Last day

Yesterday was hot but today the forecast is for 37°C. Good job we decided on air con in the van. It's 180 miles, forecast at 3½ hours from here to Calais and we have plenty of time.

So firstly into Gulpen to pick up a card for Jens who's 13 tomorrow. A shock at the Post Office where we are informed that stamps come in sheets of 10, so postage costs considerably more than the card. Then back to Margraten to by those essentials we saw cheap yesterday: a new bread knife, oursi s blunt, tent pole to hack together a better quick tent, a window box and a few other bits'n'bobs.

I had a horrible feeling about the Brussels ring road and hoped it would be nowhere near as stationary as its counterpart in Antwerp. Road works nearly confirmed my worst fears with us being almost immobile for over 30 mins, with the temperature gauge rising to 90+ as the baking heat outside gives the radiator little chance to cool. For some reason, Tomtom live services hadn't pre-warned us of this delay otherwise I'm sure we would have been rerouted.

It's hot, it's sultry, it's thunderstorm weather and approaching Calais the familiar lightening zags are already illuminating the sky. Theres still 3 hours before the ferry so we head for the Channel Tunnel area where Cité d'Europe host a huge Carrefour hypermarket. So whilst selecting our ham, cheeses and bargain wines we hear the sound of the torrential rain drumming against the store roof. It's quite some store by the sound if it but time is on our side and we can sit(shop) it out and return to the van in the dry.

We pass immigration and at French customs, being used to the Swiss border control we crawl slowly though without stopping. Mistake! A couple of douaniers pull us back and start on the 3rd degree; destinations, tobacco, contraband etc? There follows a discussion where it is obvious one wants to conduct a van search (hopefully not accompanied by the snap of latex gloves and a personal search). Fortunately his partner decides I've got an honest face and after several worrying moments we're waved through.

After all that excitement the ferry and 2 hour drive back from Dover is thankfully uneventful.

Sometimes I wish we had a bog-standard VW van conversion

Two days of Friedrichshafen was wearying on the feet and we didn't think there were enough bargains in the flea market to stay and haggle closing down prices, so Sunday morning we set off for home. A ruler drawn between Friedrichshafen and Calais would suggest setting course for Luxembourg or Metz which was our original plan. Yet both Google Maps and Tomtom suggested the fastest route would be almost directly north, up through Germany and then turn left at Aachen and head east via Brussels. So plan B, stick Luxembourg off the list of countries to visit and replace with The Netherlands and Belgium.

The reason Tomtom suggests this route is that once off the Bodensee roads we are straight into the excellent German autobahn system of good, toll-free motorways. Now me might not be capable of the speeds some of the larger Mercs and BMWs but we could trundle at 70mph+ and make the 385 miles to the campsite just outside Aachen in around the 6 hours that Tomtom suggested. Apart from 3 stops and a minor hold-up that Tomtom did her best to skirt us past we probably wouldn't have been far off that time but with the stops we have been on the road just short of 8 hours before arriving at Gulpenerburg. This site with 300 touring spaces, is  FULL, on a Sunday evening in the middle of school term. Hell!

We are hot and tired, it's been a long day and the last thing we need is a full campsite with no plan B - it seemed so huge we thought there'd be plenty of spaces. Actually the last thing we needed sitting in a hot van ( it's close to 30°C outside)  trying to find a site as close as possible, was to hear that familiar call "Zis is I nice mikro-camper, I zink". One can't be rude but now is definitely not the best time to have to conduct a tour of the Roma!

Our new guest assures us that there are lots of campsites in the area but doesn't know where any are! Great help! Then we remember that Tomtom is new and still has a live services licence. Fire it up, search for "Places close to me", "Campsite" and it comes up with Camping Osebos just a few miles down the road outside Gulpen. A hasty journey, over several single track roads soon gets us to the main Gulpen road and onto the campsite.

Once the van is parked it is definitely beer-o-clock! Been a long day.

Campsite Photos

Space was a a premium, so some had to camp atop their car

Or half over the pavement

An interesting mag-loop

That's quite some capacitor

Campsite craic

On of the highlights of the hamfest for us was staying on the campsite. It was as if a multinational band of gypsies had coalesced for a weekend.

The Romahome was the object of interest to almost everyone. Everytime we looked out of the window someone was looking at it or pointing to it. I've lost count of the number of tours we've given over the long weekend. I think someone needs to put together a Romahome phrasebook with phrases such as:

• "The seats pull together and make a huge double bed"
• "Notice how the sink cunningly lifts up to reveal the toilet compartment" 
• etc.

translated into many different languages. Even on our trip to the local supermarket did we find a couple of young Polish amateurs photographing the van as we returned. Another impromptu tour.

