On our way back from Bivio this summer, we took a jaunt through northern Italy to visit a friend of my husband's for a few days. This was the Sudtirol region, which has close ties with neighboring Austria, and where German is still mixed in with Italian in a lot of places. Interestingly, as soon … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland (and Italy): Two sacred sites
At the start of Europe's heat wave in July, we decamped for cooler climes in the Alps. We stayed in the delightful town of Bivio in Val Surses, just across the Julierpass from the famous Engadin valley where my husband and I had stayed shortly after we were married 18 years ago. We got to … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Val Surses and Engadin
We haven't been doing much traveling for the last few months, but last October on our way back from Ticino we stopped in Lucerne, a city in the heart of "old Switzerland." It was a gorgeous day to spend a couple of hours in this stunning location by the lake, with a view of the … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Lovely Lucerne
Back in October, when winter was already approaching in our region, we spent a couple of weeks exploring and looking for sunshine in Ticino, the Italian part of Switzerland. It can only be reached by going over or under the Alps -- we spent 15 minutes driving through the Gotthard Tunnel, a wonder of modern … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Ticino
Back in July, we spent about a week in the Goms Valley region of the Alps -- we had planned to do some hiking, but as it ended up being shortly after my gallbladder surgery I couldn't move around much, plus the weather was very wet. So we spent most of our time relaxing in … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Muenster
A few weeks ago we found ourselves with some time on our hands in Fribourg, a largish city (for Switzerland) that's grown up around a well-preserved medieval center. The city is built upon both sides of the deep gorge cut by the river Saane; up on the cliffs still sit the ancient fortresses and monasteries, … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Fribourg
After a couple of weeks away from blogging, I'm happy to be back with some more pictures to share with you. These are from Davos, a town in the mountains of Eastern Switzerland that was once famous as a tuberculosis health resort and still draws lots of outdoor enthusiasts. We visited in the very last … Continue reading Postcards from Switzerland: Davos
I just returned from two weeks in Crete - glorious weather, dramatic scenery, the loveliest Mediterranean swimming, and fascinating archaeological sites. I was a bit nervous about traveling during the pandemic but we were outside most of the time and masked whenever not and returned in good health. The tourist volume was way below normal, … Continue reading Land of the labyrinth
As well as multiple languages, there are other things I've had to get used to in Switzerland. Some of these I knew about from previous visits, while others came as a not so pleasant surprise. And some may be general European things, while others are more particularly Swiss; I can't be sure, not having spent … Continue reading Settling into Switzerland
Last month, I spent some time hiking with my family in the mountains near Thun. This is the "Bernese Oberland" region, gateway to the Alps. We took a funicular up to the Niederhorn (Switzerland is full of such conveniences) and hiked along a ridge for a few hours. The views were magnificent; we could see … Continue reading Peak experience
