Panoramic View From Rigi

Panoramic View from Rigi

I haven't posted much about photography lately. For the good part of the last month I haven't really felt inspired. That tends to happen once in while. I go though creative spurts, and then periods where work, or travel, or something else just get in the way and I don't feel like doing much with the camera.

If are a follower of the blog it is clear when I am not inspired. But you may have noticed that I am posting more lately. The return to Switzerland after the Christmas holiday and this years ski season have ignited a bit of a creative streak.

I have been experimenting a log with panoramic images lately. While we were at Rigi I managed to capture a really fantastic image of the view from Rigi. The photograph was made from 10 images stitched together to make a final panorama that shows about a 180 degree field of view. Imagine looking over your right shoulder, then turning your head to your left shoulder. That would represent a 180 field of view.

So enjoy the photograph of the view from Rigi and be sure to zoom in, explore, and find the skiers.

Winter Sports: Skigibi

Example of a homemade Skigibi

On the most exciting aspects of moving to Switzerland for a kid that grew up in the flat lands of the midwestern United States is the prospect of winter sports. In the words of some British friends, 'Proper' skiing as compared to the stuff in Wisconsin and Michigan.

I am by no means very talented in winter sports. I have played a little hockey, and managed to learn to downhill ski. I have even taken up snowshoeing this season. And the sledding here is fantastic! One type of sledding I haven't had a chance to try yet, and I'm not sure I want to is called Skigibi in Swiss German. It is pronounced something like 'SHE-gi-be.'

The concept is to take a single ski, screw a seat to in and ride it down the mountain. Sounds crazy. Over the weekend when we were at Rigi I actually saw two people with Skigibis and I just had to take a picture.

A Swiss friend of mine told me that these things were likely invented in the Berner Oberland. She mentioned that she thought they might have even originated from Adelboden. Every year in Adelboden there is a annual skigibi race and it is puported that last year some guy hit 137 kph (85 mph) on his skigibi.

Would you be brave enought to try your luck? What winter sports are you planning to attempt for the first time?

Snowshoeing at Rigi

View from Rigi Snowshoe trail

This morning we decided to get up and head to the mountains on the train for an afternoon of snowshoeing. The trip started well with a surprise. The train ride to the top was much less than expected because as of December 13th 2009 you can now use a GA for the Rigi Bahn.

Rigi is one of my favorite views in the summer but we had never been there for the winter season. I was not disappointed by the winter view. The snowshoe trails were marked but a lot of the portions of the trail looked like no one had trekked on them yet. In some places we were cutting the trails ourselves walk from marker pole to makerpole.

After a good 2 and a half hours of hiking we finally fished the number 3 loop and returned to the upper train station at Rigi Kulm. We visited the resturant for a nice big dish of Alpener Maccaroni one of my favorite winter time dishes. After that it was lights out. I feel totally drained this evening. But drained in a good way. I know I will sleep well tonight. For now, I am just fighting to stay up so I don't go to bed to early.

Virtual Tour: Limmat River Promenade

We had such a great snow fall over the last weekend that I decided to hike around town to capture a few more winter scenes for the Baden virtual tour page. My with these tours is to give anyone out there considering moving to Switzerland they will have a few pictures of small town live in Baden.

The promenade along the Limmat river here in Baden is one of my favorite place to relax. A stroll along the river after a snow, or in a summer evening after dinner is the perfect way to relax. The promenade is also the perfect path to take between my apartment and the thermal baths which are located next to the promenade on the north end of town.

Check out the new Limmat promenade virtual tour to take a look around.

Snowshoeing: The Day After

Snowshoe Trail Near Amden/Arvenbuel Switzerland

Yesterday we did a 2 hour snow shoe trek through the alps near Amden Switzerland. The weather looked a little foreboding as we were taking the post bus up to the top of the mountain. The area had just gotten about 8 inches of new snow the previous night, but no worries, the bus had chains on the tires and I am sure the driver was well experienced.

This was the first time I was ever snowshoeing. It is a really great time if you are hiker and want to get out in the snow. The blue trail leaves from Arvenbuel and is a 2 hour loop. As you can imagine the 2 hour loop with me and my camera meant we took a bit longer.

At the end of the trip the group of about 10 of us found a Switzerfamilia feuerstelle to make some fondue. The first 8 to get to the fire pit dug out the fire pit from under about 3 feet of snow and then lite a fire and began about 30 minutes later just in time to enjoy the fondue.

Everyone had carried about bit of the meal on the hike including some wood. I was carrying the 3 package of fondue cheese. So although I was a bit late we could only make 1 batch of cheese at a time in the pot so it worked out well that I was a little delayed.

This morning my legs were killing me. I couldn't believe how exhausted I felt after truding through the snow. Some parts where I stepped off the trail I found myself waist deep in snow. With all the sore muscles today we made a trip to the Thermal Bath in Baden for the afternoon. It was a beautiful day for the baths. Snow was coming down like crazy while we were outside in the 35 deg celcius (95 F) swimming pool. What a way to end a weekend.

I will be looking for more snowshoe trails for sure. Do you know of any in Switzerland? Leave a comment.

Buying Snow Shoes

Everybody should buy snowshoes. Makes sense right. Okay, so maybe not, but today I got a pair of snowshoes. It felt a wee bit like a total impulse buy but what the heck.

I do actually have a need for snowshoes. Well, maybe not a need but rather a desire. We are planning to go snowshoeing with some friends on the weekend. The idea is to head to the mountains, hike around until we find a nice spot and then make some fondue somewhere. I am not really sure how this is going to work other than I have been told that one person is buying all the stuff and then we are going to split up all the stuff and each carry a bit of the lunch for the hike.

I sure hope I'm not the one that gets stuck carrying the fondue pot. Apparently this is a logistically proven feat. This group of friends did the same weekend trip last year so it should be interesting if nothing else. We'll be hiking through the Amden resort area.

If you are looking into shoe shoes I can tell you in Baden they cost about 35 CHF for a weekend rental. If you want to buy them from the local sports outlet store in Tagipark the prices range from about 100 CHF to 300 CHF. Seems like you can get a good buy at the lower end of the scale.