My Grand Tour of Europe: Switzerland

THE ROUTE SO FAR

(1) London • (2) France • (3) Switzerland

Base map: Designed by Freepik

KEY SITES: Days 12-15

Zermatt

This charming Swiss town can only be reached by train, since cars are not allowed. Despite the dreary weather, I enjoyed strolling the streets to see all the old buildings! Zermatt and the surrounding valley reminded me of some of the settings in Richard Morgan’s The Steel Remains, hence why it is displayed here.

The Matterhorn

The famous pyramidal peak of the Matterhorn overlooks Zermatt, although persistent cloud cover means the mountain is rarely visible in its entirety. We almost saw the whole mountain, as indicated by the arrow. I chose to display The Final Empire, the first of Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn books, due to the presence of mist and cloud within this image!

Grindelwald

The cloudy weather continued when we moved up to Grindelwald, a village in central Switzerland surrounded by mountains. Fortunately, it cleared long enough for me to take this image. The picturesque valley made me think of the location of Mercury’s cottage in Half Bad by Sally Green, which is why this book cover is displayed here.

Bachalpsee Lake

On our second day in Grindelwald, took a cable car into the mountains and hiked up to Bachalpsee Lake. The air was chilly and mist came and went, but the scenery was typically, beautifully Swiss. Displayed here is Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World because the grazing spaces and shepherds’ huts made me think of Rand al’Thor 🙂

Eiger Panorama Trail

From Bachalpsee, we continued to hike along the Eiger Panorama Trail. There were few mishaps with having to traverse remnant patches of snow and ice, but the views were incredible. This picture was taken from the vicinity of Hireleni and displays Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas because I could easily see these mountains belonging in Terrasen.

Grimsel Pass

On our last day in Switzerland, we took the Grimsel Pass on our way down to Italy. The weather was perfect for the occasion, but the road, quite frankly, is rather ridiculous. Look how winding it is! I’m thankful I don’t get carsick! Of course, given the nature of this picture, I had no choice but to display The Long and Winding Road by T.J. Klune due to its fitting title.

GALLERY

Are you travelling at the moment? Have you been to Switzerland? What are your favourite books with Swiss settings?

Rebecca Alasdair