Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Alps

Nebelhorn is a 2.224 meters high mountain, which belongs to the Allgäu Alps. It can easily reached from the town of Oberstdorf with the highest cable car in the Allgáu. Main image: the legendary view from the Nebelhorn towards ‘400 mountain peaks’ (Zugspitze, Lechtaler Alps and Swiss mountains).

The huge village meadow - Öschwiesen - of Oberstdorf is dotted with old barns. Being as flat as a pancake it is an ideal place for walking, biking and in winter for cross country skiing. Winter 2024 Oberstdorf: No snow, no cross-country skiing, just walkers enjoying the sun and/or the magnificent views of the surrounding Allgäu mountains (snow picture see PiP3). Farmers had already spread manure on the pastures.

In the past Kleinwalsertal had twelve covered bridges, but nowadays there are just three left of these monuments of carpentry. The Höfler bridge - near Mittelberg - is one of them and with a length of 33 meters the longest. The main reason for the roof of the bridges was certainly to protect the stringers from the weather. Originally the Höfler bridge is dating back to 1891, but fell victim to a devastating avalanche in 1907. The bridge was erected for a second time in spring of that year. In the valley of the river Breitach (PiP3) there were in the 1950’s eleven covered bridges. Wooden bridges with their shingle roofs were often torn away by avalanche or flood disasters. So also the Höflerbrücke, which was washed away by the Breitach in August 2005. Unlike others - replaced by more modern structures - it was replaced by a new wooden covered bridge.

Wildhaus is a rural village, whose houses are scattered in a broad valley between the Churfirsten (main image) and the Alpstein mountains (PiP). The village is located on the Wildhaus Pass between the Rhine valley and Unterwasser in Toggenburg. With an altitude of 1.090 metres it is the uppermost village in canton St. Gallen. The precipitous rock formations of the seven Churfirsten contrast sharply with the gentle landscape on the valley floor and are the natural boundary between Toggenburg and Sarganserland. The limestone ridge is running from east to west with seven peaks formed by erosion. To the south it has a much more vertical drop of hundred metres towards Lake Walen. The seven peaks of the Churfirsten are (from left to right): Chäserrugg, Hinterrugg, Schibenstoll, Zuestoll, Brisi, Frümsel and Selun. With a height of 2.306 metres is the Hinterrugg the highest one. The name is a plural, indicating the peaks forming the historical boundary of the bishopric of Chur. It has historically also been folk-etymologized as Kurfürsten , i.e. the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire who in the later medieval period (until 1648) numbered seven, which in turn encouraged the count of seven main or "official" peaks.

The majestic Matterhorn - king of mountains with a height of 4.478 metres - is the most famous landmark of Switzerland. Most probably this triangular pyramid shaped rock is the most photographed mountain in the world. Its shape and free-standing position make the Matterhorn to be the epitome of a mountain. There is no better-known mountain in the world whose natural shape is so close to a pyramid. Hundred million years ago enormous forces brought Africa closer to Europe. Fifty million years later, as the rock masses folded and deformed, the Matterhorn was born from the rock thrusting upwards. Matterhorn is first mentioned in medieval documents as Mons Silvus , which finally became Mont Cervin in French and Cervino in Italian. The German name Matterhorn first appears in the year 1682. The name is probably derived from Matte , meaning alpine meadow, referring to the grassy valley, which has now been almost completely covered by the village of Zermatt.

Muottas Muragl - on an altitude of 2.454 meters - is located high above the wide valley of the River Inn and the valley that leads to the Bernina Pass. It is without any doubt the most beautiful vantage point above the lakes, the villages of Upper Engadine and the surrounding mountains. Between 1905 and 1907, the first funicular railway in Engadine was built here. Although modernised on many occasions, it has essentially remained the same to this day. The funicular railway takes over the 700-meter climb from Punt Muragl up to the Muottas Muragl in ten minutes. The upper section of the railway has sun collectors that cover the energy requirements of the mountain hotel/restaurant. The mountain station is starting point of many hikes/walks. Among them is the well known Panorama Trail to Alp Languard, where one can take a chairlift to descend to the valley (PiP 2). (The PiP was taken some minutes after the main picture.)

