Canton of Zug

The Clock Is Ticking, Switzerland

We had many opportunities to go through Switzerland in the past, before getting to our final destination, but our preferences brought us through other countries. A couple weeks ago, though, we had an opportunity to travel through Switzerland as our final destination was set in Zug, in the canton of the same name. That's about 7-8 hours (650 km) from home and makes it a great opportunity to stop on our way to relax and snap some good shots. Or so we hoped!

Going through Italy (near Milan, A8-A10-A26-A7-A9) we had ended our first day near Lugano. This is an italian speaking canton, while in Switzerland. Lovely hotel by the lake and a welcome break. You have to taste Ticino wines, especially one called Castello Di Morcote: delicious !

The next day brought us to Zug directly and that's where we spent most of our time. Unfortunately the weather was pretty boring, I rarely saw so much grey everywhere, for 2 days. But our attention switch completely from landscape to people and lifestyle. We met with great people, always kind and ready to help. Everybody seemed pretty relax actually, which is great. So we walked everywhere, visited the Clock Tower (built in the 13th century), discussed with salespeople in boutiques, waiters and servers in bistros and restaurants, which helped us learn more about the area.

The day after we got in the car and decided to go around "Zuger See" (Lake Zug), stopping everywhere we saw something interesting. That was the case in Arth (such a quiet place), Immensee (where we had a typical meal) and then Cham for a nice walk in a park by the lake. Grey, grey and grey again. That's what we got. But I thought it would be an opportunity to look at everything from a monochrome perspective and build on that until we got some good light. Light we never got. But everything turns out to be very interesting when photos are converted to B&W in Lightroom.

Finally, I think my good old friend Pete was right: there will always be at least ONE good shot from a whole day shoot. Looking for that shot is what pushes us to walk and drive, whatever the weather is. I ended up selecting 10 photos out of the lot. Still wondering which one I'd pick if I had to choose only ONE. You tell me!

Good Light!

Norm

© Normand Primeau