Originally Posted by Concerto

Hotel prices were generally really high and I had originally wanted to book the Hilton in Mainz, the one overlooking the Rhine river, but the price was too high. In the end I booked the Best Western in Mainz on hotels.com, making use of an offer for an extra stamp for booking during a 2 days window (collecting 10 stamps gives you a free night to the value of 10% of the value of all 10 nights).
It was a shame about Hilton, because they were offering double points on all stays throughout the summer. I am becoming a very infrequent guest at Hilton so I'm not getting much use of the complimentary gold status that comes with my Hilton branded credit card (which appears to never work properly).
IHG had a similar extra points offer whereby you got no bonus for your first stay, double points from your second stay and triple points starting from a later stay.
The other hotel offers did not apply to me because I am not a member of their programmes. If I want to book other chains, I do it through hotels.com and pick up a stamp for a night's credit.

Originally Posted by Concerto

I didn't book tickets for any specific concerts but, having started with a beer or two at Angel's Bar in front of the station, I made my way through the various platforms along the lakeside where there were a number of free events. Some of these free concerts can be really good and are worth making the effort to hear. There I met up with a bunch of friends and we wandered around. Most platforms were built out over the lake and were sponsored by companies such as ibis and Accor hotels, as well as the airline SWISS, which was selling food and drink from its BoB menu at the bar. Alongside the lake were also a series of tent kiosks, offering hot food from all over the world at reasonable prices for Switzerland, CHF15-25 (I had an Indian beef curry which was pretty good).

Originally Posted by Concerto

In canton Valais the climate is very dry although there are several climatic zones from the floor of the Rhône valley all the way up to the glaciers high above. The practice of diverting water from glacial runoff into little canals that run along the side of the mountains goes right back to the 1200s and even earlier. The valuable water was strictly rationed between users in times gone by and to this day many of the canals (bisses in French, Suonen in German) still irrigate the cultivated lower slopes of the mountains. Most of the surviving bisses are wonderful walking routes and I have been working my way through the hikes in the book Bisses de Légende. I am now trying to tick the really inaccessible hikes off the list, those that can be achieved only during the summer months because of their altitude.
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