The weißen was sehr gut

The campsite had a couple of  amenities - a small food bar and, of course, a beer bar. Soon we had extended our UK contact list beyond Norman GI4ZSP to Dave GW4ZAR and Steve MW0ZZK as we shared a beer or two together. In fact, Dave and Steve became good friends and we bumped into them several times more over lunch food sessions and evening bar excursions. Another group of regulars at the bar was a Dutch DX group whose excellent English meant we become an international drinking group. The beer was good too,  a weißen and a märzen to choose from, at €4 per ½ litre. On Saturday evening we spent a long evening in the company of these good friends and Sunday morning we were both not at our best. It was then that I discovered the märzen we had been drinking was a hefty 5.6% by volume!

We never tried the food on the campsite. It was typical German fastfood but the Dutch amateurs reckoned the "Fricadella" was most interesting - I got the impression that this was not an entirely complimentary statement!

As well as the fixed vendors an excellent (and amazingly cheap) Italian ice-cream vendor toured the site regularly and most evenings a small van would have freshly picked cherries for sale. Liz bought some but declined the offer of local fruit schnapps!

A quiet time on the campsite

We made several tours of the site, noting people's ingenuity particularly concerning antennas. Everyone was friendly and helpful and only too keen to discuss, as best as our non-existent German would allow, the design decisions behind their variation on a ¼wave vertical or inverted-L fishing rod antenna., which seemed to be the norm. In fact it was an early tour of the site that lead us to discover the CG brand of auto-ATU and a subsequent internet lookup that convinced us that one was worth buying (it was gratifying to see that the Italian equivalent of RAYNET used them too).

Certainly if we were to go a subsequent year, and we do plan to, then staying on the campsite is a must. Yeah, there were queues for the loos and shower (although Liz didn't have a problem) but the good natured environment made it a real part of the hamfest experience. For example, the Macadonian contingency opposite usually had national music playing in the background and would occasionally, spontaneously burst into a chorus or two of one some folk song. Most enjoyable.

Hamfest 2011 - organisation

Messe was busy but not overcrowded. The 3 halls did take a good, tiring day to get round and occasionally it was a squeeze to see things but nothing like the UK rallies. Everything was well spaced and easy to find. The main hall which housed the traders also housed many of the national radio bodies, so as well as our own RSGB stand we chatted with the Italian national society (free Prosecco), the Dutch VERON (free liquorice), the Council of Europe radio society (chocolates and a very interesting chat), the Italian equivalent of RAYNET (excellent ideas for emergency and portable stations) as well as browsing many of the others.

Catering was amazing given the number of people. Food was typical German - Wurst, Pork Knuckles, Chicken etc. and of couse the mandatory beer to wash it down. Queues weren't too bad and even at peak times we were able to get food within 5 mins or so and find a table. Even more surprising the prices didn't rip us off - even the beer was little more than UK pub price although the concept of a deposit on the glass was unusual.

There wasn't even a queue for the loos!

Hamfest 2011

The whole point of this trip was to visit Friedfrichshafen Hamfest, albeit via the circuitous route involving Switzerland. To non radio amateurs a hamfest is a combination of trade stands, electronics car boot sale and in the case of the larger ones, technical lectures. Of course, the problem with going to foreign events is the lectures are in foreign too, and our everyday german is non-existent so not a hope of understanding a technical lecture.

Did I say BIG towers were available for sale?

As for trade stands, the big 3 manufacturers were there: Kenwood, Icom and Yaesu (all Japanese), two very large retailers - the German Wimo and our own Waters & Stanton (who years ago permanently lost our patronage after an off-air remark by one of their senior repair team suggested a less than positive approach to my customer call) and lots of smaller vendors. One big difference between the UK and Europe is that there is much more space in Europe, so more hams have towers for their aerials, so european hamfests have many more manufacturers/retailers of towers, associated hardware, guy ropes, and of course the huge antennas that sit atop of the towers.

The fleamarket was a bit different too - very little 2nd hand modern commercial equipment but LOTS of military gear and valves. Apart from a brand new still in its original sealed wax wrapping paper, 20 year old Czech army morse key we bought almost nothing from the flea market. The trade stands tempted us into a CG3000 automatic antenna tuner - perfect for using a simple 10m vertical wire from a fishing pole attached to the campervan, a drill press for my little hobby drill - ideal for PCBs and several bits'n'bobs'n'connectors.

