9 Jun 11 – Day 7 (Geneva, Dijon)

Got up around 6am, ate breakfast at 7am and took about half an hour. Then we took some photos around the hotel before bringing our luggage down to load into the coach. We left the hotel around 8:15am to Geneva, which a lot of people thought was the capital of Switzerland due to the many International Organizations found there. Cecilia told us that the agent in charge of making reservations for us said that refund was impossible but they could compensate us with a lunch today (which was supposedly to be on our own), engaged a local guide (couldn’t remember if it was for Geneva or Paris) and the River Seine cruise in Paris tomorrow. Had our toilet stop at a petrol station about 9:15am for 15 minutes and bought more chocolates and chewing gums from Coop convenient store.

Continued our journey and when we reached Geneva, the coach made several rounds around the city area trying to find the place where we were supposed to pick up the local guide. We saw the Jet d'Eau, one of the largest fountains in the world, some buildings with name of brands of watch on top, a lot of yachts docked in the lake and some monuments. After we picked up the local guide, we proceeded to an organic farm for a short tour. Due to time constrains, the owners of the farm only showed us the grape vines with tiny fruits, apple trees with red, green and yellow apples as well as cherry trees. There were normal tall growing apple trees and there were those that have their branches forced to grow downwards so that it would be easier for the farmers to harvest the apples. We also saw that there were nets over the grape vines and the low-growing apple trees, the farmer said that the nets are used to protect the fruits from being bruised by whatever that may fall from the sky. We were told that we could pick the cherries off the trees to eat and so Kim did just that. I wasn’t tall enough to reach so could only be contented to be fed with the cherries she picked and be photographed.

Jet d'Eau

Buildings with name of brands of watch

  

Many yachts docked in the lake

Some photos taken during the organic farm visit :

One of the farm owners climbed the ladder and picked cherries for the members to eat. Fresh cherries tasted good, soft and sweet than those sold in the supermarkets. After that, we were brought to a small house where they sell their own apple juices and other organic products. Each of us was given a small cup of apple juice to taste and it was tasty.

Owners of the farm

Apple juice

We were then hurried onto the coach to continue with the Geneva city tour and along the way saw a building that looked like a church but in fact is a pre-school, the building for World Intellectual Property Organization, the building for World Trade Organization, L'horloge fleurie (Flower Clock) and some others. Finally, we made a photo stop across the Palace of Nations which serves as the home to the United Nations Office at Geneva. The area has a monumental sculpture called the Broken Chair and there was a demonstration going on so we quickly took some shots before returning to the coach.

World Intellectual Property Organization

A pre-school

World Trade Organization

 L'horloge fleurie (Flower Clock)

Palace of Nations

Broken Chair (demostration going on)

Then we moved on to have lunch in a Chinese restaurant which was said to be operated by one or one of the few Hong Kong people living in Geneva and then the local guide bade us farewell. After eating, we went off to see the Reformation Wall and took some photos then on a four hour journey to Dijon. Some members bought watches that exceeded CHF300 and so had to do tax refund. So when we reached the border, Cecilia went to the office with the members and their items to do the necessary documentation. Had a toilet break around 3pm and I bought a box of rose flavored sweets for 2.50 Euro.

The Reformation Wall :

Finally reach Dijon and we were given time to walk the town. There were lots of flags on many interesting buildings. One of them look like those olden time houses beside a modern one and that reminded me of the one I saw during my previous Europe trip. Saw a lot of mustards in different colors and flavors. They would have made very interesting souvenirs if my friends know how to appreciate mustards. I, myself, for one don’t know what food to go with mustards except for sausages.

Place de la Libération (Liberation Square) Philippe le Bon Tower Carrefour du Miroir, Rue de la Libérté (Mirror's Crossroads) Mustard...

Palais des ducs de Bourgogne (Dukes of Burgundy's Palace) Place François Rude (François Rude Square)  Porte Guillaume (Guillaume Gate) ... and more mustard

When it was time, we headed back to the meeting point, which was an open space surrounded with cafés and restaurants, to wait for the coach. While waiting, a long hair Caucasian with some cardboards and water bottles walked by and stopped near our group. He started talking loudly, beating the cardboards with sticks, trying to get our attentions. We moved slowly away from him and when he got louder, we crossed the road to wait on the other side. So happened the place we stood was near a bus stop and a traffic light. It was interesting to observe that even cyclists abide by the traffic rules and stop when the red light is on.

The long hair Caucasian

We waited very long for the coach to come and while waiting, we saw that Caucasian singing loudly, jumping about, kicking his legs and whatnot. A bus came along and stopped in front of us and after it moved off, we saw policemen approaching the Caucasian and started talking to him. Another bus came along and after it moved off, the Caucasian and the policemen were gone. Soon our coach came and we went to Kyriad Restaurant for dinner.

They served us fresh tomato and cucumber as starter and none of us ate or ate very little coz we were told not to eat that due to the E Coli incident. Cecilia kept repeating that she had called up the restaurant beforehand to tell them to change the food. Then another Singapore tour group organized by one of the big tour agencies came along and they had escargots as starter. Cecilia pacified us by saying that the group paid a few hundreds extra for that and that not everyone knows how to appreciate escargots.

