Christmas Dinner

With Peter, Jules and myself in Switzerland for Christmas (yes Tamsin I know you are sick of hearing about that), Tamsin and I decided to have a belated Christmas dinner here at our house for everyone.

It was a pretty cool night, we made a delicious roast and I met a few new people which was nice. Even the Ice Cream Christmas Cake that Tamsin made was good (although I was dubious in the beginning).

Plenty of wine was drunk (some more then others) and you will be pleased to know that Peter, Jen and Tamsin won the name that city quiz I made up and Jules, Libby and Carl won the name that song (you would think Tamsin and Jen would know a lot about eighties songs - turns out not as much as Libby, Carl and Jules)!

Oh and we still have some of that ice cream stuff if anyone is interested!

Switzerland, Part Six

The final two days in Switzerland were pretty cool! On New Years Day we headed back out over the frozen lake to the village proper to check it out. It absolutely reeked of money. Ladies wearing Dior Moon Boots and men looking ridiculous wearing fur coats (but apparently you cannot be without one in St. Moritz).

We saw the posh hotels, rode the longest escalator in Switzerland, saw the leaning church tower and ate some pretty nice food before heading back across the lake for a well deserved nap. As we were walking back a helicopter was ferrying stuff to the centre of the lake which was pretty interesting.

After a nap we headed to a restaurant close by for a quick dinner and the waitress asked us if we were heading out to see the fireworks (that's what the helicopter was ferrying out to the lake!). So we headed out for a pretty cool fireworks display (naturally it did not compare with NYE in Sydney) and then headed back to the hotel.

Today had to get back to Zurich for our flight back to London. The Swiss landscape constantly amazes and it was a pretty nice trip from St. Moritz (as you can see from the pictures).

So the final verdict? If you have not been to Switzerland before it is a must see destination!


St. Moritz Village


St. Moritz Village


Jules and Peter on the Lake


Me on the Lake


I think it is over there somewhere?


The Leaning Church Tower


The Town Hall


Apparently THE way to get around the village.


Street Scenes


A Posh Chocolate Shop


Street Scenes


More of the Lake


Badrutt's - The Poshest Hotel in the Village


Quick way across the lake.


The helicopter


Kids Having Fun


Nap Time!


Fireworks!


Views from the Train


Views from the Train


Views from the Train


Postcards to everyone!

Switzerland, Part Five

Our train was not due to leave Disentis until late this afternoon, so we took a bit of a walk around town. It was a beautiful sunny day and the fresh snowfall last night gave us the perfect opportunity to throw snowballs (although Peter did not appreciate that).

After exhausting all the options in the village we went back to the hotel where they had a games room with a table tennis table. Now here is a quick question, when I have played table tennis in the past (singles) when serving you had to serve diagonally to the opposite quarter on the other side, whereas Peter reckoned you just had to get it across the net. We played by my rules, but it turns out that Peter is right! Who would have thought?

Anyway, after beating the pants off both Jules and Peter we walked down to the train station, had a drink and waited for the train. As usual (for Switzerland) the train arrived on time, so we dumped our bags and headed to the dining car for lunch! The food was pretty average, but they really worked hard to make the experience something special, so it was quite nice.

By the time we got back to our seats it was dark, so we played cards until we arrived to an absolutely freezing St. Moritz. We had booked the cheapest possible place which also happened to be the furthest from the station, so we got a bus over, quickly changed and then hit the town for New Years Eve (or Sylvester as they called it).

We walked back into town across the frozen lake (!!) which was pretty cool, and found a bar called Bobby's (which, it turns out, is where the children of the wealthy tourists hang out). It cost £10 to get in, which was not too bad, and once there we spent the rest of the night (and plenty of the morning) drinking Löwenbräu's with a brief change to champagne for midnight!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!



A Sunny Disentis Morning!


A Sunny Disentis Morning!


A Sunny Disentis Morning!


A hut on the hill.


Got him! Yes!