Looks boring, but useful for portable radio from the Romahome

The euro/sterling rate didn't lend to many bargains - for example a brand new TS-590s is €1699 on Wimo's website = £1543 using my credit card's exchange rate. Compare that with Nevada's current price of £1329! I had planned to buy the voice card for the TS-590 but it is cheaper in the UK. On the other hand Wimo had a show special of €40 off the already less than euro-for-sterling price of €275 on the CG3000 that I bought. That gave me a price of £213.50 which does compare well with Nevada's £296.12 and I feel I got a good deal. The deal on the ATU was a rarity though and we only bought bits that we felt would be hard to source in the UK.

Got to be worth €5

The flea market led to the new morse key, a bargain at €5. I really wanted some nixie tubes but they were on boards and a few had been cracked so to guarantee I had enough to make a clock I would have had to pay just a little more than I wanted. A pity, in better condition I would have had confidence to buy fewer and hence they would have been affordable.

However rallies and hamfests are not all about buying, as well as the social side (see separate blog entry) there is the opportunity to a) increase your knowledge (index of possibilities, as I like to call it) and b) ogle those objects of lust that are either beyond the price range or not currently available.

Several antenna bits certainly did give us some more thoughts and ideas and I'm not sure if the novel variable capacitor in the photo would really work but it's an interesting idea as is using a syringe and tubing to provide a pneumatically driven variable capacitor.



As for objects of lust: there were only two but both are on my lottery-win list (of couse, I'd have to overcome my principles and actually buy a lottery ticket first!).

The PT-8000 comes in several colours

The Hilberling PT-8000 gets such rave reviews and looks so spectacular that even its price tag of €13290 (£12,081) seems justifiable. As Liz kept reminding me - I've only just bought a new radio :-(

Object of lust! It's so tiny!

The KX3 is expected to be more moderately priced at around $799 (just under £500) and Eric Schwartz told me they we hoping for an end-of-year release. I did ask if he could have it ready for my birthday at the end of Oct and he said they'd try! Imagine ultra-portablity, even better than an FT-817 and features and performance on par with or even better than a K2. Also a brick sized 100W PA as an add-on option. I WANT!

Zeppelins and Fronleichnam

I day say - close!

An early wake up call - just what is that hellish loud drone outside the van so early in the morning? It's a Zeppelin! Having left our home in Eastleigh where the Spitfire was built and tested, we find ourselves in the home of the Zeppelin; and what's more there's one just above our heads. And I do mean just above! Resisting the temptation to shout "Achtung Spitfire!" we dress quickly and go out to watch it land. Later in the day we wandered over to the terminal to discover at €200 each a ride was prohibitive, and anyway would I trust myself being alone with a gas bag? Now why has Liz just kicked me!

Disembarking - 1920's style

To be fair we did our research before leaving the UK and took special precautions to make sure we weren't caught out with shop closures over the Whit weekend. What we didn't realise is the Germany has several regional holidays and that June 23rd being Fronlechnam (Corpus Christi) is a holiday in the Friedrichshafen area. Good job Norman warned us yesterday or we would be without essential supplies (i.e. beer). We are not even sure the Zeppelin museum in town will be open and a little scared to leave the campsite just in case our good site is snaffled and we return to find ourselves searching for a space on the outer fringes. Anyway, it's raining hard.

So another day where, in part, we are confined to the van. Still a good chance to try the Troyes boardgame out; goodness, it is a real heavy thinking game.

Did I mention - BIG antennas

Later in the afternoon the rain eases and we get the opportunity to go walkabout. What a fascinating raggle-taggle piece of geekdom this campsite it. Antenna everywhere, in all shapes and sizes, some more ingeniously constructed and others making use of local trees and streetlights - how did they tie them 20' up a street light? There's not a ladder to be spotted. And then again some of them were just HUGE!

Fully extended you probably can't spot your correspondent 

Oh I do like to be beside the Bodensee-side

So we bid Switzerland a fond "au revior",  "auf wiedersehen", "arrivederci", "a revair" just to make sure we include all of its languages and head off towards Germany. The plan is to follow the Bodensee's south coastline around, through Austria and up into Germany. Hmm - explaining that to Tomtom is harder than we thought, setting a destination for anything more than a few miles away and she insists on taking us on a faster inland route. Must check if there is a 'take scenic route' option.

