Day 8 Hike in Canton Glarus

Today's hike was in Canton Glarus. Click here for the pronunciation, it doesn't come out sounding like this when I say it!

While I was going through the pictures from the hike today, I felt a bit concerned at first because they are not the brochure pictures of Switzerland. I recall, at times, not liking the city shots with cars in them, etc., because it seemed unnatural. Then, I realized I should be embracing Switzerland as it is, not trying to tell a story as I think it should be.  So, I am happy to present today's hike, which includes a lot of cityscape.

Part I: On the hike

A common theme I have been sure to follow through on with the hiking is, lack of proper preparation. Part of the problem is, all of these areas are new to me and I do not have maps. The reason I do not have maps is that it is very hard to determine where exactly I should get a map for. This would consist of me driving to the places, looking around, and then buying the appropriate map.

I spend hours trying to plan the hikes based on where other people have hiked, what my body feels up to for that day, and where I will see as much as possible within the time I have available. Despite my lack of being prepared, I have been able to pull this off so far.

Today, I had three spots picked out, plan a, plan b, and plan c. I didn't hike any of them. The town of Glarus is very big, so I decided to put my gear on, head through town, and then out of town and just follow the wanderweg signs.  This worked out rather well, this time!

Here is the map of the area I hiked. You cannot see from the terrain map but I managed to do a 30/70 split of city/nature.

I parked my car at the Glarus Bahnhof. It seemed a good starting point for me. The only downside was that it gave me just three hours of parking.

Walking into and through town, I wanted to take pictures of every building I came upon, but I knew at some point, it would blur the experience of the readers. I managed to still take a lot but I will not post so many, just some of the highlights, like this clock tower right in the center of town.

I came upon the Bells of Parish Church as I was headed out of town. I am sorry to say I was not there when the bells played, but, here is an example someone posted of them when they go off. The Church has lovely views of the mountains I think as well. And, on the opposite corner of the church, there is a home loaded with flowers, I had to have at least one photo.

I cannot imagine anyone who does not like the beauty a sunflower gives.I believe I could spend hours just sitting next to these, watching the clouds go past, and time dripping. Now, I am starting to understand the purpose of this adventure for me. I am feeling relaxed, in touch with nature, and in touch with me.

The wanderweg signs are now becoming an icon for me. I see them and light up. This one is very simple, but I always look forward to seeing them, as they tell me I am not lost, when providing details, they tell me which way is which, and provide me with options. Yesterday I made a choice to change directions briefly based on them, or was it the day before?

So, my question for you is, if you lived in a place like this, would you get tired of the view? Would you find yourself not appreciating the beauty every time you looked out your window, or walked out the door? I am not naive, there are always times when we get used to things, the newness rubs off, and we become a part of our surroundings in some way. I, for one, have yet to get tired of such sights.

Coming back into town, if you noticed by the map, I hiked the oblong shaped infinity sign. In doing so, I was lucky enough by chance to come up on the back side of the Bells of Parish Church for a different perspective. I could not find any discovering information about the church I am sorry to say.

And finally, as I came back into town, I took a few more photos of the buildings as I passed by. They seem ordinary to the eye, but I felt they were able to capture what I have concluded, that Switzerland is a developed, and diverse country. That, as times have changed, the towns have been able to change with them.

Part II: The Canton of Glarus

If you have the opportunity, take a look at this google map of Glarus. Pay attention to the canton borders when you do, that link should outline the canton in pink. What you should notice is:

• It is a small canton
• It is mostly mountains
• There are small towns in the valley headed into the canton from Zurich, and that makes up the majority of the canton.

What is interesting, is as you zoom in, you will see many small towns going through this valley and a bit extended into the mountains, like where I hiked. In total, there are 25 municipalities in Glarus and 38,608 residents.

Glarus joined the federation in 1352. It is the 8th canton to do so.

Something else I found interesting is that in some stores, you will find things listed in French, but yet it is a predominately German speaking canton with pockets of Italian. 

Mt. Tödi is the tallest peak in Glarus, coming in at 3,614 meters  (11,857 ft).

I do not have any female/male statistics to report, sorry. 

Of the original 11 cantons, it is the furthest east, closest to Liechtenstein.

Here is the legend of the cantons we have visited to date.