Switzerland

When entering this church in St. Gallen I was surprised that it was empty and only two music students were at the altar, a woman playing a cello, a man playing the clarinet. My wife was sitting down in the front rows to listen, and I went back to take a photo of this scene. Another memory of Switzerland which I had in my pocket, beside chocolate and cheese. 🙂

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/5
• Shutter speed: 1/125s
• Focal length: 30mm
• ISO: 3200

This River in Ticino, Switzerland, was a refreshing experience. The water was cold, there were even warning signs, that this cold water could harm your health if you have problems with your bloodstream. I waded through the river, water only until knee height, my lower feet got numb immediately. 🙂 The stones which were spread all over the river looked like oversized gravel stones. 🙂

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/8
• Shutter speed: 1/80s
• Focal length: 13mm
• ISO: 125

Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. We stayed in Ascona at Lake Maggiore and occasionally took a ride in the interior of the country. At a trip to the Verzasca Dam, we spied that little bridge made of stone. The mountain brook below was so clear and crisp, that I tried the Kneipp water treading at a shallow bank. How brisk and freshening !!  🙂

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/8
• Shutter speed: 1/100s
• Focal length: 59mm
• ISO: 125

Locarno is a city of festivals like the Film Festival, Jazz Festival, and many other exciting events. It is located in Ticino, very near to the Italian border. It has inherited the Italian (life)style mixed with Swiss influences. On the streets, you often see buskers and street musicians, a joy if you wander through the city in warm nights.

Post processed with: Luminar, Photoshop

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/4
• Shutter speed: 1/250s
• Focal length: 67mm
• ISO: 10000

Near the top of the Gotthard Pass there is an observation deck offering a view to a mountain pass and a big valley. I used the break to shoot some photos before the tour through Switzerland continued where we visited Chur, Ascona, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen …

Post processed with: Aurora, Photoshop

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/9
• Shutter speed: 1/80s
• Focal length: 24mm
• ISO: 50

This landscape has been shot in Uri, one of the three founding cantons of Switzerland ( Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden). My wife and me were on the way down from Gotthard Pass where I saw the crest of Uri. I searched after a parking lot to take my camera and soon I was in the valley shooting photos. The grass was so green, a paradise for every cow. 🙂

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/8
• Shutter speed: 1/125s
• Focal length: 36mm
• ISO: 50

After passing the Gotthard Pass we got hungry and found a place to eat in Andermatt. It’s some kind of ski resort in the winter and you can see intense construction activity in the summer months. After the typical Swiss food we took a little walk through the streets to get fit again for the journey to Lucerne.

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/8
• Shutter speed: 1/80s
• Focal length: 30mm
• ISO: 50

Since we heard via radio that there would be a 2 hours waiting time through the Gotthard Road Tunnel we have chosen to take the street over the Gotthard Pass. We were rewarded with a beautiful view of the surrounding valleys and could breath fresh, cool mountain air. And I took time to shoot some photos of the peak…

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/9
• Shutter speed: 1/250s
• Focal length: 26mm
• ISO: 50

Hearing cowbells from a far away alp, breathing fresh air on a mountaintop and looking down to that white church … I like Switzerland  🙂 Not only Swiss products are highest quality, also the nature there, the mountain railways and the food at the mountain huts.

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/8
• Shutter speed: 1/125s
• Focal length: 135mm
• ISO: 50

I wondered how near this cow was to the town, I never have seen this before, cows graze some hundred meters away from a bigger city 🙂 . Really cool and only in St. Gallen, Switzerland. To get to this place you have to take the incline elevator called Mühleggbahn.

• Camera: ILCE-7R
• Aperture: ƒ/2.5
• Shutter speed: 1/1250s
• Focal length: 55mm
• ISO: 125