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The river Limmat in Zurich with rows of small boats under blue and white winter covers, and beyond them old stone buildings, the tall green spire of the Fraumünster and the clock tower of St Peter under a grey sky.

Journeys · 11 parts

Switzerland, 2018

Where
Switzerland, with day trips to Colmar, Freiburg and Tirano
Travelled
27 January – 8 February 2018
Written up
October 2026
Parts
11

Start from part one: Arriving in Zurich Together →

The stories, in order

  1. Part 1 · 27 January 2018 · Zurich and Lake Zurich

    Arriving in Zurich Together

    My wife's business trip to Switzerland became our holiday. It began with a light-hearted question at immigration, an unfamiliar rail system and a grey afternoon by Lake Zurich.

    2 min read

  2. Part 2 · 28 January 2018 · Basel

    Basel and the Rhine Ferry

    Half a day together in Basel before my wife's work began, with a walk along the Rhine, a small ferry across the river, the Minster and its cloisters, and the old town.

    2 min read

  3. Part 3 · 29 January 2018 · Colmar, France

    Colmar's Canals and Half-Timbered Streets

    My first day trip on my own while my wife worked, across the border from Basel to Colmar in France, with sunny old streets, a museum and a slow boat ride along the canals.

    2 min read

  4. Part 4 · 30 January 2018 · Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

    Freiburg from the Schlossberg

    A second day trip on my own from Basel, this time into Germany, with little streams running through the streets, old city gates and a walk up the Schlossberg for the views over Freiburg and the Black Forest.

    2 min read

  5. Part 5 · 31 January 2018 · Bellinzona and Lugano

    Bellinzona's Castles and a Misty Lugano

    A long day trip on my own from Basel, south through the Alps to the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, with the stone walls of Castelgrande in Bellinzona and a grey, misty afternoon by Lake Lugano.

    2 min read

  6. Part 6 · 1 February 2018 · Chur to Tirano

    Over the Bernina Line to Tirano and Back

    A very long day on my own, from Basel to Chur and over the Alps on the Bernina Express, through snow and a whiteout at the pass, down to Tirano in Italy for a pizza, and all the way back again.

    4 min read

  7. Part 7 · 2 February 2018 · Lucerne and Bürgenstock

    Bürgenstock, Above Lake Lucerne

    The first day of our holiday together, moving to Lucerne, then a boat across the lake and a funicular up to Bürgenstock, for a quiet view over Lake Lucerne in the late afternoon.

    2 min read

  8. Part 8 · 3 February 2018 · Mürren and the Schilthorn

    Mürren, Schilthorn and a Walk in the Snow

    Our first full day in the mountains together, by train and cable car from Lucerne to Mürren and the Schilthorn, with Piz Gloria and its James Bond connection, a walkway on the cliff and a long walk down through the snow.

    3 min read

  9. Part 9 · 4 February 2018 · Lucerne and Mount Rigi

    Lucerne, Mount Rigi and a Ride in the Snow

    A busy Sunday together, by boat across Lake Lucerne and cogwheel train up Mount Rigi, with a stone from a Chinese mountain we had once climbed, a sledge in the snow and a cable car and boat back to Lucerne.

    3 min read

  10. Part 10 · 5 February 2018 · Bern

    A Day in Bern and the Einstein House

    The last day of our Swiss Travel Passes, spent in Bern together, with the old town on its bend of the river, a walk beside the green water of the Aare, the clock tower and the small apartment where Einstein once lived.

    3 min read

  11. Part 11 · 6 to 8 February 2018 · Zurich

    The Last Days in Zurich

    Back in Zurich for a last afternoon together, then on my own again, with a morning at the Rhine Falls, a long train ride to a snowy Grindelwald, and a final day in the city before my flight home.

    3 min read