MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Switzerland quiz 3 – former enclave
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In my last post of my original quiz I suggested that people look up enclaves and exclaves on Wikipedia and promised a question about an exclave and then one about a pene-exclave. Here is the link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclave_and_exclave I am still working on the exclave question, but in the meantime here is the pene-exclave question:
Name the commune in Switzerland that until 1905 was a pene-exclave. Once you have the correct answer you can easily name the neighbouring country through which one had to drive in order to reach this commune.
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Hi Peterli,
Not too sure about the definition for pene-enclave. I’m guessing Büsingen, near Schaffhausen? But it belongs to Germany and surrounded entirely by Switzerland. I googled and found an interesting link here: http://www.newlyswissed.com/switzerlands-german-and-italian-enclaves/
Regards,
Anna
I’m thinking Samnaun in Graubunden, near Austria? Still need to visit it.
You are thinking correct !
It is interesting to read about all the tax-free shopping there and how it came into being. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samnaun and http://www.samnaun-engadin.ch/winter/zollfreies-shoppen-tanken/zollfrei-shoppen-in-samnaun.html
And yes, the answer to other part of the question is Austria. Until a road was built entirely in Switzerland to connect Samnaun to Martina, the only road access was via Austria. I’ve never been there myself, but I’m told that the better road to get there is the one running through Austria.
I guess I’ll have to stay in the Unterengadin for a few weeks to explore, and include this as a day trip 🙂
I recall that access via public transport still is via Austria only.
Nice, is there a price?
Oh bummer, Arno beat me to it…
Here is another interesting feature of Samnaun, from Wiki –
<<“Uniquely within Switzerland, the form of German spoken by the residents of Samnaun is a variant of the Bavarian language. Until the second half of the nineteenth century the population spoke the Low Engadinish dialect of Romansh.”>>
I recall that the use of a variant of Bavarian was a deliberate choice by the citizens of the Gemeinde.
Slowpoke
Hi Arno-
<<“I guess I’ll have to stay in the Unterengadin for a few weeks to explore,”>>
After a few trips to the area, staying in Ftan, we settled on Ardez and stayed there several times. Not as well known as Guarda, it is close enough to walk over to look around there.
With fairly easy access from Guarda Station and Ardez Station (via Giarsun, actually) , the very pretty small village of Sur En across the River Inn is worth a short look.
and
map.search.ch/?q=scuo&near=519632,149870&pos=809224,183188&z=512
(There are two different Sur En villages. The other is due east of Sent, right by the river. I’ve not been there).
And, a pleasant short walk, not really a hike, that offers wonderful views of the valley, as well as a place to eat ( of course) is from Motta Naluns, at the Bergstation of the cableway above Scuol, to Prui, the Bergstation of the cableway down to Ftan.
There a quite a few trails on the mountainsides above that one, including one with a border crossing that leads to Ischgl from Scuol. Also, some that lead westward to the valley of the Tasna, via Alp Laret. That valley leads down to Ardez or up to the border crossing at Pass Futschöl. It looks like it might have been an old trade route to Bludenz or the Vorarlberg. We hike partway up there once, but gave up and took the route back to Ftan, where we were staying.
A whole lot fewer tourists in that area than in the Engiadina Ota.
Slowpoke
On to Switzerland Quiz 4 ! It is a fill-in-the-blanks one.
Thanks Slowpoke, I’ll keep Ardez in mind then. The minimum requirements of a train station and a supermarket (Volg) are met 🙂 I did a walk at Motta Naluns in winter once and really enjoyed it. I also remember the walk from Vnà to Hof Zuort in summer: very nice and one of the reasons to keep the area in mind for a longer visit. The trails east of Scuol that you mentioned should be included then as well.
Hi Arno –
<<“The minimum requirements of a train station and a supermarket (Volg) are met :-)”>>
I’m amused to hear a Volg called a supermarket. 😉
My memory is playing tricks on me. We stayed in Guarda, not Ardez, at the Htel Piz Buin. It is on the edge of town, on the road to Bos Cha. And, I’m not familiar with the accommodation in Ardez. Oh well. And, the attached image should be titled as the road from Guarda to Bos-Cha. As you know, those towns are up on the hillside, Scuol of course being an exception. The train is down in the valley. I recall a shuttle bus from town (Ardez, Bröl) down to the station at Ardez, but the SBB timetable now shows a bus through Bos-Cha to Guarda, then down the hill to Guarda station, then a train to Ardez Station. There maybe a Ruf-Bus from Ardez to Ardez station. However that is much less of a hike ( about 40 meters elevation change) than the hike down from Guarda to Guarda station. That is a 200 meter elevation change. We did not walk up or down very often at Guarda.
