Our first trip to Europe
#43
Hi Kwaussie!
Just stumbled across this great trip report - glad you're on the move again. i thoroughly enjoyed your US trip & tips one is shaping up to be very interesting too.
Thanks so much for making the effort to do a journal & share it.
Just stumbled across this great trip report - glad you're on the move again. i thoroughly enjoyed your US trip & tips one is shaping up to be very interesting too.
Thanks so much for making the effort to do a journal & share it.
#44
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nice to have you onboard our adventure again Bokhara2 ![Imported](https://www.fodors.com/community/images/smilies/imported/smiley.gif)
Thanks for the tip janis- I almost bought a raclette appliance today but I don't think my luggage allowance will take it so another racket meal in London will e great!
Day 8
At the risk of sounding repetitive, we have had another marvellous day in Switzerland. It's hard to believe but 7 days ago we were just finishing work to get on a plane and now here we are close to completing the second leg of what has so far been an amazing adventure. Holiday time is so warped!
We started today in the supermarket. This is always one of my favourite excursions when we're on holidays. It may be unusual to get so much joy from such an every day activity but I find it fascinating to see the food habits of other cultures. Today my focus was on chocolate- what else when you are in the home of Lindt! Because it's close to Easter there are more than the usual choices in the chocolate aisle. As we have seen in the shops in Paris as well, chocolate making is an art form in Europe and the detail in some of the egg sculptures is amazing. I stuck with blocks for my purchases though. I don't think I could bear to eat the sculptures! The bread department was also fascinating. So many varieties of rolls and pastries. The bread our host has been making for us is a perfect example of the dense, flavoursome dough available here. Ironically it is a perfect base for vegemite, a spread for which our Swiss friends have no liking.
After shopping we drove to the town of Schaffhuasen, a picture perfect Swiss town, home to the majestic Munot Castle that dominates the skyline from its position on top of the hill. Our journey took us over the border into Germany and back to Switzerland again. What a bizarre concept for us Antipodeans, to be able to pass from one country to the next without plane travel and a custom's check! After my stair training in Paris I was able to bound up the steep steps (actually I was gasping but not passing out) to the top of the fortress and then down the paved stairwell to the bottom. The building is so well preserved its hard to believe it was built back in the 16th century. The views from the battlements are breath taking. We stopped for some lunch in one of the picturesque side streets. Geoff had a traditional bratwurst meal and I had fish from the river. Delicious.
From Schaffhausen we travelled to Rheinfall to look at the biggest waterfall in Europe. This cascade of water in the middle of the town makes Huka Falls look like a trickle! There are several viewing platforms including one right at the base where the sound of the rushing water is extraordinary. The light on the water produces a beautiful rainbow effect that was pretty to see but almost impossible to capture on camera.
As if we hadn't had enough sensory overload for the day, we stopped in Stein am Rhein on the way home. This medieval village on the banks of the Rhein has to be seen to be believed. Except for the cars driving over the cobblestoned streets you could believe you had stepped back in time. The buildings are all marked with their initial construction and later alteration dates. A couple of them date back to the 14th C. One of the reasons we wanted to come to Europe was to see this sort of history and we certainly got our fill of it today.
We took a rather roundabout track on the way home to avoid the end of day traffic jams in and out of Zurich but this was to our advantage as we got to drive through dozens of quaint little villages.
When we got home our beautiful host had prepared for us another delicious traditional meal, incorporating steak tartare, a dish of raw mince meat with seasoning and capers. I did my best to try some and I think it probably tasted great but I couldn't get my head around the lack of cooking. Taine and Geoff were much braver and wolfed down more than their fair share, declaring it delicious! Much more to my liking was the main course of pasta with cheese and potatoes, served with apple sauce and onions; kind of a Swiss mac'n cheese.
We have felt so at home here; it will be hard to pack our bags and say goodbye tomorrow.
![Imported](https://www.fodors.com/community/images/smilies/imported/smiley.gif)
Thanks for the tip janis- I almost bought a raclette appliance today but I don't think my luggage allowance will take it so another racket meal in London will e great!
Day 8
At the risk of sounding repetitive, we have had another marvellous day in Switzerland. It's hard to believe but 7 days ago we were just finishing work to get on a plane and now here we are close to completing the second leg of what has so far been an amazing adventure. Holiday time is so warped!
