It’s been a little over a year since I became part of the Wandermagazin & Friends community, so I was honored to be able to contribute our tours to online guides under the banner of the Wandermagazin Schweiz hiking magazine.
To understand me right, this blog probably wouldn’t be what it is if it weren’t for the Wandermagazin SCHWEIZ website (now called Tourenplaner), where I often look for inspiration for our hiking trips. And by getting access to the contributor section, I actually made a rod for my own back, because finding a hiking route that isn’t on the website is quite a chore. Switzerland is so well covered. However, I succeeded and I have several of our trips on the web. For example:
Kambly Entdeckerpfad in Trubschachen
From Hasle-Rüegsau to Sumiswald
Farmer nature trail in the Emmental
I don’t get paid for this “job” of the occasional contributor, I just get a nice gift from time to time to make our hikes more pleasant. It was no different with the hot news from Rothus Medien for the start of a new hiking season – three hiking guides to Switzerland.
And since I fell in love with the guides, at first sight, I decided to write a review on the blog for those of you who would be hesitant to buy them. But I will not review each book separately, but all together.
3 hiking guides to Switzerland
Die 101 schönsten Wanderungen der Schweiz (101 most beautiful hiking tours in Switzerland) – Switzerland is a hikers paradise, no doubt about i. As the name suggests, this book presents 101 hiking trails that spread throughout the country. Challenges range from easy city walks to challenging mountain hikes.
Die 44 schönsten Kinderwagen-Wanderungen (44 most beautiful tours for prams) – because you don’t have to limit yourself in hiking, even if the pram becomes a standard part of your hiking equipment. This book will introduce you to routes that are easy to manage.
Die 55 schönsten Wanderungen im Tessin (55 most beautiful tours in Ticino) – no other part of Switzerland will fulfill your desire for the south, warmth, Italian cuisine, Swiss order, and subtropical climate like the colorful landscape of the southern Swiss Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.
Content
At the beginning of each guide, you will find a map, which is divided into regions with numbered trips, which is followed by content. Before the description of individual hikes, you will find an explanation of the seven symbols/pictograms used in the guide for better orientation (whether it is a family-friendly place, whether it is necessary to use the cable car, whether it is a hike to the peaks or to places from which a panoramic view is possible to the surrounding landscape, etc.).
The list of trips begins in central Switzerland and then continues as if clockwise: Eastern Switzerland/Zurich, Graubünden, Ticino, Valais, and so on.
In the description of individual trips, you will find what you are used to from the web – in a simple and clear graphic, a map of the route, the number of kilometers, time and technical complexity, a map of ascent and descent, etc. Then, of course, the start and destination of the route, landmarks, recommended equipment, and a description of what awaits you on the route. There is also a tip for each trip, whether for a historical or natural attraction, a restaurant or a hotel.
Why printed guides at the time of mobile applications?
Yes, that was my husband’s first objection. Fair enough, we ourselves use a mobile application (of course the one from Wandermagazin SCHWEIZ) on our hiking trips. And before the hiking trip, I look most of the necessary information up on the Internet. But! Book guides are intended for a special group of readers.
Because there are those among us who:
- love the smell of new books,
- like to leaf through books,
- and even read them,
- collect printed guides,
- know that not everywhere is a good signal, so sometimes a mobile application is not helpful.
Since I also have an older edition of the Ticino guide, I was able to compare a bit. Here I can’t refrain from a small complaint that in the previous guide, the whole tip for the trip fit neatly into one double-page, which is quite practical.
I also think that hardcover would be better for guides. This is my concern that more frequent use will cause the pages to fall out of the book.
However, I have already selected a few hikes in the guides that I would like to take, and I believe that each of you will find your new favorite hike here! So hurry up to order. Titles can be found at www.wandershop-schweiz.ch
Have a nice hiking season!
Your Hanka
