Switzerland Again

Nicky: We left Lake Como on a cloudy morning and headed north over the San Bernardino pass to Ines's home in Mels, Switzerland. We had visited Ines and her boyfriend Marcel in June, and we thought this would be a good opportunity to visit them again, as we were only a few hours drive away. Once crossing the border into Switzerland, we picked up our vignette (toll pass for driving on the motorways in Switzerland) and filled up the tank, which must have been running on fumes! The petrol prices in Italy are between 1.70 and 1.85 a litre. The petrol was about 30 cents a litre cheaper in Switzerland, hence there are about 6 stations at the border and nothing else! The pass, which was winding in parts took us up into the mountains, where we encountered snow on the ground! It was much more than we were expecting. Later, Ines told us that it had snowed a couple of days before. Some of the laybys were out of use and the carparks had been cleared of snow. We even saw a caravan that had been left at the top of the pass, we assumed during the snow fall, and would be returned for once the snow melted.

We were a little early to Ines's, so we stopped at Sargan Castle near her home. The present castle dates from about 1459, and is now a museum and restaurant.

We spent the next two days catching up with Ines and Marcel, cleaning the van, doing washing, researching our trip and catching up on the blog. The weather had taken a turn for the better, and I was somewhat unsure whether I should be cleaning in the van on a sunny 15 degree day! While at Ines's we were also able to skype with our families. It was good to catch up, as we had last skyped them in August. We were also able to send off our insurance claim. Long story short, this process had been slowed down by us having trouble getting a statement from our English bank account.

Ines was working in Zurich on Wednesday and Thursday, so on Thursday she kindly drove us in and we spent the day in the city. It was the warmest weather we have had in a while and sat in the sun many times that day. I think it got up to 18 degrees. I didn't know much about Zurich before, only that it was the financial hub, but it has a lovely lake, churches and old town. We followed a walking route on a map Ines had picked up for us, and added to it, walking about 3km along the lake. There were plenty of photo ops, including Lindenhof, a small hill in the old town and outside Grossmunster (church) looking toward the old town. There is also the famous Barnhofstrasse, one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world. We happily filled in the day there and met Ines at 4.30pm, and then drove the 1.25 hours back to Mels.

The following day we went to Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstien. Ines and Marcel took us to lunch here in June. Ines organised for us to park at her work, and we walked the the main pedestrian street. This time we looked at the Post and stamps museum. Someone had written on Tripadvisor that it took them 15 minutes, and this was the case for us too. We then walked 30 minutes up the hill to Vaduz Castle, where the reigning Prince lives. There are panels on the way with information about Liechtenstein and a viewpoint over the city just before the castle. Again we were blessed with sunny weather. That night we had our final dinner with Ines and Marcel, as we were heading off the following morning.

Marcel and Ines treated us to breakfast the next morning, with croissants, meats, cheese, bread and fruit, before we went about 10.30am. Marcel and Ines were fantastic hosts, they really looked after us and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

Our next destination was Lucerne, about 2 hours away. The sun was out again and we passed some fantastic scenery on our drive. We parked near the lake and it was a 15 minute lakeside walk to the central city. We passed some temporary amusements, which are on for about 2 weeks, and the car park where the carnies had their caravans! Our first stop was the information centre, where we picked up a map of the city. It featured a helpful walking route and we started off looking at the Jesuit church and Franziskanerkirche (church) nearby. Before crossing the Spreuerbrucke (bridge) and heading up to the city walls and towers. Three of the towers are open, the first one we climbed proved to be the best, as it offered more than 180 degree views of the city. Another stop was the Lion monument, the information board stated that '' the Lion Monument is dedicated to the memory to the Swiss mercenaries who, in the service of Louis XVI King of France, were killed during the French Revolution in Paris when the Tuileries were invaded on August 10, 1792, or who were guillotined on September 2nd/3rd 1792''. The statue was carved out of rock in 1820/21. We then saw the Hofkirche (church) and then walked the streets of the old town, which featured many painted buildings. We happened across a cheese fesival, where interestingly one of the exhibits was a life size cow model, which people were milking in some sort of competition! Our final attraction, is probably one of the most iconic in Lucerne, the Kapelbrucke (Chapel bridge). It was built in the 14th century as part of the city's fortifications. We had enjoyed ourselves so much that we were half an hour late back for our parking. Lucerne had been one of the stand outs for me so far. We headed south from Lucerne about 5pm and stopped 1.5 hours later around Gottard enroute to Bellinzona. It was a cold night as there was a small amount of snow still on the ground!

Our final Swiss city was Bellinzona, which is famous for it's three castles, which are UNESCO heritage listed. Being Sunday, the parking was free, which made finding one very difficult! We ended up down the road, probably in a park reserved for residents. We walked through the old town area, past a market, and we climbed up to two of the castles: Castelgrande and Montebello. They both have pay museums, but we were content to walk around and admire the views. Both castles in their present form originate from the 13th century, but have had work completed later on as well. It was a cloudy day, and we sat out a shower of rain in a turret at Montebello (in had murder holes as it was over the drawbridge and we were tempted to drop a peanut on someone with an umbrella below).

We had 53 Swiss francs in cash remaining, so we were able to use the 40 in notes at an automated petrol station. We still had room for more petrol, and as the price is so much better in Switzerland, we filled up again, hoping to be able to use the 13 in coins and the rest on card, but we weren't allowed. So we stopped at Brissago, which is a town on Lake Maggiore, just before the border. Using our money was made all the harder because it was Sunday, and all the supermarkets were shut. So we ended up with a bottle of milk from the petrol station and some apple strudel and panetone from a tea room, an extravagant purchase we wouldn't usually make, but will enjoy. Unfortunately the weather had turned pretty bad by this stage and we couldn't see much of the lake.