Journey to the Promised Land
So... full... of... chocolate...
Anyway, Oscar and I have just returned from an important voyage to the Mystical Land of Liechtenstein. But first I must update all and sundry on our comings and goings in Switzerland. With photos!
We caught a plane to Geneva from Rome last Thursday morning (the 31st of November). We didn't get to spend a lot of time in Geneva, but what we did we spent mostly on board a steam boat on Lake Geneva, watching the city go by. Very nice. No photos at present; they're on our laptop and I'm using my friend Anu's. Too much stuffing around to transfer. Trust me, it was nice.
Anyway, so on Thursday afternoon we caught a train to Bern, using our Eurail passes for the first time in the manner intended- before this, we used them for international trains, which meant we still had to pay. Grah. Anyway, it was at this point that we discovered that Swiss trains are fast, clean, very comfortable (especially when your're travelling first class, like we are) and staffed by friendly and efficient people. Wow!
In Bern, we discovered that the entire city uses the railway station to run about, all at once. So we sat and waited for my friend Anu to arrive. Anu and I were exchange students together in Finland, and she also came to Australia to be my bridesmaid in 2002. She is now just about to become a denist after many years of hard study at Bern University. So Anu met us at the station and we all caught a train to her home town of Thun, a 20 minute train ride from Bern.
We arrived at Anu's place and met her parents, who are really, really lovely. We're still staying with them at the moment.
Anu and her family are busy people, so we've been entertaining ourselves by travelling a lot. First of all we discovered that Thun is an absolutely gorgeous city, with a huge lake, crystal-clear alpine rivers, mountain views and a castle overlooking it all- and that's without mentioning the cobbled streets and lovely buildings. Here is a sideways picture of the view from Anu's place...
We don't have a great photo of the river, although I got one of Oscar with some of the many swans and ducks that inhabit the waters...
Oh wait! Here is another one, of me by the river with the mountains in view. Please note how sunny and warm it is. Pff. Winter.
We also took a trip to the top of a mountain called the Schilthorn, about 1160 metres above sea level. Those of you at home will have to wait to see film of this trip, because we made short film instead of movies on that trip- the views were so spectacular that we couldn't fit them all in one little camera shot. Still, here is me at in the village at the foot of the mountain, next to a rapid little stream and surrounded by the woody smell of the buildings...
The view from the top was incredible, and there was actually snow! This supposed winter has been far too warm. What am I supposed to do with all the thermals I packed?
Anyway, as I said, we just came back from Vaduz, the capital of Liechtsenstein. Ah, Liechtenstien. I'm not going to post about it, you have to go and see for yourself. Liechtenstein.
Anyway, on the way home we went to Zürich, Switzerland's biggest city. We spent the most part of our time there at the Lindt and Sprüngli chocolate factory, buying a ridiculous amount of chocolate.
I hope you all like chocolate, because we have about three kilos of it to give away now...
We arrived home in Thun to be told that we had to eat a whole lot of food. It's Saint Nicholas' Day in Switzerland, and that aparently means that we should eat bread in the shape of santa (baked by Anu's father Tuomas, who is a fantastic cook), peanuts straight from the shell, chocolate (because we hadn't had enough already), figs, dates, potatos, cheese (as always) and fruit. Phew. I feel like I won't eat for another month! Here's a picture of the spread, which was shared between only four people! (the people in the photo are me and Anu's parents Sabine and Tuomas- Anu is in Bern with her orchestra tonight)
I finally want to post this ¨Do Not...¨ poster from a bus in Zürich, for whimsy's sake. I particularly like the man taking to his bus seat with a saw, although Oscar is more partial to the ¨no feet on seats¨ guy, who Oscar thinks looks like a woman giving birth whilst wearing rollerblades.
So now I must bid you all a good night, so I can go and sleep off all of this chocolate. So... much... chocolate... Man, I love Switzerland!!
Anyway, Oscar and I have just returned from an important voyage to the Mystical Land of Liechtenstein. But first I must update all and sundry on our comings and goings in Switzerland. With photos!
We caught a plane to Geneva from Rome last Thursday morning (the 31st of November). We didn't get to spend a lot of time in Geneva, but what we did we spent mostly on board a steam boat on Lake Geneva, watching the city go by. Very nice. No photos at present; they're on our laptop and I'm using my friend Anu's. Too much stuffing around to transfer. Trust me, it was nice.
Anyway, so on Thursday afternoon we caught a train to Bern, using our Eurail passes for the first time in the manner intended- before this, we used them for international trains, which meant we still had to pay. Grah. Anyway, it was at this point that we discovered that Swiss trains are fast, clean, very comfortable (especially when your're travelling first class, like we are) and staffed by friendly and efficient people. Wow!
In Bern, we discovered that the entire city uses the railway station to run about, all at once. So we sat and waited for my friend Anu to arrive. Anu and I were exchange students together in Finland, and she also came to Australia to be my bridesmaid in 2002. She is now just about to become a denist after many years of hard study at Bern University. So Anu met us at the station and we all caught a train to her home town of Thun, a 20 minute train ride from Bern.
We arrived at Anu's place and met her parents, who are really, really lovely. We're still staying with them at the moment.
Anu and her family are busy people, so we've been entertaining ourselves by travelling a lot. First of all we discovered that Thun is an absolutely gorgeous city, with a huge lake, crystal-clear alpine rivers, mountain views and a castle overlooking it all- and that's without mentioning the cobbled streets and lovely buildings. Here is a sideways picture of the view from Anu's place...
We don't have a great photo of the river, although I got one of Oscar with some of the many swans and ducks that inhabit the waters...
Oh wait! Here is another one, of me by the river with the mountains in view. Please note how sunny and warm it is. Pff. Winter.
We also took a trip to the top of a mountain called the Schilthorn, about 1160 metres above sea level. Those of you at home will have to wait to see film of this trip, because we made short film instead of movies on that trip- the views were so spectacular that we couldn't fit them all in one little camera shot. Still, here is me at in the village at the foot of the mountain, next to a rapid little stream and surrounded by the woody smell of the buildings...
The view from the top was incredible, and there was actually snow! This supposed winter has been far too warm. What am I supposed to do with all the thermals I packed?
Anyway, as I said, we just came back from Vaduz, the capital of Liechtsenstein. Ah, Liechtenstien. I'm not going to post about it, you have to go and see for yourself. Liechtenstein.
Anyway, on the way home we went to Zürich, Switzerland's biggest city. We spent the most part of our time there at the Lindt and Sprüngli chocolate factory, buying a ridiculous amount of chocolate.
I hope you all like chocolate, because we have about three kilos of it to give away now...
We arrived home in Thun to be told that we had to eat a whole lot of food. It's Saint Nicholas' Day in Switzerland, and that aparently means that we should eat bread in the shape of santa (baked by Anu's father Tuomas, who is a fantastic cook), peanuts straight from the shell, chocolate (because we hadn't had enough already), figs, dates, potatos, cheese (as always) and fruit. Phew. I feel like I won't eat for another month! Here's a picture of the spread, which was shared between only four people! (the people in the photo are me and Anu's parents Sabine and Tuomas- Anu is in Bern with her orchestra tonight)
I finally want to post this ¨Do Not...¨ poster from a bus in Zürich, for whimsy's sake. I particularly like the man taking to his bus seat with a saw, although Oscar is more partial to the ¨no feet on seats¨ guy, who Oscar thinks looks like a woman giving birth whilst wearing rollerblades.
So now I must bid you all a good night, so I can go and sleep off all of this chocolate. So... much... chocolate... Man, I love Switzerland!!