BootsnAll Travel Network
Add this blog to: MyYahoo, Google, Bloglines, RSS


Archive for the 'Switzerland' Category

« Home

If it’s Thursday it must be Switzerland

Sunday, July 28th, 2013

It’s been quite a while since my last blog, but I will be catching up over the next week!  Since my last post so much has happened, so I have some good trips to post.  First, my parents came to visit in May.  This year there were 4 long weekends in that month (I love all the holidays here!), so we took the opportunity to do some exploring with them.

We first headed to Innsbruck, and no matter how many times we go there, it’s always a nice experience.  In some cities you can ofter forget where you are, with such generic buildings and shops.  However in Innsbruck, the dramatic backdrop of the mountains is a constant and beautiful reminder.

The next stop was Schaffhausen in Switzerland, but not before a quick “country grab” detour through tiny Liechtenstein.  This was the first time any of us visited Schaffhausen and a stroll through the old town is definitely worthwhile.  The Munot fortress is unique, but the Rhine Falls are star attraction here.  We finished off the day with an overnight in a lovely guesthouse in Germany, complete with a perfect little beer garden.  The next day we planned to drive directly Strasbourg, France to bring our country total for the trip to 5.  However, I had a little talk with the owner of the guesthouse and she recommended a detour to see the “real Alsace” as she put it.  It was a fantastic idea and we spent the afternoon in a town called Keyserberg, where nearly all the houses  are still half-timbered and the whole village is surrounded by vineyards.  If it couldn’t get more picturesque, we topped it off with an Alsatian version of a pizza called Tarte Flambee and a stop at chocolate factory.  We eventually did make it to Strasbourg, which is actually quite a large city, but the old town area feels very comfortable and even small.

Stuttgart, German was our next stop and we spent a rainy day at the Mercedes museum. While you all know that I’m more of  BMW person, it’s pretty hard to leave this place without a feeling that you must get one for your next car. We finished off the trip with a stay in Tuebingen, a university town with ancient leaning buildings that make you wonder how they stay up.  Finally back home to Austria to re-charge and get ready for the next weekend!

Whitewater at the Rhine Falls:

My next car??  Only if it comes with a GPS!

I’m not sure what is keeping up these buildings in Tuebingen.

The most patient pups ever…  waiting for him to drop a bit of that bratwurst.

Posted in Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland | No Comments »

Kalifornien

Monday, August 27th, 2012

We recently had some visitors from California to our little corner of the world.  Two different groups of friends from So Cal happened to be visiting the same week, so we took off and did a little sightseeing with them both.  It was great to get together and catch up on what’s been happening in all of our busy lives! We spent a little time in Austria on the Grossglocker road, visited an ice cave (so cool – literally and figuratively!) and ended up in Innsbruck.  One of the best things about the mountains here is that they all have “huts” which serve up great food with a view.  Here’s a typical dish called Gröstl with a backdrop of the city.

From there we struck out on our own for few days in the Zillertal to do some hiking.  The weather only cooperated for one day, but I made the best of it and got some relaxation in too.

Finally we got Zurich and met up with our other friends.  Switzerland never disappoints with the sights, and our side trip to Luzern reminded me how beautiful that city is.  Thanks to our friends for visiting and letting us share their holiday with them!

Posted in Austria, Living Abroad, Switzerland | No Comments »

More Cowbell

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

After the rock star life in Cologne, we took a very long drive to Zermatt which included a tunnel through the mountains where you drive your car onto a train that takes you through it.  It saves about 200km of driving instead of going around them.

Zermatt is a pretty town in a deep valley at the base of the Matterhorn.  All of the guidebooks and hiking maps talk about the changeable Alpine weather here, and we got a taste of it.  The first day we took the Gornergrat train up to the top of a nearby peak for amazing views.  The entire skyline was sunny and clear with absolutely beautiful views of the Monte Rosa, the Dom, and Dente Blanche.  The hike back down was great, but the Matterhorn was covered by its own set of clouds and nearly invisible.

All over town there were postcards, photos, and paintings of the Matterhorn that were little reminders of what we were not seeing.  The next day was same, but we thought maybe if we headed up a different set of cable cars maybe we would get a break in the weather or a different view.  That plan didn’t quite work out.  We got to the top of a ridge covered in clouds and decided to start our hike anyway.  The winds were over 40kph (and my treasured NZ knit hat was blown off and lost!), but I might have been able to cope with that.  When rain moved in, it started to get uncomfortable, and finally when the hail started whipping us, I gave up and turned around. Luckily we made it back to the cable car in time before they shut it down because of the high winds.  We got off halfway back down the mountain and were greeted with sunshine again.  I guess that’s what they mean by “changeable.”

Then on our last morning in Zermatt during breakfast we noticed a break in the clouds.  We left our coffee and muesli and scrambled to get a camera.  Finally, there it was.  Our view lasted about 15 minutes, but it was so impressive and what we came for…  the Matterhorn.

Here is the mountain teasing us:

Finally, here it is!

Posted in Living Abroad, Switzerland, Travel | 2 Comments »