Blogs from Montreux, South-West, Switzerland, Europe

Quite a long drive today and most of the way on the motorway. Seemed to be right across Switzerland, East to West but Switzerland is a very funny shape with lots of bits sticking out in all directions if you look at it on the map. It rained all night exactly as forecast and sure enough when we looked out at the mountains to the East, those we had just come down from, there was snow showing on some of the peaks. So glad we made the decision to come down on Thursday as we did. If we had been up the mountain in the night the way that rain was coming down in a very wintery way, I would have spent the night at the window checking if we were getting snowed on and in. ... read more

I was almost sorry to leave Bern today because I really liked it and I can see why it is routinely voted one of the world's most livable cities. BTW, "Bern" is the German spelling while "Berne" is the French spelling. Today I drove south and visited the touristy, but interesting, towns around Gruyeres, Switzerland. My first stop was a factory where the famous cheese is made and I had an educational audioguide narrated by a cow(!) that described the entire process (see photo). The 77-lb wheels of cheese are salted and aged in racks for several months before they are sold (see photo). I enjoyed my cheese tour. The small town of Broc, next to Gruyeres, is the home of Cailler Chocolate, one of the original makers of Swiss chocolate treats (see photo). They have ... read more

An diesem Tag bin ich mit dem Auto vom Raum Nürnberg nach Chexbres am Genfer See gefahren. Dieser Ort war mit Bedacht gewählt, weil ich hier 2002/2003 eines meiner schönsten Projekte hatte. Ich war auch in meinem damaligen Stammhotel mit einer fantastischen Aussicht auf den See.... read more

Bonjour! I was in the french speaking part of Switzerland visiting my aupair friend Samantha. She actually lives in St. Maurice, a smaller village. I managed to get to the train station in her hometown by myself with the timetables she sent me and a friend from the airplane. The people in Switzerland are all very helpful, not just some - like everyone in some way. A lot of people in Switzerland aren't actually Swiss, many come to study there, work or marry...Anyways, another guy on the train let me use his phone to text Sam about what time to meet me at the station, again very nice. I don't know too many places where people are so helpful, hopefully Canada would be one of those places though because I am very proud of where I ... read more

Day three of the group trip was definitely one of my favorite days, maybe my favorite. We went into Switzerland and the Swiss Alps, so that should give a clue as to how beautiful everything was. Even though we drove for over seven hours today, it was worth it. Today was definitely a nature day, rather than a cultural day. There is not a lot of description here, but enough, and lots of pictures. The day started with another great breakfast, then we left at 7:45 AM. The drive from Austria into Switzerland was gorgeous, with the Alps rising in the distance, then traveling next to, and finally into the mountains. We stopped around lunchtime at Vitznau, which is a town built around Lake Lucerne. At the train station, we got out and had time to ... read more