Switzerland

April 2022
A 16-day adventure by skip's retirement travel
  • 18footprints
  • 1countries
  • 16days
  • 135photos
  • 1videos
  • 504kilometers
  • Day 2

    Zurich

    April 10, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland. It was founded by the Romans (aka Turicum), but human presence in the area can be traced back to at least 4 millennia earlier. Today, Zurich is a world class financial center, especially well known for banking and insurance.
    The 1st 2 pictures look over Zurich from opposite sides of the river Limmat: from the university terrace and the Lindenhof, respectively. Most noticable in Zurich's skyline are the church steeples, many of which have clocks, which for me is no surprise. The Swiss have a reputation for their timepieces.
    Zurich was one of the 2 Swiss centers of the Protestant Reformation (the other being Geneva, see posts yet to come). The reformer in Zurich was Huldrych Zwingli. He, along with John Calvin in Geneva, are considered to be the founders of Reformed theology. The 4th picture is the Grossmünster where Zwingli preached.
    Zurich is located on one of the larger of the many lakes in Switzerland: Zürichsee. That is the 6th picture.
    The 7th picture is one of Zurich's better known streets: Niederdorf where many restaurants are located.
    Zurich has hundreds of fountains that provide potable water around the city. There is a tradition each spring of filling some of them with flowers to celebrate the end of winter. One of those is the last picture.
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  • Day 3

    Abbey of St. Gall and St. Gallen

    April 11, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Sankt Gallen is a town in eastern Switzerland that grew up around the Abbey of St. Gall. St. Gall, formerly Gallus, was originally from Ireland. He was one of the companions of Columbanus on his 7th century mission. He is said to have left the mission to set up his hermitage here. The Abbey grew up around the hermitage, and the town grew up around the Abbey.
    Most of these pictures are in and around the abbey. The 1st picture is the facade of the cathedral built on the location of the Abbey church looking across one of the exterior courtyards. The 2nd picture is the nave of the cathedral. The 3rd picture was a bit of a surprise. They call it the Corona Bible. It seems that during the pandemic, people took to copying sections of the scriptures. This text is a complications of lots of these comprising the entire Bible all in the original handwriting.
    The next 3 pictures are taken around the abbey that is a large complex of buildings.
    The 7th picture is in the abbey cellar which is a vaulted space. It has been set up as a museum of the history of the abbey. To the left is a model of the abbey church under construction.
    The 8th picture is the famous library of St. Gall. This is one of the oldest monastic libraries in the world and was an important center of learning and collection of knowledge in the middle ages. And it is a stunningly beautiful place.
    The last picture looks at a bit of the old town of St. Gallen.
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  • Day 5

    Lucerne

    April 13, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Lucerne is a city in central Switzerland located astride the River Reuss where it flows out of Lake Lucerne. Given its lakefront and proximity to the Alps, this place has drawn tourists for centuries.
    Like many places in Europe, the 1st recorded settlement here was a monastery in the 8th century. The town began to develop by the 10th century. The etymology of the town name is uncertain, but it has been popularly associated with the Latin word for tavern: lucerna.
    The 1st picture is the Lion Monument. The dying lion was carved in the 1820s as a memorial to Swiss Guards who were massacred during the French Revolution. It has become a symbol of Lucerne.
    The 2nd picture is of a portion of the medieval city walls, taken from the top level of one of the guard towers like the one farther along the wall. These walls are in good condition, and I'm told they are original.
    Lucerne is also known for its covered wooden bridges. The chapel bridge is pictures 3&4. This is the oldest covered bridge in Europe, dating to 1333, though much is rebuilt due to fire. The stone tower (aka Water Tower) by the bridge is a former defensive structure. The 4th picture shows the internal structure of the bridge. You can see how the bridge turns and a bit of the water tower.
    The 5th and 6th pictures are the Spreuer bridge, also dating to the 14th century. This bridge is known for the plague paintings on each structural triangle. The 6th picture is one example, this one being a dans macabre.
    The 7th picture is back atop the watchtower, looking over the city to Lake Lucerne. The 8th picture is the nave of the Jesuit church here, and the 9th picture looks up to Gutsch chateau/hotel where a castle built in the late 16th century stood. The original was lost to fire.
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  • Day 6

    Lucerne Interlaken Express

    April 14, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Another train ride. This route from Lucerne to Interlaken climbs up and over an alpine mountain pass. Aside from cog railways like Mount Washington or Pikes Peak, this is the steepest train ride I've ever taken. And it gets to some amazing beautiful places.Read more

  • Day 6

    Interlaken

    April 14, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Interlaken is a small town in central Switzerland located between 2 lakes (hence the name). The lakes are Brienz to the east and Thun to the west. The village straddles the River Aare that flows between the lakes.
    Today, Interlaken is a major point from which mountain travel begins, including in the Jungfrau region that labels itself the roof of Europe.
    The 1st picture is a Japanese garden in the middle dele of town with one of the churches in the background. The 2nd picture looks at part of a large urban park. The 3rd picture is a street with a bit of Swiss architecture.
    The 4th and 5th pictures look along the River Aware. The covered bridge structures are at weirs that control water level and flow in the several river channels. In both locations were mills and even some hydropower production.
    The last 4 pictures are all taken from Harderkulm. This is the ridge directly above Interlaken. The 6th picture looks out at the Alps. The 7th picture looks over Interlaken to Lake Brienz, and the 8th looks the other way: over the village to Lake Thun. Several cute wooden sculptures are scattered around the Harderkulm. This is one of them.
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  • Day 6

    Lauterbrunnen

    April 14, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Lauterbrunnen is a small village squeezed into a canyon not too far from Interlaken (see another post). It is an achingly beautiful place. I counted at least 4 waterfalls flowing down the cliffs. I'm told that at least one, the one in the 3rd picture, flows all year. The tallest one is almost 300 meters with the mountain winds turning much of the flow to mist.
    The town can be reached by train. Part of the route is steep enough to need a cog railway. In addition, there are narrow gauge cog railways heading farther up. Several of the pictures have glimpses of buildings far up the mountain that are served by the narrow gauge trains.
    This is very much an adventure destination. People were trekking, skiing, rock climbing, and more. Of course there is a lot of opportunity for photography, too.
    The town itself is a mountain town geared today for tourism. To me, it looks and feels the part.
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  • Day 8

    Cheese!

    April 16, 2022 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Imagine that! Cheese in Switzerland. And in the town of Gruyères. Said town is in the alpine foothills of southwestern Switzerland in the French speaking part of the country. Gruyères is a hill town with the chateau at the very top. That is the 1st picture. The 2nd picture is the view from the chateau, a view that captures much of what Switzerland is known for: Alps, dairy farms, green pastures, etc. The 3rd picture is along the main street of the town with it's medieval architecture and cobblestone street.
    The 4th picture looks out from the other side of the hill over the local countryside with the farms that provide milk for the Gruyères cheese. The 5th picture is of the main gate into town, and the 6th picture looks along the town wall on the inside. On the right are the crenallations used for defensive purposes.
    The rest of the pictures are of the town's most famous product: Gruyeres cheese and its manufacture. Here is the process, from mixing and culturing to the presses and ripening. Notice the robot in the 9th picture that turns the cheese wheels and cleans the rind.
    The last picture is a 35 kilogram cheese (the standard size) stamped and ready to be shipped.
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