A return to Switzerland – land of mountains, museums and moos! COMPLETED 12/4 - Page 28 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I love all the small towns you are traveling through too!!! It's wonderful to see that each has it owns style. Really enjoying all the photos of the countrysides. Sweetcorn for all the sweet Cows!!!!!
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Just to update you on the Internet issues we've been having. Hopefully they should all be a thing of the past. The engineer who came was amazing and we have a new modem, complete with much faster Broadband and Wi-Fi (I know, wired is so passé..... but that's all we had ) so I hope there'll be no more posts from me now apologising about the lack of updates...
Oh what luck!! I'm glad you found a chocolate shop that was open. And it served lunch too!
Yay, another cow spotting!! Corn and wine are not things I typcially associate with Switzerland. Well, yes, wine. But corn? Huh. Another thing learned for today.
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PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Maybe the sweet corn is for the cows' feed??? The cows were cute, too. Interesting seeing the scenery switch from the corn fields to what most of us would expect of the Swiss landscape.
Nice photos as usual! Loved the pictures of the vineyards as that should be no surprise! The Swiss produce some great white wines, but very little of that gets exported and probably why most don't know of the Swiss being wine producers!
The thing about corn being produced here in Switzerland is the same I heard while I was in France, that most of it is used for animal feed! I like corn, but not a huge fan of it. Would not bother me if I could not get corn on the cob in the states. It's not worth the hassle of eating it as you need a mile of floss to make things right afterwards.
Neuchatel looks like a lovely town from the first few photos as well as those on your drive into town!
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Ahhhh, I feel like I'm strolling along those cobblestone streets alongside you. Oh how I wish I was. I love all the cows you are seeing. I had a friend who just got back from Switzerland and she posted a picture on FB with a different kind of Swiss cow. I tried to tag you in it, but I'm not sure it worked. It was great though!
Oh what luck!! I'm glad you found a chocolate shop that was open. And it served lunch too!
Yay, another cow spotting!! Corn and wine are not things I typcially associate with Switzerland. Well, yes, wine. But corn? Huh. Another thing learned for today.
I knew about wine before our first visit, but only because I read about it in a guidebook, as they don't tend to export it, they produce just enough for their own consumption, but the corn was a bit of a revelation.
Nice photos as usual! Loved the pictures of the vineyards as that should be no surprise! The Swiss produce some great white wines, but very little of that gets exported and probably why most don't know of the Swiss being wine producers!
The thing about corn being produced here in Switzerland is the same I heard while I was in France, that most of it is used for animal feed! I like corn, but not a huge fan of it. Would not bother me if I could not get corn on the cob in the states. It's not worth the hassle of eating it as you need a mile of floss to make things right afterwards.
How funny - I used to think like that, but now I really like the stuff.
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Neuchatel looks like a lovely town from the first few photos as well as those on your drive into town!
As you'll see from today's update, it gets even more beautiful....
Ahhhh, I feel like I'm strolling along those cobblestone streets alongside you. Oh how I wish I was. I love all the cows you are seeing. I had a friend who just got back from Switzerland and she posted a picture on FB with a different kind of Swiss cow. I tried to tag you in it, but I'm not sure it worked. It was great though!
Hmm.... it's not ringing a bell, so I don't think it did.
Sunday 1 September – part seven: lake views and thermal baths
Mark managed to pull into a side street, and we parked up, right by the lake. This is Lake Neuchatel and it’s absolutely stunning.
The other side of the lake close up
There were a heck of a lot of yachts out on the lake…
… and some brave (or maybe foolish ) was even swimming in the lake!
… and there was also this really neat jetty that you could go out on, which was lovely.
This flew over us while we were on the jetty
All in all, it was a lovely quick break, full of traditional beautiful Swiss scenery. This is what I adore about this country.
From there, we headed back out on the road. At first, Mark thought that we’d have a nice lake view, but the Swiss want to make life easy for you, so they put in lots of tunnels to help out, which does mean the nice lake views tend to vanish.
However, we still had some lovely views along the way…
Yet more vineyards Something about this sign tickled me….
Our next port of call was Yverdon-les-Bains, as I wanted to try out a thermal bath while we were in Switzerland, and this one was pretty close to our route. Mark wasn’t sure if he’d be coming in or not, as he hadn’t been able to find his swimming gear before we left home… Of course, with everywhere being shut in Switzerland on a Sunday, that was no use, as otherwise we’d seen plenty of clothes shops today he could’ve tried. :rolleyes.
Fortunately, when we got there, they were selling some, so between my pigeon French and the receptionist’s pigeon English, we managed to convey that we wanted the largest pair they had available, and 39 CHF (c. $43) later, he was set. We paid our money to enter, and were given our bracelets to swipe in. I suspect these are the same as the Disney Magic Bands, as they seemed to work in the same way that I understand those work.
