San Bernardino Pass in Switzerland

14 February 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© LittleJoe/cc-by-sa-3.0

© LittleJoe/cc-by-sa-3.0

San Bernardino Pass (Italian: Passo del San Bernardino, German: Bernhardinpass, 2,066 metres (6,778 ft)) is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting the Hinterrhein and the Mesolcina (Misox) valleys between Thusis (canton of Graubünden) and Bellinzona (canton of Ticino). Located in the far eastern side of the Western Alps it is not to be confused with the Great St Bernard Pass and the Little St Bernard Pass. The top of the pass represents both the Italo-German language frontier and the watershed (drainage divide) between the Po basin and the Rhine basin. Marscholsee is within the pass at an elevation of 2,053 m (6,736 ft).   read more…

The Pioneering Spirit

1 May 2021 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Yacht of the Month Reading Time:  10 minutes

© flickr.com - kees tom/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – kees tom/cc-by-sa-2.0

Pioneering Spirit (formerly Pieter Schelte) is a catamaran crane vessel owned by the Switzerland-based Allseas Group designed for the single-lift installation and removal of large oil and gas platforms and the installation of record-weight pipelines. The 382-metre-long (1,253 ft), 124-metre-wide (407 ft) vessel is the world’s largest vessel by gross tonnage and was built in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering at a cost of €2.6 billion. It commenced offshore operations in August 2016. Home port is Valletta on Malta.   read more…

Theme Week Swiss

14 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  17 minutes

Basel © Taxiarchos228

Basel © Taxiarchos228

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a country situated in the confluence of Western, Central, and Southern Europe. It is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with federal authorities based in Bern. Switzerland is a landlocked country bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. It is geographically divided among the Swiss Plateau, the Alps, and the Jura, spanning a total area of 41,285 km² (15,940 sq mi), and land area of 39,997 km² (15,443 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8.5 million is concentrated mostly on the plateau, where the largest cities and economic centres are located, among them Zürich, Geneva and Basel, where multiple international organisations are domiciled (such as FIFA, the UN‘s second-largest Office, and the Bank for International Settlements) and where the main international airports of Switzerland are.   read more…

Montreux Jazz Festival

19 February 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© montreuxjazzfestival.com

© montreuxjazzfestival.com

The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second largest annual jazz festival in the world after Canada’s Montreal International Jazz Festival. The Montreux Jazz Festival was founded in 1967 by Claude Nobs, Géo Voumard and René Langel with considerable help from Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegün of Atlantic Records. The festival was first held at Montreux Casino. It lasted for three days and featured almost exclusively jazz artists. The highlights of this era were Charles Lloyd, Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette, Bill Evans, Soft Machine, Weather Report, The Fourth Way, Nina Simone, Jan Garbarek, and Ella Fitzgerald.   read more…

Hotel President Wilson in Geneva

15 January 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Sandro Senn/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Sandro Senn/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Hotel President Wilson is located in Geneva, Switzerland, near the United Nations building on Lake Geneva. The hotel is named for the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, in honor of his dedication to the creation of the League of Nations.   read more…

Theme Week Swiss – Château-d’Œx in the Riviera-Pays-d’Enhaut District

9 December 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Ivan Babovic/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Ivan Babovic/cc-by-sa-3.0

Château-d’Œx is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is in the district of Riviera-Pays-d’Enhaut. Château-d’Œx is a small village of approximately 3,500 inhabitants in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. In recent years, Château-d’Œx has become increasingly popular among travelers primarily for the village’s incredibly authentic Swiss alpine feel, stunning natural surroundings, and quiet atmosphere.   read more…

Hotel Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne

6 November 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  5 minutes

© flickr.com - Michelle Walz Eriksson/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Michelle Walz Eriksson/cc-by-2.0

The Beau-Rivage Palace is a historical luxury five-star hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is located in Ouchy, on the shores of Lake Léman. The hotel opened in 1861 and the current main building was constructed in Art Nouveau and neo-baroque style in 1908. It is registered in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance. The Beau-Rivage Palace is owned by Sandoz Family Foundation founders of Sandoz AG, now Novartis.   read more…

The European Free Trade Association: Bon voyage!

9 March 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, European Union, Bon voyage, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  57 minutes

© efta.int

© efta.int

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European Single Market and are part of the Schengen Area. They are not, however, party to the European Union Customs Union. EFTA was historically one of the two dominant western European trade blocks, but is now much smaller and closely associated with its historical competitor, the European Union. It was established on 3 May 1960 to serve as an alternative trade bloc for those European states that were unable or unwilling to join the then European Economic Community (EEC), which subsequently became the European Union. The Stockholm Convention, to establish the EFTA, was signed on 4 January 1960 in the Swedish capital by seven countries (known as the “outer seven“). Whilst the EFTA is not a customs union and member states have full rights to enter into bilateral third-country trade arrangements, it does have a coordinated trade policy. As a result, its member states have jointly concluded free trade agreements with the EU and a number of other countries. To participate in the EU’s single market, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway are parties to the Agreement on a European Economic Area (EEA), with compliances regulated by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court. Switzerland has a set of bilateral agreements with the EU instead.   read more…

The European Free Trade Association: Bon appétit!

4 September 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, European Union, Bon appétit Reading Time:  62 minutes

© efta.int

© efta.int

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European Single Market and are part of the Schengen Area. They are not, however, party to the European Union Customs Union. EFTA was historically one of the two dominant western European trade blocks, but is now much smaller and closely associated with its historical competitor, the European Union. It was established on 3 May 1960 to serve as an alternative trade bloc for those European states that were unable or unwilling to join the then European Economic Community (EEC), which subsequently became the European Union. The Stockholm Convention, to establish the EFTA, was signed on 4 January 1960 in the Swedish capital by seven countries (known as the “outer seven“). Whilst the EFTA is not a customs union and member states have full rights to enter into bilateral third-country trade arrangements, it does have a coordinated trade policy. As a result, its member states have jointly concluded free trade agreements with the EU and a number of other countries. To participate in the EU’s single market, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway are parties to the Agreement on a European Economic Area (EEA), with compliances regulated by the EFTA Surveillance Authority and the EFTA Court. Switzerland has a set of bilateral agreements with the EU instead.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top