August 2014- Vacation

I will have to get back to this... spent hours on vacation posts only to lose the whole thing... once I get over the disbelief and disappointment, I plan to get back to it...

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Okay, here we go again!  It is actually quite nice to revisit the pictures from this wonderful trip!
Two weeks in August 2014...

We drove to Cambridge and spent the night with Dan and Rachael; they kept our car for us and took us to the airport ...we flew over night to Zurich.  Here is a basic map of our trip, but we also went to Basel the first day and spent the first night there.  We spent an extra night in Zurich at the end of the trip.

View of Switzerland out the airplane window.

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Basel; northwestern 'corner' of Switzerland; port on the Rhine

 very old city with lots of public transportation and streets with no cars

 Across this bridge is Germany; and to our left and across the Rhine is France. 

 Mix of very very old and new... new sculptures and buildings in the late day shade of this very old church.

Lots of art/museums/thearers here... we were not here long enough to fully explore.... 

Maybe we ought to go back!

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From Basel we boarded a tour bus and rode to Gstaad on our way to Lake Geneva.
The views along the way of the alps and countryside were spectacular!

...valleys of villages and farm land

...tunnels through the mountains

We stopped here for lunch and a walk-about...

flowers everywhere...

 this is a 'ski town'

fancy shops for the rich and famous...

delicious beer

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Off now on a beautiful ride through the countryside to Montreux on Lake Geneva

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 ... here we are... a very beautiful place to be!
Montreux on Lake Geneva

Montreaux

 lakeside markets

Statue of  Freddie Mercury

'corseted' /controlled water runoff from the mountains...

beautiful water 'ditches'

 Chateau de Chillon; very old castle/prison... medieval fortress on the lake

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On now to Zermatt, a 'pedestrian village' (aka, no cars!) at the base of the Matterhorn
... a beautiful ride through the countryside

wind turbines in the valleys... the mountains create wind tunnels

hillside farming

hillside farming for sure!

this is how some folks get home from work...

gorge crossings

lots of hydro power

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Here we are in Zermatt
Hotel Alex... our favorite... most interesting hotel... and luxurious, too

The view outside from our deck

Zermatt was a real highlight of this trip... 

...up we went on the Gornergrat Railway

'wow' views... everywhere we look!

glacial flows; snow fields...  global warming of concern here.

the air/oxygen was 'thin' here... we all felt it.

The “Bernhard von Aosta” chapel on the Gornergrat is one of Zermatt’s most visited places of worship. Visitors from all over the world stop to light a candle and enjoy the soothing tranquility of this mountain sanctuary.  [Construction took place in 1950]. The chapel is owned by the municipality, and stands at an altitude of nearly 3,100 m.   

waiting for the train now

valley views going back down

'mint' colored water from the mountains

view of the Matternhorn from our hotel; crystal clear day.

village of Zermatt; no cars here, only electric 'golf cart' type vehicles and horses

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From Zermatt, we boarded the 'narrow gauge' Glacier Express Train and headed to St. Moritz through the 'heart' of the Swiss Alps.  

pictures through the windows of the train

farming in every valley

a church in every village.. a person could do a study of just the churches.

tunnels and bridges

hillside living and logging

 This is a commercial picture of the train

lovely view

St. Moritz

 This is the oldest part of the city of St. Moritz;

 very much a ski resort area; gondolas right out of the city take one directly to the ski slopes!

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Now we are on the Bernia Pass Train and off to Lake Como, via Tirano, Italy.  We were very near the Morteratsch Glacier, but due to dense fog, we couldn't see it this day.

Farmer using the same tool that Ryan uses.

We're in northern Italy now... for lunch, a walk about and an ATM for Euros. Nice village.

 

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on the road again, this time by bus to Lake Como
More mint colored water from the mountains being channeled...

 gas pumps

 Lake Como, Italy

 old city

 built up around the lake, literally

private elevator

Lion Monument (carved in sandstone); commemorates soldiers who protected King Louis XVI

unusual outside furniture

water taxi to town

town of Lake Como

old.. narrow streets

Old Watch Tower.. .beyond which is a marketplace (flea market type)

get on and off your boat here

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Off to Stressa, Italy, for dinner on an island

markets in Stressa

wine tasting here, too

dinner here

Our tour guide, Ralph, is in this picture.

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Bus to Lucerne, Switzerland

bikes everywhere

familiar signs

chapel bridge

Chapel Bridge (1333)

This was a highlight: lots of Picasso work here.. wonderful exhibit; Marc Chagall, too

a day trip up this mountain- Pilatus

 magnificent views!

 Brown Swiss cows, naturally

putting together the alp horns

they yodeled for us, too

more cowbell!

in the clouds today... too bad.

all the cows are wearing bells... lovely sound in the clouds

Swiss take time (and their clocks) seriously.

These are birds at the mountain top- not sure what they are; they were fluffed out to keep warm and social

going down now

little plots of hay being made; hand raking

hillside sheep

back to Lucerne; exploring and walking

city wall

lunch time

 tour ends... we are now off to Zurich on our own...

we found our hotel and went walking... climbed up to overlook the city

it was Sunday; shops closed; families out and about

looks like coffee time

large chess game

our hotel is over there somewhere- not far behind the main street

large clock face

live music, drinking, eating and dancing

water taxi 
Fondue time!

out our hotel room window onto the square

 street/restaurants outside our hotel

PM concert outside our hotel room... lovely!

From here a taxi took us to the airport;
Dan and Rachael picked us up,
 and we had dinner and spent the night with them in Cambridge before driving home the next day. What an amazing trip!!