Shire on Earth

Shire on this planet, and it is located (no surprise) in Switzerland. The area is called Emmental and it's well-known to cheese lovers all over the world for original Emmental cheese (yum!) - and, judging from these pictures, we strongly recommend this area to be chosen as a main location for shooting "The Silmarillion", if such lovely idea would ever strike Hollywood as feasible.

And are these the "White Mountains" on the horizon? Well, these are the incomparable, spectacular-beyond-belief Swiss Alps (near Saentis), building higher and higher, level upon level of sheer awesomeness climbing into the sky - here is the closer look: