The Switzerland Traveler

It’s amazing just how many awards there are in this world.
I never knew there was such a thing as an Alpine Town of the Year, but Brig seems to have won the big prize this year.
Probably the main attraction is the lavish Baroque palace known as Stockalper Castle, the largest private 17th Century building in Switzerland. Again, that seems like a very tightly defined title, but it, and its gardens, is certainly worth a look.
It also shows just how wealthy merchants could be, Kaspar von Stockalper must have made or bob or two in his time.
A relatively new …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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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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Let’s start with an easily accessible mountain. Not one of the highest mountains in Switzerland by any means, but great for visitors, with trains running up it from both sides.
Rigi is located close to Luzern, and one of the nicest ways to see it is by catching a boat from Luzern to Vitznau and catching the train up.
Or if you’re visiting from Zürich, you could even make it a round trip; catch the train down the other side to Arth Goldau, and either catch the train from there, or take another boat to Zug across Lake Zug (aka Zugersee) …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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About 15 years ago, the Swiss discovered Halloween. They’d always had pumpkin displays, but generally small and tasteful.
But then the idea of an extra celebration caught the corporate retail imagination and we all went Kürbis Krazy. Kürbis being the German for Pumpkin, if you hadn’t twigged.
Two brothers have caught onto this trend and turned their beautiful farm, overlooking the Pfäffikersee (that’s a little visited lake near Zürich btw) into a full-blown Pumpkin Experience.
Obviously, there’s the "how big is the biggest pumpkin?" question; and since you are asking, 363kg (800lbs) is this year’s biggest, around 100kg down on last …read more

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While the rest of Europe were busy shooting at, and dropping bombs on, each other, the neutral Swiss simply got on with life and building one of the most impressive roads in Europe.
The Susten pass was built between 1938 and 1945, linking the cantons of Uri and Bern, running from Wassen to Innertkirchen. Although I guess if you live in Bern, that should probably be the other way around. Which makes me think I’ve never driven it that way, so maybe there’s a trip coming on.
It’s been the subject of some serious roadworks over the past few years, and …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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