Blogs from South-West, Switzerland, Europe - page 113

December has been a month of excitement and travel. The day I returned from Copenhagen my friend Matt, who is studying abroad in Madrid, came to visit me; Rachel popped down from Salzburg; and in between the Christmas markets and sightseeing we had a blast. Vienna is particularly beautiful during the advent season, which the Austrians celebrate in a relaxed, family-oriented way. Everything is decorated for the season; the cobbled streets of the old town are framed by christmas lights that crisscross between the buildings, and alpine-style huts spring up everywhere to sell Lebkuchen (soft gingerbread cookies), Gluehwein, and Punsch (spiced drinks). The day Matt left, I went for a visit to my roommate's family in Upper Austria. I love visiting them - her mother always has something delicious waiting for us, like a piping hot ... read more

My mate Olivier has been living in Geneva, Switzerland for the last few months saving up to go back to South America next week, so I while work was a bit slow I took the week off to go and hang with him before he left. it was great, as always to see him. He was house sitting for some friends of his, and got to use their motorbike so we pretty much boosted around all the time on that. we went across to France a couple of times to eat or check out sweet views of the Alps. We ate lots of great Cheese and Chocolate, went out pretty much every night, and I bought a brand new, genuine Swiss army knife - Evolution model!!! did I mention the Cholcolate? wow!. Geneva is a very ... read more

Hello Reader. For dinner the other night I went to a restaurant called Manora. My guidebook recommended this two floor buffet style restaurant. I went in, it was mostly self-explanitory, a kind local explained the pasta station. I collect all the ingridients myself, hand them to the pasta guy, and presto, my personalized pasta is prepared. I grabbed a bowl and piled it high, I handed the bowl to the guy. An uproar of laughter followed. He held up my bowl and shouted something in German to the salad bar attendant, who then started laughing, and then shouted something to the cashier, who then started laughing. It was all so funny, it seemed, to everyone but me. What had I done? I jumped over the counter and punched him in the mouth. Well, that is what ... read more

Hi All, Well Anna and I headed off to Geneva for the weeekdn where we were catching up with good friends of ours from NZ. Steve, Sarah, and little Caleb had been travelling through Africa on a mission trip and in between that and heading to America for some training we were able to spend 2 great days with them in the beautiful city of Geneva. Friday night was again a great reminder of having London as a base. Leave work as normal and jumped on a plane at 8pm and 1 hour 15 minutes later we are in Switzerland. Very cool. After a bit of a catch up Friday night we were up nice and early and of course greeted by a gorgeous morning. After a few hors chatting which I think Steve and I ... read more

Here are some photos taken in Interlaken over the course of our time there. It is a beautiful setting, nestled in a mountain valley between 2 lakes (hence the name). We had a great dinner one night at a wine bar called Benacus, right off the old town square. J had a fabulous selection of cheeses with nuts and fruit as a appetizer. They feature a "cheese bar" so he was able to choose his cheeses from a nice array; the chef explained each one as an added bonus. The ambience is very nice, well thought out and relaxing. Unfortunately, the waitress told us a new owner is taking over in January and has big plans to change the menu and the decor. We say if it ain't broke, don't fix it!! The town of Interlaken ... read more