Switzerland (local)

Some lakes, and the great capital: Bern

The Appenzell region, and the great lake of Bodensee

The fresh Jura, the great north of Switzerland

The wonderful Jura, the beautiful lake of Ginevra, the great land of lakes.

This year I made a tour in German language Switzerland. This reportage is completed with some photo that illustrate how to having fun in this wonderful country

This is a tour in French Switzerland, from Como to Ginevra... this is Calvino anniversary!

This time we're already in a foursome. I am with my three children. The youngest is 10 years old Agatha. We drive along the Pennine Alps. In addition to biking trails great mountain tours - Zermatt with Matterhorn and Chamonix with Mont Blanc. Travel of dreams.

La regione che si trova subito a nord delle Alpi svizzere è ricca di laghi, grandi e piccoli. Agli estremi si trovano i due bacini piú grandi, il lago Lemano a sudovest e il lago di Costanza (Bodensee) a nordest, che segnano anche i confini naturali del vasto altipiano e della stessa Confederazione, dal cantone di Ginevra a San Gallo.

Il percorso che attraversa la Svizzera centrale si snoda fra questi estremi restando ai margini del grande altopiano, e tocca buona parte dei laghi posti alle pendici della catena alpina, all'incirca fra Thun e Walenstadt, attraversando anche alcuni centri maggiori come Berna, Thun, Lucerna, Zugo, Zurigo, Rapperswil: siamo nel cuore della Svizzera, dove si trovano i cosiddetti cantoni primitivi.

Finché si resta sulle sponde dei laghi il percorso non presenta particolari difficoltà, anzi è spesso pianeggiante; d'altra parte siamo ancora in un territorio segnato dalle Alpi, quindi capita che ci si trovi a dover superare qualche dislivello o passo alpino (è il caso del Brünig fra Meiringen e Sachseln).

Ho suddiviso il tracciato in due parti: la prima da Berna a Lucerna (circa 160 chilometri da percorrere in due giorni, con sosta a Meiringen), la seconda da Lucerna a Rapperswil (100 km , percorso di una giornata). Questo è il resoconto della prima tappa.

A six day ride across Switzerland from Basel to Zernez in the Lower Engadine, taking in some of the easier passes including the Glaubenbielen Pass, the Pragel Pass, the Wolfgang Pass and the Fluela Pass.

The weather forecast for the next week looks promising, so I decide to take the train to Geneva, and start a cycle tour crossing Switzerland diagonally till St. Margrethen (at the Austrian border).

A 9 day bicycle tour through Switzerland, originating from a ski climb to a 4000 m peak. Here is how it works: you go around by bicycle and, from time to time, your friends reach you to perform some ski ascent together. It is understood that the whole mountaineering gear is carried by them!

The aim was not only to overcome the cycle route, but also to hold a mountain of interesting excursions. We are four persons: Agata (10lat), Ania (16), Krzysztof (22) and me, father siblings.

Website is in Polish, but it has a google translator. It is written in simple language. Try to understand all in your native language.

The winter of 1963 brought the longest cold spell to central Europe in a many years, freezing the landscape deeper than it had in 100 years. Realizing that such weather probably would not occur again in my lifetime, if ever, I decided to do more than read about frozen lakes and deep frost [...] The ice was glassy smooth here [in Zürich], the sun and warmth from the city having melted the surface during the warmest part of the day. I walked down onto the lake and mounted my bicycle carefully. From having ridden on snow packed streets, I was aware that the best gear was the highest (50-13) to prevent undesired wheelspin that could dump me onto the ice. Traction would have been even poorer had it not been -20 Celsius.

From 28 August to 08 September 2008 I surrounded Switzerland.

A varied tour of flat country side to hills and Alpine passes.

After a year's sabbatical from bicycle touring we could not wait to get back in the saddle. After researching our options and spending countless hours on various countries' Web sites, we decided on Switzerland because of the beauty of the country and their national cycling routes. We were not disappointed.

The most difficult part was eliminating routes. Not being able to make up our minds, we decided to do a little of everything - lakes, mountains, rivers, waterfalls, national forests and rolling green pastures with ubiquitous Swiss cows and their bells.

Our journal includes lots of photos along with a daily log and an equipment list.

Like last year the month August was cloudy and rainy, and the prospect for cycling in the Alps was not very promising. September did not seem to get better, until the weather broadcasts predicted some sunny days ahead.

7. Sept. 07 I fastened the panniers onto my bicycle and was ready to start the annual alpine cycle tour.

After 9 days I was back again, without seeing a drop of rain.

This journey I made in Sept.2005. From Bremgarten (AG) cycling in direction Graubünden,the eastern part of Switserland. I enjoyed one week cycling, climbing 7 passes.

