After a relatively warm and dry winter, the weather keeps on acting strange. I think temperatures like we had on March 22/2012 only occur once in a lifetime, it was almost 30°C and some local teens went skinny dipping in Oathill Lake.
Skinny dipping in Oathill Lake in March 2012
Revisiting the Salt Marsh Trail. This time we decided to hike the Salt Marsh Trail in summer. The forecast called for 29°C, so we left early and started our 2 hours hike at 9:30 am when it was still pleasant.
Salt Marsh Trail Hike
At the beginning of our walk we met a man with binoculars looking for a bald eagle, but we did not see one. Then when we came back there he was perched on a tree.
When we visited Widnau, our hosts offered us a Sunday drive and let me choose to either go to Lake Constance or to the mountains.
I chose the mountains. Even though as a kid I always got car sick with all those turns, the view is just unbelievable.
Appenzell
The following info is from Wikipedia
Information about Appenzell
In 1071 the town was referred to as Abbacella. By 1223 this changed to Abbatiscella, meaning the Abbot’s cell or the landlord of the abbey.
Check out also my page about the Sylverstercläuse, a typical local traditon.
With the sunny warm and mild October weather, we could not resist to have a lunchtime snack in the garden restaurant of the Hotel Appenzell. Just walking by the display windows of the hotel made our mouths water.
The following info is from Wikipedia:
Information about the Säntis Mountain
The Säntis is a mountain in the Swiss Prealps, part of the Alpstein range. It can be reached by cable car from Schwägalp.
The peak is the highest point of the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden, and is also shared by the Canton of St. Gallen.
From the 123.55 m high Swisscom transmission tower, various VHF radio and television programs (SF1, SF2) of SRG SSR idée suisse are broadcast.
For the more adventureous there is an over 3 hour hike straight up to the Säntis from the Schwägalp. Read the discription of it here. Proper hiking gear is a must.
In winter take the cable car to the top and ski down. What a rush. I remember skiing down the Diavolezza (English) glacier (German) in the Grisons when I was a kid.
Our last stop on our Sunday drive was Wildhaus, 1095 m above sea level. I have fond memories of spending the winter ski week with school here. All the classes of the elementary school went away for a week to the ‘Skilager’ (ski holiday). We didn’t have snowboards then and every skied. We were only allowed to use the ski lifts after lunch, must have been cheaper that way. In the mornings we had to create our own runs by walking up the hills with the skis and flattening the snow.
In the German Wikipedia of Wildhaus I read this tidbit:
The “Pisten-Funi”
From 1937 to 1949, Wildhaus was home to a very special means of winter transportation: the Funi (short for “Funiculaire”) or sled cable train. Like a cable train with a center pull cable, a sled drove up and down the hill, but instead wheels on tracks to run on it ran on sled runners on the snow.
Where has the time gone. I just realized that the last time we walked around Maynard Lake was September of 2002. This time the water level is quite a bit higher than 9 years ago. There are many reasons for that, but the main one is that it is at the beginning of summer and the last time it was September after a full summer, also we have had a very wet past 2 months.
The big difference we found was that the boardwalk at the North end of the lake has just about totally disintegrated and we had to step carefully. But all in all it was a delightful walk.
It is the Canada Day weekend and I decided to start the picture with chair with the maple leaf.
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Map Maynard & Oat Hill Lakes
Unfortunately, Maynard Lake is not swimable. The water is too poluted and the reasons for it are not known right now. At the beginning of summer I heard that there were tests being done to figure out if the pollution could be reversed. So far I have not heard anything about the results.
I started my walk on the eastern side of the lake, by taking an almost hidden path down from Lakefront Road. For a long time I did not realize that it was also possible to walk around this lake. Not many people are aware of it either as in places the paths are quite overgrown. The children in the area are, however, well aware of the paths and the woods around the lake and use them as their playground.
Knowing I did not need a big order of groceries, I had to decide what else we wanted to do on Saturday morning. That’s when I remembered that near the grocery store is a hiking trail that we had never explored because we did not realize that it even existed.
So join us on our excursion on the Russell Lake portion of the Portland Lakes Trail in Dartmouth, NS, Canada:
Portland Lakes Trail - Russell Lake
Portland Lakes Trail - Superstore, Library and Lake
Portland Lakes Trail - Squirrel & Ducks
Portland Lakes Trail - Labyrinth
Portland Lakes Trail - Looking East
We will go and explore the other direction of the path towards Morris Lake some other time.
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June 2002
Driving from the airport to my aunt’s house I noticed that most of the cars were much smaller than what I was used to from Canada.
