Day 8 September 27, 2013

     In as much as we have been told we must prepare envelopes with tips (and the amount has been suggested as well!) we had to hit the ATM  this morning. 
     The day promised tons of scenery as we rode to Interlaken.  And it truly is a living postcard, situated beneath the towering Jungfrau and between to lakes.  We traveled along the shores of Lake Thun, and on to the small but charming village of Gruyere (think cheese!) and then just a few more miles to Switzerland's most international city, Geneva.
     Our driver kindly stopped the bus twice for those of us who needed desperately to document by photo some of the exquisite beauty.
     At Gruyere, we had a lunch stop to walk the village and to have lunch.  Larry and I walked up to the castle, back down, and then chose a table at a sidewalk café.  I resorted to my Freshman high school French classes - thank you Mrs. Noll, Harford PA - and ordered us wonderful sandwiches, thick slabs of artisan bread and generous slices of local gruyere.  Lar enjoyed a Cardinal beer and declared it "good"! and I had a Nestea iced tea.
     Our room was lovely this evening.  We had a most delicious meal in the restaurant and then actually had a bit of time to relax a bit in the evening.

Ilka our g
Guide and our Driver

Those famous knives

And famous watches

And not so famous people

When your bus takes on this kind of turn on the side of a mountain, you DEEPLY respect your driver!

Immerse yourself in the world of Fantastic Art. In 1980, HR Giger, a Swiss artist, won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for his participation in the film "Alien".

The museum is located in St-Germain castle, in the centre of the medieval town of Gruyères. It contains the biggest existing collection of the works of HR Giger: paintings, sculptures, furnishings, film sets. Between reality and fiction, past and future, HR Giger takes you on a journey into the fascinating world of your imagination.

 

 Just me and the chicken.

 Grapes Grapes everywhere and not a drop to drink!

 GENEVA

Geneva’s often imitated but never equalled Flower Clock is a renewable living masterpiece.
It lies a few steps away from the lake and is one of Switzerland’s most photographed sites. The clock features the world’s longest seconds-hand.

The clock, situated at a corner of the Jardin Anglais, was created for the first time in 1955 and contains about 6,500 flowers and plants. The floral arrangements change according to the season. The flower clock is not only pretty, it also tells the time with Swiss precision - the time you see is transmitted by satellite. Another important detail - the seconds-hand is 2.5 metres long, the world’s longest!

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES;

The fountain, Jet d'Eau is the symbol of Geneva  My notes say it shoots 140 m. high over Lake Geneva.  The weight of the airborne water is 7 tons!

The Flower Clock has been operating since the end of 1955.The Jardin Anglais contains at least 5,600 plants and 4,000 roses.

Lake Geneva is a crescent shaped lake covering 72 km - the biggest lake in Europe.

Also - the U.N. which we did not visit - and of which I got no good photos, as we sailed by on the bus was completed in 1936.

I took the time to at some point write these notes down, so decided to post them here!