Switzerland 2017

A trip to Switzerland, touring around with a Swiss friend as my guide. Read more

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Day 9
Sunday, July 23, 2017 at 1:44 PM
⛅ 19 °C
Altitude: 1,345 ft
Switzerland Schaffhausen railway station 47.69783, 8.6349347°41’52” N 8°38’6” E
Schaffhausen
July 23, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Schaffhausen, a town that made it's money from transporting goods from the upper Rhine to below the Rheinfall.

Beautiful old town, with ornately painted buildings and covered balconies.
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Day 9
Sunday, July 23, 2017 at 2:16 PM
⛅ 20 °C
Altitude: 1,411 ft
Switzerland Munot 47.69686, 8.6398247°41’49” N 8°38’23” E
Munot
July 23, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
The Munot is a circular 16th century fortification in the center of Schaffhausen. It is surrounded by vineyards and serves as the city's symbol. The ring-shaped fortress was built in the 16th century.
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Day 9
Sunday, July 23, 2017 at 4:19 PM
⛅ 20 °C
Altitude: 1,286 ft
Switzerland Geissberg 47.676605, 8.79932247°40’36” N 8°47’58” E
Boat to Stein am Rhein
July 23, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Then it was on a boat for a two hour journey up river to Stein am Rhein. Along the way the boat had to navigate some quite narrow, shallow passages, as well as avoid folks floating down river on anything inflatable. Very popular here.Read more
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Day 9
Sunday, July 23, 2017 at 5:30 PM
⛅ 20 °C
Altitude: 1,316 ft
Switzerland Stein am Rhein 47.660165, 8.85874247°39’37” N 8°51’31” E
Stein am Rhein
July 23, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Stein am Rhein is a small town west of Lake Constance (Bodensee), full of preserved, half-timbered medieval houses with painted facades, clustered around Rathausplatz in the old town. On a hilltop overlooking the town, Hohenklingen Castle dates back to the Middle Ages.Read more
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Day 10
Monday, July 24, 2017 at 12:12 PM
🌧 15 °C
Altitude: 1,342 ft
Switzerland Schipfe 47.374333, 8.54249247°22’28” N 8°32’33” E
Zurich
July 24, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 15 °C
Today I walked around Zurich, a city I'd been to before a couple of times, but never explored

I walked around the old town either side of the Limmat river,exploring all the small alleys down to the Zurichsee (Lake Zurich).Read more
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Day 11
Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 11:39 AM
🌧 13 °C
Altitude: 1,916 ft
Switzerland Unterseen 46.68525, 7.8554246°41’7” N 7°51’20” E
Interlaken
July 25, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
Today's trip was into the mountains in the centre of the country, starting at Interlaken. Not a great day weather wise, but nothing will stop me.

A few big old hotels here tells how much it's been a popular destination over the years.Read more
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Day 11
Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 12:37 PM
🌧 11 °C
Altitude: 4,360 ft
Switzerland Harderkulm 46.69799, 7.8539746°41’53” N 7°51’14” E
Harder Kulm
July 25, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
I firstly went up the funicular at the north of Interlaken to Harder Kulm. Raining heavy, but still got glimpses of Interlaken below through the clouds.
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Day 11
Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 2:21 PM
🌧 13 °C
Altitude: 2,290 ft
Switzerland Gsteigwiler 46.66116, 7.8743446°39’40” N 7°52’28” E
Schynige Platte
July 25, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C
Back down the funicular, and straight onto another train to Lauterbrunnen. A short distance from Interlaken I get off at Wilderswil, where I get on the old cog train up to Schynige Platte. A very slow train, but great views.

At the top it's pretty cool temperatures but dry. So I do a quick circular walk up the mountain a bit, for even better views of the split valleys below to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. The cloud doesn't quite clear to show the iconic Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains. But I can see snow on the base of these peaks.Read more
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Day 11
Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 4:56 PM
🌧 10 °C
Altitude: 4,203 ft
Switzerland Wengen Railway Station 46.60497, 7.9215546°36’18” N 7°55’18” E
Wengen
July 25, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
Once down to Wilderswil, I transfer onto a train to Lauterbrunnen again, where I change onto the mountain train to Wengen. But pouring down there, with no view of the surrounding mountains.

