As a Belgian living in Switzerland it is really great to see one of our Swiss panorama pictures from last year featured in a Belgian app magazine. The 2014 summer edition of the free VAB Magazine app featured the panorama we posted last year on this blog of the cabrio lift going up Stanserhorn. The panorama features the first cabrio cable car in the world.
If you want to find out more about this lift or about Stanserhorn, make sure to check out our post from last year.
One of the highest mountains in Central Switzerland is Mount Titlis, a 3,238m high mountain that can be visited throughout the year – in summer, visiting the gletscher offers a great opportunity to be amongst the snow and provides fantastic views over the surrounding mountains. In winter, it is a good destination for skiing and the mountain provides one of the longest ski-seasons in Switzerland with skiing possible from October to May.
We have visited Titlis on a number of occasions both in winter and summer and, as usual, took some panoramas while we were there.
This first panorama is at the bottom of Titlis in the village of Engelberg and provides nice views of the surrounding mountains. As always, click on the image for a larger view or go directly to the interactive version below.
Titlis bottom station
Have a look around this interactive panorama by clicking on the image below:
The top of Titlis at 3,238m provides stunning views of the surroundings and has a number of activities to offer, including a permanent ice-cave, the ability to take a chairlift over the glacier and the “Titlis Cliffwalk”, the the highest suspension bridge in Europe. This panorama was taken from that suspension bridge. Clouds rolled in during the day which made walking on the bridge a special experience where you feel in the clouds.
Titlis Cliff Walk
Have a look at the interactive panorama and feel on top of the world in the clouds:
We also had the opportunity to be on the mountain during the night. We stayed at a hotel about half-way up the mountain which also has a lake nearby. Walking around in a mountainous area after sunset was a special experience. This panorama captures some of that experience at dusk:
Dusk on Titlis
Experience being in the mountains right after sunset in this interactive panorama:
Cold, damp fog dominated Zug for days. But Zug has Zugerberg, and that is above the fog.
Here’s a sunset that’s really special. From the very spot where we took our Zugerberg panorama, (a few years ago) the sun sets on December 21st, behind Pilatus.
Luzern is a beautiful city close to where we live. When the conditions are clear, the sunsets over the lake are breathtaking. We had an opportunity to take some panoramas during one of those sunsets a few days ago while the city was decorated for Christmas. I let the pictures speak for themselves:
Sunset in Luzern at Christmas time
Click on the interactive version to have a look around:
Sunset over Luzern
Have a look at the interactive version below:
Christmas lights over Luzern, including across the bridge
Interact with this panorama here:
HIstorical city center after sunset
Interact with this panorama here:
In September, we had a chance to to go the top of Stanserhorn, a mountain in Central Switzerland not too far from where we live, on a very clear day with beautiful weather. What makes the trip so unique, apart from the stunning views at the top of the mountain, is that you go to the top with the world’s first convertible-style cable car.
The double-decker cable car has an upper deck that is outside so that you can really enjoy the beautiful surroundings and feel the fresh mountain air as you go up the mountain. The photo below shows you how the cable car looks like from the outside:
As you can see in the photo, you can ride on top of the cable car. To give you an impression on what the experience is like, check out the interactive panorama below which I took during this trip. Click on the image for a larger version.
Check out the interactive version below by clicking on the photo:
Taking the panorama was very challenging as the cable car moves remarkably fast and in order to make the panorama, I need to take a series of four shots in all directions. This made the stiching of the photos difficult. I am, however, very happy with the result. The photo was selected as an “editors pick” on 360 cities and received over 2000 hits to date.
Once you reach the top, you can enjoy the beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. You can also go for some nice walks from short and easy ones to more challenging and difficult ones. Many people also use Stanserhorn as a base for paragliding and towards the end of the day, the cable car is full of paragliders.
This panorama was taken at a viewpoint right by the top station and shows you some of the stunning views. As always, click on the photo to see a bigger version:
Click on the interactive version if you want to have a look around in this fully immersive panorama. Have a look at the sign at the bottom for more information on the mountains you are seeing:
A very short walk away from the top station you can see a very different view of the surrounding mountains with views of Pilatus, Rigi, Titlis, lake Lucerne and lake Zug:
You can explore this interactive immersive panorama here:
Of course, we took some regular photos as well. You can find a selection of the photos we took in the Album below:
Some of our panoramas are becoming famous. One of our Inside the Volcano panoramas was featured in a recent issue of travel + Escape magazine for iPad! The special issue about Iceland has an article about the Inside the Volcano trip we mentioned in a previous post and included one of the panoramas to show an immersive experience. Check out the free app in the App Store and the “Wild Weekends in Iceland” issue (1.99 USD)!
