Wednesday, October 19 - Monday, October 24 2011
Mom, Dad, and Jon had a great time in
Paris! They returned to us late on
Wednesday evening (they did well and found their way back to our place from the
train station with no help). This left a
little less than a week for the family to take in as much of Switzerland as
possible.
Ang had to work every day that week but Dave was
able to take a day off to play tour guide on Thursday for the family. Out of all the day trips the two of us have
done, Gruyères stands out as the best
for Dave, so to Gruyères we would go. It
has cheese, chocolate, a castle, and the Alps…what else would you want as a
visitor of Switzerland? :)
We rented a car and were on the road shortly
after 9:30. We couldn’t have asked for
clearer weather, although it was a bit chilly (gaining several hundred meters
of elevation to get to Gruyères didn’t help warm up anything either). The car was a good choice (over train). 1) It gave us flexibility in our schedule, 2)
it saved us some cash, and 3) it provided new views of Gruyères that the two of
us didn’t see during our visit last time.
For example, on our approach to Gruyères by car, we were greeted with
this amazing view of the Gruyères Castle,
in all of its glory.
We’ll spare our readers from repeated details
of the Gruyères daytrip considering the two of us had pretty much the same itinerary
in August—we hit up the cheese factory, the picturesque village and Castle and
then the chocolate factory in a nearby town.
Scenery-wise the biggest difference this time was the amazing fresh snow
line and the fall colors overtaking the normally lush Swiss hillsides. Additionally there were hardly any other
tourists in Gruyères compared to August (thank you offseason). Well, we spoke too soon – the Cailler Chocolate factory in Broc was just as packed. It was so packed that we repurposed our entry
fee and just spent it all on chocolate instead. :)
The flexibility in having a car came in handy
for our next couple legs of the trip. We
wrapped up our Gruyères activities early so we needed something else to do. Mom or Dad happened to look down at the cover
of their Rick Steves Switzerland book and said, “Where’s this?” On the cover lies
Château de Chillon, Switzerland’s most
famous castle, which rests on the eastern shore of Lake Geneva. Observant readers will remember this castle
from our bike trip around Lake Geneva.
Since we weren’t able to go inside on our bike trip, this would be a
good time to show you the castle! :)
The castle’s history is recorded from the 12th
century, first built and controlled by the Savoy
family (French). It was taken over by
the Bernese (Swiss-German) in the 16th
century and became, in part, a counter-Reformation prison. In the late 18th century, the
castle became impractical from a military perspective and primarily became a
storehouse. It was finally reclaimed by
the French (under no resistance) and would soon begin its days as a tourist
attraction (it made it’s mark in the Romantic art movement, drawing all sorts
of artists and sightseers starting in the mid 19th century).
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| Yes...those are what you think they are |
Dad’s impressions of the two castles were
accurate – he felt that Château de Chillon had a colder feel than Gruyères Castle. Gruyères
Castle seemed like a place you could live and enjoy yourself, while Château de Chillon
felt rough (it could have been the rugged rock foundation and ample torture
rooms). :) Dave was happy that the
family had the opportunity to experience a couple of castles, something that
everyone should do when visiting Europe.
On our drive back to Geneva that evening, Mom
and Dad also wanted to stop by Lausanne
and take a peek at the Olympic Museum
(which the two of us also visited last year). It was pretty dark by the time we arrived, and
unfortunately the museum was already closed, but we still managed a picture under
the world record high-jump and also caught the sunset over the lake.
Friday was the family’s day to explore the city
of Geneva alone, before all five of us set out for our three-day weekend in
Switzerland. Before they began their day
of tourism, Dave gave them a quick peek at the Expedia office and pointed out
some favorite sites on the walk over.
So, where else would a few Christian Reformists
go in Geneva? The Reformation Museum of course!
They also made it to St. Peter’s cathedral, and John Calvin’s chapel (we
are jealous because the two of us haven’t been in the chapel yet). And of course they sniffed out Geneva’s own Calvin College (Jon graduated from
Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan).
