Zurich, Switzerland - We've gotten in some excellent hiking as the spring turned to summer. Below is a sampling of the places we've been.
Stoos Ridge Hike
We visited Stoos earlier this year when it was covered in snow. That snowshoe adventure ended in minor disaster when both of us tumbled part of the way down a hill towards the end of our route, resulting in minor cuts and bruises and a sprained ankle.
Despite the raw memory, we decided to give Stoos a second chance and attempt the Stoos ridge hike, a 4.4km walk along the ridge that connects the Klingenstock peak to Fronalpstock. The path is at times a little narrow and in various places the drop off to the left, or the right, or sometimes both the left and the right, can be rather precipitous. This might have created more anxiety, except that the path was littered with all manner of folks who were less surefooted--like the portly older swiss gentlemen--or careful--the kids wandering about with their faces glued to their phones--than either of us. Surely if they had survived the journey thus far, we would also?
Anyway, we are VERY glad we did this hike. The sheer drops off the sides of the path afforded some absolutely spectacular views and the wildflowers were in full bloom on the mountain tops plus an amazing number of butterflies. I can't do justice in words to the stunning scenery, so I'll just shut up and share the pictures now.
Weg der Schweiz - Fluelen to Sisikon
In early May, Hannah and I did a stretch of the Weg der Schweiz (Swiss Path) from Fluelen to Sisikon and then a bit further on the way to Morschach. The Swiss Path is a national monument in path form. It was planned in 1991 for the 700th anniversary of the country. Each canton was allocated 5 millimeters per inhabitant and the cantons were given the section of the path that corresponded with order in which each joined the Swiss confederation. So, the original three cantons: Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden (which is now two cantons - Obwalden and Nidwalden) are the first four sections of the path, and Canton of Jura, which was formed in 1979, is the last section.
Hannah and I started in Fluelen, which is approximately halfway along the path. So, with respect to Swiss history, we started around 1501, when Basel was admitted to the Swiss Confederacy. To be more specific (and more confusing), we started our hike in Basel Landwirtschaft, as Basel separated into two half cantons in 1833: Basel Landwirtschaft (Basel Country) and Basel Stadt (Basel City). The split resulted from growing distrust amongst the rural folks, who felt a bit miffed about their underrepresentation in the cantonal parliament. At some point, the farmers got together and demanded that the "esteemed gentlemen and noblemen in Basel" provide a more equitable distribution political power. A minor battle ensued and the Swiss federal authority stepped in to partition the canton. In any case, both cantons still claim 1501 as their date of admission into the Swiss confederacy.
From there, we hiked our way through several centuries along the lakeside to Sisikon. Here we started a steep climb up a hillside at the base of Fronalpstock (see above) that brought us to a little hamlet perched over the lake called Tannen with some breath-taking views.
Hirzel Hills
Hirzel is a small village of no historical significance as far as I can tell from its Wikipedia entry.
We visited this place in large part due to its semi-famous photogenic hills, which are well-known among the Instagramerati. There are two remarkable features of these hills. First, they are perfect topographical representations of hills. They look like the kind of hill a child would draw for you on a piece of paper. You would look at that drawing and smile at the child and tell them that their drawing is the most beautiful hill you'd ever seen. And that would be partly true: in the back of your head, you would be thinking, "There is no hill on earth that has this kind of simple and untrammeled beauty, you simple child, because the world is a brutal and imperfect place." The second reason is that all these hills have a tree on top. And when I say "on top," I mean situated in the exact perfect location on the top of the hill.
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