The month August 2006 was one of the worst fore many years. Cold weather and much rain left little hope for a third bicycle tour this year. The weather forecasts of the first weekend in September promised however improvement. Sunday evening I packed my bags and Monday morning 10.15 a.m. I started cycling From Andermatt to Chur with a dertour.

Nancy and Ron take a leisurely 28 day tour through parts of Switzerland, starting and ending in Zurich. Ron took more than 3,000 high quality photos and over 200 are included in this journal.

The Axenstrasse is noted for its rugged cliffs that drop steeply to the dark green lake. The Gotthard railway lies below the road near the water, mostly in tunnels, while the road wound its way through short tunnels on the way to Flüelen in the Reuss valley. The Axenstrasse can best be appreciated from a bicycle with its view of towering snow capped peaks above the lake.

Nachdem ich schon mit Heidrun eine kleine Alpentour gemacht hatte, waren nun auch meine Söhne Bernhard und Ulrich damit an der Reihe. Weil Bernhard mit seinem eigenen Fahrrad fahren würde, suchten wir uns eine Route aus, die schöne Aussichten auf die Alpen bietet, aber doch nicht die großen Pässe enthält. Merkwürdigerweise gibt es zwischen Zürich und dem Rheintal bei Sargans ein Tal, das über gar keine Paßhöhe zu verlaufen scheint, sondern zwischen den Bergen hindurch auf fast konstanter Höhe bleibt. Vom Zug aus sah dieses Tal nun auch noch immer recht schön aus und da bot es sich an, von Chur aus in dieser Richtung zu fahren. Der Ursprung dieses Tals war wohl einmal ein Gletscherverlauf im Rheintal, der sich während der Eiszeit bei Sargans teilte. Natürlich waren auch Überlegungen im Raum, vielleicht auch den einen oder anderen Paß zu überqueren, aber letztlich entschieden wir uns doch für eine einfache Strecke.

So eine diffuse Idee war also schon geboren, irgendwie von Chur über den Oberalppaß und den Gotthardpaß nach Airolo oder so zu fahren. Der spannende Teil war nun, wie man das Tandem hinbekommt. Natürlich nehmen in der Schweiz fast alle Züge Fahrräder mit, aber es gibt oft dafür solche Haken im Eingangsbereich der Wagen, die sich für Tandems weniger eignen als für normale Fahrräder. Aber man kann es ja versuchen, notfalls hätten wir kurzfristig umdisponiert.

With the experiences of 5 tours to the High-Tatras and two cycletours in Austria and Slovenia, in the year 2001 with joining to the holiday of my parents I tried to cross the swiss Alps. The startpoint was a small village Champoussin, situated 1575m high not too far from the Lake Leman. [...] On my first cycletour I biked to France through the not too high, but steep Col de la Forclaz. This pass are usually compared to the famous climb, Alpe d.Huez, because of their comparable steepness and long. Before that time I hadn.t seen the Mont Blanc, so I found amazing the huge mass of snow. [...] (1st training-tour: 171 km + 3741 m height-diff.) On my second cycletour . thanks for the warmer weather . I took sight at the 2469m high Col du Grand Saint Bernard, at the border between Switzerland and Italy. [...] On the last 7-8 km I met with a guy from Netherlands who cycled up with a bike with about 30 kg pack. [...] The tour ended with an almost 2 hour long climb that I got used to two days before. My parents were waiting for me with a warm soup and a delicious supper. (2nd training tour: 173 km + 3371m height-diff.)

A long and wide bend on the left takes you into the last 10 kms. quite demanding both beacuse you already are on the climb from 17 km. and because during last 10 Km the average slope is > 7% and there are two flat stretches... After an harpin on the right you meet a tunnel (slope > 11%) that bicycles avoid on the right with a nice route (100 mt. are on pave') coasting some gorge that free climbers use for their training. You see the dam of first lake and you know you'll have to go up there: a set of bends help you on gaining altitude and finally you coast the lake at your right with its peculiar colour. Use the stretch along the lake to rest and don't be deceived by the the fact that you clearly see the [Grimsel]pass not so far.

In August 1998 I've made a cycling tour through the Swiss Alps. To start, my friend Rübe (Turnip) also known as Percus and I rode from Freiburg in Germany to Lugano, which is nearly Italy. From there I continued to Geneva (nearly France), where I caught up with my sister who lives there. Finally I went North to ride in the Jura mountains.

Im August 1998 habe ich eine Radtour durch die Schweizer Alpen gemacht. Mein Freund Rübe auch Percus genannt und ich sind von Freiburg im Breisgau bis nach Lugano (fast schon Italien) gefahren. Von da an bin ich dann alleine nach Genf weitergefahren, wo ich meine dort lebende Schwester besucht habe. Zum Abschluß bin ich dann nordwärts in den Jura gefahren.