After the workday was done we all piled into
another rental car and set out for central Switzerland, the Bernese Oberland! First stop was Interlaken. We spent the night here so we could have an
early start up the mountain the next day.
When we arrived that evening all we had time for was dinner, so we ate
some authentic Swiss-German food (Rösti and Fondue!) at the same restaurant the
two of us ate at when we came in August.
Saturday morning. You may remember on our previous Interlaken adventure that the two of us chose to go to the Jungfraujoch station (the “Top
of Europe”). This provided up-close and
personal views of the Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger mountains. Our
destination on this trip would be the other major lift of the area – the Schilthorn. On our way we would see some other highlights
in and around the tranquil Lauterbrunnen
Valley.
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| Walking through Mürren |
The Schilthorn was a perfect fit for Mom and Dad,
who have been fans of the James Bond movie series over the years. Yes, the Schilthorn was the filming location
for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Mom and Dad did their homework by watching
the movie before coming to Europe. As we
rode the lifts to the top, their excitement came out several times in the form
of, “duh duh duh duh duh, duh duh duh…” (singing the James Bond theme). Fortunately for those of us that didn’t do our
homework, a 360-degree lookout/theater room actually played all of the
Schilthorn James Bond scenes on continuous repeat.
In fact, the completion of the restaurant (called the Piz
Gloria) is greatly intertwined with James Bond. The lift station was built in the early '60s. Shortly after, construction started on the restaurant but it was only partially completed. The movie's production team saw this as an ideal place to shoot and actually paid to complete construction in exchange for exclusive rights to the structure while filming. Who says Hollywood never does anything constructive? :)
Outside of all the Hollywood fanfare, at 10,000
feet the Schilthorn is a perfect spot
for a lookout point. The two of us
enjoyed the Jungfraujoch, but we both agreed that this lift was more impressive
because of the sheer number of Alpine peaks to marvel at. We really lucked out with the weather that
day. Granted, it was utterly freezing up
there, but so completely clear. The
views were absolutely breathtaking.
Before we left, we had to enjoy the renowned
‘panoramic rotating restaurant’, the Piz Gloria, mentioned above. It rotates
a full circle in just under an hour, so visitors can enjoy the incredible 360-degree
views as they enjoy food & drink. We
enjoyed some delicious frites and beer, relished the views an additional time
(from a much warmer setting) :), and then unfortunately had to bid farewell to
our unparalleled viewpoint.
We descended from the Schilthorn and over to a
town we’ve wanted to visit since arriving in Switzerland. For those Rick Steves fans out there, you may
recognize the Alpine town of Gimmelwald. The way Rick talks about it, you’d think it’s
his favorite place in all of Europe (Dad thinks it actually is). We were eager to see what all the fuss is
about.
Upon arrival, it was a little strange to see
the exact stilted building that Rick has a picture of in his guidebook. In fact, after walking through this small
town, we bet over half it has been shown on his TV show or in his guidebook. Speaking of, we came across the cheese lady
from his Gimmelwald TV episode and she served us some local alp cheese. Wow, a true Swiss celebrity! :) The village was cute, no doubt, but truthfully
we probably wouldn’t rank it much higher than the other Alpine villages the two
of us walked through on our Swiss hikes this past summer. If we had more time to relax, maybe spend the
night in one of their B&Bs, we would feel a stronger connection. Hopefully we can do that sometime before we
leave Switzerland next summer…
Back down to the valley floor we went, via
another cable car. On our way back to Lauterbrunnen
we stopped at Trümmelbach Falls. Trümmelbach is Lauterbrunnen’s most powerful
waterfall (Lauterbrunnen is known as the valley of 72 waterfalls), flowing up
to 5,200 gallons a second. When we
visited, however, the falls must have been at a lower capacity, as they seemed
rather tame compared to the pictures we saw.
It was still a unique experience to climb up inside the mountain to see
the different levels of pools and falls that made up this chain of water.
