14 February 2022 | Author/Destination: European Free Trade Association | Rubric: General
Reading Time: 5 minutes
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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).
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1 May 2021 | Author/Destination: Yachting and Spa | Rubric: Yacht of the Month
Reading Time: 10 minutes
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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 .
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14 March 2020 | Author/Destination: European Free Trade Association | Rubric: General , Bon voyage , Theme Weeks , UNESCO World Heritage
Reading Time: 17 minutes
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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.
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19 February 2020 | Author/Destination: European Free Trade Association | Rubric: General
Reading Time: 7 minutes
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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 .
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15 January 2020 | Author/Destination: European Free Trade Association | Rubric: General , Hotels
Reading Time: 4 minutes
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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 .
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9 December 2019 | Author/Destination: European Free Trade Association | Rubric: General
Reading Time: 6 minutes
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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.
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6 November 2019 | Author/Destination: European Free Trade Association | Rubric: General , Hotels
Reading Time: 5 minutes
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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 .
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9 March 2019 | Author/Destination: European Free Trade Association | Rubric: General , Editorial , European Union , Bon voyage , UNESCO World Heritage
Reading Time: 57 minutes
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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.
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4 September 2018 | Author/Destination: European Free Trade Association | Rubric: General , Editorial , European Union , Bon appétit
Reading Time: 62 minutes
© efta.int
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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…