Yellow = medium dry, orange = very dry, red = extremely dry (image: canton Valais 20 August 2009)
Sion, Valais, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Canton Valais has had little precipitation in recent weeks and Thursday 20 August cantonal authorities banned open air fires unless they are authorized and in areas reserved for fires. Forests south of the Rhone are exceptionally dry but a red alert, meaning all fires banned, has not yet been issued.
Click on image to view larger
Take your pick: party in the Alps near Sion or on Swiss city streets
Zurich's street parade: definitely urban
Zurich and Sion, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – You have to go out of your way to avoid festivals in Switzerland in the summer, starting with the two big July music festivals, Montreux Jazz Festival and Paleo in Nyon, with several smaller but very popular festivals around the same time. The Fêtes de Geneve is underway, with music and the region’s biggest fireworks Saturday 9 August. Zurich is also holding its big party this coming weekend, the 20th year of the colourful techno Street Parade or Switzerland’s biggest rave, whose organizers say attracted 850,000 people in 2008. On a smaller scale, but also celebrating an anniversary, its 15th, the Guinness Irish Festival in Sion features the Dubliners and the Chieftains.
new Cisalpino II train, inaugural trip July 2009, Lausanne-Sion, Switzerland
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The inaugural run of the new, ultra-sleek Cisalpino II trains that link Geneva to Milan, Italy via Lausanne, saw the high-speed train journey from Lausanne to Sion. The ride itself was easy compared to the latest problems faced by the company. Cisalpino was under threat of losing its contract with the Swiss rail company CFF early in 2009 because of breakdowns and delays.
Charles Bonvin & Fils in Sion celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008
Sierre, Valais, Switzerland (Le Nouvelliste, Fre) – Rouvinez, Sierre-based winery, will buy Charles Bonvin & Fils, including 20 hectares of vineyard, to become the largest private wine company in Valais. Valais is Switzerland’s largest wine-producing canton, with 40 percent of the country’s wine: 45 million litres in 2008. The sale, reportedly for some CHF10 million, will keep the oldest wine cellar in Valais in local hands.
Red Cross doubledecker blood mobile, © 2009 STS CRS
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss Red Cross has specially fitted a genuine London doubledecker bus to tour Switzerland this summer to encourage blood donations. The campaign began Sunday 14 June to coincide with international blood donors day and runs through 22 August in most major Swiss cities. The bus is currently in Sion, canton of Valais. The Red Cross says it is especially difficult to obtain blood during the summer.
Fribourg, Switzerland (TSR/ats, Fre) – Supporters for the Zurich Football Club, traveling to Sion for a match, turned rowdy and attacked their own club’s security bus at the Gruyere autoroute stop in canton Fribourg Thursday evening 10 April.
