Time appears to be standing still at the moment. For the past few weeks at least it seems as if that - although we’ve progressed geographically - we haven’t made any progress time wise. It’s like we’re constantly saying we’ve been away for 2 months, time just doesn’t seem to be moving at all! It seems an age away from reaching the half way point at the end of September. This, I suppose, is a good thing; our time isn’t just flying away from us and we’re not wasting days.
As for the here and now though, after leaving Grimentz we decided to head to the Swiss Capital Bern - which has a mere population of 120,500, which we figured would make for an un-crowded, well looked after City. We weren’t too far off. Bern is indeed well maintained (as is everywhere we’ve travelled so far in Switzerland actually) but it was hardly un-crowded. We arrived on a Friday evening and the city was buzzing, mainly with youngsters who all seemed to be drinking and chatting on the streets as if all waiting for some kind of event to begin. That doesn’t sound particularly appealing really does it, but although there was lots of public drinking there was no hostility at all and we felt more than comfortable walking the streets at night.
We did struggle to find parking though, all the surrounding roads leading up to Bern were packed with parked cars and there aren’t any Aires available either. After about an hour of frustration we decided to cut our losses and park in a Pay and Display car park right in the centre next to the station. After inspection though it didn’t seem like anyone else had bought a ticket, so we took our chance and got away with it.
Nearby to where we’d parked was the large Aare river which we took a dip in later that evening, as many others were doing. On a warm evening after a busy days driving it was extremely refreshing and we both needed a clean to be honest after a little while without showering! As we were walking bare footed (and in nothing else but Speedo’s) through the busy town centre back to the Motor Home, two policeman strolled up for a chat. We were expecting a ticking off for indecent exposure or some other crime, but in fact they wanted to warn us about walking around without shoes in this area for fear of walking on needles left by drug users - which apparently are everywhere in Bern! We were a little shocked, not just because of what they told us about the huge amount of drugs which were about in Bern, but because some policemen actually wanted to speak to us to be friendly and offer kind advice. They spoke perfect English, of course, and even told us to ‘take care’ when we left. My experience (very little, granted) of the Police back in the UK has been nothing like that of those in Bern.
After a few days in the capital we headed north to a small Village called Lamboing, near Biel. I’d known of this place as until recently I had cousins Michael and Nadine living there, and had visited them on a few occasions. Unfortunately they moved to China a few weeks earlier so we could not visit them, but I still wanted to see Lamboing if only to retrace steps and relive memories. I remember me and my Mum having a superb day walking in the area, especially dow
n the stunning gorge which runs from Lamboing itself down to the village of Twann, situated on the ‘Bielesee Lake’. This was at least 7 years ago, but the gorge was still just as beautiful as I’d remembered (formally known as the “Twannbachschlucht”, give or take a few c’s and h’s possibly). We ambled down joyfully in around 40 minutes, then remembered that we somehow had to get back up. When last here my cousin Nadine came down the mountain to collect us in her car, but this time we had no such luck. It took us around three times as long to get back up than it did down. We slept well that night.A fantastic night was spent in an Aire (pictured) following on from Lamboing. It’s a must for all Motor Homers in
that area, not only because it doesn't cost anything, but also because it has free (there’s that word again) unlimited water and electric! It’s located in Neuchatel, a short drive West of Lamboing. The Aire is situated on the Number 5 main road and is on the left hand side just before entering the town. We were joined by a Dutch family who also made good use of facilities. The next morning we were drawn South to the Swiss Alps again, and spent 3 pleasant days in the village of Grindelwald, described in our guidebook as “the land of permanent snow”. This was a large attraction for us, so as you can imagine upon arrival the only sight of anything ‘snow like’ was on the top of a distant mountain. We were excited though by the prospect of taking the train up to the highest station in Europe - some 4000ft - to the top of the Jungfrau. We didn’t expect the far
e to be much, as we were half way up the mountain already and it’s only a small train - how wrong were we. If I said it was 50 Francs each you’d be a bit taken back wouldn’t you? If I then said 100 Francs each you’d tell me to stop drinking, but I kid you not when I tell you that the fare was 158 Francs EACH. “How long is the trip, a week?” we asked in shock. Needless to say, we didn’t make the journey. I’m sure it’s lovely up there though. (Our parking spot in Grindlewald, pictured)Currently we’re in the lakeside city of Luzern. We only arrived a few hours ago, but after a quick stroll around the main streets we can tell it’s a very pretty place indeed. Situated on the ‘Vierwald Stattersee’ lake, the town is clean and attractive, scattered with busy restaurants and posh hotels. It’s a green and comfortable walk into the centre from where we’ve parked, and all along the pathway little games of bowls can be found, attracting small but interested crowds - a brass band plays jolly tunes, and couples aimlessly walk hand in hand into the distance. All very agreeable.
It’s Friday night, getting quite late and tomorrow we probably won’t do a great deal apart from wandering and exploring a little - which shouldn’t be too strenuous. Switzerland is certainly treating us well so far.
(A mini fesival in Lamboing)
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