Quinten - a piece of the paradise, hidden in Switzerland

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Greetings, travelers, how are you in this sunny Friday afternoon? I hope I find in good health and spirit!

I have to admit, my spirit is a bit down lately, with all those lockdowns around us. So I've been virtually traveling more by checking a lot my photo albums from my previous travels, most of them worry-free, completely unaware of what was about to happen. Then yesterday I came upon the photos from the lovely little village of Quinten, located on the Northern shores of the beautiful lake Walensee in Switzerland, I was certain I have to write and share my memories and some of the pictures I took that day.

What's unique about Quinten? Perhaps there are several things that are unique for this divine place but what impressed me the most is the fact there are no roads going there. Logically, I didn't see any car or truck in that small village. The only vehicles I saw there were the small special tractors for treating the vines growing on the very steep slopes and hills in the area.

So one could get there on foot, hiking in the mountain, the Swiss Alps, to be precise, or by boat.

It is indeed a very small village, at the time we visit it, it had less than 20 houses. Here how it looks from the water.

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However, this is a photo I took when we left it in the late afternoon, so let me tell you how did we get there!

It was a lovely Sunday and the weather forecast was excellent for a mid-June weekend. As I was visiting dear friends of mine who live in Switzerland we decided to spend that promising day outdoors and take a long hike in the Alps. We parked and left the cars in Walenstadt in the morning and started hiking up. If you check the map, perhaps you'll tell that the distance between this two points isn't that big. However, there are lots of going up and down and those who hike know what this means. A lot of energy spent, lots of breaks along the walk.

A nice trick when hike with more people and you carry a big heavy backpack with photo equipment is to regularly use this as an excuse to have more breaks and take photos, LOL! :)

Walensee is a magnificent lake, with its beautiful surroundings and the shiny blue clear Karst waters. As we were going higher and higher, the views were becoming breathtaking:

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Those vivid colors were saturating my eyes ;)

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The delta of Seez river with the highway passing above it:

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We were still going up to one of the highest points on our route:

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After a short break, enjoying the crystal air and the stunning views, we started the descending part of our hike towards Quinten:

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Finally, we were there! As it was the afternoon already, we first went to the local lake port to see what are our option for getting back to the town where the cars were parked and with a bit of the risk involved we decided to take the latest boat back. If we'd missed it, we would have been forced to hike back in the mountain at night! The risk was totally worth it, though!

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Absolutely worth it as this way we had more time to ramble around and explore that beautiful and very silent area. (Do you remember there are no cars here as there's no point of having them around? :))

Of course, we tasted a glass of the local white wine (Federweiss) that was just like an ambrosia after the long and exhausting hike (especially considering my ten kilos photo backpack, LOL). Ah, let me mention here, that this hiking route isn't quite easy so you better be in a good shape if you decide to follow those steps ;)

The cozy restaurant had the logical name of Seehus and of course, great lake views :)

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After that short "recharge" we scattered around and spent our time discovering even more beauties:

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The fresh bright green leaves of the vines were filling my eyes:

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What a lovely combination of green and blue, isn't it? :)

Evidently, locals are occupied with these two major activities, tourism and wine making. I really hope they are good after the lockdowns!


Wait... Is this the local fire station? I guess, there aren't many fires around! ;)

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It was time to go, I should say sail back to where our journey started. So we hoped on the boat and enjoyed the late afternoon sun rays over us and the stunning lake views:

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I am so grateful to my friends for organizing this lovely Sunday journey and to the people of Quentin for the hospitality! It is a day I will never forget!


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25 comments
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(Edited)

Ah, I forgot to mention in my post above, I saw on @pinmapple few wonderful travel stories of @delishtreats from the area around, I would love to see a new story by Martina about Quinten as well :) Each personal perspective is unique :)

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That's a good idea! I have visited so many places around Walensee/Toggenburg/Flumserberg but haven't been to Quinten yet :) It's probably about the right time to change it! Thank you for the tip! :)

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Indeed :) Hehehe, I've noticed! Please tag me in it/under it in a comment so I don't miss it once it's online :) I guess in the autumn when the leaves of the vines become mixed green/yellow/golden/brown, the landscapes will be magical! Are there any fogs around in the autumn?

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Sure, I will! If the weather is good I would go there next week but let's see as this year is kind of crazy here. It feels like we didn't even have summer..

Oh, we live close to a river and it's like we live in a fog all autumn/winter :D Sometimes we wake up and can't see anything what is in front of our balcony :D It's quite depressing, and this is why we travel to the mountains so much. There we can get some sunshine :)

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Do tell me ;) Indeed, a crazy year, in so many regards...

Ah, I see :) We don't have many days with fogs here and that's why it is more appealing to me, it gives mysticism to the places but when you have it too often and too much, I can imagine it's no good any more :)

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Switzerland is such a gorgeous country, but so expensive. We were beyond the border a couple of times to visit the Rheinfall in Schaffhausen and just a few steps outside of Germany, the prices were 30-40% higher. Last time, we went, was 10 years ago, but I presume, prices still are high.
The vineyard directly on the water looks so awesome. It must have been a magnificent travel experience. Wonderful pictures.

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Indeed, an amazing country! True, quite expensive to live there but have you been to Norway, hehe? When I was there chasing the Northern Lights, it seemed so expensive, even the food at the store felt like it's golden, sort of speak :)

I know that people who live closer to the borders in Switzerland often go to shop in the big stores in Austria and Germany to save some bucks ;)

Thanks for stopping by, it was indeed an awesome day! ;)

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It seems, that every country with a decent currency has expensive prices compared to the soft currency Euro 😀. Germany should have kept the Deutsche Mark, but politically, that wasn't expedient.

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LOL :)
In my humble opinion, the EUR is a great idea, it's just that the bureaucrats in EU can't manage it properly. Or maybe it has been intentionally kept weaker than it could be. Ah, and of course, there is too much bureaucracy in EU - too many clerks with huge salaries.

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The EU as intended by the "founding fathers" as a federation of fatherlands, I concur, but this bureaucratic, globalistic monster is not good for any of us.
I am very sceptical of the medium-term viability of the EU and the Euro, but we'll see :o).

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it's really very beautiful, yes switzerland

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Oh, I would give a lot to move there right now! Excellent photos and story. Glad that we have something to remember about all our hikes and travels :)

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