Only five-hour ride, that didn't take long to decide for a roadtrip to Switzerland during Easter.
We picked the nearest place with a lake in the Alps which happens to be Walensee. Although random, it turned out to be an amazing choice! The lake is amazing and there are many hiking routes and destinations around the lake.
Walensee
You can take many routes around Walensee - one starting in Weesen and the other from Walenstadt.
On our first day, we hiked from Weesen up to the Seerenbach Falls. It was a nice walk with many places to stop and chill by the lake. As we followed the trail along the lake, it was occasionally interrupted by cars. They are allowed on the narrow road which is visible in the photos, where vehicles are allowed to travel in one direction for just 15 minutes before switching.
This is the route.
Seerenbach Falls
Some facts - the Seerenbach Falls consist of three waterfalls, with a total of 585 m. It is a second highest waterfall in Switzerland.
Paxmal
During the first day, we managed to drive up to the mountains looking for a hidden gem Paxmal.
Paxmal is a mosaic peace monument which aims to stimulate contemplation and reflection and was built by Karl Bickel.
It is possible to hike up to the Paxmal monument, but the weather was changing rapidly with strong winds and dust from Sahara, so we decided to drive instead. Yes, sometimes even we become those "idiots" in their cars, passing by hikers while comfortable driving up the hill ☺︎
It was a rough drive but worth it!
Zürich
On our second day, we took a one hour drive to Zürich.
We spent most of our time searching for filter coffee - you'll mostly find espresso, but MAME Coffee is a place to enjoy specialty coffee. Swiss vegan chocolate was another item on our list and we were surprised by how many choice we found! Try Läderach, Bachmann or Sprüngli.
In Zürich, there is also the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world - Haus Hiltl, open since 1898. Other favorite vegan places are roots, which you can find in every corner of Zürich.
Einsiedeln
Einsiedeln was not really planned.
While driving back from Zürich, we were trying to find a café and randomly came across Kafeehaus zu den Dreiherzen. The parking next to the café turned out to be on a square with a vast monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, from the 10th century.
Oh and in the café, there were vegan toffifee and doughnuts.
Bad Ragaz
On our last day, one lady in Zürich recommended us to make a trip do Bad Ragaz. We found a hike from Bad Ragaz to Tamina Gorge (route), but unfortunately, the route was closed due to maintenance. As it was starting to rain a lot, we changed our plans and spent our afternoon in Tamina Therme.
Good alternative I suppose ☺︎
Last
I want more Swiss chocolate.
Until next,
bye bye ♡
