Switzerland - Day 1

Switzerland - Day 1, We arrived Monday from Italy, after driving (incl stops) 9 hours we were so looking forward to getting to our new home having endured the somewhat lively motorways in Italy. And then reveling in the beauty of Switzerland with its majestic mountains and lakes. Once again Google Maps in its wisdom, 1 km away from our destination, decided that the best route to our home was up a steep road that our van could not cope with.  A third of the way up the van refused to go any further so Ewout gingerly had to back the van back down the windy road to a safe spot and after a second attempt we decided that walking to the holiday home would be our best option. After slogging up the hill for 20 minutes or so (we did need a walk by then!) we finally got to our home and much to our relief the owner showed us a better way to get to the house, unfortunately google maps does not seem to take gradient or road width into account.

Once we got to our holiday home we were blown away by the sheer beauty off the area.

Toll booth on one of the many motorways in Italy, believe it or not there were another 5 lanes to the right and left of this picture, 

thankfully the motorways were 6 to 10 lanes wide not 22.

After slogging 20 minutes up a steep drive this was the picture we were treated to, if the walk did not take our breath away, this definitely did!

Around our holiday home are a number of other houses with a menagerie of animals for the children to feed and pat - goats, ponies, rabbits, calves and chickens, one regret is that we are not staying here longer as it is such a beautiful place.

Some gorgeous little hamlets on the way to our holiday house.




One other delightful thing about Switzerland, and what you may not read in the travel guides, is that the toilets are free and CLEAN!!! It is almost invariable in Europe that you pay to use a toilet - usually with a 'toilet lady' guarding the place ('dragon ladies' the children call them as they are not smiling friendly types!)