Switzerland - Part First

Rain, rain, and more rain - that's what we mainly saw when we arrived in Switzerland. It's good we like it here so much, I don't think we would have tolerated such weather anywhere else. Our first week was spent exploring some new areas in the southeast and around Lake Lucerne. The towns of Chur, Arosa, and Pontresina were all nice, but too rainy to photograph. So just imagine nice Swiss villages with old towns, mountain views, and scenic lakes. Arosa is known as a mecca for the "unhealthy wealthy" and was very sedate and upscale.

Lucerne remains our favorite Swiss city. No matter how many times we walk over the old Kapellbrücke Bridge or visit the lion at the Lövendenkmal it, still seems like such a special place. Lake Lucerne is also beautiful with lots of interesting villages along the shore. So we took Mark Twain's advice and spent several days in his favorite town of Weggis. We did boat trips to the other lake villages, hiked some trails, rode lifts to the mountain peaks, and enjoyed the scenery. It was nice but it doesn't compare to the Bernese Oberland area.

Stein am Rhein is a charming village near Zürich. It's Rathaus Square is considered one of the most beautiful in Switzerland. It truly was outstanding, but the rain and a dead camera battery limited the photos. Being a Monday there were no camera stores open in the village. Oh well, we'll just have to go back!

Before heading to the Bernese Oberland area we spent 2 days in Bern. There is a great bookstore there that we love to visit. Also, at the Historical Museum, there was an excellent exhibit on Einstein. It was the most extensive Einstein exhibit that has ever been compiled. It pretty much covered everything you ever wanted to know about Einstein.

We have been in Interlaken since 8/21 hiking and pretending that we are locals. I have LOTS of trail and mountain view photos to share. There was also a major Swiss festival with a great parade last weekend. I have lots of photos of that, too. Then, this past weekend was the Jungfrau Marathon. The runners run uphill for 26.2 miles from Interlaken to Kleine Scheidegg at the base of the Jungfrau Mountain. I was there with the camera for that too. So get ready for lots of photos in the next Swiss installments.

We head to Zürich on 9/17 for our flight to Sarasota on 9/18. I think I will be finishing all these installements while sitting in sunny FL. Time is running out and there are still trails to hike, boats to ride, and fondue to eat.......................

Ciao, RPM

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