Category Archives: Spring

Springtime ride on the Glacier Express

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Post by Lauren

You may recall from the blog we took the Glacier Express to St. Moritz this winter.   When we took it while Gabe’s family was here, it was equally as beautiful only half covered in snow.

This time, instead of St. Moritz, we headed to winter sports capital, Davos.  We passed through in route to Klosters, which was the choice vacation getaway for Princess Di and family.  You see, I figured I’d class up the selection and provide us the lodging of royalty.  Just kidding, it was the only hotel in the entire region left since it was still ski season.  And I can promise you that they didn’t stay in the Swiss Sport Lodge, although it was fine for our tastes 🙂

You can see a pictorial recap of our journey below:

Starting out in Zermatt and heading to Brig. Not much snow at all this time!  We love watching the wonder on everyone’s faces!

Continuing on through Fiesch, Reckingen, Muster, Fulka and the canton of Ori.
Everyone in awe in Andermatt. It’s my favorite on the ride, too!

Cutting through the Rhine Gorge, passing through Davos and reaching our destination of Klosters.

Enjoying their first Swiss fondue and raclette in Klosters. Since the raclette was Type 2 and served without meat, the group favorite was the mushroom fondue. We were the only ones in the restaurant with an exclusively German-speaking owner.   It was a really awkward fun experience!

We stayed at the Swiss Sport hotel in Klosters. We found Klosters to be small and tranquil – not a place for late night action.  We had to create our own!  The evening was fun of laughter and fun.  Don’t let The French Cougar tell you that is water in her hand – we believe its wine!   Also don’t even ask why Dunkel and Sweet Wine have those amused looks on their faces.  What happens in Klosters stays in Klosters!

A bonus is that The Gladiator and Mama Mia celebrated their wedding anniversary on this stint of the trip.   We are so glad we got to spend it with them!

Finally….The Matterhorn!

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Post by Lauren

This post is dedicated to Pascal and Gisele.

You might remember that we visited Zermatt before, but failed at catching a glimpse of the Matterhorn.

So when Gabe’s family put this iconic  mountain on the top of their Swiss wish list, we were excited at the thought we might actually get to see it.

We anxiously watched the weather forecast hoping for clear skies.  And…mission accomplished!

We stayed in nearby Tasch, the town where we had parked the car on our last visit.  Tasch has trains to Zermatt every 20 minutes, providing a less expensive hotel option (150 CHF vs. an average of 500 CHF ) since it was still skiing high season in Zermatt.

After dropping bags at adorable Hotel City in Tasch, we headed to Zermatt and immediately took an electric taxi  to the best overlook.  It was quite bright, but still magnificent.

Zermatt is known as a climbers destination although the Matterhorn is one of the deadliest peaks in the Alps.  It was one of the last peaks to be climbed in the golden age of Alpinism, and was first conquered by a group lead by  Edward Whymper in 1865.  Unfortunately, on the descent, there was a fall and four members of the group fell to their deaths.

We passed the graveyard for those who have died attempting to climb the Matterhorn.  It has been about 500 people in total who found their match in the 4,478 m high peak. For more information on this topic, Schwingen in Switzerland did a comprehensive post.

Mountaineer's cemetery, Zermatt

After wandering the town a bit, we dined on burgers and beers at Zermatt favorite, Brown Cow at Hotel Post, and then headed back to our own hotel in Tasch for the evening.

The next morning, we got up bright and early to make sure we were on time for the Glacier Express. We had an extra half hour to kill, so a few of us ventured back to catch a morning glimpse of the majestic Matterhorn.  Much better by morning:

Zermatt still remains one of our favorite Swiss towns.  We have visited it now in winter and spring.  However, I think it would be beautiful in the summer and fall as well.

Gratitude Friday: Four Hours

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Post by Lauren

When we lived in North Carolina and Georgia, we could get to some pretty amazing places in four hours.  In that time, we could visit family in Virginia, check out North Georgia apple orchards, visit some vineyards and catch some NC mountain action.

However, here in Geneva, in four hours driving time, we can find ourselves what seems to be a world away.   We realized this even more when Gabe’s family was here and we did a lot of day trips.  Here are a few examples:

A 3.5 hour train ride or drive can put you in Zermatt, home of the Matterhorn. Just cross your fingers for visibility!

