small trips around a big world
When a friend from Atlanta, Georgia comes to visit you and has never seen mountain snow, there's only one thing to do - SLEDGE DOWN A MOUNTAIN! Only two hours from Geneva, Les Diablerets makes the perfect day trip for any winter sport. They have wonderful beginner to imtermediate alpine and x country ski runs, wnter hiking, and... Continue Reading →
For a peaceful transition from 2016 to 2017, we decided to unplug for the weekend and retreat to the mountains. We had planned a relaxing New Years in a rustic wooden hut above the town of Riederalp, situated at the end of the Aletsch Glacier UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to Europe's largest and most powerful glacier,... Continue Reading →
It's a challenge to spend an entire weekend in Geneva when there are so many beautiful places just a short train ride away. Rochers Des Naye is one such place, recommended to us by a Swiss couple we met in a mountain hut, and makes for an easy 1.5 hour daytrip from Geneva. I caught an early train to Montreux, hoping to set... Continue Reading →
It was still early morning when I arrived in Kandersteg on the last summer hiking weekend of the season, a thick blanket of clouds masking any sign of the enormous peaks that I knew were lurking all around me. A humble hiking mecca in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland, Kandersteg lies just on the other side of the mountains from Rick Steve's beloved Gimmelwald and is reminiscent of the... Continue Reading →
Any wine lover should immediately head to the north shores of Lake Geneva where one of Europe's best-kept secrets lies waiting: the timeless Lavaux Vineyards. Just an hour from Geneva by train, Lavaux is the largest contiguous vineyard region in Switzerland, covering 800 hectares between Lausanne and Vevey, and has been protected as a UNESCO... Continue Reading →
Switzerland’s remarkable landscapes demand immediate action – grab your boots, jump on a train, and hit the trails. And perhaps nowhere deserves a visit more than the Swiss National Park, a relatively off-the-grid destination that bundles everything the country has to offer into a compact 170 sq km pocket of nature. With a three-day weekend ahead of us, we packed... Continue Reading →
This was destined to be an epic journey. One of my dearest friends and travel companions for the past 19 years, Katie, was coming to visit and we had planned a train trip across the country. From Geneva we would stop in the dazzling and fabled towns of Montreux, Gruyere, Lucerne, and Appenzell before arriving at our ultimate destination: Berggasthaus Aescher, the current... Continue Reading →
This region is legendary amongst mountaineers: for many years the Matterhorn was considered "unclimbable", during which time Zermatt was just a humble farming community. Then, in the 1830's to 50's, intense competition developed to conquer the Matterhorn and the first ascent was finally made by English climber Edward Whymper, but four of his climbing partners died along the way.... Continue Reading →
Touted as "the slowest express train in the world", the 7 hour trip on the Glacier Express (GEX) still flies by, keeping the majority of its passengers in rapt attention as the mesmerizing landscapes drift past the window. According to Rick Steves, this is the most scenic train ride in all of Europe, and it doesn't take long to agree with... Continue Reading →
Palm trees and Swiss Alps should not co-exist. This combination is something that should defy the realms of nature...but yet, there it was in dazzling green, blue and white splendor. Travel and Leisure lists the Chemin Fleuri as one of the world's most scenic walks, and it only takes one glance to understand why. Glorious scenery, top-quality jazz and... Continue Reading →