The Bernese Oberland, High mountains, the Brienzersee and Sherlock Holmes!

The road from Bern leads us out into the Alpine heart of Switzerland. We admire the classic Swiss scenery and high peaks when passing Lake Thun. A short visit to Interlaken and we will continue to Meiringen, where we shall spend a few days surrounded by the mountains. 

The misty blue Lake Thun and high mountains.

It's all here in Meiringen, Sherlock Holmes, the Museum of Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle and the Reichenbach.
The falls are above the town, and the wonderful funicular is the best route up.

The Reichenbach Falls are best visited in Spring with the snowmelt from higher glaciers.

Was he really a Blonde? Elementary, my dear Watson!

We walk higher through the forest to the village of Zwirgi at the beginning of the dramatic Reichenbach valley.

The gentle funicular above Meiringen.

We ride our bikes along a beautiful cycle track to the Brienzersee and pass farmhouses selling delicious local cheeses. The views of the surrounding mountains keep us in awe.

 Sitting in peace and quietly sipping our coffee, a mute swan crashes onto the water rather than waking us from our reverie.

On the return cycle ride through the meadows, once again, we are caught in nature's moment. A Peregrine falcon snatches a Wood Pigeon away to our right.

We stop and watch as it devours the prey. Not wishing to disturb its supper, we move along quietly.

It's Saturday, and across the mountains at Alpnach, the Swiss Air Force is having a small celebration for the 50th anniversary of their military airfield.
 The weather could not be worse, but we go and join them.

Despite the drizzle and mist, we had a thoroughly good time.

     

They really need nerves to fly around the mountains and forests.

That's what we need: high-speed police response, Swiss style!

A Cougar deploys its chaff like a fireworks display.

A great day out, tomorrow we will take the Brienz Rothorn Railway.

Happy Days!

Bern Switzerland

We drove around Freiburg twice on our way to Bern. The trouble was we could find no parking, so there it was, onwards to the Swiss capital, Bern. We will have to do Freiburg another day from Bern by train.

The Swiss public transport system is expected to be efficient, so a bus will drop us off at Bern's central railway station at precisely the right time. It is a short walk to the Old Town, which is UNESCO-protected. The feeling of a distant past surrounds you. Few European cities have an architecture that has remained essentially unchanged since medieval times.

The Zytglogge is a must-sight for us with its history, a prison for prostitutes who made their living serving the clergy, later burnt to the ground in the fire of 1405. It had been constructed of wood until this time, and then it was rebuilt using stone.

As we stroll down Kramgasse, we come to the ornamented fountain with an armoured bear. The bear is holding a standard from 1535 of the City's founder, Berchtold von Zahringen!

Relatively speaking, it is a short walk to the Einstein-Haus, the famous scientist's house and workplace. He developed his Theory of Relativity in Bern in 1905.

The Arcades, seen here and on every street and on both sides, are said to be the longest-covered shopping promenade in the world. When you enter the arcades, you are faced with a different world. Here you find all today's stores and mass consumerism. 

Bern's statue of Samson.

The axe-wielding carpenter of Bern.



Street scene with ever-growing arcades and shops. There are also more shops below ground, entered by stairs built into the old service hatches (visible behind the lady in grey).

We took our leave from the fascinating City of Bern and took the road the road to Interlaken
and onwards to Meiringen, where we have an appointment with a certain famous detective at
the Reichenbach Falls.

Montreux at the head of Lake Geneva

It is early afternoon when we arrive in Montreux, passing the impressive Chateau de Chile and having a leisurely lunch in Evian en route. At the border, we also stop to purchase a vignette to use the Swiss motorways.
The camping car stop we are night-stopping at in Montreux is adjacent to the Lac and a leisurely stroll to the town centre (remember to purchase a ticket). We got fined as it's not clear at all.

There is a lovely lakeside walk along the Territet waterfrontage, which we use to visit the town. The impressive Montreux Palace Hotel with one of the beautifully maintained paddle steamers passing by.

Montreux is not huge, but there are some very nice shops (for Linda). I head back to the waterfront. Finding Freddie Mercury's flamboyant statue, patience is needed to photograph it as fans and tourists envelop it.

The many park benches allow you to sit in the afternoon (patchy sun)and enjoy the view out across the water to the high Dents-de-Midi.

As we enjoy an early evening drink (expensive) outside one of the many cafes, unfortunately, a light rain sweeps over the lake and darkens the mountains.

A lone Kayak passes.

The sun sets across Lake Geneva.

In the morning, brilliant sunshine on the lake.

Lovely to see young Red-Breasted Mergansers out on the water.

Also, young Grebes and tufted ducks are seen.

The next stop is Fribourg and Bern.

Puy de Dome heading East for Switzerland

It is that time again, a new road trip. This time we are off to Switzerland and Italy. For us that means  turn left and keep going! We will need some stops so we have planned our first night out at the camping car stop situated at the foot of the Puy De Dome, in the Auvergne. This is volcano country, in fact there are some  80 of them, making up the Chaine des Puys.
 After a quiet night we are up early and walking through the forest tracks that lead upwards, the air is full of Woodpecker and Crossbill calls, the air fresh.
There is also a super, modern cog railway that will speed you to the top or down.

Shivelight penetrating the deep forest.

At the summit, just over 4800feet up, the view over the Massif Central is fabulous.

A paved path allows easy walking around this Volcanic plug.

Below the ugly weather station sits a substantial Roman Temple dedicated to Mercury, during our visit closed for renovation. The view in an easterly direction, allows far views of Monte Blanc.

Leaving the Puy we travel slightly south in the search of the local renowned cheeses. Passing beautiful hamlets and more volcanic sights.

By the time we reach les Roches Tuiliere et Sandoire the light is fading. The Autumn colours are now starting to show in the forests.

We make another night stop, this time at Murol, with its powerful Medieval Chaeau. Time to enjoy the St- Nectaire and Cantal cheeses that we have purchased.

An early start crossing a remote part of the Auvergne.

There is not much traffic on these small roads, thank goodness! Just a occasional tractor.

We stop at Saint-Amant-Tallende for coffee, entering the Rue de la Boucherie through the low stone arch.

At Montpeyroux the clouds seem to skim our heads as we have lunch in this pretty village.

The road is starting to climb as we head east, we stop to admire the view over the river l'ain.

At the Lac Nantua the sun is warm and we decide to stop the night on the aire de camping car.

The perfect stopping place to enjoy a walk around this lake.

Sitting in the warm autumnal sun watching life on and around the lake.Tomorrow we will travel to Evian and cross the border to Montreux in Switzerland.