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.

The British and the weather

I don't know about you and where you live, but this has been a strange week. It has almost been an existence in a parallel dimension. Outside everything white and crisp - and very slippery. The snow's ability to absorb sound together with a reduction in traffic has meant that at times the outside world has been eerily quiet. A trip anywhere is undertaken only if essential. Being cooped up at home after the holiday period has spawned a lethargy that I am anxious to break free from. Yesterday I took myself off to London (more on this later).

As for many people, it's getting the car out off the drive and down the local street that presents the difficulty. The main A30 London to Penzance road literally runs behind our garden hedge - but there are 200 yards of compacted snow and ice, all of which is on a gradient, to encounter before you reach the relative safety of the main road.

My place of work (featured above) was closed on Wednesday and Thursday - only I arrived there on Thursday before the closure was announced! Friday was left to individual discretion - I made the trek in again. As you can see the car park had 6-8 inches of snow on it and underneath was frozen gravel. Like the start of the journey, it was the last bit that was the biggest problem. I almost got stuck in the car park - had to manoeuvre myself so that I was pointing downhill for an easy get away. I don't know how rear wheel drive cars cope in this weather - except by reversing everywhere!

It looks like the thaw is set for Thursday. No doubt with frozen saturated ground, the next problem will be floods - and then we'll probably get another freeze again!

Oh how the British love to talk about the weather.