Still Liz coaxes her into eventually submission be adding increasingly distant destinations one at a time until she meanders us around the coastline with its beautiful views of the lake. And yes, we do know it is much quicker to cross the border at Konstanz and around the north side to Friedrichshafen but the journey is as important as the destination on this holiday. Mind you when we hit the austrian traffic after crossing the border at St Margrethen we did wonder whether the simpler, one country less route might have been a better option.

Once in Germany we benefited from joining the best road system in Europe and were whisked round to Friedrichshafen in no time. We'd set Tomtom to aim for the city centre and hoped the Messe (where the radio Hamfest was being held) wouldn't be too far away. As it turns out, it is a way out of town at the airport but excellent signage (both normal road signs and Hamfest specific signs) made it simple to find.

Now the rally doesn't start for another couple of days but already the campsite is filling and spaces on the main site are few and far between (we found out over the next couple of days that adjacent sites were also pressed into action). A very friendly and helpful official took our money and pointed a parking spot directly opposite a corral of vans and tents what appeared to be containing the entire radio amateur population of Macedonia.

A busy campsite - and a lot of antennas

Now, would you believe it but almost immediately after we are settled in we get a visit from a familiar face - Norman (GI4SZP) the vice-chairman of the Romahome owners club. His R20 hylo was just across the other side of the car park. What a coincidence. He was accompanied by a German white-stick (blind) radio ham Albert who's callsign we forgot to note. It's good to know that many radio manufacturers rate accessibility high on their list of requirements, the current Kenwood TS-590s is purported to be very straightforward for blind operators.

Having left table and crates to reserve our spaces (the campers equivalent of the towel on the deckchair) we hit the nearest supermarket for supplies. To our surprise Marktkauf had exactly the camping pan set Liz has been looking for, but in their kitchenware. Individual 12, 14, and 16cm stainless steel with handles on two sides which means the pans can stack inside each other allowing steaming; much cheaper than camping sets too.

We did notice the beer seller on the campsite but it's too wet, so a quiet night in the van methinks.

As Neuhausen am Rheinfall falls, so falls Neuhausen am Rheinfall Falls

A bonus point for identifying the film that lends provides today's title (hint replace "Neuhausen am Rheinfall" with "Witchita")

Impressive, but not on a  Niagara scale

The Rhine waterfall just outside Schaffhausen is the largest in Europe - at only 23m they are not particularly high but the width of 150m gives an  impressive water flow.








A quick photo stop here before heading off out of Switzerland, no time to take one of the little boats that shudder into the heart of the falls allowing visitors to disembark on the central island and clamber up a steep path to what must be a phenomenal viewpoint.

Emulating the Japanese with our own portrait shoot

Just a 20 minute stop, apparently this wasn't long enough for one extended Japanese family to finish the group photo session - they were click away taking group portraits (and blocking the path) when we arrived and the exact same blockage had to be negotiated on our departure.

Here be dragons ...

Gargoyle-cum-guttering

and cyclists, and schoolkids.
We decideed to take a train down to Stein am Rhein, a beuatiful fresco painted medieval town at the point where the Rhine becomes Lake Constance (or vice versa). The train was easy enough with the ticket machine having an English option. Being Switzerland the trains ran exactly on time as orchestrated by those wonderful Swiss Railway clocks and the ride initally following bthe river, then veering countrywards before picking it up again was delightful. Until about 4 stops from Stein when a school outing boarded, 2 teachers (although one loooked young enough to be a student) and about 20 hyper-active barely-teenage kids.
The kids also got off at Stein (we were hoping the school trip was onwards to St Gallen) and thronged into the tiny town centre where they joined what must have been the swiss national cycle outing to Stein am Rhein; loads of cyclists throng the streets, cluttering cycles everywhere. So much for the romantic walk amongst 16th century frescos.

Even more frescos than Schaffhause

Add caption

Stein is impessive and obviously linked to the George and Dragon story. We noticed dragon gargoyles on buildings in Schaffhause yesterday but the ones on Stein's church were far more impressive.

Also most of the town's manhole covers bear a motif of George slaying the dragon. Pity, he could have picked up a few  schoolkids and a couple of cyclists too! Still a pleasant stroll and an interesting frescos, worth the visit although a quieter day might have been preferable.
Being fed up of ruddy tourists we eschewed the altstadt's busy bars and restaurants and dropped into a locals' local on the way back to the train station. Run by what appeared to be a couple of Hells Angels and being a smoking pub (so many are in Switzerland) it was not the obvious choice but we were made most welcome and the landlord and landlady were most amusing mock-dancing to the golden-oldies on the radio.
On back to Schaffhausen (actually Fueurthalen station just outside Schaffhausen is nearer to the campsite and directly opposite the Co-op), restock essential supplies (i.e. alcohol and biscuits) and then unwind onn the banks of the Rhine with a cold glass of Swiss cider. The campsite also has public access to some paddling pools and a small 'beach' on the river so was quite busy with Mums and toddlers, either splashing around or soaking up the sun on this, yet again, beautiful day.

