Swiss O week: Before the event

The Swiss Orienteering week, held every two years, is one of the best races on the international orienteering calendar. The organisation is great, the scenery magnificent and the terrain spectacular (if rather steep).

We booked an apartment some distance from the competition centre in Gstaad in the town of Zweisimmen. Unfortunately when booking over a year ago we had planned to have a car. As plans changed and we become carless for this stage of our travels, we realised that our apartment up in the foothills on the edge of town would ensure that we got an extra 6km per day of incidental walking in addition to our races.

Looking down to the town from our apartment on our first evening contemplating the upcoming daily commute

We had a great place to stay, renting out the ground floor of this nice house

After settling in for the first night, the next morning we walked to town and took a train to Gstaad. Regional public transport and selected chairlifts and cable cars to get to the events are all covered by the event entry fee. After registering for the event and picking up our info pack (including three free beach towels as gifts - more luggage!), Samuel and Eric went out for a run/walk/climb on an outrageously steep training map at Saanen, just down the valley from Gstaad. Sensibly, Elise sat and read by the river saving her energy for the rest of the week. Late lunch was bread, sausage and cheese from the Saanen market before we headed home.

No one bothers mapping forest as steep as this in any country other than Switzerland

A cheese vending machine - also unique to Switzerland

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