We started today in the supermarket. This is always one of my favourite excursions when we're on holidays. It may be unusual to get so much joy from such an every day activity but I find it fascinating to see the food habits of other cultures. Today my focus was on chocolate- what else when you are in the home of Lindt! Because it's close to Easter there are more than the usual choices in the chocolate aisle. As we have seen in the shops in Paris as well, chocolate making is an art form in Europe and the detail in some of the egg sculptures is amazing. I stuck with blocks for my purchases though. I don't think I could bear to eat the sculptures! The bread department was also fascinating. So many varieties of rolls and pastries. The bread our host has been making for us is a perfect example of the dense, flavoursome dough available here. Ironically it is a perfect base for vegemite, a spread for which our Swiss friends have no liking.
After shopping we drove to the town of Schaffhuasen, a picture perfect Swiss town, home to the majestic Munot Castle that dominates the skyline from its position on top of the hill. Our journey took us over the border into Germany and back to Switzerland again. What a bizarre concept for us Antipodeans, to be able to pass from one country to the next without plane travel and a custom's check! After my stair training in Paris I was able to bound up the steep steps (actually I was gasping but not passing out) to the top of the fortress and then down the paved stairwell to the bottom. The building is so well preserved its hard to believe it was built back in the 16th century. The views from the battlements are breath taking. We stopped for some lunch in one of the picturesque side streets. Geoff had a traditional bratwurst meal and I had fish from the river. Delicious.
From Schaffhausen we travelled to Rheinfall to look at the biggest waterfall in Europe. This cascade of water in the middle of the town makes Huka Falls look like a trickle! There are several viewing platforms including one right at the base where the sound of the rushing water is extraordinary. The light on the water produces a beautiful rainbow effect that was pretty to see but almost impossible to capture on camera.
As if we hadn't had enough sensory overload for the day, we stopped in Stein am Rhein on the way home. This medieval village on the banks of the Rhein has to be seen to be believed. Except for the cars driving over the cobblestoned streets you could believe you had stepped back in time. The buildings are all marked with their initial construction and later alteration dates. A couple of them date back to the 14th C. One of the reasons we wanted to come to Europe was to see this sort of history and we certainly got our fill of it today.
We took a rather roundabout track on the way home to avoid the end of day traffic jams in and out of Zurich but this was to our advantage as we got to drive through dozens of quaint little villages.
When we got home our beautiful host had prepared for us another delicious traditional meal, incorporating steak tartare, a dish of raw mince meat with seasoning and capers. I did my best to try some and I think it probably tasted great but I couldn't get my head around the lack of cooking. Taine and Geoff were much braver and wolfed down more than their fair share, declaring it delicious! Much more to my liking was the main course of pasta with cheese and potatoes, served with apple sauce and onions; kind of a Swiss mac'n cheese.
We have felt so at home here; it will be hard to pack our bags and say goodbye tomorrow.
#46
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 11,082
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
kwaussie, I am enjoying your trip report very much, too. I would love to go back to Switzerland, and it's so great for you that you know a family there.
I have a photo of myself standing in front of the seawall in Montreaux holding up two shopping bags of Lindt chocolate that I had bought in a grocery store. My family laughed at me, but they helped eat it. I took some of it to work after I got home, and they gobbled it up as well.
I have a photo of myself standing in front of the seawall in Montreaux holding up two shopping bags of Lindt chocolate that I had bought in a grocery store. My family laughed at me, but they helped eat it. I took some of it to work after I got home, and they gobbled it up as well.
#54
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It’s almost 1am in the morning and we’ve just arrived at the Travelodge at Edinburgh Airport. Just a few hours ago we were still in Switzerland and yet that seems days ago now. Travel time is warped!
I didn’t think I had the energy to update our trip report tonight but Geoff says otherwise and is helping by supplying me with crisps and refilling my cup of duty free bourbon, so I’ll give it a go.
