High Altitude Cappuccino

🗺️ Overview Starting Point:  Les Clées (580m) End Point:  Saut du Day Waterfall (650m) Alternative Ending:  Le Day (800m) Distance:  ~5 km (one way) Estimated Time:  ~1 hour to the waterfall (longer with kids) Difficulty:  Easy to moderate (some steep edges, narrow paths) Family-Friendly?:  Yes, with supervision in some sections Notable Features:  Scenic river views,  a mysterious  tunnel and a waterfall with a beach area Download GPS file The Start: Les Clées to the Trailhead This hike is a  classic  for families, offering beautiful scenery and a  cool waterfall  at the end. Plus, for me, it’s only 15 minutes from home—so I visit often! The  Gorges de l'Orbe  trail runs from Orbe to Vallorbe, but the best section lies between  Les Clées and Le Saut du Day . I recommend starting in  Les Clées , where you’ll also find a  castle with a bar —a great spot to relax post-hike. The trailhead is loca...

🗺️ Overview Location : Lake Bohinj, northwestern Slovenia Start point : Koča pri Savici restaurant (approx. 650m) End point : Base of Savica Waterfall ( Slap Savica ) Distance : ~1 km one way Elevation gain : ~130m Time : ~1 hour round trip Difficulty : Easy Download GPS file To be honest, I don’t remember many details about this hike—except that it was really nice. But I wanted to include at least one from Slovenia, and this one definitely deserves a spot. The Hike The hike starts at the far end of  Lake Bohinj , a serene and crystal-clear alpine lake in northwestern Slovenia. While the area can get busy in summer, it’s still far quieter than the famous Lake Bled just a few kilometers away—and arguably even more beautiful. Drive past the small village of  Ukanc  and follow a narrow road to  Koča pri Savici , a restaurant and popular trailhead at around 650 meters above sea level. There's a large parking area here, making it a convenient place to start your adventur...

🗺️ Overview Start point : Pompaples (Parking near bus stop "Colline") Destination : Cascade du Dard Distance : ~3.5 km one way Elevation gain : ~100 m Time : ~1 hour (one way) Difficulty : Easy Optional extensions : Hike to La Croix, Romainmôtier Abbey, or take alternate scenic return routes Download GPS file This one wins the prize for best quality-to-distance ratio from where I live—less than five minutes by car! I actually live just 30 meters from the Via Francigena, one of Europe’s longest trails, stretching from Canterbury in England to Rome. However, around my area, the trail mainly follows countryside roads—great for jogging but not particularly exciting for hiking. The hike I’m sharing here is a real treat:  easy, scenic, and surprisingly peaceful . It's the trail from  Pompaples to the Cascade du Dard . You can start by parking in Pompaples, near the bus stop “Colline.” Walk a bit further along the road, cross a bridge, pass a few houses, and you’ll reach a wide...

I must have done a few hikes in Austria when I was younger with my dad, but honestly, I don't remember much. In recent years, we’ve traveled through Austria many times, but always just passing by on the way to somewhere else — never really stopping to hike. Doing more hiking in Austria is definitely high on my bucket list. Still, this blog wouldn’t be complete without at least one hike from each of the Alpine countries, and Austria can’t be missed. Luckily, we have friends living in Neustift, in the Stubaital valley near Innsbruck, and when we visit, we always manage to do a few little hikes. In this post, I’ll share a brief description of three of them. Mieders Download GPS file At the top of the Serlesbahn cable car in Mieders (1600m), there’s a well-kept hiking and amusement park. You can walk through the forest, and along the way, you’ll find playgrounds for kids, including a giant snake toboggan and a lake. After playing a bit, we continued hiking through the forest until we r...

🗺️ Overview Starting point : Champéry gondola parking (1,050m) Summit : Exit in the forest above the via ferrata (~1,350m) Altitude gain : ~400m Duration : ~3 hours round trip Difficulty : Medium Technical difficulty : Mid-High K3 (with a short K4 section) The  via ferrata de la Tière  is a  challenging but accessible  route for anyone who isn’t too afraid of heights. What makes it truly special is that it runs  alongside a roaring waterfall , offering an exhilarating mix of climbing and breathtaking scenery. Getting to the Start We began at the  Champéry gondola parking  and walked back toward the valley. After a few minutes, we turned  downhill at Chemin des Grands Champs , where the road goes downhill and transitions from asphalt to gravel. A couple of hundred meters later, we reached the  information panels  marking the start of the trail. From there, the approach trail climbs  steadily through the forest  for about  ...