Our Alpine day ended with dinner in Lauterbrunnen
and we drove back to our hotel for a night of games (the Vissers love their
game nights after all). Before we
reached the hotel we noticed an illuminated castle up on a hill. The next morning we found out this was Unspunnen Castle and got directions to go
explore the ruins. This small castle
was built in the 12th century and left for ruin in the 16th
century. It became famous (to the Swiss)
in 1805, chosen as the site of the first “Unspunnen Games,” an exhibition of
traditional Swiss sports designed to unify the city and rural areas of
Switzerland. The location of this castle
was impeccable, with stunning views of the valley farmland and lake below, and
the Jungfrau and Mönch to the right.
It was time for the family to see some of our
favorite Swiss cities! First we headed
toward Lucerne. Of course, as we’ve said before, the trip
from city to city in Switzerland can be a treat in itself if you find the right
road (we should note though, we’ve yet to find a “wrong” road). The highlight of this particular route was
stopping at a random lookout over the town of Lungern. Anticipating that
gawkers would wonder to themselves, “wow, what town is this?” the tourism board
conveniently placed a box of free Lungern brochures next to the lookout railing. Smart. :)
While it was all blue skies on our drive, the
moment we passed through the Lopper Tunnel
and into Lucerne, there was a pretty heavy fog.
Not to worry as we had a few sights to see which didn’t need a clear
day. Mom and Dad were really interested
in seeing the Löwendenkmal (Lion
Monument), dedicated to the Swiss mercenaries killed or executed while
defending the French king during the French revolution.
Of course we needed to visit the highlight of
Lucerne, the Chapel Bridge. It was built as a defense bridge in the early
13th century and over the years became decorated with historical
Lucerne paintings. Unfortunately in 1993
a boat mooring under the bridge caught fire and most of the bridge was
destroyed (seems like a pretty big weak spot in a bridge once built for
defense). Most of the paintings were
destroyed but a handful remained (or were recreated). You can still see the charred black parts of
the bridge, left as a reminder that boats are no longer allowed around the
bridge (naturally, smoking is not allowed either!).
The fog thinned out by the time we were done
with the bridge so we took the family up to one of our favorite areas of
Lucerne – the 9 Towers. These guard towers were built as part of the
city’s defense system and remain in remarkable shape. Visitors are able to climb a couple and walk
between them along the ramparts, which offers a great view of the city below.
Bern was next on the list. Our scenic drive from Lucerne took us up a
narrow road, which wound us through all sorts of Swiss scenery. We stopped for a visit with a cow on the side
of the road so Mom and Dad could see their bells in action, close-up. We love how the cows seem to know the drill
for the on-looking tourists. When
filming a video they go about their cow business and when you want to take a
photo, somehow they know to hold still and pose. Yep… they know the drill. :)
We were into Bern shortly before sunset, so we
all walked to the great Rosengarten look
out point to soak it all in. We then
descended to BärenPark so that the
family could meet the four mascot bears of the city. One bear in particular was extremely
active. He seemed to be somewhat stuck
in a tree, looking every so often for ways to get down. We think he was just building drama because
10 minutes later he climbed down the tree with little effort. :)
Afterward we managed to get a table at the Old Tram Depot Brewery that the two of us ate at last time we were
in Bern.
Monday was our day to mosey back to
Geneva. On the way we hit up some new
sites in Switzerland. But first we
spent a couple of hours walking around Bern to show the family one of our
favorite cities. We think they enjoyed
the uniformed grey-green sandstone architecture but agreed with us that the
clock tower “show” (the thing to do in Bern since the 16th century)
was less than thrilling. :) We saw the
rest of the major sites in Bern (described in more detail in our visit this
August) and were on our way to…
…Murten (pronounced MOOR-ten for
those keeping track). On a clearer day,
Murten is said to have great views of the adjacent lake and surrounding
vineyard hills. On our visit it was
still a little foggy so we stuck to the sights within the city walls. Climbing up those city walls/ramparts was
actually the visual highlight of this town, other than the quaint
architecture. Historically, Murten
played a significant role in the formation of the nation of Switzerland. In 1476, Burgundy (France) troops were camped
out on the surrounding hills - an invasion was imminent. The Swiss were clever, however, and attacked
the Burgundians while many were hung over the morning after a previous night’s
party. After winning this battle, it
sparked a unification of the independent Swiss cantons into the nation of Switzerland
(it seems they really wanted to avoid being French, German, Italian, or
anything else!).
