Switzerland - Day 4 (Lauterbrunen)

Monday, 12 September 2011

Even though the trip on the speed train to Lauterbrunen was a short one, Jason got a bit carried away with the photos.  And how could he help it, with everything being so bright green and blue, with the contrast of amazing high mountains and lakes glowing with green from graphite sediment.  We also had our first glimpses of snow.

We also saw some Swiss army men on the train, of whom there were several swarming around train stations with their guns across their chests.  On the train, we saw a soldier stow his gun with his rucksack in the overhead compartment which we found amusing. 

 

Jason's back injuries were playing up thanks to the not-so-comfortable basement bed and having to haul a months worth of luggage up a hill in the bush to the station.  He was in quite a bit of pain.  He could not move his head from side to side, nor could he lift a cup of coffee to his mouth or swallow without feeling pain.  But despite this, our time in Lauterbrunen was the trip hilight for him.

When we arrived at our hotel, we were pleased to discover that we had a five star view of the main street of Lauterbrunen with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains.

 

We enjoyed the afternoon wandering around the main street.  There were lots of shops and restaurants, and various facilities for travellers such as internet cafes and laundromats.  We then headed further down towards some quieter areas, out of the main hub.

Along the way, we stopped to rest at a stream rushing with bright glacial water... 

...and then up countless buttock-toning steps to the top of a waterfall.  Some of these photos are taken from inside the cliff face near the top of the waterfall.

We had a hearty Swiss dinner of veal schnitzel and pork sausage, followed by the most delicious apple strudel ever.

Switzerland - Day 3 (Zurich)

Sunday, 11 September 2011

In the morning, we had the privilege of meeting Jide's husband, Agim.  We spent the morning with their family at their church.  The message was in German, but a friend of Jide's interpreted it for us.  It was about the metaphor of Jesus being the Good Shepherd and us being His sheep.  The style of the service reminded us a bit of our Hillsong days.  Great worship with people free to express their faith in their own way.

After the service, we wandered down to a cafe and sat in the leafy courtyard.  Jide had shared with us the day before about Swiss culture and how she felt there being an Albanian-born Australian.  So today we talked alot about life in Switzerland, what they liked about it and what they didn't like.

Agim is an artist.  He was born in Albania, but migrated to Switzerland several years ago.  He has had a gallery in Zurich for six years now.  Jide is also a creative spirit, particularly in the areas of writing and art.  When I met Agim, and having known Jide for several years, I saw that they were a great match.  Agim is friendly, creative and is great with their boys.  Jide is a beautiful spirit, discerning, creative, and a nurturing mum.

We chatted for two or three hours at the cafe while Agim took photos with his professional camera.  Here are a mix of the ones we took and the ones he took on his fancy camera.  See if you can guess who took what!

After a great time with their family, we walked back with them towards the train station and took a few more photos along the way.  Some of them show Switzerland's first modern glass skyscraper in the background.

It was sad to say good bye, but we hope to see them again in Sydney or next time we are in Switzerland.

We had dinner in Zurich before heading back to "the basement".

Click here to see Agim's art, and here to see Jide's art and poetry.

Switzerland - Day 2 (Zurich)

Saturday, 10 September 2011

In the morning, we rushed from Zurich station to the biggest clock in Europe to meet Sarah's friend Jide.  Sarah had gotten the meeting place confused with something else she read, so after rushing to St Petersbourg and having a hunch that it was not the meeting place, Sarah found an internet cafe to access Facebook to get Jide's number, and then ran to a shop to get change to use a payphone.  We found the people in Switzerland to be generally quite helpful and friendly, and on this day, a friendly butcher let Sarah call Jide to let her know we would be rushing back to the station to meet her under the "big clock" (as opposed to the biggest clock in Europe).

It worked out in the end because by the time we got there, Jide had not been waiting long as she was also running late.  Jason met Jide for the first time, and we both met her two boys, Alex and Julian.

We had great weather the whole time in Europe, with the exception of Iceland.  It was a hot day, so we strolled down Zurichs famous Banhoffstrausse past the best designer outlets and famous landmarks of Zurich towards the lake.

In Switzerland, there were "watering holes" in public areas.  They could be mistaken for fountains, except that the water coming out is fresh and people drink from them.  We saw one in the park by the lake where Jason filled up his water bottle.

Another interesting thing about Switzerland is that we kept smelling marijuana in public places.  Train stations, parks, roads, around police officers, and even at this park by the lake.

By Australian standards, that smell seemed out of place around people who were wholesome looking, well-to-do, law abiding, family day out kind of people.  It was Neutral Bay meets Nimbin.  We started talking about it and Jide advised us that in Switzerland, people are allowed to grow three plants for personal use.

We chatted away whilst enjoying the playful company of Alex and Julian, and Sarah and Jide did some catching up.  We then walked to the edge of the lake and had icecreams.

We wandered back to the station together and took some more photos to capture the landmarks of Zurich.

We had found people in Switzerland quite friendly, and on our train trip back to "the basement", Sarah was serenaded with alcohol breath by a gentleman with a ukulele.

We enjoyed another spectacular Swiss sunset before heading back to the basement.