Switzerland: Wandering in Wonderland by Emily and CK
Our friends, Esther and Thomas, lived in Geneva, Switzerland. They came to visit us in Christmas 2002, and in 2003 we went to Iceland together. It was our first trip to Europe, and made us realize that Europe was not that far away. On both occasions they invited us to visit them in Switzerland. That laid the seed for our first trip to Continential Europe -- 24 days of wandering in Sep 2005. In my earliest memory (in Hong Kong), Switzerland was mostly associated with Sugus, a brand of chewy fruit candy marketed as "Swiss Candies" which were very popular in Asia. Then came chocolate, which is popular everywhere. The story of Heidi. The beginning of Frankenstein and the end of Sherlock Holmes. Watches and Swiss army knives. The Red cross and the League of Nations. Albert Einstein and CERN. Martina Hingis and Roger Federer. Above all, however, when I thought of Switzerland, I thought of the Alps. To prepare for our trip, we consulted Clem Lindenmayer's "Walking in Switzerland". What caught my attention was the Alpine Pass Route, which led from Sargans on the Eastern border over 326km (202 miles) and 16 alpine passes to Montreux by Lake Geneva. To hike through the whole route would take a month (including sightseeing and rest days), but with the help of mountain transports like cable cars, we might be able to take a good walk through the heart of Switzerland. Another book consulted was Kev Reynold's "Alpine Pass Route". Written by an Englishman, it contained nuggets of encouragement like these: Stage 1: "Although short, this initial stage is not without its moments of steep ascent." Stage 3: "It is quite a tough day's walking ..." Stage 5: "Although it is another exceptionally long stage ..." Stage 6: "This is another long and demanding day ..." Stage 8: "The ascent to Kleine Scheidegg is surprisingly steep." Stage 9: "Yet again we face a long day's trek." Stage 10: "...its crossing [is] one of the most demanding." And so on through all 16 stages of the route. Well, Kev, we have been warned, and we were still coming. (In retrospective, Kev's descriptions were very accurate.) With all on walking on the itinerary, we needed to travel light. Real light. Everything we brings would have to be carried on our backs. Luckily, with all the alpine inns in Switzerland, there was no need for a tent or a stove. Essentially the only thing we needed to carry were our clothes, the tourbooks, and the camera. We boarded our flight to Switzerland on 1st Sep 2005, with everything in our backpacks. We had no firm itinerary, no hotel reservations, and no knowledge of French nor German. What we had was confidence that this would be a wonderful trip. begin
Jump To: CK's Home Page Switzerland Trip Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20 Day 21 Day 22 Day 23 Day 24 Thoughts (These pages were developed with Internet Explorer and may not align correctly in other browsers.) Created on 9th Oct 2005. Last updated on 8th Nov 2008. ckchow.mbox@gmail.com