Kistenpass and the Surselva Valley

Avalanche gates crisscross the Alps of Switzerland, protecting the villages below : Brigels, CH

Brigels, Switzerland, lies at the foothills of the Kistenpass in the Bernese Alps in the Surselva Valley. The Surselva Valley is where the headwaters of the Rhine River begin. The river starts its journey high in the Alps in Canton Graubünden with the Anterior Rhine (Vorderrhein) beginning in Tomasee and the Posterior Rhine (Hinterrhein) starting on the Paradies Glacier. The two converge at Reichenau, Switzerland, and make up the Alpenrhein, which flows through Switzerland, along Austria, into Lake Constance (Bodensee), and comprises the northern border of Switzerland with the southern border of Germany. Eventually, the river flows through eastern France, on through Germany, into the Netherlands, and then to the Atlantic Ocean.

The Surselva Valley is surrounded by alps and its canton, Graubünden, is the last place where the fourth official language of Switzerland, Romansch, is spoken. Here's a bit of trivia for you: Romansch is spoken by a little more than 35,000 people (all in Canton Graubünden) and is one of the most expensivee languages to translate, costing more per word than any other language in the world. To see more pictures of this beautiful valley and its surrounding alps, visit my Picasa Web Albums.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10