Romahome owners can't be shy ...

... 'cos everyone wants to see the cute little van. This site, particularly we have had stares from almost everyone that passes. This morning the English couple next to us knocked on the door to say "Goodbye" and were keen to see the interior. Suddenly we had a queue, two separate Germans, neither of whom spoke English wanted a look and I tried to explain to one about the seats making "ein große bed" - pity I don't know the German for "bed"!

Rococco Schaffhausen

The TCS campsite just outside Schaffhuasen seems to have everything going for it. It is literally on the banks of the Rhine (Liz went for a paddle), about 1/2 mile from a Co-op hypermarket and less than a mile into Schaffhausen itself. It's partly shady but does have some quite small pitches and Edwin the manager tries to fit vans into appropriate size berths. However he does have an interesting sense of humour and a "Quote of the Day" written on a blackboard. Yesterday's was a quote from Jimi Hendrix and Edwin and I translated the German into "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will have peace" - right on, man!

A steep climb to the bastion

Schaffhausen is another town with medieval roots, the old town being overlooked by a bastion atop a vine clad hill. The tourist information is excellent and very helpful including an historical walking tour of the old town pointing out places of interest, available in English.

And stucco

Frescos everywhere

 We ambled around the tour, taking in the shops as we past, climbing the seemingly endless steps up to the bastion and down again and finished outside the town museum in just over two hours. An interesting walk which doesn't photograph well because of the angles required to point upward to the rococco stucco faced houses.
(go on, I challenge you to find another sentence with two "cco" ending words juxtaposed!).

Pretty shutters on impressive architecture

 The tour ends walking around the very well preserved cloisters of the Allerheligen monastery, the largest cloisters in Switzerland. Somewhat medatative to enjoy the near silence of cloisters that originated 900 years ago and have witnessed so many monastic footsteps.

A trip to Switzerland wouldn't be complete without William Tell

Europe vs USA

Since before Thatcher the UK has had a special relationship with our American allies. Despite being described "as two nations divided by a common language"^* Britain seems to have allied itself very strongly with the US, its ever increasing pace of life and its permanent homage to the great god, Consumerism.

Europe on the other hand, remains immune. Try putting pressure on French or German workers to work the insane unpaid hours US corporations now expect as standard in their ever raising bar of "high-performance" culture and just watch how quickly the trade unions react. Similarly the need for mega-malls seemingly offering 24 hour shopping 7 days a week just doesn't happen east of the channel.

Shops here in Switzerland are closed for at least an hour, often two every lunchtime. Saturday afternoon seems to be early closing for most, and even late Saturday opening at the large co-op in Buochs only extended as far as 6pm - the slightly smaller Migros had closed at 5. Of course, Sundays the whole continent closes - full-stop!

I can't help think we poor Brits made the wrong choice of cultural allies. Lunchtime should be for relaxing, and savouring. Lunch should be real food, eaten on real plates with metal cutlery not some burger bolted down off a disposable plate in the seconds snatched between meetings. Oh, and a glass of wine or even pint of beer at lunchtime does not constitute either major alcoholism or a total inabilty to perform meaningful work.

Sundays should be days spent with the family, long cycle rides, picnics on the beach or taking the dog for a walk through the woods, or perhaps a little gentle gardening, not rushing off in search of the latest ephemeral ultra-fashion brand sold for thousands of times what the poverty stricken factory worker in the Phillipines received for making it.

Today we drove north to Schaffhausen. Nothing much else to do, all the shops were closed.

^*see http://everythingyouknowaboutenglishiswrong.com/blog1/category/churchill/ for suggestions that this quore was not Churchill, Wilde or anyone else you might think originated it.

 

Buochs in the wet

Well, a wet day had to happen sometime. It started raining heavily just after we arrived at Buochs campsite, just SE of Lucern and hasn't really stopped for the last 18 hours. Still, we've not had much rain, almost none in the daytimes and the forecast is good again after today.

So we're hunkered down in the van, getting this blog up to date, a little craft - weaving and card making, a little reading, a lazy day.

The journey up from Meringen took us up and over the Brünigpass, not one of the highest ones but still a delightful ride, with one hairpin so intense that TomTom actually thought we were going the wrong way and told us to "Turn around when possible".