It is a general rule of cycling that all hills basically just go up. Once you have gone to all the trouble of climbing a b-I-g hill on your bicycle, however, you should enjoy the luxury of the wind blasting past and a downhill run unimpeded by the need for brakes. But in Switzerland's Bernese Oberland, on some downhill rides it is hard to determine whether the source of all that screaming is the brakes or you. [...] the Bernese Oberland boasts beautiful lakes, picturesque villages and, of course, the magnificent Swiss Alps. Here are the Big Three, all stunning jagged granite peaks--the Eiger, the Jungfrau and the Mönch.

One of the great undiscovered pleasures of European travel is bicycle touring in Switzerland. The scenery is glorious, the roads perfectly-kept and superbly marked. The country is small enough to cover a lot of ground in a short time and there are excellent maps available. The trip can be a strenuous climb through bare mountains or a relaxing roll through alpine meadows.

Lessoc had beautiful houses, with painted facades picturing Alpine life. In the center of the village was a fountain with an onion dome, dating to 1796. We followed the signs from Lessoc to Grandvillard and then Estavannes. These were just typical villages of the Gruyères region, with nothing out of the ordinary but their charm.

A short ride on the main road past Les Moulins led us to a sign showing a bicycle and pointing left. These red signs are common in Switzerland and will direct you to scenic roads less-travelled by cars. We spun down a well-kept rural road, heading rapidly downhill, past manicured farms, where the barns and farmhouses are built as a single unit, and the only sound was the wind and the gentle clanking of cowbells in the air.

This short set of pictures can not exhaust all the passes in Switzerland because I've never been to some of them (Grosse Scheidegg, maybe in 1997 ?) or the camera went out of order at the moment of taking the picture (Susten Pass - July 1995) and also because of their number. Most of the passes are not so far each other and looking at a map is not so difficult to project a ``one day'' tour including the crossing of at least two passes. I think my personnel record is this tour including three crossings and a back and forward stretch to reach a fourth pass: that day.

Sion is start and finish for this mountain bike tour through the cantons Valais og Graubünden. Most of the riding is on tarmac, but occasionally I leave the pack behind and go off-road. This turn into a tour across some of the highest passes in Switzerland with detours to Stelvio in Italy and the Silvretta ski arena in Austria. Primarily I camp, but because it is raining a lot I sometimes stay in hotels to dry my clothes.

The adventure has been born in circumstances having a little in common with generally conceived tourism or ``communing with nature'' pattern; namely, in front of the computer screen in which I tried to find through the Internet links something which could have become a seed of future voyages. And I did - hundreds of pages of stories written by people for whom the Alps and bike were something more than just a holiday idea. [...] Such stories are extremely infectious, therefore it wasn't long before I have sketched on the map of Switzerland my route of dreams. The idea was even more encouraging for me, as the tour was supposed to run very close to numerous summits which I read about so many times - symbols of pioneer and contemporary alpinism.

Goschenen - Andermatt - Furkapass - Gletsch - Grimselpass - Innertkirchen - Sustenpass - Wassen - Goschenen, Km 120.

Thusis - Tiefencastel - Albulapass - La Punt - Zernez - Fluelapass - Davos - Klosters - Landquart - Chur - Thusis, Km 190.

When Richard Freytag and I started planning this year's recumbent tour, the somewhat obnoxious idea of touring Switzerland on the outside came up. We liked it, although it was soon clear that we would not manage the complete round in the time we had on our hands so we decided to go for a semi-circle and save the rest for later. After contacting Andreas Fuchs (from the HPV mailing list) in Bern for help with some practical details, it was decided that we would start in Bern and thus get a couple of days of riding in Switzerland before entering France.

We are two friends bringing our mountain bikes on the plane to Genève. From here we go for a ride through the cantons Bernese Oberland og Valais. We carry full pack, i.e. tent, sleeping bag cooker etc. Occasionally we leave the pack behind and ride on the small hiking tracks in the mountains. The highlight of the tour is Pas de Lona (2787 m) on the last part of the Grand Raid Cristalp mountain bike route. We also find time for a few trips with some of the fascinating Swiss narrow-gauge railways.

First I took the train back to Andermatt, then west to Oberwald where I got off and started climbing up the mountains. I rode parallel to the old abandoned railway (the new stretch runs in a long tunnel under the mountain) up to Gletsch. It felt very unreal to think that I'd ridden a train on that very track in 1981, shortly before the tunnel was opened. Now the rails were all rusty and rocks had fallen onto the railbed in several places. I saw that there's work going on to re-open the Furkapass-bahn. I hope they succeed!

An absolutely super site, with 100 trail descriptions in the Oberwallis region. Descriptions include a map, an altimetry profile and all relevant data.

Von Arona nach Airolo auf Schleichwegen. This is a tour over the spectacular Passo San Giacomo, between Italy and Switzerland.