Via Engadina, S-chanf to Zernez
Via Engiadina, S-chanf to Zernez, 16km, 4.5hrs
In the morning the Prättigau Valley was under heavy clouds. But right after the Vereina Tunnel, the blue sky but somewhat fresh temperatures awaited us. It is not unusual for the weather to be considerably different, one valley to another. Read More
Sentiero Panoramico in Bergell
Vicosoprano – Soglio,
Distance 9km; 450m ascent and 480m descent / 4hrs (with many breaks)
A truly panoramic walk through the narrow and isolated valley of Bergell, with views of formidable-looking Piz Badile (3305m) and other spiky peaks. Read More
Autumn walk from St. Moritz to Sils Maria
St. Moritz – Lake Murezzan – Stanzersee – Lake Marsch – Lake Champfer – Lake Silverplana – Maria Sils, 19 km, 5h
This was a beautiful walk along five lakes in the Oberengadin Valley on a cloudy and chilly Saturday morning. Our walk started with a captivating view of Lake Murezzan in front of the St. Moritz train station. Read More
Automatic Flight Timer with OpenTX
With the below setup you can totally forget about switching timers and get accurate air time information at the end of a flight or at the end of a day. Read More
Open House Zürich 2020: Architecture and City Planning
The Open House Zurich event showcases some architectural jewels as well as interesting aspects of the city and city planning. This year we visited two buildings, Tanzhaus, the former Neue Börse, and participated in Schilieren’s city planning tour.
Tanzhaus
After the former building burned down, they created a new, modern, concrete dance school at the Limmat riverside. It has special dance floors with slant walls ceiling-to-floor curtains for sound effects. The lighting effect from the Limmat River is special and a cafe is very welcoming with direct access from the popular riverside walking path. Luckily we were with our architect friend Daniela who could explain some aspects of the building in more detail.
Former Neue Börse (Stock Exchange)
This massive concrete building was built as a new stock exchange but by the time it was completed, digitalization had taken over and the stock exchange digitalized and automatized. Then this building was bought by an international education center and completely renovated. Guided by the chief architect, we discovered an airy reception area, a top-notch employee kitchen, and a breezy eating area as well as an expansive terrace. An amazing project!
Schlieren city planning
Led by a city planner of Schlieren who has been working in this community for around 15 years, we went through different parts of Schlieren, a square with modern bus stops, an apartment complex with small parks, a super modern school building, etc. The character of the town has changed from a rural dwelling to a rather industrial center with factories to a sleeping city with uncoordinated buildings and a square to, again, change into something completely different.
Now Tram 2 comes into Schlieren and people stream in and out to Zurich every 8 minutes which on its own is enough to change the character of the town.
The passionate city planner explained how her team works closely with landscape planners, increase the quality of life, turn this “broken” (unplanned and uncoordinated) city into a lively city where people enjoy living and feel part of the community.
At the end of the tour, we felt almost moved by the fact that there are a lot of professionals behind the scenes to make Zurich a great city.
Open House Zürich 2020: Night illumination
The Open House Zurich, Architecture for all, 2020
Zurich by night illumination
Zurich is beautifully illuminated at night. Zurich is, of course, not Paris or Prague, but when we pass the Quaibrücke, we are often struck by the beautifully illuminated bridges and buildings. Read More
Open House Zürich 2020: Historical tour
The Open House Zurich 2020 – Zurich Historical Tour
The Open House Zurich is a fantastic event that showcases particular architectural sites, historical and modern ones, also to architecturally non-educated public.
Today we visited three fascinating archeological sites and time-traveled to the Roman and Middle-Age Zurich. Read More
Schwarzsee – Schönbielhütte – Zermatt Hike
Schwarzsee (2583m) – Stafelalp (2199m) – Schönbielhütte (2694m)- Z’Mutt (1936m) – Winkelmatten (1672m) // Distance 23km, 7h, 600m ascent, 1300m descent
Two years ago we went to the famous Hörnlihütte, the main base camp for climbing the Matterhorn. There is another hut which is at the north side of the Matterhorn, called Schönbielhütte. That rather remote hut is today’s destination and should provide a grand view of the “North Face”. Read More
Gornergrat – Riffelsee – Riffelalp Hike
Gornergrat (3089m) – Riffelsee – Riffelberg (2582m) – Riffelalp (2211m) – Winkelmatten (1672m) // 12km, 1400 decent, took forever due to countless breaks
We are back to fabulous Zermatt for my belated birthday celebration. Patrick and Katharina kindly let us stay in their Matterhorn-view studio again. Read More
Murgsee Round-Hike
Merlen (1099m) – Gspon – Unter Mürtschen – Ober Mürtschen – Murgseefurggel (1985m) – Murgsee – Mornen Alp – Mornen
5.5 h, 900 m up and down, 15 km
There are many ways to reach Murgsee. The circular hiking trail around the Mürtschenstock towards those three lakes was on my hiking wish list for a while. Given that my wonderful husband and occasional hiking buddy was willing to join in and drive to the trailhead, we packed our gear… Read More
Fly, Hike & Travel. 