Our Train Carriage


Views from the GE


Views from the GE


Playing Cards

Switzerland, Part Four

Today we started our trip on the Glacier Express. A train that makes its way from Zermatt to St. Moritz through the Alps!

We got up early and headed back over to Zermatt, had some breakfast and boarded the train. The carriages were pretty cool, they had great big windows giving you a great view of the landscape. We had also organised to have lunch in the dining car which sounded pretty cool.

The scenery was amazing, Switzerland really is a beautiful country. I imagine the landscape would be completely different in summer as well (which I guess means another trip!). Unfortunately the train coming from St. Moritz was running late which means the dining car would not be connected until Disentis (instead of Andermatt), which means no lunch for us (as we were getting off at Disentis today). But we ordered a sandwich and a bottle of wine and just sat in our seat and enjoyed the ride.

We got off at Disentis not really knowing what to expect, but it turned out to be great! Our hotel room was last decorated in the seventies, so I guess it was cool again (they had this funky lamp that I wanted to bring home)! The town is in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, so we did have a little difficulty communicating, but it all worked out.

We headed out to a smokey restaurant for dinner before walking back home through the falling snow! It was pretty magical.



On our way to Zermatt



Jules on the train



GE Views



Me on the train



GE Views



GE Views



GE Views



GE Views



GE Views



GE Views



GE Views



GE Views



GE Views



GE Views



Disentis!

Switzerland, Part Three

So we have spent the last couple of days wandering around Saas-Fee and generally taking it easy. The village is really nice. Having no cars seems to make a huge difference! The crepes and the hot chocolate in the village were pretty good as well.

Yesterday we decided to head to Zermatt, which is another ski resort about an hour from Saas-Fee. It is very close to the Matterhorn, so we thought it might be nice to have a look around the resort and then head up the hill to see the Matterhorn!

After a bus and train journey we arrived in Zermatt and it was freezing! We later found out that it was -11°C at the top of the hill. We looked around the village a bit - like Saas-Fee it was car free. Unlike Saas-Fee it seemed to be flush with money. It definitely seemed like a place where wealthy skiers stayed.

We then bought a life pass to head up the mountain which involved a two gondolas and a short walk. From the top you would normally have a great view of the Matterhorn, but unfortunately the clouds had settled, but I guess it was cool that I had never been at a higher altitude (on land of course) before! In fact it was so high they had signs telling people to take it easy, and I definitely felt short of breath and light headed while up there.

There was also an ice cave near by where people had carved out ice sculptures. It was a bit of a disappointment actually, there seemed to be more plastic then ice.

We then headed to a restaurant for a late lunch with a fantastic view before heading back to Saas-Fee.

Today we thought we would try our hand at skiing! We were told that there was not enough snow, but if you are in a ski resort you kind of feel obliged to have a go! So we picked up our skis and headed to the slopes to buy lift passes. Jules put her skis down, lined up and got the tickets. When she got back she noticed that someone had pinched her skis (or taken them by mistake), so we waited around for 20 minutes before Jules told Peter and I to go and have a ski. About an hour later Jules was still waiting, so we came back over to her and I waited while she went to the ski hire place to try and sort something out and Peter went up a Gondola to see if he could see anything at the top. Well it was bloody cold waiting there (later found out it was -25°C, so by the time Jules got back I was ready to head back inside (I could not feel my hands or feet). So Jules and Peter had a quick ski down before meeting me in the locker room.

Not wanting to write-off the day (or waste our lift pass) we decided to head up the hill to a restaurant at the top. The views were pretty spectacular and the restaurant revolved which was pretty cool! It made the day worthwhile!




Our Chalet in Saas-Fee



Saas-Fee Village



More of Saas-Fee



More of Saas-Fee



More of Saas-Fee



The Matterhorn



More of the Matterhorn



Zermatt Village



Skiers at the top!



Proof of the altitude!



It's so cold!



Zermatt Village



Saas-Fee Skiing!



Views from the Restaurant



Views from the Restaurant



Views from the Restaurant


Views from the Restaurant


Me!