Overall I used 13 modes of transport today, including a funicular, cog trains and intercity trains. The maximum transfer time between trains 12 minutes. Superb!!Read more
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Day 12
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 11:45 AM
⛅ 22 °C
Altitude: 837 ft
Switzerland Bellinzona Railway Station 46.19433, 9.0274146°11’40” N 9°1’39” E
Bellinzona
July 26, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
Today's daytrip was like visiting another country, through the newly operational 57km Gotthard tunnel, which allows train speeds of up to 160mph (250kmh). This took me to the south of Switzerland, and the Italian speaking part, and Bellinzona, the capital of the Swiss canton of Ticino. The most prominent thing about Bellinzona is it's three castles.Read more
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Day 12
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 12:50 PM
⛅ 24 °C
Altitude: 810 ft
Switzerland Bellinzona Railway Station 46.19391, 9.0266546°11’38” N 9°1’36” E
Castelgrande
July 26, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Castelgrande is located on a rocky peak overlooking the valley, with a series of walls that protect the old city and connect to Montebello.
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Day 12
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 1:22 PM
⛅ 24 °C
Altitude: 1,024 ft
Switzerland Castello di Montebello 46.19136, 9.0270246°11’29” N 9°1’37” E
Castillo di Montebello
July 26, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
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Day 12
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 1:46 PM
⛅ 23 °C
Altitude: 1,460 ft
Switzerland Castello Sasso Corbaro 46.18824, 9.029746°11’18” N 9°1’47” E
Castello di Sasso Corbaro
July 26, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Sasso Corbaro, the highest of the three castles, is located on an isolated rocky promontory south-east of the other two. The Castles of Bellinzona with their defensive walls have been an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.Read more
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Day 12
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 4:15 PM
⛅ 19 °C
Altitude: 4,436 ft
Switzerland Cima della Pianca 46.20806, 8.9792846°12’29” N 8°58’45” E
Mornera
July 26, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
I also went up the mountain on the opposite side of the valley by gondola to Mornera, then down again to one of the lower gondola stations.
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Day 12
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 6:09 PM
⛅ 21 °C
Altitude: 2,467 ft
Switzerland Sementina 46.19319, 8.9741146°11’35” N 8°58’27” E
Ponte Tibetano Carasc
July 26, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
From there it was a relatively tough hike to the Tibetan bridge, a 270m long suspended foot bridge, 130m above the gorge below.
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Day 13
Thursday, July 27, 2017 at 11:57 AM
⛅ 16 °C
Altitude: 3,888 ft
Switzerland Kandersteg station 46.49499, 7.6698146°29’42” N 7°40’11” E
Kandersteg-Goppenstein
July 27, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Thursday was a trip to the south west of Switzerland, into the French speaking Valais canton.

Before that we had to drive onto a train to travel through the mountains.
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Day 13
Thursday, July 27, 2017 at 2:06 PM
⛅ 23 °C
Altitude: 1,729 ft
Switzerland Saint-Léonard 46.25691, 7.4259946°15’25” N 7°25’34” E
Lac Souterrain
July 27, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Once off the train it was down twisty roads to the valley below. We stopped at Lac Souterrain at Saint-Léonard. The subterranean lake is located along the Rhone valley, between Sion and Sierre in the heart of the Swiss Alps.

With a length of around 300 meters this is the largest natural underground lake in Europe which can be explored by boat.Read more
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Day 13
Thursday, July 27, 2017 at 5:06 PM
⛅ 23 °C
Altitude: 2,533 ft
Switzerland Lac de Mont d'Orge 46.23082, 7.3346346°13’51” N 7°20’5” E
Notre-Dame de Montorge
July 27, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Then it was onto Sion. It’s known for 2 hilltop fortifications: the 13th-century Tourbillon Castle ruins and the Valère Castle complex, with a basilica housing an organ over 500 years old. The 15th-century Cathedral of Notre-Dame-du-Glarier and the conical Witches’ Tower are in the old town.

