Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

Aosta Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Aosta, in north-west Italy, built in the 4th century. In the 11th century the Palaeo-Christian structure was replaced by a new edifice dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The architecture of the cathedral was modified during the 15th and 16th century. The present façade, in neoclassical style, was built between 1846 and 1848. The remaining structure of the Romanesque period are two clock-towers and the crypt. To the same era belongs also the remaining part of a fresco cycle on the church ceiling (Ottonian art).

in Wikipédia

Ficha:
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Aosta, Itália

Monday, 6 June 2011

Gornergratbahn

The Gornergratbahn (GGB) is a nine-kilometre metre-gauge mountain rack railway, with Abt rack system. It leads from Zermatt, Switzerland (1,604 m/5,262 ft), up to the Gornergrat (3,089 m/10,135 ft). The Gornergrat is a starting point for many hikes, as it lies surrounded by 29 peaks rising above 4,000 m (13,123 ft) in the Alps and several glaciers, including the Gorner Glacier (which is billed as the second longest glacier in the Alps). At the end of the line on Gornergrat, the Matterhorn is visible on a clear day. It is also a popular skiing area. The Gornergrat (English: Gorner Ridge) is a ridge of the Pennine Alps, Switzerland, overlooking the Gorner Glacier to the south. It is located about three kilometers east of Zermatt in the Swiss canton of Valais. The Gornergrat is located between the Gornergletscher and Findelgletscher and offers a view of more than 20 four thousand metre peaks, whose highest are Monte Rosa, Lyskamm, Matterhorn, Dom and Weisshorn.

in Wikipédia

Ficha:
Gornergratbahn
Zermatt, Valais, Suiça
Telf: +41 (0)27 927 77 77 | E-mail: info@gornergrat.ch
Preco: 75€
Horario: Timetable

Château Tourbillon

The Tourbillon castle (Château de Tourbillon) is a castle in Sion in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is situated on a hill and faces the Basilique de Valère, located on the opposite hill. The castle is currently in a state of ruins following a fire in 1788. Tourbillon castle was built in at the end of the 13th century, sometime between 1290 and 1308, by the bishop Boniface de Challant. A large part of the castle was first destroyed by the Patriots of the Valais in 1416. The castle was then rebuilt in 1477 by Gullaume VI of Raron, wanting to build a chapel and an exterior wall built with battlements. However, in 1788, a gigantic fire reduced the castle to ashes; this became its ruin.

in Wikipédia

Ficha:
Château Tourbillon
Sion, Suiça
Telf: +41 (0)- +41 (0)27 606 46 70 |
Horario: 10h-18h (Abril a Novembro)
Encerra: Segundas

Les Pyramides d'Euseigne

Saturday, 4 June 2011

Gletscherschlucht

Starting at the Restaurant Gletscherschlucht, elevated trails and bridges lead along the 100m deep into the socalled Gletscherschlucht. Gletscherschlucht means literally translated glacier gorge, not exactly a name, more a description. The water from the glaciers formed this narrow gorge. At the entrance to the gorge is the Kristallmuseum (crystal museum), which exhibits typical minerals of the Bernese Alps. This place has a certain fame because of the glacier behind the gorge. The glacier is rapidly melting, a fact which is interpreted as a circumstantial evidence for the global warming. A strange thing is the formation of a so called Gletschersee on top of the lower glacier. The lake is formed by melting water collecting in a depression on top of the ice. It has no drainage, but as soon as the water finds a way through a crack, the crack is very fast widened by the flowing water and the water flows in a great flood through the channel at the bottom of the glacier, down the Gletscherschlucht to Grindelwald. This flood could potentially destoy anything in its way and the lake is becoming bigger and bigger every year. To avoid this danger, the city of Grindelwald constructed a tunnel which is intended to drain melting water during the spring and hence impede the formation of a lake.

in Showcaves

Ficha:
Gletscherschlucht
Grindelwald, Berner Oberland, Suiça
Telf: +41-33-8541212 |
Preco: 7CHF
Horario: Summer(8h-17h)
Encerra: Weather depending, Winter

Fondue

Fondue é um prato de origem Suíça, normalmente à base de queijo aquecido sobre uma lamparina, também conhecida como espiriteira ou rechaud, ou outra fonte de calor pouco intenso e do qual as pessoas se servem diretamente. Consiste basicamente em uma mistura de queijos (normalmente dos queijos Gruyère e Emmental) fundidos com vinho (ou, como na receita original, a Kirschwasser alemã), que vai à mesa acompanhada de pedaços de pão, batatas e cenouras. Esses acompanhamentos devem ser mergulhados na fondue com um garfo especial antes de serem consumidos.


Ingredientes:
200 g de queijo gruyére
200 g de queijo emmental
2 chávenas de vinho branco seco
1 dente de alho descascado
1 colher (sopa) de maisena
2 colheres (sopa) de Kirch ou vodka (opcional)
pimenta-do-reino branca
noz moscada
cubos de tostas ou pão duro, pickes, Batatas cozidas, presunto (para acompanhar)


Preparação:
Realizar um bom fondue é uma coisa muito simples. O segredo está em escolher um queijo de boa qualidade. A maneira de cortar ou ralar o queijo não tem nenhuma importância. Mas a qualidade do vinho é muito importante! Considere sempre 1 copo de queijo cortado ou ralado (150 g) por pessoa. Coloque o queijo na panela, junte o vinho, cozinhe em lume forte, mexendo sempre. Depois, coloque a panela sobre o réchaud, na mesa, e deixe cozinhando em lume brando durante a refeição. Mexa de vez em quando.

Rale os queijos no ralo grosso e reserve. Esfregue o dente de alho na parte interna da panela escolhida para se preparar o fondue. (recomenda-se a panela apropriada para levar o fondue a ferver à mesa) Separe 4 colheres (sopa) do vinho e coloque o restante na panela. Acrescente os queijos em lume brando, mexendo a mistura sem parar, até que os queijos estejam totalmente derretidos no vinho. Misture a maisena com o vinho branco reservado e despeje na panela. Continue mexendo por 1 minuto até engrossar. Tempere com pimenta-do-reino e uma pitada de noz moscada. Despeje o Kirch e leve a panela ao aparelho de fondue. Sirva acompanhado de cubos de tostas ou pão duro.

Conselhos úteis:
Não modifique muito a proporção de vinho. Se o fondue está muito espesso, acrescente um pouco de vinho. Se está muito líquido, engrosse com maisena dissolvida em brandy (ou vinho). Antes de colocar o queijo na panela, esfregue por dentro da mesma um ou dois dentes de alho cortados, para untar. O fondue tradicional come-se com pão, mas pode-se comer também com: salsichas cortadas, pedaços de peixe cozido, camarões, almôndegas pequenas, cogumelos em conserva. Para acompanhar, pode servir uma salada verde e vinho branco seco ou rosé.

Thun

Thun (French: Thoune) is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located where the River Aar flows out of Lake Thun (Thunersee), 30 km south of Bern.

in Wikipédia

Ficha:
Thun
Berner Oberland, Suiça