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Published: March 4th 2007
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Over the past 6 days, we have travelled through 4 Swiss cities, through 3 language zones and have encountered some of the more memorable charcters of our journey so far. On our first leg of our travel from Verona to Lausanne, this 20-something, very 'hip/chic/wankerish' chap sat for the entire train journey sharing his very bad taste in music with us both (ipod turned up to maximum capacity and him singing along on occasion), holding ciggy in hand while desperately waiting to dash off at each possible train stop to light-up, and force-feeding us hubba-bubba type gum, with corresponding bubble blowing for the last 45 minutes of the ride. We were quite bemused to say the least. On our second leg however, quite the opposite with our faith in travel companions restored by the prescence of a truly charming Italian businessman, very fluent in English and speaking with great passion about his homeland in Southern Italy. He even kindly offered his contact details so he could create for us a customised itinerary for travel to Southern Italy, to ensure we saw only the best (and weren't scared away by the various maffia tales that filter through to travellers in Southern Italy).
So lovely to meet someone so hospitable!
When we arrived in Lausanne, we were quite unprepared for the french-speaking folk that awaited us (yes, I confess, we've been quite comparitively unprepared for this leg of our holiday so it was surprising). I know absolutely no French, nor does Adam, so our time here was abit confusing and quite funny really as we made our best effort to communicate with the locals where required. Our time in Lausanne was unfortunately dampened by rainfall throughout our two nights there, but we were staying in the most charming hostel which made life all the more pleasent. Despite the bad weather, we ventured out and walked all over the city, taking in the amazing views of the Alps at every turn. Though small, Lausanne had good restaurants and shopping on offer. We filled up at the restaurant of the famous Chez Mario, pizza-maker extrordinaire and had probably the best pizza we've ever eaten. The place itself was interesting too in that it was full of diners´graffitti wherever you looked. We also got to witness a bit of excitement as a small fire broke out just opposite the restaurant with our waiter having to
call the fire brigade to investigate. What more could one ask for when dining out?
Being that Lausanne is the official home of the Olympic commitee, no visit here would be complete without a stop at the Olympic museum. This place, while impressive, was of far more interest to Adam than I (he could have stayed here all day no doubt!). However, it was definitely worth a look and we also managed to squeeze in a visit to one of the most famous Swiss museums, Musee D´Elysee, which at this time was exhibiting a photography exhibition. The exhibition explored the impact of the digital revolution on tradional photography. This was good to see but not quite the typical photography style that appeals to either of us so our visit was somewhat shorter than we had initially intended.
We next made a brief one night stop in Geneva (also French-speaking), just long enough to visit the UN (and go through the major security check process this involved) and eat some great thai food out (our first stirfry since leaving home-very much appreciated!). The UN site was pretty cool, awesome to see where the big decisions affecting the world´s nation
states are made. Went on a tour through the quite unremarkable building-lots of nice artwork though. The UN building is located beside Lake Geneva, amongst a huge parkland area bequeathed to the city of Geneva at the start of the 20th century. In doing so, this eccentric rich fellow also requested that peacocks roam free at all times on the now-UN site. While we didn´t get to see any on our tour (yet more rain!), we were told by the somewhat bemused tour guide that at least 10 peacocks call the UN home. The parkland itself was quite beautiful and a nice place for a stroll, even through the rain!
We stopped next in Lucerne yet another beautiful lakeside city with the Alps as its backdrop. We were slighlty relieved to at last be visiting a city of German-tongue where at least we have some hope of comprehension (or would at least find native speakers happy to attenpt some English for our benefit!) Unfortunately, our planned attempts to visit the Alps were hampered by rain with all mountain sights closed due to bad weather conditions. So instead, we made the most of this quaint little site, visiting the city
landmarks of the Chapel bridge, Weeping Lion Monument and famous churches. We also took a cruise on the lake here, eating yummy cheese to wile away the time. What a bit of luxury hey!
Our last Swiss city has been Zurich where we´ve hung out for the last two nights. Our accommodation, while dodgy, also just happens to be located above one of the best restaurants in Zurich- The Spagetti Factory. We felt it our duty to sample the cuisine and truly had the best meal of our travels so far-I´ve never tasted soup so good!!! (Just noticed now, reading over this entry, that food seems to play a major part in our Swiss story, but seriously though, its just because its all so good!). We also visited one of the best art museums we´ve found so far. Monet, Manet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Ceyzanne, Rodin, Degas, Pollack, Wharhol...they´re all here. Probably the highlight was the Monet room with the original huge waterlily panels-so spectacular-and the Picasso gallery, but in truth the entire collection was spectacular. We spent hours longer here than anticipated and loved every minute of it.
All-in-all, Switzerland is without doubt breathtakingly beautiful, even with the
bad weather we´ve had throughout our time here. The air is so crisp and it smells so good- just walking around one feels so refreshed! We will no doubt return to visit the Alps at some stage (not being able to has been our only regret in our trip so far) but we now head to Munich to sample Bravaria!
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