Dick's Photos: Swiss Alps

FULL SCREEN PHOTOS BY DICK
~ THE SWISS ALPS ~

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God's Retaining Wall - From Bern, the Capitol, we drove the 30 miles to Interlaken, a small city between Thun and Brienzer Sees (Lakes). Then it was south 7 miles at a slight incline to Lauterbrunnan. Somewhere just before Lauterbrunnen, we were transfixed by this lovely "retaining wall" thinly terraced to provide footing for rows of mainly fir-like conifers. It was like a garland placed there by God, an invitation to worship on this bright Sunday morning.

Sunday, Oct 9, 2005 S/N 031

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Swiss Brown Bull - If you've been to the countryside of Switzerland, the cow bell dangling from the neck of virtually every cow will forever be audible in your memory. It's the only sound that breaks the perfect silence. With randomness that flawlessly demonstrates "random," that sound:
dink dinkle . . . . . (long pause) . . . . . dinkle dink . . . is yours to cherish.

I had the undivided attention of this proud beast while he savored his moment in front of my lens. In return, I was awe-struck. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Oct 9, 2005 S/N 032

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Lauterbrunnen - This town is all tourists. Although German is the language of this part of Switzerland, many signs are in English here. The small, but relatively flat Lauterbrunnen Valley continues to only 4 miles south of here, ending just beyond the village of Stechelberg (2,957ft ASL). At that point Jungfrau (the "young maiden," visible in the background) soars 2 miles higher, to 13,500ft ASL.

Notice the waterfalls behind the shops. They are about 2000 feet high!

SSE 10:10 AM Oct 9, 2005 S/N 033

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Cable Gondola to Gimmelwald
We, and about 30 others, put our faith and trust, our all, into the strength of 3 cables and two end structures. Perspective is challenged as we glide quietly past, these fascinating niches looking like dioramas in the solid rock face of a nearly quarter-mile high cliff. After lifting us 1,470 feet, we all step out of this dangling carriage onto wonderfully solid but much higher terra firma!

Oct 9, 2005 S/N 034

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Gimmelwald Schoolhouse
The first building we see is this school house. The 18 youngsters out of the 120 or so residents of Gimmelwald probably don't know how different this school is from Pacoima Elementary. The attractive window decorations of artwork and flowering plants attest to the quality education they receive in this close knit community.

Oct 9, 2005 S/N 035

Taken 05/12/2004 S/N 025

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Gimmelwald Heights Rock
Flat ground is unavailable in Gimmelwald, so everybody gets a million-dollar view and lots of exercise.

West Oct 9, 2005 S/N 036

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NE View from Gimmelwald -
The mountains in the backdrop are on the east side of the Lauterbrunnen Valley.
Gimmelwald is neat as a pin, but even here, as in most farming communities, maintenance is sometimes, "make do." The roof of the animal shed in the lower right foreground is weighted by rocks.

NE Oct 9, 2005 S/N 037

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Milk and Cheese Machine -
It all starts with grass and hay. Here it is harvested manually with a side-step choreography following the level contour line. (just guessing) Can you imagine a tractor on this 44% slope? Where would it end up if it rolled over?

Looks like Main Street Gimmelwald flakes off here to descend to residences farther down. What an amazing setting! Note the fall colors. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _WSW Oct 9, 2005 S/N 038

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A View from Birg Cable Terminal, 8500 ft ASL -
From Gimmalwald cable terminal we dangled our way to Murren. We then transferred to the Birg cable. What we see in this picture is only a piece of what Birg offers.

In this view, the village of Murren appears in the upper right corner. The Lauterbrunnen Valley is in the abyss, just beyond.

NNW Oct 9, 2005 S/N 039

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Jungfrau 13,500 Ft. ASL
She is the large mountain left of center. All the way at the bottom you can see the southern tip of the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Gimmelwald is hidden, but is toward us from the Valley and directly opposite Jungfrau. The ridge on the right includes Breithorn and Mutthorn. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ESE Oct 9, 2005 S/N 040

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From the Murren Cable Terminal
Here we are looking south in the direction of Gimmelwald. I think this is my favorite shot from Switzerland.

South Oct 9, 2005 S/N 040S

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Back to Talstation
After a nice lunch on the deck of the Pension in Gimmelwald, we indulge in just one more segment of hanging and gliding for today. Next we hop into our Opal Corsca (2nd row from the right) and drive over the Alps, 200 miles or so southeast, to Cadro, in the Italian sector of Switzerland.

South Oct 9, 2005 S/N 040V

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031MornRock.jpg	032Moo.jpg	033Lauter.jpg	034RockFace.jpg
035GimmSchool.jpg.jpg	036GimmHeights.jpg	037GimmSheds.jpg	038GimmCanyon.jpg.jpg
039FromBirg.jpg	040SkiingFac.jpg	040Jungfrau.jpg	040Valley.jpg

© Photos Available for Download
Right-clicking any of the thumbnails above will give you a menu of download options. Unless otherwise indicated, all photos are in 1024 x 768 pixels. They are additionally compressed for practical bandwidth conservation without inducing observable quality degradation.

Please read: These images are freely available for personal or non-profit use and enjoyment. However, please protect them from commercial use unless you first arrange to appropriately "spread the wealth" to the owner. Contact me at: Dick@Rmock.com All of these images were photographed and processed by me, Richard L. Mock, specifically for your viewing pleasure.