Another one of our panoramas is featured on a blog about James Bond. The blog describes Schilthorn where the James Bond movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was set. We visited the mountain a couple of years ago in summer during clear weather and enjoyed the beautiful views of the surroundings, including views of Eiger, Mönch and Jungrau. As usual, we took the opportunity to take a panorama of the surroundings.
Have a look at the panorama here:
Piz Gloria panorama
Or have a look at the interactive version here:
This year, we had an opportunity to visit the 10th annual Entlebucher Alpabfahrt (descent from the Alps) at the end of September 2013 in Schüpfheim, Switzerland.
Every year, farmer families take their cows into the mountains in spring and they return in the fall. Traditionally, different families came back at different dates depending on the weather and the pastures, but for the last 10 years, several families have co-ordinated when they return and the date is announced in advance so visitors can join in the festivities.
The custom of going up and down the mountains has always been filled with tradition. In the photos you can see some of the traditional clothing and decoration of the cows. The event is also very popular and crowded as you can see in the photos. And of course, there were lots of cows – about 200 in total! Not just any cows, this is where the Emmentaller cheese comes from (“Swiss cheese” to you Americans). These are some of those very cows. Give these ladies a toast with your next ham-n-Swiss.
As usual, we took some panorama photographs. Click on the photo to have a closer look:
Alpabfahrt in Schüpfheim, Switzerland
Or look at the interactive version by clicking on the image below:
A second panorama:
Cows coming home in Schüpfheim, Switzerland
Click on the image below to interact with the panorama:
The sound of the cows coming by is very loud due to the large cowbells they have around their necks. Have a look at the video below to get an impression about the sound:
At the event, we also saw a Jodling choir performance on street. Jodling is a specific type of singing that is typical for the Swiss and Austrian mountains. You can see a brief video of the choir singing here:
Of course, we also took tons of photos! Click on the link below to have a look at some selected photos from the day.
Alpabfahrt Album
Out for a Saturday’s bike ride, you might see something unexpected. We had stopped for a rest where there was a nice view, and cows. Johan happened to notice a small calf. It wasn’t very close, and I got out my camera with a big zoom. It was quite little! I could see it wobbled as it walked. I couldn’t see that well in the LCD screen of the camera. But once home, I was quite surprised. It appears this calf was born within the last couple hours or so.
Every year on August 1st, Switzerland celebrates its national day with festivities around the country. This year, we had the opportunity to attend the festivities in Brunnen, a town on Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee) a beautiful lake in Central Switzerland. The location is also historically signficant as it is near a mountain meadow called Rütli, where the legendary oath of Rütlischwur took place which was the start of the independence of Switzerland and goes back to the 14th century.
The annual fireworks are attended by thousands of people, many viewing the spectacle from the shore and others from boats on the lake. A flotilla of large boats travel from surrounding towns and cities, including Lucerne, to see the fireworks.
The weather on August 1st was beautiful this year. This photo was taken around 20:30 and shows the last rays of sunset hitting the surrounding mountains and showing a beautiful sunset over the lake:
Last rays of sunshine hitting the mountains around Brunnen, Switzerland.
Click on the image to see a larger version of this panorama or have a look at the interactive 360 panorama version of this photo:
Before the fireworks, I took the opportunity to take a photo over the lake at dusk:
Dusk in Brunnen right before the fireworks
Click on the image to see a larger version of this panorama or explore the panorama in more detail on this 360 panorama version of this photo:
And then, finally, there were the fireworks themselves. The picture below does not do it justice, but gives you a flavor of the experience:
1. August Fireworks above Brunnen, Switzerland
You can look at a larger version of this image by clicking on the image or interact with the interactive 360 panorama below:
The Züri Fäscht festival is a large event that is organized every three years in Zurich, Switzerland and attracts millions of people. There are many activities taking place throughout the city during the festival. The 2013 event took place July 5-7 in sunny and warm weather attracting many festivalgoers. For the first time, we were amongst the visitors of this festival.
The highlight of the festival were the fireworks on Saturday night, which were spectacular and included a helicopter shooting off fireworks from the air during the ground fireworks and parachutists jumping from a plane. Unfortunately, it was hard to find a good spot to see the fireworks as it was extremely crowded.
You can find some photos we took at the festival here, including some of the fireworks shot.
Photo Album Zurich Faescht
We also took a panorama that shows the trampolin show “second Life” by the Belgian group Criq’ulation Locale. The show includes jugling, trampoline jumping and acrobatics on a floating pontoon.