The restaurant and my dinner :

Done with eating and we checked into our hotels for the night. This time round, the extra bed came in the form of sofa bed and Kim took that coz it was near window and also coz the other bed was a queen size bed and I had to share it with Mag.

Thoughts: Was disappointed that we were not given time for photo stop at the Jet d'Eau and the city tour was really brief and quick that I do not remember what I have seen or what some buildings really look like coz the coach moved too fast. Was also disappointed that we didn’t get to spend enough time in the farm and see animals.

8 Jun 11 – Day 6 (Glacier 3000)

Today we departed at 8am to travel 1 hour 45 minutes to reach Glacier 3000. The weather wasn’t good and it was raining. Cecilia told us to bring ponchos along and I didn’t have mine with me. Wore only my Timberland fleece jacket and while the rest put on their ponchos, I put on my windbreaker. Mag was layered with two cardigans, a windbreaker, a scarf and a poncho while Kim wore a cardigan, an Adidas sport jacket and a poncho. The rest of the people were better prepared, they had thick jackets, winter hat, gloves, scarves, etc.

Took two gondola rides up and we couldn’t see much view coz the glasses were stained with water and when we were up on higher altitudes, stained with ice and also the surrounding was very, very foggy. We could only see white and white everywhere. It was cold like winter and to the extent that it was snowing when we reached the top. I was practically shivering and tried to slow my breathing so that I could get used to the temperature. It seemed that we were the only group up there.

The gondola

Group members in ponchos

Took some photos and then we were told to take the ski lifts down to another area where the alpine coaster was. Kim tried to take photos of ourselves on the ski lift and my bag and I was wet from the snow, my sneakers were damp and I could feel the cold sipping through my socks. Wished I had brought my Timberland outer jacket or cashmere pullover with gloves.

Ski lifts

Tracks of the Alpine Coaster

Due to the snowing condition, the alpine coaster was not in operation and so was the husky sledge. Thus, all we could do was to play with the snow and took more photos. The snow was thick and I could feel the cold sipping through my jeans, sneakers and jackets. One of the members suggested a group photo in front of the tractor parked in the snow. Quickly got the man in charge of the ski lift to help with the photo taking and then we made our way back up. Got off the ski lift and walked towards the shelter. Looked at the digital indicator and saw that the temperature was about zero degrees celsius.

Lunch was supposed to be 12 noon but we ended up having early lunch at 11:45am. The hot soup was great and they even decorated the soup with dried flower petals. Overall, we had a very good lunch and then we had to brave the cold again to take the cable car ride down at 1:10pm to embark on a two hours journey to Zermatt.

My lunch :

Unfortunately, the coach stalled shortly after leaving the Glacier 3000 venue along the countryside. The driver tried to fix the problem but in vain. Some of the members were high tide and though there were some houses in sight, they were vacant. So in the end, they had to brave the rain to settle in the grass behind the houses. One uncle walked quite a distance with his son and found an occupied house and the female owner let him use the toilet.

We were trapped in the coach for a few hours and I could almost die. Tried to sleep and couldn’t coz of the non-stop talking from the older members. The younger ones either played card games or played with their gadgets. Most of them relief themselves in the grass except the three of us and I could hear them commenting on this fact. The mechanics finally came about 4+pm and those in front were told to move to the back so that the mechanics could open the cover from inside the coach. So I sat beside Kim and Mag moved to my seat while the rest rearranged themselves to the available seats.

Finally the coach managed to move by 5:40pm and we had to scrape the plan to go Zermatt to see the Matterhorn. Got to the hotel at 6:30pm, settled down and went for dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was like a function room with a few round tables. There was another Caucasian tour group in the room with us. Sat with a family of four (mother with two sons and a niece) and we chatted. The niece who just graduated as a physiotherapist was interested in Mag’s work as Mag works in KK hospital. The mother chatted with Kim and I only chipped in when I like. They were going to extend their stay in Paris to meet up with the husband and the mother asked Kim about getting around in Paris.

Dinner menu

Done with dinner by 8pm and we went back to our room. Drank a lot of water at night coz I was having sharp pain on the right side of my head and pain in the right ear due to the chocolaty dinner the night before.

Thoughts: Fortunately I had the sense to bring a fleece jacket and windbreaker instead of the cotton jacket which I thought to bring initially. I was disappointed by the bad weather that cost me the alpine coaster ride and husky sledging. To make matter worse, the coach broke down for so many hours and cost me Zermatt and Matterhorn.

7 Jun 11 – Day 5 (Jungfraujoch, Interlaken)

Today we started the day at 8:30am to go for the “Top of Europe” Jungfraubahn train ride. Our booking was for the 9:39am train and we boarded the train at the Lauterbrunnen station. The ride was about half an hour and we had two cabins to our group. Was seated on the left side of the train and ended up didn’t get good views of the mountains far away. So I had to depend on Kim to take photos of the mountain views. We made a stop but couldn’t remember if it was at the Grindelwald station or the Wengen station before continuing to Kleine Scheidegg which was a 2,061 m (6,762 ft) high mountain pass and where we alighted. Along the way I saw cows with big bells around their necks that sounded as they moved but the train was too fast for me to take photos of them.