The rain was a nuisance, we put the Quick Tent awning up in a hurry and didn't manage to get things taught so its roof made a very good water collector during the night. Already improved designs for the tent are in mind.

The rain did ease off late afternoon, allowing us a quick walk round the small town of Buochs and to catch the Co-op before it closed. Not an exciting day.

 

 

It is, indeed, a fearful place.

The torrent, swollen by the melting snow, plunges into a tremendous abyss, from which the spray rolls up like the smoke from a burning house. The shaft into which the river hurls itself is an immense chasm, lined by glistening coal-black rock, and narrowing into a creaming, boiling pit of incalculable depth, which brims over and shoots the stream onward over its jagged lip. The long sweep of green water roaring forever down, and the thick flickering curtain of spray hissing forever upward, turn a man giddy with their constant whirl and clamour. We stood near the edge peering down at the gleam of the breaking water far below us against the black rocks, and listening to the half-human shout which came booming up with the spray out of the abyss. [Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Final Problem]

Brian at the top

View from the top

At least, some 45 years after first being mesmerised by the Holmes canon Brian gets to visit Meringen and the Rheichenbach falls. Indeed a personal Mecca for someone who held his stag night in The Sherlock Holmes Pub in central London. The falls were indeed impressive as was the funicular railway which took us a goodly way to the top. Brian continued the trek/climb to the top of the falls themselves and then on down the other side in search of the very ledge where Holmes and Moriarty tussled. Sadly, poor signage, intense heat and, let's be honest, a level of unfitness left Brian probably just a hundred steep metres or so short of the haloed spot itself. If he could have been 100% sure that the steep, slippery descent was actually the correct path then he would have risked it.

Meringen also hosts a small but excellent Sherlock Holmes museum in the old Englischer Church. The combined funicular and museum entry is a bargain and the reconstruction of Holmes' living room well worth the visit, even if you are not a fan. A very informative personal audio tour is included which explains the many exhibits.

So, here's my thoughts ...

Oh Nooo-ohdley-oohdley-oo!

From Bönigen campsite, across the Brienzer sea

Plan is to head down to Bönigen, just a mile or so east of Interlaken for the weekend, but the TCS campsite that takes camping cheques is fully booked for Friday and Saturday nights. Given the apparent fullness of other sites we passed on the way through Interlaken then it looks like we might have to revise our plans. The reason is that there are expected to be 200,000 visitors to the 28th Swiss Yodelling Festival in Interlaken this weekend. Rats, Brian would have like to have tried an Aplenhorn!

So just the one night in Bönigen in its delightful setting on the Brienzer sea before trundling off to Meringen via Brienz the centre of the woodcarving industry. Some of the visitors brought more luggage than us!

Our Chalet

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) has 4 World Centres: Pax Lodge in central London, Our Cabaña near Mexico City, Sangam in Poona, India and Our Chalet nestling high in the alps above the resort town of Adelboden here in Switzerland. Liz has visited Pax Lodge and Sangam so a trip to Our Chalet was one of the two essential visits of this holiday.
The drive down from Bern through Spiez was scenic and once south of Spiez we entered the alps with stunning views of farmsteads clinging to the steep grassy foothills. It's a main road to Adelboden so driving can be a little twisty and turny but easy enough.

Our Chalet is just a mile or so out of town and at an altitude of 1300m, 4000' so we did have a few climbs, the last bit up to the Guiding centre itself would not be recommended for larger vehicles! The chalet itself was gifted to the Guide movement in 1932 by Helen Storrow, and there have been several additions to the site since then, including a new second chalet in 1999. A beautiful walk through floral alpine meadows (something Brian has always wanted to do, probably since watching "Heidi" at some impressionable age) leads past the campfire circle to the small Baby Chalet and the even smaller camping hut. The views from the site across the valley to Adelboden are most impressive.

We weren't sure what to expect. These centres are working hostels where girls from all over the world have busy activity programs, so we thought that we might be resticted to a quick 'Hello; and photo-shoot before having to head out. Luckily we arrived at a fairly quiet period and were greeted with great hospitality. We met the American girls and leaders who had travelled over from Alaska, Missouri and Texas and were given information to allow us to do a complete self-guided tour of the site. The wardens then opened the shop especially for us and, of course, we thanked them by buying plentiful souvenirs.

