With regret we left our favourite hotel and headed off to Switzerland. We decided to revisit Verona as our last visit in 2009 was washed out by torrential rain. This time it was dry, but we opted to park in the free area outside the city walls, forgetting how far it was into the centre leaving us with a long walk. We had another good look at the exterior of the Roman arena we visited last time and the We went to "Juliet's house" and balcony amid masses of tourists gawping at Juliet's statue with a high polished right breast from being pawed by hundreds for "good luck". We paid our respects again to Shakespeare's bust on the inside of and archway into the square.Verona's old town is nice with touches of roman influence.However much has had to be reconstructed after war damage.
The rest of the day was spent on the autostrada until we reached the Swiss border where we opted not to pay the annual motorway tax and confined ourselves to the "free" roads. The crossing into Switzerland was over the Simplon Pass, an easy climb and long descent with a beautiful alpine valley at the pass itself. By this time the clouds were rolling in so we didn't see much of the high peaks around us.
We stayed near Brig - a bit of an exercise raising some one at the address ( Hotel Aladdin) we booked into. It appeared closed and deserted.Finally we worked out the notice in the window,and with an address in mind turned around and found the hotel that dealt with people booked into Hotel Aladdin. Like the story there was magic involved and we were soon whisked into this other, much nicer hotel where we ate dinner in the restaurant. The Switzerland was paying in the soccer world cup. Bertrams should not have been in Switzerland that night. They lost the game - as had Croatia when we were there and - in due course did France when we arrived there!
photos!
3 July
Today was a quick look at the outside of the castle in Brig, then a drive down a large valley to Lake Geneva. This area is quite heavily industrialized, but the surprise to us was the acreage of vineyards. We called into one wine cellar in Yvorne and learned a little about the industry here - the main grape grown is Chasselas, a thin skinned white grape that is also used as a table grape. The entire production of Swiss wine is consumed within Switzerland which is why we've never heard of it. The woman who served us offered us 2 whites to try, the one she preferred herself and the one she said the wine waiters offer as being more "snobby", which she indicated with an upturned nose.
When we talked to her about our stay in Brig her reply was 'Brig! Alors they talk with a stone in their mouth!" This was the second time we had heard that the area of Brig was looked down on by those who spoke Haute Deutsch in Switzerland.
We found our accommodation in Lausanne close to the lake port of L'Orcy and a 3 minute walk to the lake through a park.We are in a third floor apartment with a view to a steep walking pathway which takes you to the shops up above. We walked up and bought a few goods at the local supermarket - as always a fascinating exercise and we bought lovely local meats, cheese, fruit etc. Yumm. We ate our dinner at a Swiss Restaurant on the waterfront of lac Geneva, served by a very over the top waiter who told us every dish we ordered was the specialty of the house and our choice was "Parfect!!" There was a restaurant in the apartment building which served lunches but you had to order your dinner menu 24 hours before eating and it would be delivered to your accommodation where you could warm it up! Naturally we went to the local restaurants.
4 July
Late start, morning doing laundry and then used our free transport pass to look at the centre of Lausanne. Every tourist staying in Lausanne accommodation is entitled to a free pass for all buses and the metro during their stay. Together with an excellent public transport network it is a wonderful idea - if only NZ cities could do the same.
The old town in Lausanne is a very small area around the 12th century cathedral and a 13th century castle/palace and has character typical of the times and region where it stands. However the centre of town is built on a ridge with steep side streets and at one point a street bridge with a metro bridge beneath it standing 6 stories above the road below.We had a great view of the city from outside the cathedral.
We walked down to an "English" park with lawns, a variety of trees and an aviary. There were a number of young people sunbathing on the lawns and others sitting in the shade reading. A very pleasant area and we were surprised to come across a building marked as the International Olympic Games Committee Headquarters.
The birds were exotic and fascinating - however I ( GB) find aviaries sad places in many ways. This was a hot day and the cages were not large by any means.
One thing that was very noticeable was that there were at least 20 vapour trails in the sky at any one time - obviously this area is on several major ir routes.
This evening we ate again on the waterfront in warm sunny weather, ( Thai this time - along with the midges - no bites but we were glad of the insect repellent GB carries)
We then walked along to a swimming beach where we sat until the sun got down behind some trees. A number of yachts were out on the lake, but only one had sails up and there wasn't enough breeze to fill them. There were a number of groups sitting on the grass behind the beach, some lighting fires and small barbecues on the grass, but they were mostly groups of friends rather than families,
4 July
Another late start, then we drove up to Lake Neuchatel, which is a good size and very clear blue with reeds around the area we visited. The lake is fringed with an area of woodland with blackberries growing along the track walked down.Some were fruiting and some were in flower.
We then headed down to a national park near the French border and found 2 pretty lakes, Lac Brenet and Lac de Joux. The town of Le Pont sitting between them is attractive and spread out along the
shoreline of Lac de Joux. While we were there there was some police action as one car headed up to a nearby pass at high speed and another skidded to a stop outside the railway station and set up a road block. However nothing dramatic happened while we were there.
GB comment - despite the police activity I felt a sense of deep peace at this place. Not many tourists - a sleepy Swiss village with people going about their business. I would happily return.
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