Forum Index > Trip Reports > The L’Areuse River Gorge, Exploring the Jura Mountains of Switzerland 5/31/18
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
Nancyann
Member
Member


Joined: 28 Jul 2013
Posts: 2314 | TRs | Pics
Location: Sultan Basin
Nancyann
Member
PostFri Jan 11, 2019 1:56 pm 
Last summer, my son, who is stationed at Ramstein AFB in Germany, invited me to spend a week hiking in Switzerland. We drove to the Jura region, along the French border to an ancient little town called Avenches, where we stayed for the first three days. Just experiencing Avenches was a mind blowing experience for me. This location was first settled by the Romans around 15-13 BC. In addition to Avenches Castle there are ruins of an amphitheater and outdoor theater, and parts of a wall still standing.
The surrounding countryside was exceptionally lovely.
The l’ Areuse River Gorge trail begins at the small town of Noiraigue, about an hour drive from Avenches. It folllows a railway line down through the deep gorge for almost 12 km to a train station at Boudry, not far from Neuchâtel, where we caught the train back to our car at Noiraigue.
Noiraigue, Switzerland   5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland 5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland   5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland 5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland   5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland 5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland   5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland 5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland   5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland 5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland   5/31/18
Noiraigue, Switzerland 5/31/18
This was an entrancing centuries-old trail that followed along the river as it wound its way through the gorge, and that day we saw no one for several hours. Ancient stone bridges crossed the l’Areuse several times, providing views into the gorge.
Along the way, we saw many wildflowers, some of which I had never seen before.
The trail passed by several charming chalets.
And a brightly colored substation.
It was a warm summer day, and we were delighted to discover an elegant French restaurant, and a majestic old hotel and historic train station, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, about two thirds of the way through the gorge, where we stopped for refreshments.
Neither of us spoke French, but we spotted creme brûlée on the menu which was the best I have ever had!
Refreshed and full, we continued our journey down the magical trail, amazed at the Swiss engineering from centuries ago.
At the end of the day, we reached the Boudry train station, where we caught a high speed train back to our car. We arrived at our hostel in Avenches, just in time for a delicious dinner at our hostel, a perfect end to a lovely day!

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
whitebark
Member
Member


Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Posts: 1864 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
whitebark
Member
PostFri Jan 11, 2019 6:58 pm 
Beautiful! Makes me want to go to Switzerland again and do some hiking.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
awilsondc
Member
Member


Joined: 03 Apr 2016
Posts: 1323 | TRs | Pics
awilsondc
Member
PostFri Jan 11, 2019 9:33 pm 
Looks awesome! I wish I could travel more... gonna have to start making that happen. So much to see in this beautiful world! Thanks for sharing! up.gif up.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Nancyann
Member
Member


Joined: 28 Jul 2013
Posts: 2314 | TRs | Pics
Location: Sultan Basin
Nancyann
Member
PostFri Jan 11, 2019 10:09 pm 
Thanks Aaron and whitebark. This was my first visit to Switzerland and it was even more beautiful than I had imagined. When I have time, I’m going to post two more hikes we did that week. Already making plans to go back next summer. wub.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
RichP
Member
Member


Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 5628 | TRs | Pics
Location: here
RichP
Member
PostMon Feb 11, 2019 6:47 am 
So lovely and quaint. smile.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Trip Reports > The L’Areuse River Gorge, Exploring the Jura Mountains of Switzerland 5/31/18
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum