Teens in the Great Outdoors

Welcome to summer; after a very slow start, it looks as though it has finally arrived! I chatted with my teens about the great outdoors, and we came up with the following ideas for kids their age.

In good weather, load your bikes onto the train and head for Braunwald, in Glarus. You can get there by traveling to Ziegelbrücke and changing there to the Linthal-Braunwaldbahn. Remember to buy a ticket for your bikes! Get off at Braunwald and then spend a couple of hours gradually cycling back through the beautiful valley down to Ziegelbrücke. Our teens like to stop for drinks and ice creams along the way. It’s great fun!

A big favourite is a trip to Alpamare near Pfäffikon SZ (on Lake Zurich). Much of it is outdoors, and older teens can benefit from the iodine baths, which can be beneficial for their skin! There are loads of great slides, too. Tip – try the café on the first floor. Teens can buy meat and grill it themselves on the barbecues there. They can fry their own French fries, too, in big machines.

Check out the Feriencamps website. My teens have used this company several times, and I can thoroughly recommend it for loads of outdoor activities, plus a language-learning program. They have a great camp in Gruyère, Switzerland, among many others.

Other ideas include the local Badis, or swimming areas down on Lake Zurich (most lakes have some sort of swimming area with various services). Some of these have cool diving areas and boats (especially paddleboats) to hire. I can recommend Richterswil Badi; try out the wonderful salad bar there – it has something for everyone.

I hope this helps you get through this summer. A final word – from bitter experience – do get your teens involved in the planning process when you are deciding what to do/where to go. Don’t risk having to spend the day with a bored, moaning teenager. Best of luck and have a great summer!

By Heidi at Teen City

Heidi is a forty-something mother of 3 boys aged 17, 15 and 8. She hails from Wales but has lived on the edge of Lake Zurich for 17 years and has now become Swiss too! Heidi loves music, travelling and family life with her boys.