I thought we’d seen some fabulous sights in Switzerland but this morning’s excursion topped them all when we went to visit Pascale’s school. A senior high school (grades 10-12 ) it is situated in an old monastery that dates back to 1227. Yes, you read that right, 1227. From an historical point of view, the building and grounds are astounding. From an educational (and political) point of view the school is testament to what can be achieved when a government values public schooling. Having had Pascale in my English class last year, I know the high standards expected of and achieved by the students at Kantonsschule in Wettingen and today’s visit helped to explain how that happens. The differences between our systems are material for a blog post on a different day; suffice to say if a teacher exchange opportunity comes up, I’ll be onto it.
We were extraordinarily lucky that the caretaker of the monastery is a friend of Pascale’s parents and so we got a ‘behind the scenes’, private tour of the grounds and building that include not only the school but some apartments, private businesses and, of all the things you might imagine on school grounds, a brewery! I have not the words to describe the beauty of the stained glass windows, the intricate carvings in the abbey, the pipe organs and the secret doors and bolt holes throughout the building. This was a unique experience and if I had to choose between today’s tour and the Louvre, the Swiss monastery would win hands down.
In the afternoon we went to Baden, a neigbouring city renowned for its thermal baths situated at the base of yet another medieval castle,. We walked over an enclosed wooden bridge and along the banks of the Limmat River. Once again we were blown away by buildings that are older than we can even imagine.
There were tears when we left Zurich. In this short visit we have fallen in love with Switzerland. The history and natural beauty of the place has astounded us, and everywhere is so clean and cleverly designed. The people are friendly and helpful and very tolerant of English speaking visitors. We’ve done our best to pick up a few words in Swiss–German, a wonderful language with few formal ‘rules’ but there are just too many ‘tsch’ noises and phonemes without vowels for us to get our tongues around. Luckily the Swiss-German sense of humour is very close to our own and needs no translation. Our hosts have been so incredibly generous with their hospitality and their time and we feel we have made new, life long friends. It was bittersweet to see Pascale again only to have to say goodbye so quickly but we will always be grateful that we came.
Our plane for Heathrow was delayed by 40 minutes because they couldn’t fit all the hand luggage on the plane. That left us running for our connection to Edinburgh which, thankfully, was also delayed because the air pump that starts the engines wouldn’t work and they had to ‘jump start’ the plane. Apart from these small issues, the crew on British Airways were lovely and I would certainly choose to fly with them again.
I didn’t think I had the energy to update our trip report tonight but Geoff says otherwise and is helping by supplying me with crisps and refilling my cup of duty free bourbon, so I’ll give it a go.
I thought we’d seen some fabulous sights in Switzerland but this morning’s excursion topped them all when we went to visit Pascale’s school. A senior high school (grades 10-12 ) it is situated in an old monastery that dates back to 1227. Yes, you read that right, 1227. From an historical point of view, the building and grounds are astounding. From an educational (and political) point of view the school is testament to what can be achieved when a government values public schooling. Having had Pascale in my English class last year, I know the high standards expected of and achieved by the students at Kantonsschule in Wettingen and today’s visit helped to explain how that happens. The differences between our systems are material for a blog post on a different day; suffice to say if a teacher exchange opportunity comes up, I’ll be onto it.
We were extraordinarily lucky that the caretaker of the monastery is a friend of Pascale’s parents and so we got a ‘behind the scenes’, private tour of the grounds and building that include not only the school but some apartments, private businesses and, of all the things you might imagine on school grounds, a brewery! I have not the words to describe the beauty of the stained glass windows, the intricate carvings in the abbey, the pipe organs and the secret doors and bolt holes throughout the building. This was a unique experience and if I had to choose between today’s tour and the Louvre, the Swiss monastery would win hands down.
In the afternoon we went to Baden, a neigbouring city renowned for its thermal baths situated at the base of yet another medieval castle,. We walked over an enclosed wooden bridge and along the banks of the Limmat River. Once again we were blown away by buildings that are older than we can even imagine.
There were tears when we left Zurich. In this short visit we have fallen in love with Switzerland. The history and natural beauty of the place has astounded us, and everywhere is so clean and cleverly designed. The people are friendly and helpful and very tolerant of English speaking visitors. We’ve done our best to pick up a few words in Swiss–German, a wonderful language with few formal ‘rules’ but there are just too many ‘tsch’ noises and phonemes without vowels for us to get our tongues around. Luckily the Swiss-German sense of humour is very close to our own and needs no translation. Our hosts have been so incredibly generous with their hospitality and their time and we feel we have made new, life long friends. It was bittersweet to see Pascale again only to have to say goodbye so quickly but we will always be grateful that we came.
