Dec 29, 2012 - Bern

We missed the train by 5 seconds, why is Swiss rail so efficient? Drove through some awesome valleys today with blue coloured lakes, surrounded by snow capped mountains, with the white peaks setting off the bluest of blue skies. Yes, we had sun today and the sunglasses got an airing. We arrived in Bern and set off down the Main Street, passing statues, the big clock tower, other buildings and ending at the bear pits. Not overly comfortable with this, however the area provided for the bears has been considerably expanded since we were here...

Nov 19, 2012 - Bern

When we found that Bern was only a couple hours from Lauterbrunnen, we decided to stop there on our way to Reutte. We spent about 2 hours in the old town part of the city. Unlike Bern, North Carolina, the shopping was amazing - block after block of stores! The main reason we stopped in the old town was to see Einstein's clock. According to historians, if you are moving away from a clock and look back at it, the light you see must catch up with you. If your motion is near the speed of light, the clock you see will be slow. Einstein...

Nov 11, 2012 - Start of a special day

As you may know today is rather special, and as always I try and do something a little different. A big factor in what I do is the weather, last night it was raining really heavy, and when I drawn back the curtains this morning there was no let up, in fact it's slightly worse! I need to put in place Plan B Those reading the journal on a daily basis will see that I ended yesterday in Interlaken, and those that really know me, know I am huge fan of the Jungfrau railways, well your right that's what I wanted to do, but the weather forecast for...

Nov 11, 2012 - Back to Bern, birthday ended and journal almost the same

And so this is almost the end of the journal too,, there will be one last entry when I get home to upload any last pictures and correct errors and maps etc, I won't send a reminder, but please feel free to take a peek in a few days time so see my last comments thoughts and feelings, and maybe I might ask you a question.

Nov 9, 2012 - Darkness to Bern

A Lotschberger unit takes me back to Bern, as we ascend the ramp up the valley and into the Lotschberg Tunnel we emerge the other side of the valley in darkness, and the lights of the houses high up in the mountains twinkling away A brilliant day, rather tiring, with some walking but the way I have relaxed.

Oct 27, 2012 - Bern, Switzerland and on to Dijon, France

This morning it is raining out as we leave the B & B in Interlaken and head for the train station for our first train to Bern we store our luggage at the train station and head out to explore Bern, not a nice day for sightseeing as it is still raining, while in Bern we go to the Parliament building for a tour through it. Back to the train station the rain has now turned to snow as we head off to Dijon, France.

Aug 13, 2012 - Bern 1/2 - Return of the Cold

Started off one day with a bit more time in Interlaken, going to a series of underground waterfalls at the base of the Schilthorn-Jungfrau mountains. They were super-deadly and high flowing versions of the falls we saw canyoning the day before. When I asked a staff member if you could jump in he simply replied: 'youd be dead in 1 minute, the water is ice cold'. After this stop we drove to Bern, the capital of Switzerland past the usual unreal scenery and pristine lakes of the country. It was an adventure just I get into the city as the...

Feb 25, 2012 - Festival

We arrived in Bern yesterday afternoon, I wanted to see Einsteins Museum, however we were met by the brightest colourful and LOUD festival going on in the heart of the town. Apparently after asking a "monster" what was going on , he said "it is the annual winter festival where people all dress up in bright colours or masks to ward of the winter time and allow the sun back, its a time of fun and happiness, bands and beer" Okkkk :) It was awesome, soooo loud with um-pa lumpa bands and craaaaazy costumes. As it happens The Einstein museum...

Feb 1, 2012 - Castles and Swiss Bliss

Happy February all! Still chuggin here in Europe...got to see some incredible castles yesterday in Fussen. I understand now where Disneyland got its inspiration; too bad picture-taking wasn't allowed inside the castle walls. Today, a quick tour of Bern before heading to the Alps. Not sure if there's internet there, so might not have a blog update until as late as Saturday. Don't worry about me...I'll enjoy at least one day of snowboarding!

Jun 29, 2011 - A Trip To Bern

June 29, 2011 The weather for Wednesday was predicted to be rain and thundershowers and it was spot-on. Rosmarie decided a trip to Bern was in order as the streets of Bern offer plenty of protection from rain. We avoided raindrops for the most part but it was pouring all around us. Old Bern is built on a rock promontory inside a sharp bend on the Aare River, with another lower part below along the banks where major flooding in 2005 caused over 1 billion Swiss Francs worth of damage. Flood control measures since have substantially reduced...

Oct 22, 2010 - Switzerland..ah brisk!

well, its been a week of fun hanging out with the Vigiers. we ve spent most of our days hanging out with the little girls, shopping, eating, napping. Evenings have consisted of making dinner for the crew, from terri s honey garlic ribs to stuffed pork tenderloin, terri s famous coleslaw, greek salad, and the list goes on. needless to say, our dinners were always accompanied with some wine.. We got to watch one of JP s hockey games. i tell ya, the fans are nutz. a constant chant in the arena for three full periods.. no one cares that the...

Oct 16, 2010 - Done with Rome!

The crowds are too much...we ventured on the shady subway...it's no wonder its packed 24 7 here, there are only two lines that run trough this city! We survived though, no wallets or passports stolen...phew! Saw Vatica city, quite the sight! St Peters church sits prestigiously and swallows most of the blue sky behind it. We ve never seen so many nuns on the run in our lives! Needless to say, Terri has filled her boots with pictures of nuns!lol.. Hitting the road or more like the rails again...Good times! This is it for Italy.. We ve...