We saw many unique and interesting fountains (where people are allowed to sit and cool off in the summer when it's hot out), and huge unusual doors on houses and beautiful pink and white flowering buckeye trees. I think that there more buckeye trees in each city in Switzerland than in the whole state of Ohio!
There are 3 city gates in Basel and we were able to see 2 of them. The whole city was walled at one time, but only a small section remains.
We used 3 different types of transportation to cross the Rhein. We took a local ferry that is powered only by using the current of the river, we took the Tram across one bridge, and we walked across a different bridge.
Three countries by foot, I don't think that we've ever walked to 3 countries in one day before. We walked briefly into France, then crossed the river into Germany before walking back into Switzerland.
3x3=9 which is about how many miles we walked around the city before we enjoyed some gelato, and a well earned rest for the evening.
3 flavors of gelato chocolate sorbet, peanut butter and chocolate and raspberry ginger, all were yummy!!
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| A view of the Munster Cathedral from across the river |
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| The St. Alban City Gate |
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A picturesque home
in the old town |
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| At the top of one of the towers at the cathedral |
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| Tinguely fountain |
Bern with Virgi (Fri May 12)
Milena drove us through the Swiss country side and the Jura mountains to Bern. On the way we stopped at Lake Biel, a very popular boating lake, then explored the beautiful medieval walled village of Murten (and had some great pizza for lunch). Milena dropped us off at the Bern train station, where we met Virgi (she is our exchange student from Argentina, 2007/2008, who has settled in Switzerland). It's been 15 years since we've seen Virgi and she still looks the same!!! We saw the outside of the parliament building (unfortunately the tours were full for the day), the Zytglogge, an old clock tower, the Berner Munster (Cathedral), where we climbed another spiral staircase up the tower, only 344 steps!! Next was a visit to the famous Bern bears, the city mascots. We enjoyed some beautiful nature in the middle of the city with the city rose garden, where the rhododendrons were in bloom, and which included great views overlooking the city. After we meandered through the botanical garden and walked along the Aare River, we finished the day looking out at the Alps that were just barely visible in the distance. We said goodbye to Virgi, and took the train to meet Milena for a good night's sleep, after another full day!
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Schloss Nidau,
a pretty little castle
next to Biel lake |
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| The medieval village of Murten |
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| Views from the Murten wall |
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| Views from the Murten wall |
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| Mark had a short visit with Einstein |
The village of Murten
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| At the top of the Bern Cathedral with Virgi |
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| The Zytglogge in Bern and the Bern bear on the banner |
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| Virgi showed us around her adopted city |
Travel to Oberkulm, Milena's hometown. (Sat. May 13)
We started the day at the beautiful lakeside city of Luzern (Lucerne). We explored the city and a local farmers market, looking at all the wonderful produce, flowers, cheeses, meats, breads and sweets. We enjoyed a performance by a traditional local accapella choir. The city has 2 long covered wooden bridges to cross the river. They are beautifully decorated with old paintings that depict events in Lauren's history. We visited an ornate Jesuit church, then explored the towers along the old city wall, yes, more steps! We had a wonderful lunch at one of Milena's favorite restaurants. Unfortunately, the rain prevented us from seeing views of the Alps behind the lake.
We continued on to Milena's home town of Oberkulm, and met her parents. She grew up in a village of a 2,800 people, in beautiful hilly agricultural area of Switzerland. Her parents own a local pharmacy. They have a lovely home with a beautiful yard and water garden. And a robotic lawn mower! One of the differences between small town USA and small town Switzerland is the great train system that they can take from their town to anywhere they'd like to go! We stayed in Brissago, on Lake Maggiore at a beautiful hotel overlooking the lake, in the canton (state) of Ticino. It's called the little Italy of Switzerland. People speak Italian there, all the signs are in Italian, and it is actually only a few kilometers from Italy!! Part of the lake is in Switzerland and part is in Italy.
We took a short boat ride to a botanical garden that was on an island in the middle of the lake. There was a large house and wonderful gardens, that were started in 1855, with plants from all over the world. We had a lovely walk and boat ride.
Next we headed up the hillside to a wonderful little Swiss Italian restaurant, with amazing views and delicious food. It was a wonderful evening with Milena and her parents, Bea and Simon.
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Views of one of the villages
from the lake, they build the
cities on the hillsides
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At the botanical garden with
Milena, Bea and Simon |
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The view of the Alps from the
restaurant where we ate dinner |
We went to Italy (Mon. May 15)
The next morning after a delicious breakfast they took us to Italy!! We visited the lovely old village of Cannobio, with its pastel colored old world buildings, narrow cobblestone roads and a promenade along the lake. The pasta in the stores all looked better there, and I'm sure the gelato would have been delicious, but we were still full from breakfast.
Our expert driver took us up the valley to see the famous Roman Bridge, the Ponte dei Salti, along the Verzasca river. The river was a beautiful green color and filled with the most interesting rocks and amazing waterfalls. From there we continued up the Verzasca Valley to the medieval village of Sonogno, from the 1200's. It is a well-preserved village set among the Alps. Many of the buildings have old style roofs made of stone slabs instead of slate. We had a local desert of vermicelles, a delicious chestnut paste served with whipped cream or gelato. I could have spent all day in the village just wandering around and looking at the mountains.
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| Relaxing in Italy |
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Narrow cobblestone streets
that end at the lake |
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All the pasta looked better in Italy
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Ponte dei Salti, built by the Roman's
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Sonogno, at the end of a
beautiful valley
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Views of the Alps wherever we looked
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| Narrow lanes, and houses built of stone |
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| Vermicelles |
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Milena's parents' historic home
 | | A farm in the rolling hills of Oberkulm |
We fell in love with Switzerland! We are so fortunate to have had such wonderful tour guides! It was great to meet Milena as an adult, we also met her boyfriend Tim and her roommate Hannah. We enjoyed meeting Milena's parents and appreciated their gracious hospitality! It was also great to meet up with Virgi again. Switzerland is a small country, filled with so much beauty! The people were friendly, the cities were clean, so many people rode their bikes, and public transportation was convenient. The only thing that really surprised us was the "street art" (graffiti), it was all over in the big cities! Also tunnels, so many tunnels, we drove through the Gotthard Road tunnel that is 10.5 miles long!! We visited 3 extra countries along the way, which was an added bonus! We can say we've also been un France, Germany and Italy now! We were sad to leave Switzerland, but excited for our next stop, Scotland!!
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