Our plane for Heathrow was delayed by 40 minutes because they couldn’t fit all the hand luggage on the plane. That left us running for our connection to Edinburgh which, thankfully, was also delayed because the air pump that starts the engines wouldn’t work and they had to ‘jump start’ the plane. Apart from these small issues, the crew on British Airways were lovely and I would certainly choose to fly with them again.
#55
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,900
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I am enjoying your insights and details and appreciating your polished efforts. Well done and I am looking forward to the rest.
As a fellow English teacher (about to take students on a quick tour of London, Paris, Swiss Alps, and Munich in June), I would really like to hear the specifics of what you saw as the secrets for success in Pascale's school, when you have time to reflect. I teach in a small private school which in general is able to avoid some/many of the problems and hindrances in the public schools here (where I also taught for a while, so I know that system, too), but I can always learn from others. So share those insights and comments when you can if you want. Thanks!
As a fellow English teacher (about to take students on a quick tour of London, Paris, Swiss Alps, and Munich in June), I would really like to hear the specifics of what you saw as the secrets for success in Pascale's school, when you have time to reflect. I teach in a small private school which in general is able to avoid some/many of the problems and hindrances in the public schools here (where I also taught for a while, so I know that system, too), but I can always learn from others. So share those insights and comments when you can if you want. Thanks!
#56
wonderful last day in Switzerland, Kwaussie. I look forward to the Scottish leg of your trip.
Texasbookworm - do let us follow your trip too - having come back from a trip to Venice in February when 16-18 year olds made up the majority of our group, Id be interested in reading about your experiences.
Texasbookworm - do let us follow your trip too - having come back from a trip to Venice in February when 16-18 year olds made up the majority of our group, Id be interested in reading about your experiences.
#59
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks so much for all the encouraging comments.
Texasbookworm - I will write about the Swiss education system when I get home and I too would love to hear about your trip with the students. Sounds like an exciting adventure. We take kids to NZ every second year. Travel is such a wonderful learning experience!
andyrenee - I'm so glad you enjoyed my US trip report! We loved the States and can't wait to get back and see some of the parts we missed.
Here's yesterday & today's update.
Travel distances are always hard to judge in a foreign country. Coming from rural Australia, long trips are nothing new to us and we are used to making a 6hr round trip to Melbourne for sporting or cultural events. On the other hand, our vast NZ experience of winding roads warns us that what looks close on the map can be a long time on the road. We weighed up both these understandings when we were planning this trip and decided 4hrs or 200 miles was probably a manageable day for us. With this in mind we booked a cottage way up in the north of Scotland at Reraig, near the Kyle of Lochalsh as the base for our tour of the Highlands.
After a night at the Travelodge at the airport (perfectly adequate for a night's stay), we picked up our rental car - why is this always such a stressful experience? We'd already chosen and paid for a car online but getting the keys was difficult.
Do you want extra insurance for another squizillion pounds?
No, its covered by our travel insurance.
Och, no, not in my experience.
Self doubt starts to creep in. Maybe it's not. Pretty sure it is. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best.
Do ye want road side assist for an extra few pounds a day?
An extra few how many pounds? Shouldn't you assist us if we need help?
No, if you have a flat tyre you'll have to pay for us to come and change it.
Pretty sure we can change a flat tyre ourselves.
Well no, because there's no spare tyre in the cars.
Whaaat? Who supplies a car without a spare? (Have since found a spare tyre in the boot!)
Would ye like to upgrade the car to one with diesel?
What's the extra charge on that?
Man says something unintelligible in a very strong Scot's brogue.
Do we want to take the company's offer of cheaper fuel by dropping it off half full?
OK, yes, just give us the keys before it gets dark and we'll give you complete freedom to charge our credit card with whatever you think is fair!
