Switzerland's Rhone Valley and Euro Velo 17

This little map shows Andermatt, Oberwald and the Furka Pass

It was Mother Nature who made the decision for us as to whether or not we would cycle the high pass between Andermatt and the head of the Rhone valley or Valais which we planned to follow down to Lake Geneva and beyond. The Furkapass 2429m was still snow-covered and wouldn't open for another two weeks! Part of me was relieved!

So plan B was to take another short train ride with the bikes to the little town of Oberwald, 1377m, just 14km down from the source of the Rhone, on the far side of the pass. To get there, the train goes through a 15km long tunnel through the mountain. We left soggy Andermatt on Thursday afternoon, and emerged in sunny Oberwald where we started our journey along EuroVelo 17, know as Route 1 in Switzerland.

On the train from Andermatt to Oberwald

Behind me is the infant Rhone in Oberwald, 14km down from
 its source in a glacier west of Furka Pass
Carved-out troughs are common in the high villages
Typical home in the high mountain villages



Covered bridge in one of the high mountain villages
Our progress was very slow initially as we were really taken with the little villages and their very old timber homes, now blackened from years of weathering, surrounded by small farms and lush green pastures. The paths were a mixture of dirt tracks through forests to paved paths and small roads. The sign-posting was excellent, and we soon learned which signs to watch for.

Aren't they gorgeous!

Velo route 1 as EV 17 is known in Switzerland
Lower down the valley you find fruit tres and vineyards

The Rhone is a serious river now, approaching
Martigny where it turns north towards Lake Geneva

Our lovely "unofficial" campsite from a couple of days ago
Plaza and town hall, Sierre/Siders.
This town forms the border between the German and French-speaking
 parts of Switzerland

Today, Sunday, we arrived at Lake Geneva. I had imagined how it might feel when we got our first glimpse of its azure water. The reality today was somewhat different! It was raining and grey and we could barely see the profile of the Alps across the water from the city of Montreux. We hear you can see Mt. Blanc from the city of Lausanne further along, but we'll have to take their word for it. The signs for La Plage had little appeal today!

The weather forecast is predicting continued rain till Wednesday, so we have a dilemma as to whether to hang about to see better views, or press on towards Geneva and our journey south and back to France.  We're going to sleep on it and see what tomorrow brings.

This is the route we followed for the last few days between
Oberwald and Montreux on Lake Geneva (Lac Leman)
Lake Geneva today

Comments

  1. Iveta bxJune 13, 2019 at 10:12 AM

    It is a beautiful country/mountain side. Even the cows look pretty!

    ReplyDelete

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