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Despite our jetlag the day we arrived, we had lunch at our hotel, the Novotel Zurich City West, and headed out with our very bright and fearless tour guide Julia Woodwards. Our first photo adventure in Switzerland began with a tram ride from the Oerliken Station about 10 minutes to Hauptbahnhof for a guided walking tour of Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city. (Little did we know that this would probably be the lowest altitude of the entire trip! We must have averaged a mountain a day during our stay.) While strolling along the Limmat River among the 16th and 17th Century houses, we stopped at the city’s notorious Police Station to photograph it’s surprisingly romantic interior…a spacious, beautiful room sculpted with a myriad of arches painted with warmed hued murals. Along the west bank, we shot the locals in the afternoon light playing chess with giant chess pieces on larger than life chess boards. Once inside the 13th Century Fraumunster Cathedral, I was awestruck by the giant multicolored Marc Chagall stained glass windows. Some of us took photos while others, including myself spent more time just sitting in the pews gazing at Chagall’s mesmerizing artwork. We ended our fist day with a welcome dinner at a local restaurant serving traditional Swiss cuisine where the students and the Mentor Photographer, Adam Jones, had a chance to meet. The following morning we were on our way by train traveling southwest to our next destination, Interlaken. During the train ride, the very friendly and patient Adam Jones, took the time to review the students past photography work one on one. Once we arrived, were were struck by this bustling city and top adventure-sports destination, located between lake Thun and Briez and ringed by mountain ranges including the snow covered Jungfraujoch. We rushed to the rooftop restaurant of the Metropolitan Building to shoot the Jungfrau and the Kleine Scheidegg while the sun was sinking. As we were shooting, multi-colored hanggliders appeared out of nowhere from above swirling down past us to the park below. I quickly ran down to the park to get some shots as they glided down to the ground with the snowy Jungfrau in the background. The next day we took a 2-½ hour train ride up 11,333 feet to the top of the Jungfrau. I was surprised to see that the mountain top was complete with restaurants, shops, ice caves and most importantly, several breathtaking 360 degree outdoor vantage points for shooting the mountain and the surrounding alpine landscape. Despite how unseasonably warm it was, the high altitude, colder temperatures and wind at 11,000 plus feet took a little getting used to. On the train ride back, we stopped in the charming mountain village of Kleine Scheidegg for beer, lunch and a stroll.
The following morning we checked out of our hotel and headed further south, almost to the border of Italy, to Zermatt...home of the infamous Matternhorn Mountain. I am convinced that I will go back to Zermatt for a visit at the least, if not to live there for a few months. Aside from the obvious advantages, (the best skiing/snowboarding in the world, the charming cobble stone streets and 400 year old houses with non-stop views of the Matterhorn) Zermatt must have some of the cleanest air and water in the world. Being the earth-friendly person that I am, I was very impressed with the ban on gas vehicles in the village. Cars must be parked several miles outside the village from where you can take a train into town. Only very small toy-like electric taxis, work vehicles and bicycles are allowed to quietly roam the narrow streets. The pristine water comes from the melting glaciers of the Matterhorn, which pours into the village in the form of the icy blue Vispa River that literally splits the town in half. Our hotel, The Albana Real, which entirely lived up to my fantasies of what a charming Swiss chalet would be like, overlooked the Vispa River with views of the Matterhorn from our rooms. Dinner that evening was at a local restaurant where a special group dinner was prepared. Trekker Jack Leggett, a born entertainer known for his practical jokes (Jack- you missed your calling as a stand up comedian!!), in the middle of dinner scarred the daylights out of all of us when he stood up with his empty plate quoting from “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens and begged our hosts …”Can I have some more, please?” We fell out of our chairs with laughter…and that wasn’t the last time during our stay! When we were running late and had to make a connection, he could clear out a train by saying in his usual self-deprecating way, “Last one off the train is mine!!!” And believe me we would run! I ended up lending some of my own hidden talents when we were hanging out at the cozy bar in our chalet in Zermatt and none of the staff new how to make drinks for us. So, I showed them how and the next thing I knew, I was making cosmos, martinis and “you name it” for all of the trekkers all night! ( By the way…..where's my tip?!)
The following morning we attended a photo shoot with alpine horn players especially arranged for our group. The two alpine horn players, father and son, were dressed in traditional, ornate red and black attire and patiently posed for us on the hills of Zermatt with the Matterhorn in the distance. Then we ventured to the ski lifts for a 45 min. ride up the Matterhorn on Europe’s highest mountain lift. Aside from a stunning view of the Italian, French and Swiss Alps, the lift brings you to the amazing Glacier Palace. I was fascinated by the tunnel carved in ice with stunning ice sculptures illuminated by multi colored lighting. Once we realized how photogenic it was, some of us spent quite a long time in the Glacier Palace despite the cold. A few of us who were willing to bear an even higher altitude and colder conditions, made our way to the snowboarding area with Michael Portman www.michael-portmann.ch. Michael is a long time resident of Zermatt and a photo shoot producer, who arranged for us to shoot the professional Swiss snowboarders including the exceptional Reto Kestenholz, as he flew down the icy half pipe. The conditions were perfect: the sky was very blue with a few puffy white clouds in the background and Reto, dressed in bright red and powder blue with his colorful snowboard and goggles, rose 20 ft or more above our heads out of the half pipe as we snapped away. Later that evening, we had dinner with him and some of us shared our digital images from the day. At the crack of dawn the next morning, from the Zermatt Station, we made our way up to Gonergrat Mountain on an old-fashioned cogwheel train to an altitude of 10,170 feet to capture the stunning views from the highest open-air railway in Europe. Then we were off to the quintessential Swiss city of Luzern by train. The first train had sliding windows so we could get those great photo ops as we snaked through the countryside. For the 4-½ hours that we were on the trains that day, time was used wisely by Adam and the trekkers to do image reviews. When we arrived in Luzern, we were free the rest of the day to explore this beautiful city that straddles the Reuss River. As the sun began to set, we walked the narrow cobble streets, romantic covered wooden bridges and river promenades strewn with one enchanting café after the other. We had been on the go for so many days, that it was perfectly satisfying to sit at one of these outdoor cafes facing the river and in one glance absorb the river, lake, city spires, fountains and looming snow capped alps in the background. The remainder of the workshop included a gondola ride up to nearby Mt. Pilatus where we photographed the 360 views of Luzern below and on our last free day, a few of us took a peaceful boat ride along the twisting coastline of the Vierwaldstattersee (Lake Luzern) sprinkled with quaint villages surrounded, of course, by mountains.
Our very talented Mentor kicked off our final meeting with a generous speech and his own beautiful slide show. Then we ended the workshop the way we always do with a final slide show prepared by our Mentor Series Manager showing each students 10 best digital photos of the week. While traditional Swiss music played, we sat back enjoying each others images from our week together in Switzerland.
