Summer impressions from Vals, Switzerland

Hello again!

I know, I know, it's been weeks since I promised a few visuals from my July 07 trip to Vals. Sorry, folks!
But here are some pictures at last.

Actually, I seem to have taken more photos during our walk along the Zervreila reservoir and up the Lenta valley to Lampertschalp, and on my train ride back down from Ilanz to Chur, through the Reichenau gorge or canyon, a spectacular, unique calcareous rock formation slowly being eaten away by the Rhine -- must be one of the most spectacular train rides anywhere.

But see for yourself!
(Most of the following photos were snapped from the train -- there is no road through this gorge; some people venture down the river in canoes - must be fantastic on a good day, and hairy on a bad one.)

But now for some Vals images (remember, these were taken end July 2007 -- and I was extremely lucky weather-wise):
The steep alpine meadows above the valley floor, on the flank opposite the house where my friend J. lives. There's a cloud bobbing above the Frunthorn.

The various hues of green and silvery-grey are grass at different stages of growth, or hay in the making. The next day, teams of five, six, seven mountain farmers raked the hay downhill -- hard, back-breaking and dangerous work. But the best hay for fragrant milk à la Heidi (Johanna Spyri's Heidi, I mean).
Considering what a huge river the Rhine grows into as it flows northwards, I was fascinated to see the beauty of one of its tributaries way up near the source. This is what runs off from a spectacular little waterfall on your right as you leave the little town of Vals - a very rewarding one and a half-hour walk round trip.

Next day, my friend J. and I rode by car to Zervreila and walked along the reservoir to Lampertschalp:
Like many lakes high up in the Alps, the Zervreila reservoir waters are a milky turquoise -- floating silt. Note the glacier-polished gneiss across the water.
Most walking and hiking trails in Switzerland are signposted with these kinds of signs that give even the mapless wanderer a rough idea of how long the next stage will be:Red-and-white signs mean that you'd better not try this with your baby in a buggy...
The kind and generous keepers of the Lampertschalp mountain farm and refreshments are dab hands at keeping flowers, too:Beyond the blooms, the steep valley leading up to the Läntahütte and Morteratsch/Motterascio, too great a distance for our untrained legs.
So we made our way back downhill again, and I couldn't help wondering where this rickety hanging bridge leads:On the other side, it was just a few steps into a small tunnel. Military? Minerals? Possibly both. The stream below is the Lenta, one of the bigger streams feeding the reservoir below, and one major source of the Rhine.
A look back: the reservoir in the afternoon light, the sky is clouding in. The peak is called the "Matterhorn" of the Grisons, the Zervreilahorn, actually.

On the day of my departure, J. drove me down to Ilanz, where we took a tour of the historic centre:
Part of the old town fortification, now the corner of a restaurant.
One of Ilanz' city gates (I almost got run over by a car...).
The ancient keep, converted into the belfry for the door church next door. Which is well worth a visit in itself.
The old cemetery was converted into a labyrinth. Here's J. having a go...
...it's quite big, and reminded me of the new labyrinth by the Glasgow glass house -- forgive me, I've temporarily forgotten the name of that great structure, which in turn reminded me of the glass houses at Kew Gardens, or the Geneva botanical gardens. But I digress.
Walking unhurriedly into the centre of the labyrinth at Ilanz and back to the starting-point takes over ten minutes -- a lovely way of meditating...
Some of the old buildings in Ilanz have quirky sgraffito images. This doesn't really do them justice but will serve to give you an idea.
As will, I hope, the next photo, of an ancient, nail-studded oak door:Fabulous lock, too. What a work of art!
Traditional flowers on a traditional Valser valley house (at Siat, Surselva, if I'm not completely mistaken).

Cheers!