With an inadequate map and a sense of new adventure, and at least driving on the right (left) side of the road, we manoeuvred our way out of Edinburgh and onto the A9. Taine is a great William Wallace fan so we made a detour to Stirling to have a look at the Wallace monument. Struggling with the inadequate map and the loss of our Swiss hosts wifi we decided to buy a couple of UK sims for our phones so we could use google maps to help with the navigation. Ironically we have NO phone service in Northern Scotland but our little cottage has excellent wifi!
The A9 is a mostly dual lane highway and so it was easy driving for the first 100 miles and we were anticipating an early arrival in Reraig. Once you get up around the mountains in the Craignorms National Park though and particularly when you turn off on the A86 to Kyle of Lochalsh, the road becomes very windy. In fact, if it weren't for the ancient ruins and stone cottages along the route you would swear you were in the South Island of NZ around Queenstown and Wanaka. The views are spectacular with every bend revealing a new loch surrounded by pristine forest and snow capped mountains. Because it was such a beautiful sunny day the reflection off the lochs created a magical optical illusion making it impossible to discern the water from the land from the sky.
The only stop we made was at a little place called Dalwhinnie at a curious (Geoff says weird) little cafe near the bike tracks. My scone had seen better days (several of them I reckon) but the boys' pies were edible. This was our first exposure to Scottish food and not an encouraging one.
We arrived at our little cottage just on dusk. Right across the road from the banks of Loch Alsh, it is a perfect blend of old architecture with contemporary and comfortable amenities. The caretaker had turned the heating on for us so we were toasty warm.
Today we took the opportunity for our first 'rest hour', staying in bed till 9 and then having a leisurely breakfast before we headed just a few miles down the road to Eileen Donan Castle, an authentic castle first erected in the 800s, destroyed after the battle at Culloden and then extensively renovated right up until this century. Because of its long history the castle is an amalgamation of all its eras, with furniture, artefacts and photos spanning a thousand years. I found the contradiction of 17th century furniture topped with photos of the current owner's children a little confusing but nonetheless we enjoyed the experience.
From there we went 'over the sea' to Skye which is just a few miles in the other direction from our cottage and accessed by a bridge. By then I was starving and the plan was to find a cafe over looking the water for lunch. Unfortunately this part of Scotland pretty much shuts down until Easter and particularly so on Sundays. We drove as far as Broadford and then turned back because we couldn't find anything open. My initial impression of Skye was tainted by hunger and the freezing wind so we'll go back later in the week for a better look.
We wound our way back home via Plockton. This fascinating little harbourside village proclaims itself as the 'Jewel of the North'. It wasn't glittering today but it did have a shop open so we bought some ice creams and wandered down the main street wondering at the resilience and hardiness of the people who inhabit this rocky and windswept part of the world. Just driving from one place to another is a mission, with the one car width roads providing an interesting game of russian roulette as you round the bends.
A bracing walk across the foreshore of the Loch at low tide finished off our day before we escaped to the warmth of our cottage and some home cooked (heated up) haddock and shepherd's pie.
Texasbookworm - I will write about the Swiss education system when I get home and I too would love to hear about your trip with the students. Sounds like an exciting adventure. We take kids to NZ every second year. Travel is such a wonderful learning experience!
andyrenee - I'm so glad you enjoyed my US trip report! We loved the States and can't wait to get back and see some of the parts we missed.
Here's yesterday & today's update.
Travel distances are always hard to judge in a foreign country. Coming from rural Australia, long trips are nothing new to us and we are used to making a 6hr round trip to Melbourne for sporting or cultural events. On the other hand, our vast NZ experience of winding roads warns us that what looks close on the map can be a long time on the road. We weighed up both these understandings when we were planning this trip and decided 4hrs or 200 miles was probably a manageable day for us. With this in mind we booked a cottage way up in the north of Scotland at Reraig, near the Kyle of Lochalsh as the base for our tour of the Highlands.
After a night at the Travelodge at the airport (perfectly adequate for a night's stay), we picked up our rental car - why is this always such a stressful experience? We'd already chosen and paid for a car online but getting the keys was difficult.
Do you want extra insurance for another squizillion pounds?
No, its covered by our travel insurance.
Och, no, not in my experience.
Self doubt starts to creep in. Maybe it's not. Pretty sure it is. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best.
Do ye want road side assist for an extra few pounds a day?
