Switzerland - Matterhorn

It seems that I've been receiving many cards sent from somewhere else that the country of their origin last weeks. I don't mind it at all, it even enlarges the surprise factor, especially in the unoffical exchange, where I think I know what to expect :)

For example, this card was sent from Germany (I received it in the World Languages RR, written in Polish), but shows Matterhorn, which is probably the most famous mountain of Switzerland. I've been to Alps once and I spent most of time in France (more precisely, in Chamonix) and I also visited Italy (only the Aosta Valley - and it's been my only visit to Italy so far, but I can always say I've been to this country) and Switzerland. Of course, I haven't climbed Matterhorn (I doubt if I could climb any hight mountain) and I haven't even seen it, but the landscape shown on this card reminds me those several days that I spent in Alps :)


The Matterhorn (German), Cervino (Italian) or Cervin (French), is a mountain in the Pennine Alps. With its 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) high summit, lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps and its 1,200 metres (3,937 ft) north face is one of the Great north faces of the Alps. It is also one of the deadliest peaks in the Alps: from 1865 to 1995, in fact, over 500 alpinists have found their death on its faces. The mountain overlooks the town of Zermatt in the canton of Valais on the north and Cervinia in the Aosta Valley on the south. Although not the highest mountain in Switzerland, the Matterhorn is considered as an iconic emblem of the region of the Swiss Alps.

Switzerland

I received this wonderful card in the Slavic countries RR :) It seems to me that I've seen some of these places, but I'm not sure, so I won't try to name them :) I've been to Switzerland twice - once to Basel (actually, I was spending holidays in France with my dad, but we went to Basel for one day to improve my "visited countries stats") ;) I really liked it and I especially enjoyed swimming in the Rhine river (it's allowed, probably the river isn't very polluted there).

The 2nd time was also just for one day, but in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, near the border with France and Italy. I visited the city of Martigny then and I saw one of the tallest dams in Switzerland (it was the Mauvoisin dam, if I remember well). The view of artificial lake between high mountains and the 250 m high dam was breathtaking :)
So, I don't really know Switzerland well, but I've been there and I hope to visit some other Swiss cities and towns :)

Switzerland - library in Aarau (CH-19300)

This card shows the city library in Aarau (if I understand German well) :) I wish we had libraries like this one here, in Poland. It's bright, you can drink tea there (it's impossible in the old-fashioned libraries), which creates a very nice atmosphere to read something or look for information in books. That's a bit unusual card, but I like it :)

CH-19300

Switzerland - Abbey library of St. Gallen

I received this postcard through the UNESCO RR (which is closed now) :( It shows the Abbey library of St. Gallen. According to the sender, the library holds some 150 000 book from as early as the 8th century to the eraly and late medieval times. The building itself is one of the most beautiful construction works of the baroque era in Europe. The whole site "Convent of St. Gallen" consists of the baroque cathedral, the remains of the old roman church, the library and its archives :)

Switzerland - Gemmi Pass (CH-13726)

To be honest, my first thought when I received this postcard was "Well, whatever it is, it's very beautiful, but what's that?!". And of course, Wikipedia is very helpful in such cases :)

Gemmi Pass (el. 2314 m.) is a high mountain pass across the Bernese Alps connecting Leukerbad in the canton of Valais in Switzerland with Kandersteg in the canton of Bern.
The pass lies between the Daubenhorn (2942 m.) in the west and the Plattenhörnern (2855 m.) in the east.
The pass is the west end of the Aar Massif and the east end of the Wildstrubel Massif. Near the pass is the Daubensee, which has no outlet above ground.

CH-13726