Switzerland

Traveling to Switzerland again for the first time in 6 months, I was able to visit a few of my favorite areas. Below are some pictures of my one week trip.

Once a former fishing village, Ascona is situated beside the bay on the north-western shore of Lake Maggiore in the canton of Ticino. Home to 5,000 residents, Ascona is a popular destination, in my opinion one of the best areas in Switzerland.





Locarno is located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000 and the official language is Italian. This is the area that I will retire in.





View of the Madonna Del Sasso with Locarno below:

Looking down from the Madonna Del Sasso:
Hiking through the small village of Sapun:





On the hiking trail from Langwies to Davos:



Bellinzona is the capital city of the canton Ticino in Switzerland. The city is famous for its three castles Castelgrande, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro

Bellinzona is strategically positioned where the valley narrows on the way to the Alpine passes of St. Gotthard, San Bernardino and Lucomagno. The town is a gateway to Italy for those traveling from the North, and the keyhole to the Alps for those coming from the South.
"Doe Mah Neek a Neek a Neek..........."

Collegiata dei SS. Pietro e Stefano

The Gigerwaldsee is a lake in the municipality of Pfäfers, in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. The reservoir has a volume of 35.6 million m³ and a surface area of 0.71 km².
Vättis is a small mountain-village (400 people) in the east of
Switzerland at almost 1000m above sea level.

The Gigerwald Dam was completed in 1976. It has a height of 147 m:

MONTE CARASSO

Monte Carasso is a municipality in the district of Bellinzona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland in which Italian is the sole official language.
Until 1878 the three largest cities, Bellinzona, Lugano and Locarno, alternated as capital of the canton. In 1878, however, Bellinzona became the only and permanent capital. This area is one of my favorites in all of Switzerland


Looking north, down at Bellinzona:

E B E N A L P

The Appenzell Alps are a mountain range in Switzerland on the northern edge of the Alps. They extend into the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden and St. Gallen and are bordered by the Glarus Alps to the west and the Rätikon to the south-east.
The range is split up into six sub-ranges:

• Alpstein, central group, highest summit: Altmann, 2,435 m
• Alpstein, northern group, highest summit: Säntis, 2,502 m
• Alpstein, southern group, highest summit: Roslen- or Saxerfirst, 2,151 m
• Alviergruppe, highest summit: Gamsberg, 2,385 m
• Churfirsten, highest summit: Hinterrugg, 2,306 m
• Speer - Mattstock, highest summit: Speer, 1,950 m

Seealpsee. Säntis is the lowest peak in the middle of this picture:

My first attempts at video: