Switzerland~~Part 6

The flowers definitely liked the cool weather…

This was the restaurant we ate at…..

There were vineyards in some of the yards…

There were many tunnels thru the mountains…some were very long…seemed like every few miles we had to go thru one….

This is what we encountered on the road…the farmers were leading their cows back down from the mountains home…notice the HUGE bells around their necks..they wear these so their owners will be able to find them on the mountains…they made really loud ringing noises…I can just imagine the cows were really tired after wearing these !!

The bell on this one was a round bell…still large…sorry the picture wasn’t any better, but we were on the bus and had to snap a quick picture as they went by… Notice the attire of the farmer…they were all dressed in their alpine finery…sometimes they put garlands of flowers on the cows heads !!

We went to the tiny principality of Liechtenstein…

Atop this mountain was the home of the prince of this tiny country…


This is where the movie, “Heidi”, was filmed…




Flying over London…

We flew over Greenland…it looked like the mountain peaks were peaking thru the snow and ice…it looked like a strange moonscape !!

This is the last that I will be posting of Switzerland…the next picture shows how the country influences you after you have been there a week !!

Switzerland~~Part 5

You were able to view the snow capped peaks of the neighboring countries on top of the mountain.

Down we go to the bottom of the mountain…



We arrived back in Zurich late and opted for McDonald’s…we ordered 2 Big Mac meals and paid $23.00 for this !! Food here was out of sight !! A drink..coke products, water or coffee were $5.00 each !!!

Friday we went on the Heidiland tour….

Lucerne

Can you believe it ?? These were begonias….

The Lion Monument, in Lucerne, depicting the loss of lives in World War 11


A lot of the chalets had window boxes with geraniums planted in them…we were told that these would keep the flies and mosquitos away…nifty I thought !!


We went thru Rapperswil again and had lunch here…


Part 6 coming…

Switzerland~~Part 4

On Thursday we took a tour of Jungfraujoch~top of Europe. We took a cogwheel train to Europe’s highest railway station.



Up we go…we had the best tour guide…he was always wanting to take pictures of us with the backgrounds…..

We changed trains about half way up and continued to the top…

The trains were run on these cogs…


We arrived at the top and had a view of things to come !!!





How’s this for a scene ???

We went thru the Ice Palace, another glacier room. …the mountains here had a lot of glaciers.


They had ice carvings inside the glacier …carved from the glacier itself…

Part 5 next….

Switzerland~~part 3

We took an excursion to Mt. Titlis, the highest vantage point in central Switzerland. (10,000 feet). We rode a revolving gondola up to the top. The view up here was breathtaking.

Here we are at the top~~it was about 15 degrees…br-r-r-

We went thru the Glacier Ice Grotto…a path was carved out thru the middle so you could walk thru and be in a glacier !!




How about this ?? Didn’t know we could, did ya ???

Back down the mountain…saw a snow shower on the descent….





As this was their fall, some of the trees were sporting their colors….

part 4…next

Switzerland~~Part 2

We rode the cable car up the mountain and had some fantastic views…


Made it to the top of the mountain…



We ate lunch at the top of the mountain at the revolving restaurant…

The lunch was delicious and the view was fabulous !!

This was the view from the window at our table…


Back down by cable car…

Most of the houses and stores were the chalet type…they had pictures, scroll-work, and a variety of colors…some were very ornate…they were so pretty !!




Part 3 coming….

Switzerland !! Part 1

Jimmy and I went to Switzerland October 11. We thought this would be a neat place to visit and the country would be beautiful to see…..we were right !! It was breathtaking and we learned a lot of interesting facts about this country…we took a LOT of pictures and I will try to pick out the most interesting.

Left Waco at 2:45 and arrived at Switzerland at 12:25 the next day…there is 7 hours difference in our time…you lose time going over but gain time coming back..we left there at 7:00 Saturday and got back home that same evening at 5:00..how crazy is that??

We arrived at our hotel in Zurich. It was located in the center of the city near the railway and bus stations. It was a great hotel…Jimmy is seen here in the “lift” as they call the elevator..it could only accomodate 4 people without luggage or two people with luggage..it was very small…

We walked from our hotel to the Bus Station to begin a tour of Switzerland..we found out it was easier this way since parking is expensive and we didn’t know where we were going anyway.. We had to pass the Railway Station to get there..there were lots of bikes and motorscooters parked there.




All of the tours we took started from this station…

Off we go to visit the chocolate factory and cheese factory…

City of Zurich…we stayed here


The countyside was an unbelievable bright green…


We watched them make the Swiss Cheese.

We went to the chocolate factory, but they would not let us take photos…but…the candy was delicious!! Swiss chocolate candy is famous…We did buy some !!

Rode the cable car up Mt. Hoher Kasten..You have a view over the Rhine valley, Austria, Germany, Lichtenstein and Switzerland…4 countries to view !!

Part 2 coming next !!

A Black Tie Dinner

The Lorena Bunch were invited to a Black Tie Dinner hosted by the younger set. (Esther and Deanna directed the group). It was a most enjoyable evening with delicious food and beautiful table settings. All the waiters and waitresses were great and dressed for the occasion…we all had a great time!! Thanks guys !!

An elegant table setting.

We all had menus and place cards.

First thing…ice in the glasses

The smaller set had their own table…hum, what to order ??

Now for the drinks…






Rolls, anyone ?? We can throw them to you…



Megan had the art of balancing trays perfected…



Yummy…Black Forest Cake and Peach Cobbler for dessert !!

Smile for the camera !!

A Branson Road Trip !!!

We went with the two oldest granddaughters to Branson for a week…they were wanting to go with us on a road trip somewhere…so we picked Branson. We had a fun time and the girls managed to laugh at their Maw-Maw quite often !!

We left early in the morning on our road trip…

It was mostly cloudy most of the week, except Friday, which was gorgeous…at least it didn’t rain and the weather was nice.

We ate lunch on the Branson Belle.


We went to the Butterfly Palace.

We wore the proper headgear…

Some of these guys sported vibrant colors…


The butterflies seemed to like us !!!


We went thru the mirror maze…

The girls bought our lunch at Famous Daves..it was delicious !!!

Our meal was served on a trash can lid and was loaded with goodies!! needless to say, we about demolished all the food !!

Branson Landing…where our restaurant was located…

Silver Dollar City was all dressed up in Fall finery !!


This looked like a tame ride…but actually it wasn’t…


The girls rode this one…


We seemed to be always eating !!

The girls got me on this giant swing..scary it was !! Leann laughed at me because I had my eyes shut and was letting out a “whoa” with all the rest of the riders !! It was as bad as a roller coaster…. You were standing on your head when it swung out to the top…

The plunge…guess who ??

Being cooped up together for a week does strange things to you… Not really, we had a wonderful time with our two oldest granddaughters…the next two are already planning their turn….

Happy Birthday to Me !!!

Celebrated my birthday the 17th of September…Jimmy brought home these flowers a little early so I could enjoy them before we went to Branson with the two oldest granddaughters…wasn’t he sweet ??

It’s Been A Really Thirsty Summer !!

Seems like everything and everybody has been really thirsty this summer…I guess the heat COULD have something to do with it ???