I had the good fortune of spending four summers (1947-1949, 1951) in Switzerland as a schoolboy, and on each of these trips I spent about a month with a Swiss family. We often went for hikes, and I enjoyed both the hiking and the views immensely.

Events in my country prevented me from returning to Switzerland for more than two decades. In 1974 I emigrated to the United States, and soon thereafter started spending a couple of weeks with my mother in Geneva every summer until her death in 1996.

Then, in 1987, I had my first hike as an adult in Switzerland, followed by a bit (later a lot more!) of hiking in New Hampshire.

This blog will focus almost exclusively on my Swiss hiking, though I spend eleven months of the year hiking in New Hampshire!

Serious hiking in Switzerland Posted 13.07.2008 at 00:05 by RetiredInNH Updated 18.07.2008 at 02:42 by RetiredInNH After my mother's death in 1996 I did not go to Switzerland for several years. I associated Switzerland with summer visits to my mother, and going there when she was gone seemed rather pointless. In addition I was busy exploring my New Hampshire mountains. But in 2005 I decided to revisit a country that I had loved, and to explore parts of the Walkers Haute Route. I spent a week in each of Arolla and Evolène, and did several sections of the Haute Route. I very much enjoyed the... Continue reading... RetiredInNH Forum Veteran

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Renting an apartment in Arolla (Valais), 1990 Posted 25.09.2007 at 21:36 by RetiredInNH In 1990 Jeanne and I decided to spend a whole week in the Swiss mountains. In preparation for that trip I went to the Boston University bookstore, where I found an excellent book: Walking Switzerland-The Swiss Way-: From Vacation Apartments, Hotels, Mountain Inns, and Huts by Marcia and Philip Lieberman. It opened our eyes to the possibility of renting an apartment, a possibility that neither of us had been aware of. It sounded attractive: more space than a hotel room, and the choice of either... Continue reading... RetiredInNH Forum Veteran

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Returning to the Swiss mountains Posted 17.09.2007 at 00:17 by RetiredInNH Updated 18.07.2008 at 02:39 by RetiredInNH Most years I spent the whole two weeks of my Swiss vacation with my mother in Geneva. In 1987, accompanied by my wife Jeanne, we spent a few days in Lucerne. We did the usual town tour, crossed the covered bridge, and spent quite a bit of time at the Glacier Garden. Then one day we visited the famous Rigi Kulm. As I recall (remember, this was twenty years ago!!) we went to Vitznau by boat (why go by train on a beautiful day?) and took the cog railway to Rigi Kaltbad. From there... Continue reading... RetiredInNH Forum Veteran

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