travel series

More than 7th Heaven: Mt. Titlis, Switzerland

/ Karina Pinella / 8 Comments

Home base: Lucerne

From Lucerne to Engelberg by train,
Seeking the heavens once again.
Xpress cable car carried us part of the way,
To board the Titlis Rotair gondola for a panoramic display
Of the grandness of Mt. Titlis,
Leaving us breathless.

Once reaching Mt. Titlis summit at 10,000 feet,
We can see how the sky’s the limit, a visual treat.
Next challenge was the Cliff Walk
On a suspended bridge that made us almost balk.
But we braved through the span in spite of the cold wave,
Leading us to Titlis Glacier cave.

Before going all the way back down,
We stopped at a lake a few levels above town
To see more of the mountain and glacial lake views,
And took a rowboat for a short scenic cruise.
Then to Engelberg base village we finally went,
To visit a historical museum, witnessing a mountain bovine event.
On to get snacks in a local cheese factory,
Just before going to a Benedictine monastery.
Alas, the day soon ended,
So back to Lucerne we returned, feeling splendid.

Above Cloud 9 on Mt. Rigi, Switzerland

/ Karina Pinella / 15 Comments

Home base: Lucerne


Traveled by boat from Lake Lucerne to Weggis,
By aerial cable cars to Rigi Kaltbad,
Rode the cogwheel railway to Rigi Staffel,
Hiked up to the summit of Rigi Kulm —
The highest peak of Mount Rigi (1,797 m, or 5,748 ft above sea level) —
Hiked to a dairy farm,
Snacked on cheese made from the farm’s cows,
Trekked on various trails,
Took the cogwheel railway back down to Vitznau,
Cruised on Lake Lucerne back to home base.

On the Loose in Lucerne

/ Karina Pinella / 10 Comments

Home base: Lucerne

Image: Wikimedia commons

Loose in Lucerne,
Unending charm and beauty,
Camera can’t capture it all,
Every turn a dazzler,
Reeling with joy,
Near nirvana,
Everlasting memories . . .






Switzerland vacation series:
Spellbound in Switzerland
Winterthur Wonder in Switzerland
Sights of St. Gallen and Zurich

Sights of St. Gallen and Zurich

/ Karina Pinella / 9 Comments

Home base: Zurich

Image: Google Maps

St. Gallen is another town near Zurich easily traveled by train. One of the world’s oldest libraries, containing unique, early medieval writings, is located in St. Gallen.  With a collection of 170,000 books from a period of over 1,000 years, the Abbey Library was named a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1983. Built between 1755 and 1767, the library had belonged at one time to an abbey founded in 719. A few years later, the Benedictine order of monks became residents in 747. The monastery flourished from the 9th to 11th centuries, as an influential cultural and scientific center of the West. Today, the Benedictines are gone, and the monastery has long since been dissolved. Yet the Abbey Library remains as a significant educational institution from the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, no picture-taking was allowed inside the library.

The abbey complex

Other sights in St. Gallen

After spending the morning at St. Gallen, we returned to Zurich to enjoy more sights.

We began the evening with a cruise. This time from Bürkliplatz, located on the other end the city, on Lake Zurich.

Winterthur Wonder in Switzerland

/ Karina Pinella / 9 Comments

Home base: Zurich

Image: Google Maps

About a half hour away via train from Zurich, Winterthur is known for its numerous world-class museums and large pedestrian-zoned Old Town. As we went through Old Town, we went inside some churches and visited selected museums. Another wondrous day of art appreciation, as we drank in impressive and rare collections of paintings, sculpted works, and photos from the likes of The Kunst Museum Winterthur; the Oskar Reinhart Collection, displayed in his residence ‘Am Römerholz’; and Fotomusem Winterthur.

Oskar Reinhart (1885-1965) came from a long line of traders from Winterthur. His father, Theodor Reinhart, had built the family business, which was one of the first trading houses in Switzerland, or in Europe, for that matter. Both father and son had an interest in art, with Oskar eventually becoming a full-time art collector after leaving the family business at the age of 39.



