Kapelle

Slate roof on the bellfry of a chapel above Brigels : Brigels, CH

One of the lovely features of Alpine villages are the chapels and churches that dot the mountainsides and valleys. To see a few more pictures, visit my Picasa Web Albums.

Another alpine church... : Brigels, CH

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

Village of Brigels and Surroundings

Nature's dryer and cool wood-shingle siding : Brigels, Ch

Just a few pictures from around the Village of Brigels and surrounding locales. To see more pictures, go to my Picasa Web Albums.

Life and death : Church Cemetery : Brigels, CH

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

A Menagerie

Krissy and Willy : Brigels, CH

In addition to the hotel and restaurant, Krissy and her husband, are the proud parents of four miniature horse, one onerous donkey, a dog, and a cat. This is Krissy, giving Willy the Donkey his daily hug. Willy will also take you for a walk in the village, if you want. To see a few more pictures, visit my Picasa Web Albums.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

Hotel Kistenpass and Restaurant

Hotel Kistenpass and Restaurant : Brigels, CH

As mentioned earlier, my friend Krissy T. and her husband, Lorenz D. own and operate a hotel and restaurant at the entrance of the village of Brigels in the Surselva Valley in Canton Graubünden. The Hotel Kistenpass is rated as a three-star hotel by the Swiss Hotel Association. To see a few shots of the food to be had at this lovely hotel and restaurant, visit my Picasa Web Albums. A note about that: Krissy was kind enough to set up a table in the kitchen where we could observe preparations and interact with the cook, Rocco. It was a lot of fun!

Rocco flambes shrimp in Kirsch for a tasty Graubünden tapas : Brigels, CH

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

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

Sacred Strains

Post-Service : Brigels, CH

From inside the Catholic church in the village of Brigels, CH.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

100 Friends: Brigels Edition

Krissy T., friend from California and owner of a hotel and restaurant in Brigels, CH

Getting back to Brigels, Switzerland, here are pictures of four friends who shared Easter with us. The first is my friend from California, Krissy T. She and her husband, Lorenz D., own and opertate the Hotel Kistenpass in Brigels. The Swiss Hotel Association-three-star hotel also features a restaurant, where we dined on some really good food, followed by relaxing evenings playing card games and catching up with Krissy.

Long-time friend, Diana, soaking in the sun on the terrace of the Hotel Kistenpass : Brigels, CH

Diana's husband and good friend, Scott, enjoying the sun with their dogs, Gibby and Dee Dee : Brigels, CH

The other pictures feature long-time friends, Diana and Scott, who live in Basel, Switzerland. They came up for part of the weekend and brought their friend, Carmen, with them. Di and Scott always travel with their dogs, Gibby and Dee Dee. They eventually made friends with Krissy's chihauhua, Isabella. Meanwhile, Carmen was a knitting fiend and, in the course of the weekend, knit two snow caps and a scarf.

Carmen travels everywhere with her knitting and knits one, purls two as we soak up the sun : Brigels, CH

This is also my 100th post on the F-Stops Here.... Combined with my original City Daily Photo blog, D.C. Confidential, this is my 903rd photo blogging post.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

100 Strangers: Umberto and Giselle

The well-heeled Umberto and his human, Giselle : Brigels, CH

On our walk through town, we met this very handsome, standard black-and-tan dachshund, Umberto, and his human, Giselle. This had to be one of the finest standard dachshunds I've ever seen. He was quite handsome, well-heeled, and calm. His behavior seemed to indicate show quality, but I forgot to ask Giselle this. Umberto and Giselle are this week's 100 Strangers.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

Sunday Chat

 Sunny, Sunday Chat : Brigels, CH

I spotted these two folks sitting outside a restaurant, chatting. Despite the stiff wind, they looked comfortable and warm in the lee of the building with the sun warming the wall behind them. I'm sure it was a lovely conversation!

Side-by-side comparison: Which do you prefer? (Click images to enlarge.)

Now here's the challenge: I can't decide which photo I like better. The one I chose to post above or a shot I took a few seconds later with more people in the picture. What do you think?

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

Window Dressing

Easter Tree in a window : Brigels, CH

I know I posted one of these yesterday, but there were several more to be seen around the village of Brigels and I rather liked them, so here are a couple more pictures.

Easter Tree and hay bunny : Brigels, CH

Happy Easter Monday!

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10

Ostern in der Schweiz

An offering from the Easter Bunny to the Blessed Virgin and Son? : Brigels, CH

This weekend included a trip to Canton Graubunden, where we briefly visited a church in the alpine village of Brigels. One of the altars in the church featured an Easter egg offering. Click on the image to see the construction paper Easter Bunny on the baroque altar. I suppose that's one way to tie the secular in with the sacred?

Easter Tree : Bossy, CH

Whilst traipsing around the part of Switzerland that lies across the street from France, we ran across this Easter tree. It was a bunch of forsythia branches decorated with eggs and bunnies and the like. We also saw a few of these in Graubunden. I'll post photos of them a little later this week.

Happy Easter, all!

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 4/10