On back to Interlaken (Bönigen) and it should be a straightforward run back though Spiez and onto Interlaken. However we've avoided buying a vignette so Swiss motorways are barred to us and Tomtom decided the best non-motorway route was all the way around the Thunersee. An impressive drive especially the last part coming down into Interlaken where the winding road passes under rock tunnels, the sort of route beloved of Bond films.

Sun Bern

Strewth, it's a scorcher. Probably 26 Celsius here in Bern today and full, baking sun in a clear sky makes it just that wrong side of pleasant heat. Took the bus from the campsite into central Bern - my German just about running to the "zwie zum bahnhoff, bitte" required to buy the tickets on the bus. It was fairly cheap (4 chf), clean, fast and almost no wait, the buses running every 10 minutes.

We explored many of the shops, or at least the ones in the  shade and were delighted to see the bears in the new bear pit  - no it's not bear baiting but a special enclosure just on the edge of the old town where a few of the cities totemic brown bears roam. Didn't buy much, many things are fashion oriented with matching prices and the tourist souvenirs a little too price. Surprisingly cookware etc. didn't seem quite as exorbitant as much of the other merchandise. Oh, and why so many shoe shops?

Liz did pick up some pre-packed rosti, a local potato and cheese dish that needs frying so we'll be eating Swiss one night later this week.

I was hoping to go back and watch the clock do all its mechanical wonderments and then go over to the museum district to see the Einstein museum but the heat was just too exhausting so I had to content myself with a photo of Einstein's house.

Dehydration

Hope the last couple of posts make sense - a long day's driving in full sun and high temperature means both of us are very dehydrated this evening. However it appears all of the liquid in the van has been contaminated with ethyl alcohol ...

In praise of Camping Cheques

Just beofre we left the UK we stumbled across Camping Cheques (www.champingcheque.co.uk) - cautious of a good deal we bought a few as a trial. Looks like here in Switzerland they are brilliant, the Morges and Bern sites should be just over £30 per night at this time of year for a campervan, two people with electric. Camping Cheques are half that!
Fortunately just before leaving the UK we got a Camping Cheques card that allows loading credit from the internet. At Morges last night we put on enough credit for the next 7 nights stay, should make the trip somewhat more affordable.

Busy doing lots of things

Left Morges today to go to Bern.  But, of course, a circumnavigation of Lake Geneva just has to be done. The north shore down to Geneva was pleasant, but Geneva - wow! As you come in from the north shore you see the large water fountains and the town centre across in the distance, one of THE most impressive city vistas.  For cities it surely has to rate in the top 10 must see!
The south shore pops back into France (cheap shopping at the SuperU in Douvaine, although there are lots of French super/hypermarkets within the few miles). We missed out on cheap petrol and recommend  filling-up at  Thonon or Evain as shops and petrol stations are few and far between before reaching Switzerland again.
On round back into Montreux (looks interesting) and Vevey before Tomtom neatly bypassed Lausanne and sent us north towards Moudon and Bern. The climb out of Lausanne is interesting, steep and continuous for a couple of miles - what on earth posesses cyclists to want to travel it? However the terracing of the vinyards is both ingenous and fascinating, in some places a single row of vines cling to a south facing wall on a tiny scrap of terrace.
Beautiful Heidi-like high plateau towards Bern. Annoyingly Lucens, being the past home of Sir Adrian Conan Doyle has a Sherlock Holmes museum which we just had to drive past to ensure arriving at the campsite in good time. Even more annoyingly it appears to only be open on weekends, so a good job we didn't stop!
Bern TCS campsite looks excellent - more tomorrow

Busy doing nothing

Mostly holidays are great rushes of things, "quick we must get to town before the museum closes", "we need to press on to make the campsite by dusk" etc. Today was the opposite.
When we eventually got up we took a leisurely stroll round the campsite to photograph some of the larger set-ups. In doing so we stumbled on a small gate leading to a tiny nature reserve but the coots and moorhens with chicks, the stentorian bullfrogs and a small assortment of unidentifiable warblers kept us happy for enough time to need a rest and a cuppa when we got back to the van.


Then a gentle promenade along the lakeside the entire length of Morges (a couple of miles, probably). Lots of folk taking the air on this delightfullly sunny day, not as fierce as yesterday so Brian's sunburn didn't worsen. So Lake Geneva is the Great Crested Grebe capital of Europe. Pairs were everywhere, many setting up nests on boat moorings, tiny piers, anywhere that was stable. Red kites in abundance and lots of Mallards and Tufted Duck plus one species I don't know.

Anyone know what this duck is?

