Säntis

We have been already several times in Switzerland, but a place where I want to take you today is special. Here three cantons meet: Sankt Gallen, Appenzell Auserrhoden & Appenzell Innerrhoden. And in a good weather conditions you could see six countries: Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France, Italy & obviously Switzerland.

Let's start our trip at the parking place Schwagalp.

High above you can see the goal of our trip, a bit in the clouds.

Let's take the table car.

Our destination is called Säntis. Let the journey begin.

Here comes the second cable car.

One special thing about Säntis is its topographic prominence of 2021 m.

Not everyone had chosen the easy way as we did.

I hope that they are well prepared, including crampons and ice axes.

Welcome at the top, 2'502 meters above sea level.

Unfortunatelly today it is very cloudy.

But there are plenty of interesting items on the peak, like the topographic pole, …

gentiana flowers, …

and a 123.55 meter high transmission tower, using prominance to allow signals to reach really far destinations.

If you would like to go down the hill and take a hike, here you can see a few propose destinations. all between two and a half and three and a half of walking.

I see that the sun is getting through the clouds.

With a bit of patience every moment we can see more.

And more.

And more.

Time to go down.

Say "tschüs" to the local family. They are very conservative. To give you just a few examples: women got their voting rights in 1991, New Year's Day festivities are still governed by the Julian calendar and are thus currently held on January 14 and they always reject any federal Referendum.

Probably the adults work at the local dairy famous for the Appenzeller cheese. Although the recipe and the taste are traditional, the equipment is extremely modern.

We are leaving this beautiful experience behind.

Rigi

When my human family told me that we are going to see the Rigi mountain, I was not excessively happy. After all, we have already been to Mount Pilatus less than two years ago. And Lake Lucerne is not my favourite lake on the planet. But since horse of value always overcome their fears, I decided to spend this lovely summer day with you in the Swiss canton of Schwyz and even get close to what was my most dreadful experience ever. First, we will take a cable car to arrive to Rigi Kaltbad, where people enjoy some mineral water spa with an amazing view.

From here, we will go further up with a cogway train, being the oldest mountain railway in Europe.

As we move up, you can notice this wooden platform. If you thought it is standing here because there will be a dancing party tonight, you definitely know little about the pre-Alpine folklore.

This is a platform prepared for Schwingen, a traditional Swiss wrestling contest. And if you think that Swiss people do not take it seriously because it is "only" folklore, watch that.

Finally, we arrive to the top of the Rigi Kulm.

One of the most amazing things about Rigi is that it is almost entirely surrounded by water. It has three lakes at its feet. The first is Lake Lucerne that we all know too well.

Then come Lake Zug which we have already seen in the city of Zug ...

... and just next to it Lake Lauerz.

Rigi is referred to sometime as the queen of mountains. To improve its status even more, it arranged to become a sister of a goddess. Or more precisely a sacred mountain, Mount Emei.

Let's jump on the train again and move down the Rigi mountain towards the shores of Lake Lucerne.

I love this sign towards sheep and goats.

As we approach the lake, I recalled why I always thought this is one of the nicest areas of Switzerland.

It almost makes me want to get closer. I am not yet ready to be in the lake. But why not trying to be on the lake?

Everyone on board!

Safety first so let's check the lifeboats.

The engines seem to work fine as well.

I am now reassured, we can sit on one of those nice benches.

The nice building in the back is a luxury hotel.

Have you noticed something special on the mountain? Yes! This is a huge Swiss flag over there!

Time to get off the ship and move towards new adventures. I hope that you have enjoyed the time we spent by the Regina montium. If you would like to see more, I truly recommend you to watch the panoramic views available under the link.

Aletsch glacier

Last week we have been skiing and hiking in Fiescheralp. But the real reason why we came here remains to be discovered. Follow me, we need to catch the cable car. And no, we are not going down, back to Fiesch. We will be going further up.

Here it comes. Have you noticed that all cable cars are basically red?

Off we go. When you look down you can see the ski-highway below us.

On the left we pass the high rocky walls.

Finally, we arrive to the top, 2,893 meters above sea level. My friends - welcome on Eggishorn.

The view is spectacular whichever way you look. Just behind the cable car station, you will recognise the Zermatt region.

With Matterhorn in the middle of course. 

When you turn left, you will see the Alps on the other side of the Rhône valley. Down there lies Fiescheralp and Fiesch.

The top of Eggishorn is delimited by red ropes, next to which you will find these signs. They are not there without reason. I have seem lots of people going off piste here. Some were even having parachutes.

To be honest, I do not really understand them. The black ski run leaving Eggishorn seems frightening enough to me.

When you turn left again, you will finally see the main reason why we came to canton Wallis. The UNESCO World Heritage site called Jungfrau-Aletsch.

Aletsch is the largest glacier in the Alps. Nowadays it is about 23 km long. But during glacial period it went up to the city of Solothurn, being roughly 200 kilometers long! Due to global warming the Aletsch glacier gets shorter and thicker almost every year.

Jungfrau is the mountain in the back, slightly covered with clouds. It is possible to reach Jungfraujoch, the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau, with a cogway railway. It is the highest railway station in Europe.

On the right, you can spot the Fiescher glacier.  A bit smaller but still impressive because it seems much steeper.

A bit on the left again comes the Aletschhorn. Just as impressive as its cousin.




Our cable car is coming. But to be honest I do not feel like going down yet.

Why don't we get ourselves a hot tea and some nice rolls in the little cafe on the top of the world, with a world-famous glacier just behind us.

Let's sit for a moment and simply admire the beauty of the planet we were entrusted with.