Switzerland - THE hiking paradise!


Because of various circumstances I was able to return to Switzerland on my own and spend 9 days  there. 

First, Ting-Wai, Lenny and I camped in the Tessin area, one of our favorite places to vacation in Switzerland.

You can't really go to the Tessin without a visit to the Verzasca Valley with the famous Ponte dei Salti. 




This is one of my favorite spots in Switzerland.









 Froda waterfall by Sonogno






Sonongo is the quintessential Swiss town





Next day we hiked the Parco delle Gole Della Breggia, the first Swiss Geopark  It wasn't the prettiest place but it did have some very interesting rock formations. That place started at Morbio Inferiore:




And here's the Swiss geo park. To hike through it took about 4 hours (with lots of picture taking, etc.) and it was a little over 7 miles long roundtrip. 









The following day we hiked to the Ponte Tibetano near Bellinzona: And this became one of my favorite hikes in Switzerland! 


The trail was well marked, a bit steep and had lots of fountains to fill up your water bottle. 


After about an hour or so hiking up the mountain we got to the Chiesa San Bernardo - one of the most picturesque little churches I've been to:



The interior of this church was stunning. It contained well preserved beautiful murals, including the last supper:




The views outside were equally stunning:



Another hour or so of hiking brought us to the Ponte Tibetano Carasc:





The hike itself was also very pretty, through lush trails, vineyards and typical Tessiner homes. 




The next few days were spent with my mom. We got the local's day passes for 45 SFR and were able to travel all over Switzerland for free (well, mountain trains were extra).

Here we are on the Pilatus. The Pilatus mountain railway is the steepest rack railway in the world, with a maximum gradient of 48% and an average gradient of 35%! This would also be a fun hike to the top of the mountain. 









We also got to listen to some Alphorn players playing some typical Swiss sounds:


There's a church that's about to fall of the cliff!



Instead of the mountain rail, we took the gondola down the other side of the mountain. 


For our next day trip we took the train all the way to Gornergrat to see the Matterhorn. Last time I was there I was maybe 5?

Here we are a long time ago:


And now:







Glaciers nearby are also impressive:



Back in Zermatt:



One more outing with my mom - to the Swiss Temple in Zollikofen and Luzern:



Luzern: At the Lion Monument and learned that Bertel Thorvaldsen made the design of this monument!



THE END


 














































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