There was one particular car that caught my attention. It looked so cute, but was also really tiny. It is called a “Smart” and is a 2 seater city car. The girlfriend of one of my cousin’s has one and said that it was a lot of fun to drive in the city, but not so much on the Autobahn. Even though, it could go 100 km/h quite easily. It is only 2.5 meters long and 2 would fit into an average parking spot.
I got my first real good look at the car, when I saw the blue one in the Tessin near my mom’s house. These cars seem to be quite popular and come in many colors. Towards the end of my trip I came close up to another one and this time I could take close up pictures.
May 5, 2004 Update
MSN Canada just had an article that the Smart Car is coming to Canada.
Rinspeed Roadster
Trikes
We found the name of the bus stops funny. It turns out that it is the abreviation for ‘Ferrovie autolinee regionali ticinesi’. English translation of Fart: ‘Tessin regional railroads and buses’
The price for gasoline is for 1 liter or 1/4 of an US gallon in Swiss Francs. One Franc was just about equal to on Canadian Dollar and a Canadian Dollar is worth around 65 cents US.
When I went to school in Switzerland I had to take the train. To get to the train station I took my bike. I could store my bike like this there. Now over the years I have trying to explain this without much success as most people just could not imagine something like this. So now when I saw this in my mom’s appartment bulding I just had to take a picture to show. This way the bicycles take up the least amount of space and are earily accessible.
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June 20/2002
Villages in the Verzasca Valley
The village of Corippo at the end of the lake lies on the western side of the the valley and is only accessable by the foot bridge over the Verzasca river. Typical buildings, houses and barns, in the Tessin are built from stone. They are called ‘Rustici’ (plural) or ‘Rustico’ (singular) and the translation means stone house. They are very popular and many an old barn has been converted into a vacation home.
Ponte dei Salti
Lavertezzo Warning sign on the river
The sign says in English:
- This river’s beauty hides its danger.
- The wet rocks are very slippery.
- Slipping could cause you to get stuck between the rocks or you fall into the water and drown.
- The water, which has its source in the nearby mountains, is cold. The risk of hypothermia or vascular congestion is very high.
- The currents are invisible and unpredictable. Assess the danger of your surroundings and the amount of flowing water. If the current grabs you, you cannot escape the strength of the suction.
- Supervise your children, one second can turn a lovely outing into a catastrophe.
- In case of an accident call SOS-Number 117 immediately. The telephone in the orange posts will connect you directly to the rescue station.
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Verzasca Dam
The lake of Vogorno is an artificial basin, whose waters are used for hydroelectric power plants. It extends from the Verzasca dam to the village of Corippo. The construction of the dam, owned by the Verzasca SA and based on a project prepared by the Lombardi and Gellera engineers of Locarno, which started in 1960, and was completed in 1965. The dam is one of the highest in Europe; from its 220 meters vertical drop it is even possible to bungee-jump from the dam all the way down to its base, just as James Bond did in the opening scene of the movie "Goldeneye". Access to the dam is possible by postal bus and by car. Parking is provided nearby and at the Info-Shop Valle Verzasca there are artefacts and souvenirs for sale, and snacks and beverages as well. You may also take a stroll or a bike-ride along the dam, which is 380 meters long. A beautiful view of the valley and Lake Maggiore below rewards every visitor.
Information from www.tenero-tourism.ch
Below is the view of Lake Vogorno from the dam. The lake is 495 m above sea level. The level of the lake is down quite a bit. In 1987 when I was visiting Switzerland after strong rains the lake was full to the brim and the sluice gates had to be opened to release all that water just like in the picture to the right below.
Bungee Jumping off the Verzasca Dam
“The prologue of the film Goldeneye, in which Pierce Brosnan made his debut as secret agent 007 alias James Bond, takes place in an unidentified area in the Russian mountains. Everyone knows though that the dam from which the heroic English agent jumps with an elastic cord on his feet is not lost in the middle of Asia, but rather in our region: it is the dam in Vogorno, situated at the beginning of the Verzasca Valley. The shoot for the great jump lasted two weeks and in the end the stuntman Wayne Michaels had the courage to jump from the height of 220m, breaking the world record for a jump with an elastic cord from the ground.” Information from www.tenero-tourism.ch
The jump off the Verzasca Dam (720 feet) takes about 7.5 seconds and is about as exreteme as it gets. Check out the links and pictures. Unfortunately, there was nobody bungee-jumping when we were there. The main season only starts in July.
For more info check out this site Trekking CH