A Walk in the Woods

Sunday is "rest" day in Switzerland.  Anything that produces uncomfortable level of noise is banned, hence no washing clothes, mowing the lawn...you get the picture.  Additionally, most businesses are closed (including grocery stores - except for some neighborhood Migrolinos or Coop).  For some this may feel odd, but I love it!    Sunday is "reset" day for our family.

We took advantage of "reset" day this Sunday and set out on a discovery hike.  We had no idea where we were heading...we just went in THAT direction.  The hike is nothing like anything described by Bill Bryson in The Appalachians Trails, but certainly an adventure of discovery.  Our walk lasted two hours, and we were deep in the woods yet less than a mile from civilization - that's Switzerland for you.  Oh boy, was it a fun hike for our family!

We were absolutely thrilled to discover Allschwill Forest is located right near our house.  An added bonus is the Zurich Vita Parcours that winds throughout the woods.  The Zurich Vita Parcours is a series of exercise courses scattered throughout a forest to encourage exercise and healthy lifestyle.   On this particular trail, you can find apparatuses to train in balance, endurance, agility, and strength.  There are 498 of these Vitaparcours (total 1,119 kilometers) all over Switzerland.   A typical course is 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) long and has a slope of 59 meters (193 feet).  The Binningen course where we hiked is 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) long and has a slope of 50 meters (164 feet).

It was SO much fun to walk this trail with our kids.  We are looking forward to doing it again soon.  Here are some photos from our hike.

For more information:

www.allschwiler-wald.ch/

www.zurichvitaparcours.ch/

GPS coordinates (courtesy of Waymarking):  N 47° 32.453 E 007° 33.095