When we arrived we walked/hiked up to a 792m hilltop overlooking the airport and city. On it was the ruins of an old fort called Notre-Dame de Montorge.Read more
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Day 13
Thursday, July 27, 2017 at 9:28 PM
⛅ 21 °C
Altitude: 1,775 ft
Switzerland Sion District 46.23671, 7.3592546°14’12” N 7°21’33” E
Sion
July 27, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
After supper we had a walk into the centre of Sion, lovely warm evening.
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Day 14
Friday, July 28, 2017 at 11:55 AM
☁️ 18 °C
Altitude: 3,484 ft
Switzerland Tierpark Aletsch 46.40513, 8.1364846°24’18” N 8°8’11” E
Fiesch
July 28, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Day two in Valais. A night in Sion before heading eastward up the Rhone valley to see two glaciers, the spectacular Aletsch glacier and the Rhonegletscher.

Both have been affected by global warming, but the rapid decline of the Rhonegletscher is quite staggering, and sobering.

Gondola from Fiesch up to the viewpoint is a 5700 ft (1730m) ascent.Read more
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Day 14
Friday, July 28, 2017 at 12:39 PM
⛅ 10 °C
Altitude: 9,327 ft
Switzerland Fiescherhorli 46.42775, 8.092546°25’40” N 8°5’33” E
Aletsch glacier
July 28, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
And at the end of the gondola, what a view. The Aletsch glacier, the largest in the Alps at 23km long, 1km deep at the deepest. Stunning views everywhere and the clouds disappear as we get there.

Four smaller glaciers converge at Concordia Place. On a very clear day you can see fourteen peaks over 4000m (13,100 ft) . One of those is the Matterhorn way off to the west.Read more
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Day 14
Friday, July 28, 2017 at 4:24 PM
⛅ 12 °C
Altitude: 7,349 ft
Switzerland Belvédère 46.57761, 8.3870646°34’39” N 8°23’13” E
Rhonegletscher
July 28, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
After the Aletsch glacier it's onwards up the Rhone valley, to where it's very narrow, and very twisty roads. A huge scar shows where the Rhonegletscher ice used to be in very recent history. The Belvedere hotel sits near the glacier and in the 1930's the glacier ice was at the same height as the road to the hotel.

Dust on the ice absorbs the heat more, increasing the melt. On some parts special white sheets have been laid on the glacier, slowing the ice melt by about 10m height compared with non-protected ice. The sheet covered ice allows it to be stabilised somewhat, enabling access to ice tunnels which are bathed in a blue light. This is the filtered sunlight, and is only observed about 15m below the surface.

In 1870 the ice reached the bottom of the valley, where the small river almost reaches the twisty road.Read more
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Day 14
Friday, July 28, 2017 at 5:04 PM
⛅ 12 °C
Altitude: 7,129 ft
Switzerland Grimsel Pass 46.5614, 8.3375446°33’41” N 8°20’15” E
Grimsel pass
July 28, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
After the Rhonegletscher, it was back down the valley and over the Grimsel Pass at 7100 ft (2164m) on the opposite side of the valley. Nice misty pass at the top, temperature changed from 27.5C to 10.5C in the cloud .Read more
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Day 15
Saturday, July 29, 2017 at 10:02 AM
⛅ 20 °C
Altitude: 902 ft
Switzerland Basel Zoo 47.547212, 7.57871547°32’50” N 7°34’43” E
Basel Zoo
July 29, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Saturday was a lovely day out to Zolli, officially Zoologischer Garten Basel, and is Switzerland's oldest (1874) and largest zoo (by number of animals). It's a huge attraction as it's in the centre of the city.

The zoo has elephant's, a huge monkey house, Indian rhinoceros, greater flamingo, cheetahs, okapi, pygmy hippopotamuses, and every Somali wild ass (a donkey) in zoos worldwide is related to the population in Basel, where this species' zoological breeding program was started. It has a great breeding record for a lot of animals.Read more
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Day 16
Sunday, July 30, 2017 at 11:00 AM
⛅ 25 °C
Altitude: 1,217 ft
Switzerland Psychiatrische Klinik Königsfelden 47.480833, 8.21616647°28’51” N 8°12’58” E
Königsfelden, Windisch
July 30, 2017 in Switzerland ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
My final day on Sunday in Switzerland was a quick tour around Vindonissa, located in what is today called Windisch. It was an important Roman legion's camp being the only one in Switzerland and probably established in 15AD. A Roman barrack's has been recreated, with actors going through legionnary way of life.

The monastery church of Königsfelden, which is well known for its unique glass windows (that date back to the 14th century), is located in the middle of these ruins.Read more
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