We left for Montreux after a fabulous weekend in Interlaken. a beautiful scenic snowy journey took us to Lake Geneva aboard the SBB train. Montreux is a pretty city, like most Swiss cities nestled on the banks of their fabulous lakes. It was a time to enjoy long walks around Lake Geneva with the winter flora in bloom. With the purchase of a kilo bag of bird seed, the kids were entertained feeding the feathered creatures and onlookers amused. Seems every city we go to, the birds become a priority to ensure they are fed. We visited Chillon Castle with it's extordinary views over Lake Geneva. The next day we had a visit to the games museum which had us entertained for hours with chess (of course), pinball machines and a new game of Tigers and Goats, a primitive game which evolved in India played in the sand with some beans or pebbles as markers, one I know the kids will continue to play. We had a lovely evening with our good friend Fran, who took the train from Lausanne to meet up with us to enjoy some yummy food and the boys drank many a bottles of red wine.
Chateau de Chillion on Lake Geneva, I had beautiful walk around here.
We skied next to this beauty
The first morning we were ready to hit the slopes with our ski instructor Nicolas. A few runs on the magic carpet and the gang was ready for the blue run. We set off without our poles at a height of 3,000 metres above sea level. The Matterhorn is such a spectacular site to behold and we couldn't get any closer to it unless we climbed it. It is not the highest mountain in the Alps, but as it stands alone it gives that appearance. In my last post, I mentioned that Jungfrau was the highest mountain in Switzerland, well I stand corrected as our ski instructor informed us there are many misunderstandings about this. In fact, Monte Rosa (the 'Pink mountain') is the highest mountain in Switzerland with the main summit, known as the Dufourspitze (4,634 m (15,203 ft)). Now after thinking this through, perhaps Jungfrau is labeled the highest mountain you can ascend with a funicular or cable car. Monte Rosa is a mountain you must climb with your own will with one side of it facing Italy and the other in Switzerland. Ok, back to the slopes, the weather wasn't the best in terms of visibility though we had great snow conditions and very little wind. Just not being able to see can make things a bit tricky and to top it off at an altitude of 3,000 metre it also plays havoc with your balance. We plowed through and eventually Tony, Emma and Hamish conquered the red run with Nicolas in tow or was it the other way around. I stayed back so they could tell me how the visibility was. Hamish has his own method with straight down, who needs turns! When he needed to stop all was required was a face plant. Well, I am glad I didn't attempt it, as this one eyed mummy might not have gotten down unless they carried me. It is all very exhausting and we felt trimmer for the extra work we were putting out. Our ski instructor, Nicolas was a champion and really made the skiing so enjoyable. It would have been rather hard for me to try and keep Hamish on the straight and narrow, provide tuition to Emma and Tony all the while learning the new craving technique, which I am sure has been around for decades. I have just been on the beach during that time, so my skills and confidence needed attention.
We regretfully left Zermatt and our new found friends Sam, Christian and Mia who graciously welcomed us into their home for home cooked meals. It was truly wonderful after so many restaurant meals. We enjoyed sledging, walking through the snow and snowman making to name a few. We will definitely return to this winter wonderland paradise.
Next stop St. Moritz, home of the 1928 and 1948 Olympics. Well I don't really have much to say about St Moritz as it was pretty much a ghost town during our stay. The season wasn't to begin until the weekend after our departure. So we played in the snow, walked around the deserted Olympic village and ate. I am a bit over the eating 3 meals a day and the restaurant routine. After 3 days, we boarded our next train to Zurich. We were pleasantly surprised with this number and booked ourselves in for a city tour which provided us with a brief overview and an insight to the history and development of the city. Something I highly recommend to everyone when going to a new city. The Christmas markets were in full swing and we enjoyed meandering around and observing all the wares on offer. I like the fact that everyone comes together for a good old fashioned chat sipping on gluhwein (mulled red wine laced with clove and spice) in sub-zero temperatures...very civilised. We hung out in English book shops and visited one of the best toy stores ever, Franz Carl Weber one of the best selections I enjoyed browsing over. Yes, even a Christmas present or 2 was secretly purchased with unsuspecting eyes.
It was time for the end of our journey in Switzerland after 30 days and return to the euro in Austria.
…our feet are the same
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