At 2,126 meters above sea level, Juf is nown to be the highest inhabited place in Europe. In the Avers valley of Graubünden, Juf has just a handful of residents and fewer than a dozen houses, but the village has been continuously inhabited since the 13th century. Down the mountain, Read more…
As a former papal city the town’s pride over its history can be seen in the three papal keys on its coat of arms. The old castle thing listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the broken bridge thing, and indoor markets stocked with colourful fruits are all icons of Read more…
I’ve wanted to come to Interlaken for three years before finally landing a chance when I moved to Switzerland. The German ICE runs a daily round trip between Interlaken Ost and Berlin Ostbahnhof and when I lived in the east of Berlin I always wondered where this eastern station of Read more…
Stein am Rhein means stone by the Rhine. There aren’t too many rocky geographical features in the area but there is a lot of cobblestone that is ready to destroy the soles of your shoes. Cobblestone aside, if you look up you’ll realise that many of the buildings in the Read more…
Having lived in both Germany and Switzerland, I can confidently say that even though Laufenburg spans across both countries, it definitely feels more German than Swiss. The buildings are practically designed with rectangular features and plain colours while religious buildings are placed on the top of a hill rather than Read more…
Located near the border with Italy, Silvaplana is deep inside Graubünden’s Engadine Valley where Romansh is taught in school and fewer than 1,200 people live in the village. The Engadine Valley is so beautiful that the Bernina Express runs through a fair section of it, though it does not pass Read more…
Just like Campione d’Italia, Büsingen am Hochrein is the only other foreign enclave in Switzerland. There used to be another German enclave in Switzerland, but they agreed to a land swap in 1967 to solve the logistical challenge, however, Berlin never let go of Büsingen. It now has the only Read more…
Campione is entirely surrounded on all four sides by Switzerland so there is no immigration control between this enclave and Switzerland, just like the German enclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein. Before January 1, 2020, Campione was in the customs union of Switzerland and enjoyed no customs tariffs, but since then Read more…
Without a doubt, the Kloster Disentis is the largest and oldest monastery in the valley dating back all the way to the early 8th century. The church itself was built during the Baroque era and shares many architectural features with the Abbey of St. Gallen. To get there, you can Read more…
Whether its summer or winter, I’ve always found St. Gallen to be a very pleasant city to visit with its many UNESCO cultural heritage sites. It’s easy to get to with a one-hour train ride from Zürich and very easy to walk around with many pedestrianised areas and even a Read more…