Mar 31, 2019 - The Matterhorn in Zermatt!

The next day I got up early and headed to Zermatt to snowboard! I got to see the MATTERHORN! And I met a really nice Canadian couple on the train up to the mountain peak. The town of Zermatt is small but it is totally based around skiing. Went around for hours, figuring out the routes, I think I even snowboarded into Italy for a little. By the end of the day, the snow was slushy and some of it had melted so it was hard to get down the trail I was on. Snowboarded right into the town and then hiked into the central part. Got some cool...

Mar 29, 2019 - More time in the mountains! Interlaken and Zermatt March 29-April 1

I will really let the photos speak for this trip. Traveled to Interlaken from Zurich and met up with my friend Julia, her two friends Maddie and Liz, and then our friend Alex who is studying in Geneva, came and met us as well! On Friday we walked around the town, did a chocolate making/ tasting class, walked to a beautiful lake and just enjoyed the city. The next day I went paragliding in the morning with Julia! My pilot’s name is Falco and he let me help set up the parachute, he gave me a backpack with music playing, and then he clipped...

Mar 19, 2019 - Quick relaxing break in Davos!

The next day I had to leave and it was really a travel day across all of Switzerland. I was heading to Davos which is one of the most eastern parts of the country. In the middle of my day I stopped in Lauterbrunnen which is near Interlaken and there is a waterfall that goes over the whole town. I just sat on a ledge and ate lunch. Headed to Davos and I arrived at night. Even at night it was the cutest little town. Everything was lit up in the valley and the mountains were shadowed in the background. My room was super nice and I had a...

Mar 14, 2019 - Spring break!! Family visits and snowboarding

For my spring break I took a really incredible trip to central Europe to visit family and snowboard. On the 14th (very early in the morning) I made it to Frankfurt, Germany where I caught a train and headed to Geneva, Switzerland. The ride was long and it was a little difficult maneuvering my snowboard between trains but I made it to Geneva at night and my cousin Karin was there to pick me up at the train station! I was staying with Karin at her friend Bea’s place which is a little outside of the city center. It was in the same apartment...

Dec 27, 2018 - To Basel

Thursday 27th: To Basel This morning we disembarked from the Crystal Debussy after a light breakfast. Our ten days on board had been delightful and we could not fault any aspect of the cruise. Another one looks highly likely! The flight to Basel was very comfortable in first class and we arrived at lunch time. We had booked a different hotel from the others, the Nomad Lifestyle and Design Hotel, which was very modern and funky. We did not want to waste any time seeing Basel so set out on foot for the centre. We soon came to the Basel...

Dec 15, 2018 - Basel

Arrived in Basel yesterday afternoon. Got to our hotel around 3 and went exploring. The weather was around 32 - 34 degrees, but no rain or snow. We walked across the bridge into the old town which was beautifully decorated. We walked around and ran into the Xmas market. We discovered Gluwein (the Swiss version of hot mulled wine) which is delicious when it is so cold outside. It comes in a mug that you pay for, but can return and get your money back or keep and pay for refills only. We of course kept them for refilling. We found a charming...

Aug 26, 2018 - August 25 & 26

Dear all, Well if I can get this blog completed this evening then I will be up to date. We have travelled from hot Rome and Italy to the coolness of Lucerne in Switzerland. We travelled on Saturday and the change in scenery was dramatic. On arrival we went on a boat tour on Lake Lucerne. It had been raining as we travelled and still a bit drizzly on the boat but the temperature had dropped from 34'C to 12 - 15'C so had to pull out a the only warm clothes we are now carrying with us. Today, Sunday, we were up early and went to the top of...

Aug 20, 2018 - A few days in Lully

Sunday was a lie in for me. Then bike stuff. Reviewing my gear here and the bike things I purchased recently and had delivered to Switzerland. All look good. New gloves, travelling foot pump, Ergon handlebar grips , spare gear shift changers and spare derailleur hanger. I installed the new grips, pumped up my tyres and in the afternoon went for a ride around the neighbourhood. Managed to check out the last bit of the route that we will take when we return here in a couple of weeks. Very handy! With Beni on Terry’s eBike it was fun keeping...

Aug 18, 2018 - My first day back in Switzerland- yay!

What a wonderful first day back in Switzerland. Sandra collected me from the airport. A lovely last minute surprise that I learnt about from my seat in the plane inHeathrow just before take off. Her walk in the mountains had been postponed until tomorrow. Yay! Dropped my things off at Terry and Beni’s lovely house (with new awning but I hadn’t noticed the front door also matches!!!). Beni is playing in a golf tournament and Terry is away on a 5 day hike in the Alps with ‘the kids’ Sarah and Matt. No need for a shower, as I’d had one at...

Aug 13, 2018 - Day 3 - Zurich to Luzern

An amazing day. Starting the day in Zurich, we managed to see the start of the Street Party where an estimated one million people came together to party the day and night away. It was pretty amazing sight. We only managed to see the start, where we walked from the hotel down to the lake along with other party goers where many went in colourful outfits. We then caught the train down to Lucerne, checked into our hotel and went visiting the nearby sights of the famous bridge (you can easily see where they have rebuilt part of the bridge due...

Aug 11, 2018 - Days 1 + 2 + Melbourne to Zurich

Taken a while to get the pictures uploaded and I probably missed a few along the way in the uploads. I'd forgotten why it takes so long to create these posts. The wifi here was terrible and it took about 15 minutes to load one photo and you had to do it one at a time. Not to worry though, here's the first batch of photos of Zurich. The flight over was nothing to speak of which was great. I was worried about the 14 hour flight would be horrendous but we coped well. The entertainment system is very good on Emirates. The stop over was...

Jul 26, 2018 - Rueterswil

26 July 2018 Another day to celebrate as it is Regi's birthday. We greeted her in her "outside" bedroom as we all sang Happy Birthday, before enjoying our usual outdoor breakfast. A nice relaxed morning, then Regi and Trudie made out a shopping list and the girls set off for Aldi. Regi has friends coming for a BBQ dinner for her birthday, so after the shopping expedition, Regi and Trudie were very busy in the kitchen and Pam helped where possible. Marcel and Don were in charge of the outside decorations. Regi is a clone of her mother, and...