Switzerland « wise monkeys abroad

weekly photo challenge: humanity

Posted on September 13, 2014

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” – Mahatma Gandhi

The weekly photo challenge asked for us to share our interpretation of humanity. And these wise words from Mahatma Gandhi came to mind.

We took this photo only recently when we were in Geneva, Switzerland.

Have a wonderful weekend!

We welcome your comments!

This entry was posted in Europe, Switzerland, Weekly Photo Challenges and tagged Daily Post, Geneva, humanity, Mahatma Gandhi, Photography, postaday, quotes, statue, Switzerland, Travel, Weekly Photo Challenge.

weekly photo challenge: dialogue

Posted on August 30, 2014

The instruction for the Weekly Photo Challenge was:

It’s your turn now: for this week’s challenge, bring together two of your photos into dialogue. What do they say to each other?

These photos were taken from either side of the defensive walls of Castelgrande at Bellinzona, Switzerland…

“So are you in? Or are you out?”

You are welcome to leave us your thoughts here.

This entry was posted in Europe, Switzerland, Weekly Photo Challenges and tagged Bellinzona, Castle, Daily Post, defensive walls, dialogue, fortification, Photography, postaday, Switzerland, Travel, wall, Weekly Photo Challenge.

the day we went to jungfraujoch

Posted on August 28, 2014

Jungfraujoch has eluded us once again but we did get one step closer this time!! Maybe next time – we will actually see a view.

Back in 2006, our day excursion to Jungfraujoch was cancelled so we never even got to go up to the top of Europe. At least this time round, we did!

It was three trains up: (1) Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen (2) Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Schneidigg (3) Kleine Schneidigg to Jungfraujoch

We made it up there but what did we see?? Nothing when we got to the top, except snow and white clouds. Well, actually we lie a little… It was blowing a “blizzard” (at least that is what it felt) when David ducked outside to take this photo!

Up to 3454 metres (11 333 feet) where the air was thin, Le was feeling a little woozy from the high altitude so maybe it was a good thing we didn’t see much! So we took this photo of what could’ve been:

Then it was time to come down…. three more trains down the other side of the mountain (1) Jungfraujoch to Kleine Schneidigg (2) Kleine Schneidigg to Grindelwald (3) Grindewald to Interlaken Ost.

It couldn’t have been a foggier day to be up there. It was raining and the train trip up and down was somewhat scenic at least. Especially on the way down when we got glimpses of blue sky and this adorable mother & baby pair 🙂

Although the weather wasn’t ideal, we still enjoyed ourselves thoroughly! Last time it was in November, this time in August… think we will aim for June for next time – as the saying goes, “Third time lucky.” Fingers crossed!

Has there been a travel experience that seems to keep eluding you?

Leave us a comment here

Swiss Alps Jungfrau – Aletsch was listed as a

UNESCO Heritage site in 2001.

To see the other UNESCO sites we have visited,

visit our unofficial bucket list

This entry was posted in Europe, Switzerland, UNESCO and tagged bad weather, fog, Jungfrau, Jungfraujoch, mountain, Photography, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, train trip, Travel, unesco.

is switzerland beautiful?

Posted on August 24, 2014

Yes it certainly is.

We have only been here one week so far but have fallen head over heels for Switzerland. It seems that they may have missed summer this year, and will explain why we’ve had hit-and-miss weather. There’s been sunshine, cloud cover, rain, and we’ve even woken up one day with snow covering the mountaintops when we were in St Moritz.

But it doesn’t matter about the weather because it is a wonderful country regardless! It seems that every which way we turn there is something different to be in awe about. If it isn’t the scenery, it’s the history or the shopping or the restaurants. There is something here for everyone!

It amazes us how this small-in-size country, covering approximately 41 000 square metres, can have 4 official languages (German, French, Italian and Romansh) and everybody speaks at least one of these and English as well. It really is a melting pot of Central/Western Europe, being bordered by 5 countries; Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Liechtenstein.

Anyway, enough words from us for now as we don’t think any words are necessary to describe the natural beauty of Switzerland. We hope our photos (from our first week) speak for themselves and provide a glimpse into scenic Switzerland with its dramatic mountainous backdrops, lush green grass and expansive calm lakes!