Some photos of the train, the station and the views :

The three of us went ahead to walk up the hills towards the mountains and took photos along the way. Again I was a bit paranoid coz I was thinking how I was going to walk down the slopes in my sneakers even though it wasn’t slippery, there were small stones lying around the ground. I had to walk slow and choose my steps carefully. The view higher up was spectacular, the temperature was cooling and it felt so good to be close to the mountains which I believed were the Wetterhorn, Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau, and Gspaltenhorn peaks. It was a pity that there were not enough flowers in bloom yet.

Some photos taken at Kleine Scheidegg :

At Kleine Scheidegg - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eHBb6FRBJI

There were a lot of people walking up with their hiking sticks, backpacks and some even brought their dogs along. We didn’t walk further due to time constrain and so we turned back to walk down. Used the ladies and then went to get ice cream from the Mövenpick Ice Cream push cart. I had the Espresso Croquant for CHF3.50 and it was heavenly. Soon we gathered at the meeting point at the stated time of 11:45am and waited. While waiting, one of the members suggested taking a group photo. Some of us handed Cecilia the cameras to take the group photo and I thought Mag or Kim would pass one over. In the end, it turned out that none of them did.

Train came and we took back the same seats but this time I got a closer view of the mountains therefore I managed to snap a couple of photos of the mountains. Got back to Lauterbrunnen station, boarded the coach and made our way back to Interlaken where we were given time to explore the town proper. The coach brought us to one end of the town where Cecilia told us we could find more eating places. When the coach passed by the “Grand Restaurant Schuh”, she told us that we should try the chocolates there coz they make them themselves. I believed her this time coz I remembered someone from TripAdvisor also told me about it.

Alighted and hunted for food. Mag and I wanted to try authentic rosti and so tried to find a restaurant that offers that dish. Bumped into Cecilia and she said Bebbis has that and so we walked all the way to the other end of the town to Bebbis for lunch. Ordered a rosti with sausage, macaroni original Swiss-style served with apple sauce to share with Mag while Kim had chicken chop with fries. Lunch was good except for the numerous flies flying around us which were very irritating.

Our lunch :

Done with eating and we walked the street. Headed to Migros to look around as well as get food for dinner. We bought strawberries, biscuits, chips, drinks, tarts, chocolates and other snacks. Popped into a MacDonald where Kim bought a box of chicken wings. Then along the way, Kim bought a number of Swiss Army knives as souvenirs for her friends while I got a couple more Swiss cow bells and a fridge magnet. Was tempted to get the Swiss Army knives but then I already have something similar and my sis has a card form.

Finally we passed by the “Grand Restaurant Schuh” and I bought a box of five liquor chocolates. I had a lot of coins and tried to count the amount. The sales assistant was very nice and offered to count them for me and I accidentally dropped a coin into the display cabinet. Felt so bad about it, thanked her and went out of the shop, happy with my purchase. Kim said she wanted to get postcards and stamps so we tried to ask if the shops sell stamps but they don’t.

The Grand Restaurant Schuh

Fortunately, we came across a post office so popped in to get stamps, Kim got two and I got three. Crossed the road to a souvenir shop to get postcards and then found a bench where we rested and wrote our postcards. Done with it and the post box was just beside us, so we took photos of us posting postcards. Kim wondered if the postcard she bought from Neuschwanstein Castle with the Germany stamp she posted in Switzerland would be able to reach her but we could only hope it does.

Some photos taken in Interlaken :

Gathered at the meeting point at 6pm and got back to hotel in about half an hour. It was the earliest that we ever got back to hotel. Mag went to the hotel lobby to check about the Wifi connection and took the room key with her. Kim wanted to cook instant noodles but couldn't put them into the microwave oven to cook. Told her that I heard that the family of three (mother with two daughters) staying next door had a portable kettle and maybe she could call them up to check if she could borrow. Nobody picked up the call and jokingly told her that she could try going out to the balcony and shout over and since we were actually very near, she might even be able to climb over.

Took my shower, packed a little and then settled down to eat my food. In the end, Kim didn’t cook her instant noodle. Ate around the dining table in the room where Mag had strawberries and fruit juices; Kim ate chips, chicken wings and drank soft drink while I had chocolate tart, a local snack, liquor chocolates, tiramisu and ginger ale. I joked that Mag had healthy dinner; Kim had savory dinner while I had sweet dinner. There were three wine glasses on the table and we pour our drinks into them to play make believe. We had much fun chatting, joking and fooling around. Soon it was time to turn in.

My dinner :

Thoughts: Would love to try walking / hiking in the mountains even for a few hours. I was surprised at the numerous big houseflies flying around even in cool temperature. The temperature was just nice for me and I walked the town in just my polo tee while I saw many others in light jackets. Happy to be able to try the chocolate from “Grand Restaurant Schuh” and they were really good. If it was winter and I didn’t have to go to Dubai later on, I would have bought more chocolates to bring back just like that time in Bruge.