Quick trip to Zurich

Managed a quick trip to visit the in-laws at the end of November.

As you can see there was plenty of snow there too - and sub-zero temperatures. South-East Switzerland was experiencing night-time lows of -22C!

The view over the city was amazing:

 

Walking on the Uetliberg was treacherous with very icy conditions underfoot, but it did look like something out of Narnia.

The restaurant at the summit gave stunning views - it's unusual to see the Alps from Zurich - usually a bad weather sign!

A very enjoyable trip. Nearly didn't make it back as the plane had technical problems in Gatwick and was more than 2 hours late arriving in Zurich! We made take-off with 1 minute to go before the 23:50 noise curfew came into force. It meant we didn't get home until 02:30 the next morning.

The rain in Switzerland stays everywhere all the time!

As we left the Channel coast behind us and drove across Belgium so we drove into cloudier conditions. For our two days in Germany it was cloudy - no rain, no sun, just cloud. Then we moved into Switzerland and it rained and rained and rained and the clouds never lifted - until the day we drove home 12 days later!

We were limited to shopping centres for photo outlets. This one is Sihl City in Zurich and architecturally I like it.

One day, umbrellas in the car, we headed East and into the cantons Appenzell. When we arrived at Schwagalp, it looked as though the cloud was clearing and so I took a picture to demonstrate the before and after:

We went into the hotel for a coffee and 30 minutes later the weather had changed...

... it was not the after I had been anticipating! And that was the end of that. Cloud and drizzle for the rest of the day - and every day after that.

We got so fed up that we decided to head South into the canton of Ticino - the Italian speaking part of Switzerland South of the Alps. As we entered the Gotthard Tunnel it was 15 degrees and very cloudy. As we emerged almost half an hour later on the other side it was a wall-to-wall sunshine, 28 degrees and everything summer should be! We headed down to Locarno:

and enjoyed a walk along the lake-side promenade:

We then took the 'Feniculare' up the hillside for lunch on a terrace over-looking Locarno and Lago Maggiore. Magnificent:

After lunch we explored Val Verzasca and arrived at the wonderful village of Lavertezzo

with it's wonderful double-arched bridge over the river:

And yes, the water really is that colour!

If you need a guide to Switzerland in the rain, hire me - I've done it.

We only had a holiday inconvenienced. The weather system dumping rain on Switzerland was the same one that brought catastrophic flooding to the South of France. There people died and lost homes and livelihoods.

Next year, I will be able to visit Switzerland again.

A day trip to Europe

We made a quick raid on Calais and Boulougne this week - a break from holidays at home. The weather was wet, windy and cold so sight-seeing was not going to be on the agenda. Mercifully the snow and ice of recent days let up an we were allowed a journey unimpeded - even the crossings were relatively smooth.

After a 2 hour drive, the opportunity for re-creation the ferry journey affords was very welcome. Sitting in the lounge looking out over the sea whilst drinking a cup of decent coffee is the way to go. I've only used the tunnel a few times. The journey is quick, but my experience has been of waiting too long in holding areas before loading. I don't think the total package gives you much more of a time saving than the ferry.

I make several day trips to Calais each year with a good friend. We head off in a pre-determined direction, maybe to Dunkerque, inland to Saint Omer, or west to Le Touquet. This time I went with my wife which was a very pleasant change. We went to Boulougne for lunch in the Restaurant Haute Ville, a restaurant I have been visiting for a good 10 years now. Excellent food and service in charming surroundings - right opposite the Notre Dame. Good value for money.

We made the obligatory visit to Auchan to stock up on French essentials and then made our way back to the Ferry Terminal and homeward. A very pleasant day out. Give it a try sometime.

More photos on Flickr

I had great fun looking through my archived photos on disc and uploading some of them to Flickr. Here is one from Tangier in Morocco - he really is snake charming - I have more photos that include the Cobra that is dancing to his music. Check this image out, and others here.

The power of these photos to evoke memories is very strong. The colours, the sounds and the smells - not to mention the warm African sunshine. I have also uploaded a picture of Mallaig harbour taken on a summer holiday in a dfferent year in my native Scotland.This was about the only sunny day in a three week holiday in August! This one evokes a completely different set of feelings!!