I had the most amazing time in Amstedam (you can see my photos from this city here: Part I and Part II), but after almost a month away from Switzerland, I was eager to put on my hiking boots again and going to the mountains… Since I arrived to Switzerland one and a half years ago, hiking every weekend has become a routine… my favorite routine!! Well, I don’t know if that’s the appropriate name… I love planning the weekend hike during the week (this makes the week way more bearable), waking up early on a Saturday or Sunday morning, watching from the window if the sky is clear (not because I mind the clouds… I just like to think about the kind of photos that I’m going to take that day), taking the train or the car and travel to the destination I chose for that weekend… The travel itself is usually gorgeous, the sights you get from the windows are always worth the trip… And then, you arrive to this awesome new place… or even if I have been there already, it always looks like different, as Swiss landscapes change so much in each season… And the fun begins! It’s a tiring routine, but it’s also a very rewarding one! And, of course, it’s easy to become addict to the Swiss landscapes… they are so beautiful!!
For the first hike of this new season, I chose a new location. We had tickets to take one of the oldest mountain trains still operative in Europe: the cute wood Stanserhorn train, from 1893. It takes you from the town of Stans (Canton Luzern) to the mountain station of Kälti, where a “cabrio” funicular takes you to the top of the Stanserhorn mountain at 1989m above sea level. They were two great rides. The first one, slowly climbing the first part of the slope with the old wood train while the cows around looked up to watch us passing. The second one was fun, being in the upper deck of the gondola, entering the low clouds that seemed to cover the whole mountain. But as the gondola was ascending, the fog went from thick to blinding white light all around, until it came above the clouds just before reaching the summit of Stanserhorn.
I stayed for a while enjoying the autumn sun on my face while I was taking photos of the sea of clouds below and some Alp summits sticking out from the clouds like islands on a white sea. After that, I headed to the valley below, in a trail descending the mountain covered by a thick fog. That was not great for landscape photos, so I turned my attention to the small details around: tiny droplets from the fog, small mushrooms on the sides of the path and other autumnal signs that cheered me all the way… After a few hours walking in this condition (and after buying some cheese and yogurt produced by local farms on the valley), the circular route went back to the top of Stanserhorn. I reached the summit just in time to see one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen in Switzerland!
So, here are the photos from the first autumnal hike of this year! I’m so happy to be back in Switzerland after summer! I don’t know why, but I feel this season I’m going to take more photos than ever… So I hope you’re ready for a lot of golden tones in my future posts!! 🙂
In the meantime, I hope you like these ones! Have a great week!!
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