes, France.
The Nissan O’Neill Xtreme Verbier is held on the North face of the Bec des Rosses, which features an over 50° gradient in places.
It’s allegedly a dramatic sight for the spectators on the Col des Gentianes, there also various demonstrations over the week.
The Freeride …read more

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At the risking of sounding like I work for the St Moritz tourist board, there’s a major event taking place in the Engadin this week.
In fact I only found out today that it started on Saturday, and the women’s event is already over. Apologies for that, I didn’t know that it was split. (And Congratulations to Natascia Leonardi Cortesi, who won)
Apprixmately 12,000 cross-country ski fanatics take part, and the men’s event is next Sunday; starting in Samedan.
If you’re really keen, you can still enter up to the day before the race.
The race itself starts at 10:00 at Samedan …read more

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Another one!
From the top of the Weissfluhjoch at Davos, you can ski through Klosters to the small village of Küblis.
To be honest the last bit isn’t much fun, as it just crosses lots of fields and tends to get a bit patchy, but as you don’t often get the chance to ski 13km in one go, you might want to try it.
The good news is that the train (or bus) ride back to Davos from Küblis is covered by the lift pass.
Don’t forget to check whether the run is open before you set off, it’s a long walk if …read more

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Following on from the Inferno piece, I figured I should also document another classic.
The run from the summit of the Klein Matterhorn to the village of Zermatt is a massive 18km (11 miles) long.
The Klein Matterhorn is high, over 3800 meters (12780 ft) so be prepared to get a little out of breath.
It can also get VERY cold, especially with wind chill, so make sure you have clothes you can completely cover up with.

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I’ve been doing quite a bit of skiing recently, and I like the challenge of attacking longer runs than usual.
At Mürren, near Interlaken, you’ll find the Schilthorn, and from there you have the opportunity to ski the route of the Inferno race.
The height difference is 1970 meters, that’s nearly one and a quarter miles.
Run as a race open to the public it must be very tiring to complete it without stopping, but why not take the opportunity to stop and admire the views of the Bernese Oberland’s most impressive trio: The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau?
And there’s always the possibility …read more

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Time for another look at what Switzerland can throw at us, both in terms of its landscapes and views of its residents.
First up, a mountain view from Gruyere, which you may remember from a recent post. Photo Courtesy of therealsparkplug
Next a study taken in Zermatt by an_untrained_eye

The Swiss don’t mind graffiti too much if it’s well done, although they do get a bit irritated (understandably in my book) when a nice old building comes in for the treatment. But industrial areas are fair game. Kecko

By the same photographer is the burning of the snowman to mark the …read more

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If you’ve never seen Telemark skiing done properly, how about a trip to Saas Fee this weekend?
And don’t forget, the new tunnel saves around 45 mins when travelling from Zürich.
It’s apparently a very friendly event, emphasis being more on style than speed but I daresay some will take it very seriously!
Here’s how it’s set to unfold:
Friday:From 8p.m. “Meet & Greet” at Living Room
Saturday:From 9a.m. Nostalgic ski race at StaffelwaldFrom 4p.m. Apéro at Black Bull BarFrom 9p.m. Nostalgic party at Living Room
Sunday:“early birds” Off-piste with Mountain Guide11a.m. Brunch in the ski area
+41 (0)27 958 18 82
www.saas-fee.ch

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