A return to Switzerland – land of mountains, museums and moos! COMPLETED 12/4 About This Page:

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Friday 6 September – part seven: this could be embarrassing if this was full!

We found Doris, who I’d been corresponding with about this, and she showed us up to the apartment. We were very lucky, as I got the impression we’d have a double room on our own: but we theoretically could’ve been sharing with up to six other people, as there was also this room:



… and another room with bunk beds in it, and all with one toilet and one shower:



I don’t think I’d have been impressed had eight of us been staying here. This was our room:



Mark set about getting the beds fit to sleep in, and he had some fun!



We waited until the massive group of people downstairs (I reckon there were maybe 20 or 30 of them ) headed off, until we went down to get the bulk of our luggage. It was so hot out there that we were boiling by the time we got back upstairs. Thank goodness they had blinds on the windows and curtains to keep the sun out. This really isn’t a problem that I figured we’d be having in Switzerland in early September.

We spent the next couple of hours catching up on the trip report and sorting out the photos (me) and reading (Mark). We were literally completely cut off, with no Wi-Fi whatsoever, and no TV, although if we got desperate, there was one in the room for four people, but then again a) it would probably be in German and b) the stench from the cows was strongest in there. Don’t get me wrong, I love cows, but if I did this again, I’d definitely know to bring some air freshener for the room with me, shall I say?

I also took the opportunity to photograph the Swiss money we had, as I hadn’t done so yet:



We did see the area where you could sleep in the straw:



However, I dread to think what the smell out there was like, as it was literally right above where the cows were.

I also discovered another issue if you were to have eight people in here. The towels they gave you wouldn’t cover up your modesty if you wanted to shower, shall we say. You’d have to go into the shower dressed, and then come out dressed, as trust me, their towels, which were more like the size of hand towels, would not do the job.

We headed downstairs at 6:30pm, the time we’d agreed for dinner, only to find no-one around. We wandered around for a few minutes, until we found Doris, who was looking after us, and she got us to sit down, ensuring we had some shade from the setting sun, which was still quite strong. She asked me if we wanted water, wine or beer, so I went for white wine, and what a lovely treat – it turned out to be local stuff, Riesling, which was just perfect.



We were immediately given a salad, which was lovely:



The main course was meat for Mark…



… while I got the veggie option, complete with rice and roasted vegetables. It was all wonderful, but I couldn’t finish mine.



As we sat there, we watched the cows grazing. The water buffalo had certainly moved around a fair bit, and were now over the other side of the farm. Doris told us that they take longer to milk, and they only produce eight litres of milk, whereas the rest of the herd are quicker to milk and produce 25 litres.



The reason we know all of this is that she’d asked us earlier if 10:30am would be alright for cow trekking, and at first, we said then we thought about it, and the fact it was four and a half hours to Luxembourg, where we’d be spending the night, and decided we needed an earlier time. She suggested 8:45am or 9:00am, which worked perfectly for us, although she had to think about it, as of course the cows needed milking, and that’s what they had to work around, but milking is at 7:00am. As Mark said, I’ll probably be up to watch it, and I may well be…

We also got to see some other wildlife during the evening, including the chickens…



… and the cat.



The dog was sitting right by us for much of the meal, but I forgot to take a photo of him. Note: I did rectify this the next morning…

We saw hot air balloons…



… and even a couple of bi-planes.



And there were also plenty of planes in the sky, not a huge surprise, given that Zurich airport is probably only about 40 or 50 miles away from here.



Having said that, it was a really peaceful evening, with literally just the two of us sitting outside, enjoying a lovely meal. It was a bit awkward at the end, as we didn’t see Doris again, and guessed there was no dessert. I would’ve happily sat there and waited for her to come back, except we were being attacked by wasps, and the final straw was when I thought I felt something try and bite my leg. That was it – I was heading back to the room.

I did head back outside to photograph the sunset, which was pretty neat.



The weather today was hot and sunny and in the high 80s.
The best thing today was sitting outside enjoying a lovely peaceful dinner together.
The worst thing today was the thermal baths at Baden being closed.
Today we tried visiting the Swiss National Museum
And the result was it was interesting, and we learnt a lot, but I think there is probably more they can do with the place, and hopefully it will be done when they finish the refurbishment.
The most magical moment today was seeing someone doing the cow trekking!

Next: meeting Erma and Padrone!