Greetings, travelers, how are you in this sunny Friday afternoon? I hope I find in good health and spirit!

I have to admit, my spirit is a bit down lately, with all those lockdowns around us. So I've been virtually traveling more by checking a lot my photo albums from my previous travels, most of them worry-free, completely unaware of what was about to happen. Then yesterday I came upon the photos from the lovely little village of Quinten, located on the Northern shores of the beautiful lake Walensee in Switzerland, I was certain I have to write and share my memories and some of the pictures I took that day.

What's unique about Quinten? Perhaps there are several things that are unique for this divine place but what impressed me the most is the fact there are no roads going there. Logically, I didn't see any car or truck in that small village. The only vehicles I saw there were the small special tractors for treating the vines growing on the very steep slopes and hills in the area.

So one could get there on foot, hiking in the mountain, the Swiss Alps, to be precise, or by boat.

It is indeed a very small village, at the time we visit it, it had less than 20 houses. Here how it looks from the water.

However, this is a photo I took when we left it in the late afternoon, so let me tell you how did we get there!

It was a lovely Sunday and the weather forecast was excellent for a mid-June weekend. As I was visiting dear friends of mine who live in Switzerland we decided to spend that promising day outdoors and take a long hike in the Alps. We parked and left the cars in Walenstadt in the morning and started hiking up. If you check the map, perhaps you'll tell that the distance between this two points isn't that big. However, there are lots of going up and down and those who hike know what this means. A lot of energy spent, lots of breaks along the walk.

A nice trick when hike with more people and you carry a big heavy backpack with photo equipment is to regularly use this as an excuse to have more breaks and take photos, LOL! :)

Walensee is a magnificent lake, with its beautiful surroundings and the shiny blue clear Karst waters. As we were going higher and higher, the views were becoming breathtaking:

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Those vivid colors were saturating my eyes ;)

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The delta of Seez river with the highway passing above it:

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We were still going up to one of the highest points on our route:

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After a short break, enjoying the crystal air and the stunning views, we started the descending part of our hike towards Quinten:

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Finally, we were there! As it was the afternoon already, we first went to the local lake port to see what are our option for getting back to the town where the cars were parked and with a bit of the risk involved we decided to take the latest boat back. If we'd missed it, we would have been forced to hike back in the mountain at night! The risk was totally worth it, though!

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Absolutely worth it as this way we had more time to ramble around and explore that beautiful and very silent area. (Do you remember there are no cars here as there's no point of having them around? :))

Of course, we tasted a glass of the local white wine (Federweiss) that was just like an ambrosia after the long and exhausting hike (especially considering my ten kilos photo backpack, LOL). Ah, let me mention here, that this hiking route isn't quite easy so you better be in a good shape if you decide to follow those steps ;)

The cozy restaurant had the logical name of Seehus and of course, great lake views :)

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After that short "recharge" we scattered around and spent our time discovering even more beauties:

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The fresh bright green leaves of the vines were filling my eyes:

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What a lovely combination of green and blue, isn't it? :)

Evidently, locals are occupied with these two major activities, tourism and wine making. I really hope they are good after the lockdowns!

Wait... Is this the local fire station? I guess, there aren't many fires around! ;)

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It was time to go, I should say sail back to where our journey started. So we hoped on the boat and enjoyed the late afternoon sun rays over us and the stunning lake views:

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I am so grateful to my friends for organizing this lovely Sunday journey and to the people of Quentin for the hospitality! It is a day I will never forget!

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Have a great day, stay safe, stay strong and let your muse be always on your shoulder!