A 4-ish hour drive can put you in the 2nd smallest principality in the world: jet setting luxurious Monaco.

A 3.5 hour drive puts you near Nîmes where you can find evidence of the Roman times - the Pont du Gard aqueduct built in 19 BC and a UNESCO world heritage site.

A 4 hour train ride can put you in the heart of Andermatt where you'll feel like you are in a snow globe....even in April!

A 4ish hour ride can take you to the South of France to gaze on the magnificent cliffs overlooking Cassis.

A 3.5 hour drive can put you in the heart of Arles, France where you can find yourself in the middle of a Van Gogh scene.

A 4-ish hour drive can take you to Nice where you can walk along the beautiful Promenade d'Anglais and watch the sunset.

A four hour train can take you to Milan where you can eat your fill of pasta, gelato and experience the liveliness of Italy alongside of appreciating The Duomo & The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

A four hour ride can have you in Cannes where the famous film festival takes place each May.

Look for posts in the coming days on each of these places we visited with Gabe’s family.

Until then, I am grateful for our location to be “four hours” from all these magnificent sites and the recovery of my feet so that I could keep up. Thank goodness for the wheelchair!

Geneva’s Old Town Train

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Post by Lauren

With my feet out of commission, I had been brainstorming ways to show our most recent guests around Geneva.

Luckily there are three tourist trains in Geneva – one that goes to Old Town, Left Bank, and Right bank.   The Left Bank train became my friend last summer when I didn’t know anyone.  It spoke English and was comforting to hear it pass now and then as I was sitting on the lake front.  Good thing I made friends and didn’t have to the rely on forms of transportation for my social life.

Anyhow, on the day that our crew of 5 arrived from the States, we took the Old Town Train.  This particular one starts at Place du Fusterie and winds around the middle of town for 35 minutes.  It costs 10 francs and passes by the following stops:

The little Geneva tourist train

The Statue of General Dufour

University of Geneva

The Reformation Wall

Palais Enyard

Palais de Justice

Bourg de Four*

L’Hotel de Ville

Statue of Pictet de Rochemont

Bust of Henry Dunant

La Maison Calvin

Calvin’s Auditorium & La Cathedrale St Pierre

La Maison Tavel

Le Musee Rath

Le Grand Théâtre

Le Conservatoire de musique

 

I would rate this train a 5 on a scale of 1 – 10.   It was hard to hear the announcements – they were muffled by the street noise.  Also, the website conflicted with the times that were posted at the entry point causing some confusion.   But for my current condition, a moving vehicle that took us by some Geneva highlights** so that I could fill in commentary was a great thing for us.  If you do have guests or if you are visiting Geneva yourself, email the company for confirmation when and where it will pick up the day you plan to take it.

*I have a friend who lives in Old Town. She detests the Old Town train because of the noise it makes passing her window.  I kind of felt guilty taking it but at least we were going in the middle of the day.

**Our guests asked the baggage guy in the airport what there was to do in Geneva.  He gave them a blank stare and said they’d come to the wrong place for activities.  He did mention Old Town was one thing that they should check out.  Good, glad we had this on the itinerary.

 

 

 

 

Gratitude Friday: Another Bittersweet Goodbye

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Post by Lauren

It’s only been two weeks since Lady J and the Man left.   Yet, alas, it is time to say farewell to more wonderful people whose Geneva chapter is coming to an end.  Our friends N & A and their cutie pie H.B. are moving back to Nebraska today.

I met N at a welcome coffee at the women’s club in May.  We realized we moved to Geneva within a week of each other so made a date for a walk along the lake to compare notes and stories.  Since then, I have really treasured having her as a friend.  Life got even more fun when she gave birth to H.B. in September, rounding out our girl crew with its youngest member.

Snapshots of N and H.B.

Yesterday, we took advantage of the gorgeous Geneva weather to get together for a picnic with Swiss foods in honor of her departure.

Au Revoir célébration

It was a lovely afternoon getting to spend some time with the group of ladies before N departed.

So, this week, I am grateful for getting to know N, A, and H.B. and the fun times we all had together.  We will miss having them so close, but wish her and the entire family lots of luck in their next chapter in Omaha.

Au Revoir, my friend!