Around the Edge - 2015
Preamble
When considering this year's holiday I thought it might be interesting to drive all the way round the Swiss border. Compared with most European countries Switzerland is not very big and the country is fairly round, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
That's what I thought before spreading the map out, but I soon realised that it would not be an easy task at all, and would most certainly require more than simply a few days holiday.
The length of Switzerland's border varies between 1852 and 1899 Kilometres depending upon which Internet source is consulted. However, for this project the exact border measurement would not really be relevant. Having no border hugging 'coast' road circling the country, and being quite mountainous in parts, much of the border runs through inaccessible regions with no negotiable road for miles. With this is mind I soon realised that 'short cuts' would be unavoidable and many compromises would have to be made.
The project has more to do with travel than with photography, but of course the camera will be close at hand. I expect to shoot several photographs so to keep things simple have decided to keep post processing to a minimum... we'll see how it goes.
Much time was spent planning the journey - at least half an hour. Thought was also given to whether the route should be tackled geographically, covering the German, French, Italian, Austrian and Liechtenstein borders separately, or whether to simply chop the route up into manageable stages?
In the end we (wife and I) chose the 'drive until we've had enough' approach. Thus my ramblings and images will be presented on a stage by stage basis, starting with stage 1 (quite original I thought).
I use the term 'stage' and not 'day' because day tends to imply a chronological approach. The stages, however, will not necessarily be in chronological order, so don't be surprised to see an occasional leafless tree in an otherwise summery landscape.
Being a holiday project, the prime purpose is not to write a comprehensive documentary of places or events but simply to make a few sketchy notes of my travels. The main emphasis is on enjoying the ride.