One of the attached images shows the road to Bos-Cha from Ardez ( correction…Guarda). You don’t get clear air like that very often in the Netherlands..
In Ardez ( correction Guarda) , we always stayed at Hotel Piz Buin. Small, friendly, comfortable. It changed hands a few years ago, and I’ve not been back since. A couple of years ago when I returned to the Engiadina Bassa after a long absence, I stayed at the Hotel Engiadina in Ftan. The rooms and bathrooms have been upgraded since our previous stay there many many years ago. I’d consider that as a viable option. They have a partial restaurant cooperation with the the aptly named Hotel Bellavista, where I walked for breakfasts. There is a Volg, (at Ftan Pitschen) and regular bus service down to Scuol, about 380 meters below.
For an American, a tour of Schloss Tarasp is quite interesting; however, we don’t have quite so many castles over here compared to what one finds in Europe, and you might be less interested than we were. There was some kind of connection with British royalty…..
I recall that some of the moderators like to recommend thermal baths. The one in Scuol is modern and spectacular.
Slowpoke
Hello Peterli,
You’re right in stating that the road through Austria is better. In the summer season a Postal car service is running from Scuol via Marina/Martinsbrücke (border with Austria) to Samnaun directly. I have made the trip several times while staying in Scuol. The trip by bus is quite an experience and not to be advised for those suffering from vertigo… The surroundings are impressive: it really is rough terrain. The Postal cars are smaller and the chauffeurs have had a special training! I’m not very much interested in the bling bling aspect of Samnaun, but the walk into the blind valley (“Kesseltal”) is nice and the Rösti at the restaurant Schmugglers Alm is excellent. One of the many trails around Samnaun is the Flower trail (http://www.outdooractive.com/de/route/wanderung/graubuenden/samnaun-pflanzenweg/106345163/, in German, but the Google translation is acceptable!), quite steep at parts, but I spotted many Edelweiss.
Stay safe and in good health – Happy Easter!
Hello Pauly,
<< The Postal cars are smaller and the chauffeurs have had a special training! >> Isn’t that the truth ?! I still recall the day I went with a group of my students from Sion up to the Grande-Dixence on such a bus, and each time we went through a hairpin to the left the driver had to start his turn by hugging the right edge of the road and it looked like the right front of the bus was hanging over the edge of a precipice. The two girls in the front seat had their eyes wide open. Those drivers are amazing.
If I ever do get to Samnaun, I’ll look for that Rösti you mentioned. I’m a big fan of that, and also a good Birchermüesli.
Gelukkig Pasen
PS: Just thought that I’d mention to anybody reading this post that putting a ?! at the end of a sentence is quite okay. It is called a “point exclarrogatif” in French, and “interrobang” in English (also in German, it seems). I find the French term is more suggestive of what it is for. I tried to get it using alt code 8253 but all that gives me is an equals sign.
Hi Slowpoke,
I’m always amazed by the number of items those small Volg (super)markets offer. At a price of course. It’s a convenience store in a way I suppose.
Even though I have a castle at walking distance from my place, the Swiss castles are different and still very interesting. The one in Scuol should make it to my wish list too. The list is long though.
I just added a hint to Switzerland Quiz 4: http://www.myswissalps.com/forum/topic/switzerland-quiz-4-land-transfer-between-cantons
Is anybody going to give it a go ?
Hello Arno,
<< I’m always amazed by the number of items those small Volg (super)markets offer. At a price of course. It’s a convenience store in a way I suppose. >> What I like about the Volg stores is that they are often located in locations where Migros and Coop would not want to set up another of their huge stores, so their locations are often very convenient. The same can be said for Denner (owned by Migros) locations. Obviously, neither has the same variety of offerings, but that doesn’t always matter. Having mentioned Denner, I would say that they sometimes have stores as large as the German invaders, Lidl and Aldi. And, having said that, the Lidl and Aldi stores that face each other at the south end of Morat are big and new and their arrival has most likely encouraged Migros to upgrade and Coop to put up a huge complex at the north end.
<<“What I like about the Volg stores is that they are often located in
locations where Migros and Coop would not want to set up another of
their huge stores,”>>
Agreed.
Ftan Pitschen, for example.
Slowpoke
Yes, a good example. I was looking to see if I could find a smaller one than the one in Ftan, but with no success.
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