The main picture is showing the Lago Bianco (see also PiP) and the road across the Bernina Pass before reaching the highest point. I took this picture from the Diavolezza cable car. The Bernina Pass (2.328 m) is a mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps. It connects the famous resort town of St. Moritz in the Upper Engadin valley with the Italian-speaking Val Poschiavo, which ends in the Italian town. Old paths crossed the Bernina Alps for hundred of years from Grisons to Valtellina in Italy. Back in 1865 a modern road replaced the old paths, which has been widened a number of times and has been open 365 days a year since 1965. The Bernina Pass is also crossed by rail. The world famous Bernina Express has been travelling over the pass in summer since 1910 and since 1913 this popular tourist train is operating year-round between Chur and Tirano. It is the highest adhesion railway route in Europe. Energy source for the train line is the Lago Bianco, a hydro storage lake.

The Sántis is with a height of 2.502 metres the highest peak in the Alpstein massif in northeastern Switzerland. It is a natural landmark in the region between Lake Walen and Lake Constance. The mountain towers above one of the most beautiful landscapes of Europe and can be seen from miles away. . The name Säntis dates back to the 9th century. It is an abbreviation of the Romansh language for Sambatinus (The one born on Saturday), which was thought to be the name of a nearby area. The name was later used to refer to the summit. In the German language it was originally called Semptis or Sämptis. We were quite lucky with the weather during our visit. We took the aerial cable car at 9.30 am from Schwägalp, right at the foot of the Säntis At the peak we had a breathtaking clear 360-degree view, although it was freezing cold. It is said that one can see six Alpine countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy and France. To be honest I can not tell if I saw all these countries. When back - just more than an hour later - the peak was already surrounded by clouds !! Main picture: Swiss Alps with the Churfirsten in the ‘foreground’. PiP 1: panorama (three pictures stitched together) looking north (Germany and Lake Constance) and northeast (Austria). PiP 2 and 3: freezing and ‘hoarfrosting’ cold.

The legendary view from the Nebelhorn at a height of 2.224 m towards ‘400 mountain peaks’ with Zugspitze, Lechtaler Alps and Swiss mountains.

Lake Plansee - nearby Reutte - is the second-largest natural lake in Tyrol. The lake is fed by the Spiessbach and Torsäulenbach, as well as by Lake Heiterwang and its runoff is the Archbach river. Lake Plansee is characterised by outstanding water quality of grade A. The water is used for generating electricity. Lake Plansee is situated at an altitude of 976 m, has a surface of 280 ha and a maximum depth of 78 m.

View from the trail from Hörnerbahn mountain station to Berghaus Schwaben into the Valley of the River Iller nearby Oberstdorf.

View from terrace of the summit restaurant at the Walmendingerhorn (1950 m - PiP1) towards the Muttelberg ski area (PiP 2) and the Austrian and Swiss Alps. On the left hand side the glass panorama lift. (This breathtaking panorama is a stitch of four pictures.)

The Bielerhöhe Pass (also known as Silvretta Pass) has an elevation of 2.032 m. The pass lies just north of the Silvretta Lake (an artificial lake). The famous Silvretta High Alpine Road (a toll road) connects the valleys of Montafon in Vorarlberg with the Paznaun Valley in Tyrol (PiP 1). The part from Partenen to the pass has 34 bends (PiP 2). During winter (PiP 3) the pass is closed for normal traffic, but still can be reached from Partenen by a cableway and a ‘tunnelbus’. The Bielerhöhe is on the watershed between Rhine and Danube.

Lake Brienz: looking westward from the jetty in Brienz.

The huge village meadow of Oberstdorf is dotted with old barns. Being as flat as a pancake it is an ideal place for walking, biking and in winter for cross country skiing. The panorama - a stitch of three pictures - is showing the Allgäu Alps nearby Oberstdorf and in the background the ‘Lorettokapellen’ (PiP).

The Nebelhorn (2.224 m.) is the highest mountain of Allgäu. It is accessible by the Nebelhornbahn, a cable car from the Oberstdorf. The summit offers a breathtaking ‘400-peak panoramic view’ towards the Alpine massif and on the other hand over the valley of the river Iller. Pictures: Main picture: Iller valley PiP: 400-peak view