After spending a good part of the day at Winterthur, we headed back to Zurich to enjoy a cruise on the Limmat River followed by a hearty meal of schnitzel and rosti at a beer hall.

Spellbound in Switzerland

/ Karina Pinella / 19 Comments

I recently returned from a wonderful vacation in Switzerland, where I was spellbound at every turn. Traveling by high-speed rail, I used three beautiful cities as my home base, often exploring other sights and stops nearby.  This is the beginning of a series of selected locales I had the pleasure of enjoying during my stay there.

First Stop: Zurich

Image: Google Maps

We hit the ground running, so many sights/sites to see. Started at the Kunsthaus, Zurich’s world-class art museum, which houses the largest collection of Swiss-born Alberto Giacometti’s work, among so many other well-renowned artists/sculptors:

Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Oskar Kokoschka, Wassily Kandinsky, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Degas, Auguste Rodin, Marc Chagall, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, Franz Marc, Francesco Napoletano, Jacopo Palma Vecchio, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jan Roos, Ferdinand Hodler, Johan Christian Dahl, to name a few!

We ended our day at a lovely restaurant called Raclette Stube in Old Town. The restaurant is known for its cheese fondues. I had the Fondue Fribourgeoise, which is half Gruyère, half Vacherin cheese with wine and Kirsch, served with bread and potatoes, along with a side order of cold, sliced sausage from Vaud.  And, the evening just began . . .

Still Charming after All these Years

/ Karina Pinella / 8 Comments

Opening Spring Fling in Florida – Part 3 of 3

South of Jacksonville,
Northeast coast of Florida
Sits St. Augustine.

Colonized by Spain,
Oldest city in U.S.,
Briefly British ruled.

Flagler spurred its growth,
Menendez spread religion;
Their legacy shows.

If you missed:
Part 1
Part 2

Orlando

/ Karina Pinella / 8 Comments

Opening Spring Fling in Florida – Part 2 of 3

Our return to an expanded Disney Springs.

(sung to the tune of Abba’s Fernando)

Can you hear the gasp, Orlando?
I remember long ago when souvenirs were less than this
On a fire sale day, Orlando.
You’ve come a long way from a few shops to miles of chains
I could hear the constant ka-ching,
And sounds of consumerism from all over.

They are so many now, Orlando.
Every hour, every minute a sale is made
My eyes are glazed, Orlando.
Every turn I make, there’s a character from the past and present,
And I’m a little ashamed to say,
The sights and sounds still impress me.

Other parts:
Part 1
Part 3

Opening Spring Fling in Florida

/ Karina Pinella / 8 Comments

Part 1 of 3

My family and I had our own mini-celebration just a week before Major League Baseball’s Opening Day on March 29th. We went for a brief visit to Florida, where we stayed with friends and, among other things, went boating in Kissimmee, bopped around in Orlando, and enjoyed the beaches and downtown sites of historic St. Augustine. This was our way of welcoming the new season with faces turned to the sun and arms open wide to embrace the warm weather (even though we experienced two more nor’easters upon our return home). Not to be deterred, our recent memories of good times mixed with  sunny days and beautiful evenings will be presented here and in the next two posts. It’s just a reminder for those up north that spring will soon feel like spring!

Kiss-a-me, Why Don’t Ye?
Water-sprayed hair,
Laughter fills the air,
As old friends toast,
Listening to Margaritaville
And other oldies from the ‘70s,
Eighties, and 90s,
O, Sun, kiss-a-me,
Why don’t ye?

Part 2
Part 3

Perambulating Porto

/ Karina Pinella / 18 Comments

Porto is Portugal’s second largest city and is situated in the northern part of the country. As soon as I alighted from the train from Coimbra, I hit the ground walking. And what a lot to see . . .

Day 2 – In and around Praça da Liberdade and Avenida dos Aliados

If you missed it, see . . . 
Day 1 – Coimbra