Switzerland Update
After spending about 20 hours either on a plane or in an airport, Carolyn, Ryan and I arrived in Zurich at 9am Sunday. Our hotel is in Sigriswil and is on the side of one of the many mountains here, over looking Lake Thun. Similar to Banff, Canada the sun does not set until about 9pm every night so we are able to get the most out of every day here.
Monday morning, Ryan and I took a walk up the street from our hotel and were greeted by 13 cows and 2 guys leading the cows to a feeding ground. We kind of giggled at the sight of these cows with huge bells around their necks clinging and claning as they were being led down the hill. We soon realized the cows were being led up the street on which we were walking. And then they were running and gaining on us. I looked at Ryan with a worried look and said, “How fast are the cows moving?” “Faster than us!” He replied as we stopped walking and started running. We could not outrun the cows so we stepped over to the side and watched them pass. Running up this road right after cows had passed over it was a bad idea due to the amount of poo being dropped. Definitly a first.
After taking a much needed shower, we headed to Interlaken where we found too many Holland fans to count. The local bars and restaurants were overflowing. We ate at a quaint little bar that had wide open doors and windows so every few minutes, we could hear soccer fans screaming and blowing horns. Mind you, this game they were cheering for was not going to take place until the next day. I was surprised to get hit on by one of these drunk Holland fans who quickly put his arm around me as we walked down the street. He seemed quite embarassed when I introduced my husband and mother-in-law. I must say, his face got just as flush as his orange jersey.
We went to bed early Sunday night and woke up Monday morning ready to go to the Callier chocolate factory. Yes, that is what I said…a chocolate factory. After the tour that we speedily walked through, we got to sample every single kind of chocolate that is made. Milk, chocolate, white and every other combination of hazelnuts and almonds was stuffed in our mouths as we walked through the sweet smelling factory. We loaded up on samples and then hit the road, on our way to Freiburg and then to Bern, where a gigantic screen was set up for all those poor folks without tickets to the match, to stand outside and watch the game. But we got there around 4pm and the game did not start until 9pm so we took a pass on doing that. We did however, get to see a multitude of Holland fans dressed in their bright hunter-orange jerseys, face paint and wooden shoes. After weaving through the crowd of fans, we stopped at a restaurant with couches outside on the street and we were waited on by a young lady from Lake Tahoe, California. What are the odds?
Monday morning we were greeted with the first cloudless sky of our trip so far and decided to drive to Zermatt where we would see the Matterhorn. We took the scenic route (as some of you know, this is my favorite route to take) and as the road took us higher and higher into the mountains, the temps dropped. We got some incredible pictures that I can not wait to share with all of you when I get back. Just stunning scenery, I can not even describe it. To reach Zermatt you must park your car and take an electric train into town where everything is run on electricity and the air, streets, shops–everything–is all so clean and fresh. We did a little shopping in the cute Zermatt shops, then took the fenicular up the mountain to a high peak where we would get an ideal picture of the Matterhorn. Unfortunately, the fog and clouds prohibited us from seeing the top, but I took picutres anyway.
That is all for now, I hope to write more in a few days.
