Posts In The “Europe” Category
The distinctive pyramid-shaped peak of the Matterhorn has been famous world-wide for more than a century. The 14,692 ft (4,478 m) mountain has inspired millions of photographers and thousands of climbers, with up to 150 attempting the summit on a good summer day. And the image of the Matterhorn has been used for a variety…
The vista from the summit of 7,687-ft (2,342 m) Mannlichen is known as the Royal View, where on a clear day Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger dominate the skyline. The theme extends to the short hike up from Mannlichen station, called the Royal Walk, with waypoints along the way carrying names such as the King’s Gate,…
The Via Ferrata Murren-Gimmelwald is 1.4-mile (2.2 km) route strung along the cliffs between Murren and Gimmelwald. Unlike most via ferratas, this route descends rather than ascends, starting Murren at altitude 5,374 ft (1,638 m) and ending at Gimmelwald at 4,485 ft (1,367 m). But it shares many features of other via ferrata we’ve done…
The revolving restaurant atop 9,744 ft (2,970 m) Schilthorn, pictured above, was the setting for the fortress Piz Gloria in the 1969 James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It really does look like a fortress atop the craggy summit of Schilthorn. The restaurant was under construction before the filming and subsequently was named…
The Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site, established in 2001, comprises 318 sq mi (82,388 ha) of the High Alps, including the most glaciated part of the mountain range and the largest glacier in Eurasia. The dramatic scenery, centered on the mountains Jungfrau (13,642 ft; 4,158 m), Monch (13,480 ft; 4,110 m) and Eiger…
The Bernese Oberland (Bernese Highlands) region topped every list we found of best places to visit in Switzerland for spectacular mountain scenery. Here are some of the highest and well-known peaks in the Bernese Alps, including 14,022-ft (4,274 m) Finsteraarhorn, 13,642 ft (4,158 m) Jungfrau, 13,480-ft (4,110 m) Monch, and 13,015-ft (3,967 m) Eiger. Some…
The Pilatus-Bahn, just outside Lucerne, is the world’s steepest cogwheel railway at 48% maximum and 35% average incline. The line opened in 1889 and ascends 5,279 ft (1,609 m) from Alpnachstad to the summit of Mount Pilatus in only 2.86 miles (4.6 km). Depending on snow conditions, the train generally operates from May to October….
The steamboat Stadt Zurich is the oldest of more than a dozen passenger ships that ply the waters of Lake Zurich. Built in 1909, the steamship makes regular two-hour runs the length of upper Lake Zurich between Zurich and Rapperswill. The vessel is beautifully maintained, particularly the original Escher Wyss & Cie engine, also dating…
The city of Zurich is the largest and wealthiest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest. Evidence of settlement in the area dates back more than 6,000 years, and the city was formally founded as a Romans camp around 15 BC. Over the centuries since, the city grew and prospered into the vibrant metropolis it…
Although 2020 was a year of big and unexpected plan changes, for us, 2021 brought even more. We started the year living on our boat in Norway and ended it living in our apartment in Seattle. In between, we travelled 4,933 nautical miles across the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to…
The most direct route from the Azores to the US is an 1,800-mile great circle route to Bermuda (the red dashed line above), then a 600-800-mile run to the US, depending on our landing choice. The problem with that routing is that the winds predominately blow from the west, on the bow, and we would…
Horta has long been a stopover for ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Explorers and settlers arrived in the 15th century, followed by trading ships in the 16th through 19th centuries, and most recently, ocean-crossing pleasure craft. To accommodate the increasing numbers of these smaller boats, a large 300-slip marina was constructed in 1986. It is…
We got our first glimpse to the Azores archipelago on the morning after our eighth night after departing Dublin. We reached the port of Horta shortly after day break and proceeded to our berth in the commercial harbour, with views to the historic town on the opposite shore. The protocol for pleasure craft arriving into…
In late April, we continued our journey home with a 1,330-mile, 8-day run from Ireland to the Azores. We departed Dublin in strong winds, but those settled within a day and we had reasonably calm conditions most of the way. We initially were planning to start the Atlantic crossing from south Ireland, but many ports…
Our second visit to Dun Laoghaire marina outside Dublin was as enjoyable as the first. In the same berth as last time, we watched many spectacular sunrises over the harbour walls. The weather was clear and calm most days, and we took several walks, including to the end of each harbour pier. We also explored…
The River Liffey runs through the center of Dublin and has long been a source of water, recreation and commerce for the city. Trade along the river was recorded as early as the Viking days and the first bridge across was built in 1428. Up until the 1990s, cargo ships transported Guinness for export from…
Dun Laoghaire harbour was constructed in the early 1800s from stone quarried at nearby Dalkey. The old railway used to transport the rock is now a popular walking path, “The Metals”, leading to the town of Dalkey and on to the quarry in Kilkenney Park. Dalkey is an appealing town with many pubs and two…
After spending two weeks at Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland, we departed on the last of the ebb tide and traveled 74 miles south to Dublin, Ireland. Conditions were beautifully clear and calm in the Irish Sea, with generally positive current, and we reached our berth at Dun Laoghaire in time to enjoy Happy Hour…