The Via Alpina in Switzerland is a long distance hiking trail made up of three distinct sections covering different parts of the country. John and I hiked six of the 20 one-day stages that make up the 390 kilometre red trail route. This part of the Via Alpina starts in Vaduz in eastern Switzerland and ends in Montreux in the west. Over its length, it climbs 23,600 m (77,400 feet) and crosses 14 alpine passes.…
The Aare Gorge canyon walk is another one of Switzerland's fabulous nature excursions. It's an easy, family-friendly experience that takes at most, a half day. Access is straight-forward from the town of Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland. (To get your bearings, Interlaken is just 25 minutes west by car.) The glacier fed Aare River - Switzerland's longest river - cuts through a narrow limestone gorge thousands of years in the making called the Aare Gorge.…
Visit Brienzer Rothorn, the highest mountain of the Emmental Alps in Switzerland via an outrageously scenic ride on the Brienz Rothorn steam train. You can of course hike up if you're feeling energetic - or down, but the train is a fun experience and a great way to enjoy the landscape. Sitting at an elevation of 2,350 m, the Brienzer Rothorn enjoys superb views of Lake Brienz - the lake that lies directly east of…
The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is one of the top long distance hikes in Europe, and in fact the world. It delivers superlative, pristine mountain scenery day after day for over a week. The hiker's tour is a 168 km loop around the base of Mount Blanc, the highest peak in western Europe at 4810 m (15,782 feet). Most hikers start just outside of Chamonix, France if they're hiking the traditional counter-clockwise direction or…
If you're a keen hiker then chances are that you've thought about hiking the Tour of Mont Blanc - TMB for short. If you haven't heard about it then it may be something to add to your bucket list. I hiked it with my daughter one July but it took me weeks to figure out an itinerary and where to stay. Learn from my mistakes by reading this post about the whole experience hiking the…