Today's final post of our 2023 summer trip to Switzerland again portrays a wide variety of locations, and all cover water scenes, mostly at lakes and one at a major river. Switzerland is called "The Water Castle of Europe" and a look at the map will show that this is certainly true, no other place, at least in Central Europe, has a density of lakes like Switzerland, and two of the major Central Europe Rivers, the Rhine and the Rhone, have their origin in the Swiss Alps, while the other major river, Danube, starts out in southern Germany, very close to the Swiss border. This statement comes however with a very big caveat: what I quoted is true for Central Europe, but these dimensions pale when compared to the Scandinavian countries and particularly to Russia. But be that as it may, this parting post for Switzerland will provide a set of images related to water or of buildings at the edge of water.

Image #1: We start out with our only river picture, the river Aare in the town of SOLOTHURN at the foot of the Jura mountains. The river Aare however does not originate in the Jura mountains but at much higher altitude at the distant Aare Glacier in the Bernese Alps, from where it makes its way to the Lakes Brienz and Thun with the town of Interlaken at their confluence, then continues to the Swiss capital city of Bern, on to Solothurn and eventually joins the river Rhein.

Images #2 - 6: These pictures are set at Switzerland's second largest lake, shared with Germany and a tiny part also with Austria. LAKE CONSTANCE (German: Bodensee) is located in the northeastern part of Switzerland and the shores of the lake as well as of the outflowing Rhine River downstream are home to a number of interesting towns, small and large, in all three countries. The images I present show water scenes and also buildings in the two small Swiss towns STECKBORN and GOTTLIEBEN in the canton Thurgau, many of which are built in the very decorative half-timbered style common to this area and throughout much of Germany. Those of you that have followed our driving tour through the North European Plain which I presented here on UHH in spring/summer 2021 might remember similarly constructed and decorated great buildings in many parts of Germany.

Image #7 shows a scene from LAKE ZUG in the central part of Switzerland, neighbor of the much larger Lake Lucerne
Image #8 shows a peaceful scene at the small LAKE BALDEGG in the canton Lucerne, situated very close to the village where I grew up
Images #9 & 10 finally bring you to LUCERNE, one of Switzerland's most tourist-oriented cities, where I held my first job, with views of Mount Rigi as well as Lucerne's famous covered wooden bridge and the octagonal water tower built of stone in the 13th century.


Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction to this series. Please use the link below if you would like to review this intro:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-797460-1.html

SUMMER TRIP INFO: Set # 7 provides more information on this second trip of the year to Europe
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-797711-1.html

EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list at UHH, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105

Thanks for visiting, I recommend viewing the downloads and look forward to your comments and questions.

.

Hi Reuss - thank you for your insightful comment and your kind words. I do well remember our earlier exchanges about you, Lucerne and that special river bearing your name. I think I am going to make this a project one of my next trips to Switzerland to follow the Reuss from its very origin down to the point where it eventually flows into the river Aare. The real origin might be a bit high up in the alps, not that easy to reach but I would get as close as I can. I just googled the topic "Reuss", even though I am very familiar with this river - but actually I never realized that this is Switzerlands fourth longest river (after the Rhine, the Rhone and the Aare). I have seen it at very many of its points as it travels from the high mountains near Andermatt in the canton Uri, of course through Lucerne and actually courses very close to where I grew up (some 9km/6miles) and again it passes very close by Lenzburg, the town where our son lives and where we stay most of the time when we visit Switzerland.

Do you still travel? - and if so, do you ever make it to Switzerland? You might want to join us for a day on such a "expedition"!