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Published: April 22nd 2008
Day 3 Paris to Launterbrunnen
A travel day today, so not much to report, apart from ten hours of sitting still and some beautiful Swiss countryside. The mountains are simply stunning; it is like a uncommericalised Queenstown on a larger scale - the Swiss alps run forever - although not quite as beautiful as Queenstown in my opinion. Two things interested me in particular; Swiss organisation and wealth and the organic positioning of Swiss villages and houses. I suspect that this is because many of the settlements have been around for much longer than organised roading systems, which tend to develop an order of their own.
Our campsite is nice, although accommodation continues to be communal. It is a strange mix on this trip; food is brilliant, accommodation is shit. The setting though, in the middle of the Swiss alps, is transcendent.
Day 4: Launterbrunnen
Today we ventured up Jungfrau mountain, the highest peak in Europe at 14,000 feet. Very cold, but very spectacular (note: I am running out of superlatives, so will continue to rotate the current selection). It featured an ice palace and plenty of powdery snow. The round train trip took around three hours,
Coming into Launterbrunnen
Looked like Queenstown to uswhich was plenty of time to take in the views. It is difficult to describe the serenity of the place, so I will let Victoria’s photography take care of that.
Day 5: Launterbrunnen to Nice
Another travel day today, leaving Switzerland, going through Italy and back into France at the French Rivera. I do not really mind the bus trips. The bus itself is relatively comfortable, although cramped. We stop every two hours for a break, which is required by the very strict European laws regarding bus driver hours. Apart from that, time is spent chatting with fellow passengers and reading. Overall, I am really enjoying this part of the trip.
The most enjoyable part of today’s drive was watching the countryside change from the organic communities of Switzerland to the human domination of Italy and back to the Mediterranean architecture of the French Rivera. As you will see from Victoria’s pictures, the Italian’s ( I am assuming this dates back to the days of the Roman empire) is divided up by terraces and small agricultural plots. I was absolutely taken in by the shear history of the countryside and by man’s attempted domination of it. The
Up Jungfrau
It was cold! French Rivera was fairly spectacular as well.
Tomorrow we have a free day in Nice, before spending a night in Monaco, which should be fairly interesting. Our accommodation here is again pretty poor, but at least Victoria and I have a room to ourselves. Dinner though we awesome; three courses of sublime French cooking. We are eating very well here. Following dinner we made a visit to ‘Wayne’s Bar for a few drinks. Apparently it is legendary for tour groups; our bus driver (a young Aussie country lad) told me he has gone late-night skinning dipping ¾ times he has stayed in Nice and had his eyes on the large foundation in the centre of the city.
Already on our walk through Nice to get to the restaurant and bar I have witnessed both the sublime (beautiful city centre and architecture) and abject (a strong homeless population, complete with filthy streets and spew), so tomorrow should be interesting; I’m looking forward to it!
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