We swiped in, then headed for the changing rooms. However, the signage here wasn’t great. I also couldn’t figure out how to close the doors on the changing rooms, but thankfully Mark worked it out in the end.
We were a bit surprised that they didn’t offer us towels, so I guess you don’t get any here then… Thankfully, I had my full swimming kit with me, as I swim a couple of times a week, but of course Mark didn’t have anything else with him, so I knew we’d have to share the one towel I’d bought with us…
We managed to find our way out of the changing room eventually, although again a lack of signage didn’t help. We had the “obligatory shower”, as we were told in German and French. In fact, everything here was in German and French, with nothing in English, which is a novelty to us. Thank goodness I could understand must of what they were saying…..
We had a quick look outside at the pools out there. Sadly the one which I think would’ve been the best, as it had seating areas in it, was out of action, as I guess they’re doing refurbishment work on it. Now, in case you’re wondering, there are no photos here, as I left my camera in the car, and there were signs everywhere, saying no photos, which was fair enough. I’m not sure I’d have wanted someone wandering around with a camera in there either. What I’ll do is share some photos I found online:
The pool you can see nearest the camera was the one that was out of action. The other one was absolutely packed, as by now, it was quite nice and sunny outside, but we immediately decided that would be a bad idea, as no doubt I’d be burnt in minutes. Anyway, it wasn’t our scene, as one side of the pool was filled with young couples who looked as if they didn’t have a room to go back to, if you know what I mean…
So, instead we headed inside, and although the pool looked quite busy, actually it wasn’t too bad. When we got in, we found that the water was a very pleasant temperature. It was somewhere between the temperature you’d get from a normal pool and a Jacuzzi, so it was warm, but not too hot. The other nice thing is that the pool is the right height as well, if that makes sense… Literally at the deep end, I could stand comfortably with my head out of the water.
Something else that was nice was the fact that there’s an edge to the pool, where you can lay your head (and I did! ) and there’s also a grab bar running the whole way around the pool, so you can put your arms on it, which again I did.
In total, we were in that pool about 40 or 45 minutes, 99% of it just relaxing, lying at the edge of the pool and letting our legs float or perhaps exercising our legs, when we felt like it. The pool emptied out quite a lot while we were in there. At one point, I counted only 15 other people in there, and it was quite a big pool, so we had plenty of room. I was amazed at how many people got in, then left about two or three minutes later. So much for making the most of your value for money. By the way, your admission gets you three hours in there.
When we were finally done, I followed the signs to salle de repos, which is the relaxing room (roughly translated) and it was a lovely place. There were only two other men in there. There were a series of loungers that rotated back, so that your legs went above your body, if that makes sense. It probably doesn’t! I was terrified the first time I did it, as I had visions of me being thrown backwards out of it, but they have something that stops you going too far backwards…
After 15 minutes or so in there, we’d dried off a fair bit, so we made our way back to the changing rooms, and sharing a towel we got ourselves dry. We’d already decided that, as the hotel was only 40 minutes away, we’d have a shower and wash our hair when we got there, which is just as well, as apart from the “obligatory shower”, I hadn’t seen anywhere you could probably shower off. Again, the lack of signs didn’t help.
When we left, we just swiped out with our bracelets, and then to exit, you had to drop them into a little box at the turnstile, and once you did that, it let you out. It was all very clever.
We headed back to the car, and I grabbed a couple of photos of the exterior of the thermal baths, so you can at least see what it looks like from outside.
I am so glad you decided to spontaneously purchase that camera. Sony should use one of your TRs as an advertisement! The scenery is just gorgeous everywhere you've been driving.
I've heard a lot about the thermal baths, it sounds quite relaxing. I don't know how well I'd do without any signs in English. I'm sure I'd look like a stereotypical tourist bumbling around!
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The Swiss produce some great white wines, but very little of that gets exported and probably why most don't know of the Swiss being wine producers! 
) was even swimming in the lake! 
Of course, with everywhere being shut in Switzerland on a Sunday, that was no use, as otherwise we’d seen plenty of clothes shops today he could’ve tried. :rolleyes. 
We had the “obligatory shower”, as we were told in German and French. In fact, everything here was in German and French, with nothing in English, which is a novelty to us. Thank goodness I could understand must of what they were saying…..
The pool emptied out quite a lot while we were in there. At one point, I counted only 15 other people in there, and it was quite a big pool, so we had plenty of room. I was amazed at how many people got in, then left about two or three minutes later. So much for making the most of your value for money. By the way, your admission gets you three hours in there. 
they have something that stops you going too far backwards… 
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