The stroll also took in Morges castle where a exhibition of sculpture is taking place. Many sculptors from around the world are working live on new compositions, whilst some of their completed work is on show in the castle. The castle also houses the museum and whilst the exhibition is on the opportunity to see Swiss Militaria and some fascinating model diaramas (is that the correct plural?) is free. The diamaras were very well down with little pieces of wit injected into the various figures. Worth the visit.

The promenade/castle visit absorbed a good 3 hours or so, so to round of this gentle day a little amateur radio - the antenna bemused many of the other campers, a little weaving and a little reading.
Tomorrow, off to Bern and a far more hectic couple of days.

My Fair Lady

In a tiny cemetry at Tolochenaz, just a mile or so above the campsite here in Morges, lies the grave of Audrey Hepburn. We strolled over after tea tonight and in the deserted cemetery laid a single wild flower on her grave. An icon to so many, including our own daughter Lucy.

Earlier in the day it was more of the same. A leisurely start and then hit the wine trail. The first was in walking distance and had some excellent wines (we bought the Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc) and also gave us the opportunity to try Malakoff, a traditional Vaud dish of cheese,eggs and milk spread onto bread and deep fried. Delicious.
The day was only marred slightly by the nearly hour wait for the shuttle bus after the 3rd winery, but the sun was shining, the swallows and red kites were flying. There's probably worse things to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

To Madame Croisier - the perfect hostess

Madame Crosier, THANK YOU! You may never read this but your hospitality this afternoon was fantastic. You might have guessed the semi-drunk group of 5 Americans (all working in Geneva) and two English (both on holiday) had visited one or two wineries before stumbling on yours. However, yours was the only one we will all remember, A fascinating tour of the vines and the winery and we certainly learned a lot about wine making. And then the tasting; no this wasn't a tasting, this was a hostess entertaining guests, lavishing them with food and plying them with wine and entertaining them with fascinating conversation in excellent English. Good wine too. And the apple cake was an unexpected treat. I think everyone envied Peter, being so fit at the grand age of 89, having found an ideal partner in his dog Toby, and being able to walk down to visit you for a constitutional glass of rosé each day. We wish you, your family, your cats and your vines every health and happiness.
Anyone else considering a trip to the Morges/Lausanne area or indeed anywhere in Vaud or near Lake Geneva then I whole-heartedly recommend a visit to the winery at 12 chen des Vignes, 1027 Lonay. The wines are excellent and the hospitality exceptional.

You might guess we have stumbled on the one weekend Morges opens its wine caves to visitors. 15 Francs buys you a glass, seemingly unlimited tastings and a free shuttle bus around the 20+ wineries. We were lucky enough to bump into 5 young Americans all working in Geneva who had caught the train over for the day to enjoy the tasting. Tim, if you are reading this, Brock works on the Atlas project on the LHC at CERN so conversations were somewhat reminscent of Hursley lunchtimes. It was a wonderful and boozy afternoon with all the wineries providing excellent tastings and bread, cheese, meat, fresh cherries and in Madame Croisier's case home-made apple cake. Lots of wine was drunk, several bottles in fact and a few bought to maintain the balance of propriety. Oh, and the sun shone all day. Wonderful!

Of course the best bit is that this continues tomorrow, our 15chf glass entitles us to another set of tastings; we only made 4 out of the 21 wineries today (I blame Madame Cloisier for making it so difficult for us to move on). We must try to do better tomorrow!

It's Friday - it must be Switzerland

Oh, I do like Tomtom. She (the voice is female so the gender seems approriate) led us from the campsite at Besançon right, right and right again onto a small scenic route following the river Doubs. No traffic and a pretty ride but after just a few miles the road ended back in Besançon, directly under the magnificent craggy outcrop that is home to the medieval citadel we were disappointed not to glimpse yesterday. A great way to be presented with such a spectacular site.
She then led us across the Jura, passing at just over 1000m into Switzerland. The plains at the top of the Jura made a pleasant change from yesterday's much more closed in farmland. Even better, the slopes were sufficiently gentle that the little Romahome breezed up them as if tearing along the plains of Flanders.
We slowed down to a walking pace as we drove through Swiss customs and received not even a hand wave to stop us or bid us on our way. I do hope we are not currently being filed as illegal immigrants.
On to Morges, just outside Lausanne. What a strange campsite, open pitches fairly close together, populated with huge caravans sporting even larger awnings. So back to back it's almost tenement camping. Of course the little Roma has plenty of room its pitch.

Caravan + Awning + Gazebo, quite a home from home

From the back of our R20, although there was plenty of room to the side

Some really were" home from home" - complete with garden