Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick
Enjoy a quiet moment with me in Gimmelwald, a little traffic-free village in Switzerland surrounded by alpine splendor. It was the evening magic hour, and I was just poking around the village, in perfect peace. The sun sets early when the sky is squeezed between mountains.
BTW, it was a handful of discoveries like Gimmelwald back in the late 1970s that I called my “Back Doors.” And these gems were the special destinations upon which I established my business, which back then was called “Europe Through the Back Door.” I’ve noticed that I’m kind of sentimental when I visit now — and when they still tickle my wanderlust, it makes me unspeakably happy.
I just had to share this little moment with you from Gimmelwald — a cliff-hanging village high in the Swiss Alps. I’ve been visiting since I was a kid, and its appeal is timeless. Join me from the deck of my B&B as the sun peeks out from behind the peaks.
Join me in Gryon, a tiny village in the French-speaking part of the Swiss Alps that is — just as my Rick Steves Switzerland guidebook says — perpetually shrouded in mist (and a fine example of the Swiss charms that await the driver who ventures off the main highways).
I’m home now from my spring trip to Europe — a busy month and a half of travel across Italy, Switzerland, and Ireland. It’s been fun to stow you along with me — and I hope you can stick around, because I’ve still got a few more little videos to share with you.
I was just in Zermatt, high in the Swiss Alps. I’ve been here twice now, and I have yet to see the fabled Matterhorn. I spent a day in my hotel room writing — and constantly wondering if she’d peek through the clouds…
Hello from the Swiss Alps! I’m in the shadow of the mighty Matterhorn, in the little town of Zermatt. Zermatt is extremely touristy, but once upon a time, it was a humble village of farmers. Walking down into town from the high lift stations, you pass through hamlets with 300-year-old buildings of stone and larch — and it’s easy to imagine a simpler time.
An advantage of being here before the summer peak season hits is that there are no crowds. While high-country hikes are snowed in, lots of low-elevation hikes through little farm hamlets (which are filled with Airbnb guests in the summer) are empty and evoke the old days. Join me as I imagine Zermatt once upon a time, long, long ago…with more cows than tourists.