You blink your eyes. Looks again and really realizes now: this water looks as blue as the water in the sea near a tropical island. And yet you are in Europe. Switzerland, and to be precise in Flims. A winter sports resort in the German-speaking part of Switzerland where people speak Romansh in addition to Swiss German. A local language spoken by 1% of the more than 8.5 million inhabitants of this beautiful country in central Europe.
Getting to Flims by car
Because of a wedding, I was in Flims which is about a 1.5-hour drive from Zurich. It is my first introduction to Switzerland because even though I love mountains, I have never been here before. And what better excuse than a wedding where my friend is the photographer? A Working Holiday so to speak. Our journey started early, when the sun rose we were already down the street ready to be picked up by the groom. Destination: Flims, Switzerland. With some 1200 km still on the counter, we set off positively at 7 am.
More sustainable and economical travel
We preferred not to take the plane because of sustainability reasons and also because this way we could take food and drinks more easily and inexpensively, mean you don’t want to spend your just earned pennies directly on – because yes, Switzerland is expensive – a small beer of 6 CHF (converted 5 euros). Packed and packed (even the groom had brought some food and drink from Spain for the wedding), we were in the car. Vamos!
After about 14.5 hours and an exciting duane moment (no, we have nothing to declare), we finally arrived in Flims. Kapotmoe we dove straight into bed. Although we had to look for a while, because the bed turned out to be in the closet!
Highlights of Flims
Of course, as a winter sports enthusiast, you prefer to go to the mountains in the winter, but I as a non winter sports enthusiast prefer to go in the summer. After all, Flims is not just for winter sports. During the summer you can enjoy fantastic hiking trails. We ourselves did not have that much time but in the flash visit I visited the following places and I can tell you, these are not to be missed when you are (briefly) in Flims!
Caumasee or ‘Lake Siesta’
This beautiful lake is about a 20-minute walk from the center of Flims. Because it is a bit lower than Flims, you can take a little elevator down and back up again. Or, like us, do you just go on foot. It is small piece and there were even whole strollers being pushed up on the way back. They just do, those Swiss :).
You do pay an entrance fee if you want to use the facilities. At the time of writing, that is 18 CHF. There are facilities such as restaurants, restrooms and supplanken rental.
We were just going to walk around the lake and you can do that just fine without paying! There are also relaxing spots across the street to roll out your towel. The only thing is that you don’t have much sun, which shines across the street. There is a composting toilet (which was very clean including toilet paper!) so you don’t have to leave it for the toilet either.
Il Spir
Standing at the most beautiful vantage point for the “Swiss Grand Canyon”? You can do that at 400 meters altitude at “Il Spir” also called Romansh for swift you can look around 180 degrees. The route to the viewpoint is easy and is doable for any skill level. I even saw people with strollers. If you want to take a rest after this that is fine at the restaurant “Conn” which is nearby. There is also a public restroom that is clean.
Crestasee
After Il Spir, it is a fine walk to Crestasee where you can relax by the lake. As with Caumasee, here you have to pay about 7 CHF as a “foreigner” to enter. Although it is a lot cheaper than at Caumasee. From Flims center, it is about a 30- to 40-minute walk. If you come from Il Spir then the walk is mainly downhill and you have to go back up in the direction of Flims. And from Flims, it’s first down and then back up. You can also rent stand-up paddle or kayaks here just like at Caumasee.
Hiking
There are so many opportunities to do real hikes. We were there too short and for a different reason (wedding) that we didn’t have time to do a day hike. We did hear that the hike to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage (Tektonikarena Sardona) is highly recommended! From Flims take the ski elevator (29 CHF) to Naraus and from there there are several trails you can take.
Vegan food in Flims
We did not eat out during our stay, except during the wedding at Legna Bar where they have a vegan burger. There is a nice view at Legna Bar and do regular live performances. The staff is super friendly.
Naturally, I looked around further. And there are some options, but at La Clav and La Belle Epoque you can go for vegan options. I do recommend renting an apartment with a kitchen (also because of the high cost in Switzerland), this way you are flexible and you can cook for yourself! Our apartment with a bed in the closet had fine cooking facilities.
The wedding
And then the reason we went to Switzerland in the first place: the wedding! What an amazing day with so many beautiful views and especially a lot of love and companionship. We did it again in Spain a few weeks later. What a party! When Humberto finishes all the photos (and with the bride and groom’s permission) I will share them here as well. For now, you’ll have to make do with my “snapshots.
More on Switzerland:
Caumasee the ‘tropical lake’ in Switzerland
Small shoutout to all wedding photographers. What a lot of work and long days you do! But what a fantastic job this photographer did. (Still waiting for the results, but I got to peek in advance!). If you are looking for a wedding photographer or (business) portrait photographer, be sure to check out Humberto Segura Photo
An example where the person in the photo gives permission to put on this blog 😉