After Murten, we drove to nearby Avenches, sight of the largest Roman
ruins in Switzerland. When we read this
we expected some crumbled, unrecognizable stone structure that used to be some
important building. We were blown away,
however, at the preserved state of a rather large arena. In fact, Aventicum
(Avenches former name) was one of the largest Roman capitals (believed to date
back to the 1st century AD), with nearly 20,000 people, so it made
sense that there would be such a large structure here (it’s especially surprising
because the town is significantly smaller today). We took some time to explore the arena (while
Jon and Dave quoted appropriate lines from the movie Gladiator). It’s crazy when
you realize how far the Roman Empire spanned.
Worn out from a long weekend, we returned home
to Geneva. The family had to leave early
the next morning so we enjoyed one last evening at home together. We had such a fun time and were happy they
could expand their travel experiences into Europe. We can’t wait for another Visser Family European
trip sometime over the next few years!
It’s just past Thanksgiving
and we’re now 17 months into our European adventure (WOW, only seven months
left!?). After a busy couple of months,
we’ve finally been able to catch our collective breath and enjoy some down time
in Geneva. Well, almost. Not long after our September wedding tour in
the U.S., we were delighted to head back for another wedding – this time, our
cousin Justin (and our new cousin
Sheianne!) on Ang’s side of the family.
While our trip in September
was a well-rounded two weeks, this trip was just a quick four days. Although short
(looking back we wish we could have extended it), it was a great time to see
family briefly, and of course catch up with Kamryn’s new antics since two
months prior (hard to believe she’s 19 months old!). Our favorite memory this time around may have
been walking with her (while she held both of our hands) and counting
“One…two…threeeeee!” as we picked her up and swung her on “three”. We played this game back in September but
this time she actually started to count “One…two…” on her own! It’s amazing to see her growing up so fast
even if we only get to catch glimpses. 
The reception was
particularly stunning – the family spent the entire week decorating the
reception site with dozens of freshly cut trees and a handful of stuffed game—it
looked like a hunting lodge in the forest, it was amazing. You have to see it to get the whole
experience (see a couple photos here—although still doesn’t do the whole atmosphere
justice). What a perfect expression of
the newlywed couple and their personalities – it was great! :) 
Part of our decompression
process this month was to see a couple of our favorite bands that just happened
to be in town. First was one of Ang’s
favorites – Scorpions! Yes, those
Scorpions: Songs like “Holiday,” “Wind of Change,” “The Zoo,” and “Rock You
Like a Hurricane,” among others. Dave
actually wasn’t too familiar with the Scorpions but after a conversation of “who
would you like to see in concert before you (or they) die” that we had at the Spirit of Rock tour earlier this year,
he knew that this was toward the top of Ang’s list. Dave can safely say that he’s a true fan now
– they put on an awesome show. Some songs below...
Of course we had to
celebrate Thanksgiving again this year, even away from the States. Since there are so many expats in the office,
this year we decided to form teams and have our very own TurkeyBowl! Aside from our
shoddy play, the most hilarious part of the day were the strange looks we got
from the neighborhood residents walking through the park that afternoon (who
we’re sure have never seen an American Football game in their lives). And it wouldn’t be Geneva without a little
class – here is our group photo in front of the park’s mansion… hmmm, maybe we
weren’t supposed to play on that lawn after all. :)
And now that Thanksgiving has passed, Christmas
season has officially entered...! We
hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season – we will miss those of you we
would normally see back home during the holidays! At the same time, we are excited to have our
very own Christmas adventure in Geneva, just the two of us. Rest assured we are getting our fill of the
Christmas spirit – we just pulled out the few decorations we brought over here
with us and Ang had this place looking festive in no time. We’ll leave you with a little taste – just
imagine the smell of Cinnamon spice candles and you’ll be right here with us!
:)
