Category Archives: Switzerland

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: The Urinette – Railing it in Switzerland – Oldest Basketball Court in Paris

October 1, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 3 Comments

This week’s Blogger Round-Up begins with Wendy Hollands from Le Franco Phoney who has some very interesting information for the female element, as my father used to say, but you have to read to the end of post to discover what it is. Next, a blog that I haven’t featured before called Le Chic en Rose by another Rosemary, with some very useful information on travelling by train in Switzerland during the winter. To finish off, Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, with her usual savvy, found an unusual venue during the European Heritage days in September – the world’s oldest basketball court! Enjoy!

You just don’t see this in the city

by Wendy Hollands from Le Franco Phoney, an Australian who writes about all things French in La Clusaz, Annecy and Haute Savoie as seen by an outsider

Some things are a bit different here in the countryside of France. For instance, how many cities offer a calf as a prize? Here in La Clusaz, it’s a regular thing. You might remember the raffle last year, and now, if you guess the right weight of this calf, she’s yours. She’s worth €200, and if more than one person guesses the weight, the winners share the prize. I’m not quite sure how you share a calf. I guess you take a share of the money instead. Or, as a French friend suggested, meat tray time!

Hang on, hang on. Don’t get too worried just yet. For a start, this is a dairy cow, so she will enjoy eating grass for many more years yet. Also, she was on offer at the Foire de la Croix in La Clusaz last weekend, which is basically a giant cow exchange. Think stock exchange, with moos and poos. Read more

Railway Adventures: Bernina Express Switzerland

by Rosemary from Le Chic en Rose, initially from Yorkshire, now living in Perth in Western Australia who writes of the many things that inspire her including travel, fashion, history, learning languages and spending time with her family

I first went to Switzerland as an 18 year old backpacker with a couple of friends when we could just about afford to get by on bread and cheese from the local Migros. It is certainly not the cheapest destination by any stretch of the imagination! If you are planning on visiting then the Swiss Pass is a must. If you get the timing right you can often get good deals at low season (such as April between the winter skiing and summer hiking seasons). The pass gives you unlimited rail (and bus) travel for 4, 8, 15, 22 days or one month, “free” travel on the boat services on the lakes and admission to 470 Swiss museums. Read more

The World’s Oldest Basketball Court is in Paris

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

If you would have asked me the whereabouts of the world’s oldest basketball court, I would have never guessed that it’s in Paris. Not only does the YMCA court on rue de Trevis hold the distinction of being the world’s oldest, it’s also where the first basketball game in Europe was played.

The court is an exact replica of the one in Springfield, Massachusetts where the game was played for the very first time. On January 20, 1892, Canadian doctor James Naismith introduced basketball, a game intended to keep the students of the International YMCA Training School active during the winter months. Read more

Cycling, Germany, Switzerland

Eurovelo 6 – Moos to Stein am Rhein and Steckborn on Lake Constance

July 11, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 36 Comments

Take a look at the following photo taken from our bike path. What do you think of the view?

View of Lake Constance cycling down to Stein am Rein

Amazing, isn’t it? Well, there is only one way you can have repeated views like this one and that’s to pedal up and down the hills, walking your bike up when it’s a 15% climb!

Having a break at Gaienhofen between two hilly bits

We debated whether to drive to somewhere else on the lake and explore an area we don’t know or to set out from the hotel directly on the bike path for Stein am Rhein which we visited two years ago. I voted for the second solution because it’s a lovely little town and the views on the way are truly magnificent. I’d forgotten just how many hills there were though.

Stein am Rein from the bridge over the Rhine

By the time we reached Stein, my knees were a little wobbly but I didn’t regret it for one minute. The views are certainly worth it.

The last time we were in Stein, on a Sunday in August 2011, there were musicians in the main square with trestle tables and benches. Today, there were bikes and people and it was just as charming.

View of the bank opposite Stein from the bridge over the Rhine

We’d consulted our ferry schedule ahead of time and instead of going back along the same path, we went round the other side of the Untersee, staying in Switzerland, with the aim of catching the 4.11 pm ferry in Steckborn. I was secretely hoping there wouldn’t be as many hills on the other side.

Well, there were fewer and at least they weren’t the same ones! After yesterday’s experience, we took a picnic lunch and ate it on a bench overlooking the lake. No restaurant could have afforded a better view.

We had to wait an hour or so for the ferry in Steckborn, but that was not a problem. It was so peaceful sitting on a bench in the shade watching the activity on the lake.

We were home by 5 pm, which is quite a record, particularly since we cycled more than 50 kilometers.

Serviette and cutlery at Gasthaus Schiff - schiff means boat. — Serviette and cutlery at Gasthaus Schiff – schiff means boat.

And then we had dinner at the gasthaus restaurant which has a menu in English and a waitress whom I can communicate with. An excellent meal and a last taste of Germany before we go back to France tomorrow, without the strain associated with not speaking more than a smattering of German, with no one else but myself to blame of course.

Switzerland, Travel photos

Sunday’s Travel Photos – Stein am Rhein in Switzerland

June 24, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 5 Comments

I have already posted photos of the Rheinfall, the beautiful natural waterfalls on the Rhein River. Stein am Rhein is a charming little village close by. The first two photos are taken from the bridge that we cycled across from the waterfalls, followed by some of the beautiful painted façades in the centre. Not easy to photograph, particularly with so many tourists but it was a Saturday in mid-August and Stein is a very popular venue. The last hoto shows the more mediaeval side of the little town.

Cycling, Switzerland, Travel photos

Sunday’s Travel Photos – Rheinfall near Schaffhausen in Switzerland

June 2, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 4 Comments

Last summer, we spent three days in Germany and Switzerland cycling along part of the Eurovelo 6 bike route. The highlight was definitely the natural waterfalls on the Rhine river near Schaffhausen in Switzerland, the largest in Europe – 150 m wide and 23 metres high. When they came into view on our cycle path, the effect was stunning. It was a little overcast but when we came back again after lunch, the sun had come out, making the water dance and sparkle. We didn’t take the boat out to the falls because it looked as though you could get pretty wet!