Saturday 4 February 2017

Where is Wallis?

Today we will begin a journey that will lead us to the Swiss canton called Wallis or Valais. But before we discover the beauty of the highest parts of the Swiss Alps I want to show you some of the amazing landscapes of canton Uri.

Canton Uri was one of the three founding cantons of Switzerland. It has all that the country is proud of - high mountains with snowy peaks, beautiful lakes and a sun that shines brightly.


On top of the hills you will spot small villages that seem to be embedded in the rocky soil.


Next to them the land climbs up quickly. The colour of the water makes me think more of the Caribbean  than of the middle of Europe.


The mountains literally dive into the lake so the road crosses numerous tunnels.


The canton of Uri is divided from the canton Wallis by high mountains. To pass them, you need to take the Furka Pass. As the road begins to climb, the landscape changes.


Those concrete structures are semi-tunnels for cars, protected from snow. On top of the hills you may see the grid bringing electricity.


The Furka Pass is accessible by car only during summertime. In winter the snowfalls make it too dangerous. If you want to take your car to Wallis, you need to use a train. But first you need to queue.


On a weekend, there will be enough cars in front of you and behind you to make you admire the landscapes for around two hours.


Not much else to be done in this remote part of the world.


Finally, we arrive to the train station.


Here comes the train.


But wait, we are still inside a car! Do not worry, this train does not have seats for passengers. You need to bring your own ones.


Off we go!


Finally we are on the train. In a car. Inside a train.


The train starts moving and we are coming close to the Furka Base Tunnel.


Inside it is really dark.


But when we leave the tunnel it feels as if we were out of a sudden teleported to Antarctica.


Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Wallis!



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