Oct 13, 2019 - Day 44 Cycling in the Jura

Cycling the Jura Highlights - sleep in. Yay! - Spent the morning chatting to Terry and Beni’s class reunion mates , who are staying at their house too - Tom and I then did a ride for the day to the Jura foothills. - Coffee and cake in L’Isle after passing through Apples and return via Bière ! - Fabulous weather. Lovely views. Great cycling. Distance Today: 44km Distance Total: 1760 km Weather Mid 20s. Perfect conditions Food Lunch Coffee and cake at Yves Hohl tearoom in L’Isle Dinner € pp La Chasse at the Auberge du 2 Sapins in...

Oct 13, 2019 - The Alps of Switzerland

Our last day was magnificent!!! All of the pictures are of Switzerland. If you didn't know what Switzerland looked like, now you do. If you did know what Switzerland looks like, the pictures reconfirmed it!! It's just beautiful!! We started out on our bus driving toward the mountains. Our Program Director/Trip Leader Sjaack (pronounced Jock), talked to us as we drove; giving us interesting information about Switzerland: There are over 100 lakes. There are over 1300 tunnels. The longest tunnel is 35.5 miles; but you don't drive through it....

Oct 12, 2019 - Day 43 Return to Switzerland

Travel from Avignon to Lyons During the 2 hour layover in Lyons Tom and I conveniently wet off to have a nice lunch Then caught a train to Geneva. Both trains quite crowded and we only just found space for our bikes as there were other cycle tourists on the train. Arrived in Morges and rode back to Lully. Terry away and Beni our with friends We are tired and happy to have a quiet evening at home.

Oct 12, 2019 - Lucerne, Chocolate Day 3

Oh, what fun we had this morning. All the chocolate we could eat!!! The chocolate factory made chocolate for us to sample; then we made our own chocolates to take with us; then the chocolate museum offered samples of chocolate; then at the inevitable gift and coffee shop you could buy more chocolates. WOW!! We dived right in of course and did ourselves proud!! In the afternoon, (we were too full to eat lunch!), we took a walk up to the old city wall. It was quite an uphill hike. Not really a great view. We just saw the city; not very...

Oct 11, 2019 - Lucerne, Beautiful Day 2

This morning we awoke to bright sunshine and clear skies. It's still a little cool but wonderful. We took a hike down the mountain after taking the cogwheel train up the mountain. It was wonderful! Nicely cool! Quiet! And we had great views as you'll see from the photos. Then, in the afternoon, we enjoyed some more wonderful scenery. We caught a boat that took us across Lake Lucerne. Wait till you see the beautiful pictures!! Then we got on a gondola that carried us up the steep mountainside to a hotel and spa. And there, we were greeted by...

Oct 10, 2019 - Lucerne, Switzerland

Now it looks like we are in Switzerland!! Basel wasn't very pretty; but it's an industrial town on the Rhein River and it was a convenient spot for our boat to let us off; pick up new travelers and sail back the way it came. We got on the bus and drove through the countryside to Lucerne. Beautiful countryside!! Lucerne is in central Switzerland; in the German-speaking part of the country. Switzerland is land-locked but has many, many lakes and rivers that connect it to other parts of Europe. It is not part of the European Union because it...

Oct 9, 2019 - Basel, Switzerland

Basel is Switzerland's second-largest city after Zurich. Basel has a split personality. On the one hand, it has giant, modern chemical research and pharmaceutical companies; and on the other hand, it has a network of narrow alleys that weave together the city's medieval architectural heritage. Basel is located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet. The official language of Basel is German, but the main spoken language is the local Basel German dialect. Where the border touches France, the people will speak mainly French but will...

Sep 29, 2019 - Zurich (In Transit)

@@@@@@@ KAPOORS ON THE ROAD We didn’t mind the prospect of a five-hour layover in Zurich because we knew how comfortable the Swiss Air flight would be. Also, two years ago we spent some time in the lounge at the airport on our way to Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia, and were blown away by the facilities and the food on offer. The Swiss really do know how to do things right! It turned out that we had a strong tail wind on our way across the US and the Atlantic, so we ended up arriving ahead of schedule, and had almost another...

Sep 16, 2019 - Day 34. Monday. 16/9/2019. Ipsach to Bern (day trip)

Day 34. Monday. 16/9/2019. Ipsach to Bern (day trip) Tonight we fly out of Switzerland. Another beautiful morning and very hot day. We did a loop in the train today where we spent a few hours in Bern which is a beautiful city with lots of old buildings, and from behind the Government buildings you could look down over River Aare which runs around the edge of the city. There were farmers markets in front of the Govt. buildings offering tastings, and speakers were talking of local farming issues. The Clock Tower (Zytglogge), once a city gate,...

Sep 15, 2019 - Day 33. Sunday. 15/9/2019. Ipsach

Day 33. Sunday. 15/9/2019. Ipsach We woke today surrounded by fog - no mountains, trees or sports fields to be seen. It was pretty and not cold. Ian and I packed our ports ready for tomorrow’s departure, and soon we’ll go for a walk. I asked if it not be as long as when we walked from Biel to Ipsach - I don’t think I could handle that again. Trudi and Marcel are a 1 minute walk to the station which their apartment overlooks. This is a local suburban line and there is a 30 minute service on quiet, modern, mostly 2 carriage trains which link...

Sep 14, 2019 - Day 32. Saturday. 14/9/2019. Ipsach to Murten (day trip)

Day 32. Saturday. 14/9/2019. Ipsach to Murten (day trip) Happy 28th Anniversary Sandie and Steve. We caught the 11am train to Murten, a very old Swiss town beside Lake Murten which we loved. There were great views over the lake, Castle Murten built in 1255 and reconstructed in 1755, some remaining walls and some very old buildings. We walked up and down the main street where there were dozens of restaurants, small shops and old buildings, then found our way down to the water via some steps which took us through what seemed to us, peoples...

Sep 13, 2019 - Day 31. Friday. 13/9/2019. Ipsach

Day 31. Friday. 13/9/2019. Ipsach, Switzerland Today is our ‘lazy’ day, and we’re making the most of it. The internet is working well and we’ve managed to post photos, check our email and fb - and play cards! Ian’s not doing too well - but there’s always tomorrow!!!! Trudi and Marcel have breakfast and dinner, so that’s what we do! We walked to the local grocery store Migro, which is only 5 minutes away, and I managed to get a stamp and send a postcard to Uncle Jim and Jimmy - we’ll probably be home before it.... Tonight we had Rosti,...