An extra few how many pounds? Shouldn't you assist us if we need help?
No, if you have a flat tyre you'll have to pay for us to come and change it.
Pretty sure we can change a flat tyre ourselves.
Well no, because there's no spare tyre in the cars.
Whaaat? Who supplies a car without a spare? (Have since found a spare tyre in the boot!)
Would ye like to upgrade the car to one with diesel?
What's the extra charge on that?
Man says something unintelligible in a very strong Scot's brogue.
Do we want to take the company's offer of cheaper fuel by dropping it off half full?
OK, yes, just give us the keys before it gets dark and we'll give you complete freedom to charge our credit card with whatever you think is fair!
With an inadequate map and a sense of new adventure, and at least driving on the right (left) side of the road, we manoeuvred our way out of Edinburgh and onto the A9. Taine is a great William Wallace fan so we made a detour to Stirling to have a look at the Wallace monument. Struggling with the inadequate map and the loss of our Swiss hosts wifi we decided to buy a couple of UK sims for our phones so we could use google maps to help with the navigation. Ironically we have NO phone service in Northern Scotland but our little cottage has excellent wifi!
The A9 is a mostly dual lane highway and so it was easy driving for the first 100 miles and we were anticipating an early arrival in Reraig. Once you get up around the mountains in the Craignorms National Park though and particularly when you turn off on the A86 to Kyle of Lochalsh, the road becomes very windy. In fact, if it weren't for the ancient ruins and stone cottages along the route you would swear you were in the South Island of NZ around Queenstown and Wanaka. The views are spectacular with every bend revealing a new loch surrounded by pristine forest and snow capped mountains. Because it was such a beautiful sunny day the reflection off the lochs created a magical optical illusion making it impossible to discern the water from the land from the sky.
The only stop we made was at a little place called Dalwhinnie at a curious (Geoff says weird) little cafe near the bike tracks. My scone had seen better days (several of them I reckon) but the boys' pies were edible. This was our first exposure to Scottish food and not an encouraging one.
We arrived at our little cottage just on dusk. Right across the road from the banks of Loch Alsh, it is a perfect blend of old architecture with contemporary and comfortable amenities. The caretaker had turned the heating on for us so we were toasty warm.
Today we took the opportunity for our first 'rest hour', staying in bed till 9 and then having a leisurely breakfast before we headed just a few miles down the road to Eileen Donan Castle, an authentic castle first erected in the 800s, destroyed after the battle at Culloden and then extensively renovated right up until this century. Because of its long history the castle is an amalgamation of all its eras, with furniture, artefacts and photos spanning a thousand years. I found the contradiction of 17th century furniture topped with photos of the current owner's children a little confusing but nonetheless we enjoyed the experience.
From there we went 'over the sea' to Skye which is just a few miles in the other direction from our cottage and accessed by a bridge. By then I was starving and the plan was to find a cafe over looking the water for lunch. Unfortunately this part of Scotland pretty much shuts down until Easter and particularly so on Sundays. We drove as far as Broadford and then turned back because we couldn't find anything open. My initial impression of Skye was tainted by hunger and the freezing wind so we'll go back later in the week for a better look.
We wound our way back home via Plockton. This fascinating little harbourside village proclaims itself as the 'Jewel of the North'. It wasn't glittering today but it did have a shop open so we bought some ice creams and wandered down the main street wondering at the resilience and hardiness of the people who inhabit this rocky and windswept part of the world. Just driving from one place to another is a mission, with the one car width roads providing an interesting game of russian roulette as you round the bends.
A bracing walk across the foreshore of the Loch at low tide finished off our day before we escaped to the warmth of our cottage and some home cooked (heated up) haddock and shepherd's pie.
#60
just having a good laugh at your description of Scotland. We had a holiday in the lowlands once and after 3 days we were so dispirited that we high-tailed it back to the Lakes where we knew that we could get scones that were less than week old.
Probably Sunday was not the best day to arrive; I remember that all we could find open in Dumfries was a very bad indian restaurant.
Fingers crossed it gets better!
Probably Sunday was not the best day to arrive; I remember that all we could find open in Dumfries was a very bad indian restaurant.
Fingers crossed it gets better!