Switzerland

 

  The adventure across the pond begins. Please join us if you have time as we explore a different area of the world. We will begin in the beautiful country of Switzerland 

   May 9, 2023. We've spent so much time planning and organizing this trip! It feels great to finally be at the airport! Security was quick and easy, and now thanks to Kari and Jess, we are relaxing in Club CLE, the private airport lounge that we get to enjoy thanks to their new credit card!

The nice airport lounge, 
So much nicer waiting there

Day 1. May 10,

 We had a great flight to Zurich and Milena, our exchange student from Switzerland who stayed with us in the 2010/2011 school year, came and picked us up at the airport. On the way to Basel, Switzerland, we stopped at a beautiful, large waterfall, Rheinfall, next to an old castle, Schloss Laufen, that perched on top of a hill. The water was rushing down the long wide falls, with spray flying up everywhere as they have had alot of rain this spring. Then we stopped at a very picturesque village with a very old monastery complex, Rheinau abbey, where we walked around outside since the building was closed,  and had lunch. On the way to Basel we drove through  a bit of the German countryside.

The abbey

       

A very pretty church at the abbey

    

Rheinfall and Schloss Laufen on the right

A traditional house in the style of the
Alsace area of France

The day of threes ( Thursday, May 11)
     Today we explored the beautiful city of Basel, which is situated along the Rhein river. Our wonderful tour guide, Milena, brought us to  Basel's Old Town in the morning, and we wandered among the well preserved and beautiful buildings. We tried to imagine living there 500 years ago and how it would have been different, and how it would be the same. We visited the Basler Munster (Cathedral) and climbed the winding staircases up one of the 2 towers for an amazing view of the city! The Cathedral was beautiful and well restored inside and out. The city is an interesting combination of historic buildings and modern structures. We had a delicious Lebanese lunch of mousaka wraps.

     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!!

A view of the Munster Cathedral from across the river 

The St. Alban City Gate

A picturesque home
in the old town

At the top of one of the towers at the cathedral

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!

Schloss Nidau,
a pretty little castle
 next to Biel lake

The medieval village of Murten

Views from the Murten wall

Views from the Murten wall

Mark had a short visit with Einstein

The village of Murten

At the top of the Bern Cathedral with Virgi

The Zytglogge in Bern and the Bern bear on the banner

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!

The city wall and towers in Luzern

Milena on one of the 
city wall towers

The Jesuit church in Luzern

A wonderful local choir, a nice surprise!

One of the old brigdes

The city by the water

Many of the houses had beautiful
 murals and panels painted on them 

The Alps and Ticino (Sun. May 14)
      Milena's dad must be the best driver ever! He drove us in a manual transmission car in rain and sleet through the pass in the south eastern side of the Swiss Alps, and on some of the craziest, narrow roads that we've ever been on! ( luckily Mark didn't have to drive!!)

     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.

Views of one of the villages
 from the lake, they build the
cities on the hillsides

At the botanical garden with
Milena, Bea and Simon

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. 

Relaxing in Italy

Narrow cobblestone streets
 that end at the lake

All the pasta looked better in Italy

  

Ponte dei Salti, built by the Roman's

   

Sonogno, at the end of a
 beautiful valley

Views of the Alps wherever we looked 

Narrow lanes, and houses built of stone

Vermicelles

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!!