The weather in Switzerland has been quite turbulent over the past weeks, fluctuating between 28°C and sunny to 15°C and wet in two days and then back again. Frequent heavy thunder storms and strong winds have added to the mix.
The weather hasn't stopped too many normal activities since I'm only just recovering from the technicolor yawn syndrome that I picked up while in Bangkok. I have managed to get out on my new MTB a few times, but nothing too serious, in fact, I've been able to do a lot of Geocaching recently instead. Unfortunately, I have been using the car instead.......which is probably why the tyres are about to wear out!
So today, you will find me sitting in the pleasant Sunday sunshine, expecting thunderstorms over night and a return to cooler weather for the working week. We have had the pool serviced which means we can finally (weather permitting) go for a swim. The "pool guy" turned up last Wednesday and then literally disappeared again, leaving all his tools and stuff in the garden in the rain until he decided to return on Friday.
Mum is visiting this weekend so I picked her up from Zürich airport on Friday morning. We drove home via a fairly convoluted scenic route - which is really easy when you don't use the motorways in Switzerland. We tried a different restaurant in Möhlin since driving down to Rheinfelden is a complete disaster at the moment.
Yesterday, Fi and I took Mum down to Pilatus near Luzern. Actually, we had planned to go to the Rigi which is by far prettier but were thwarted in our efforts by the traffic. It was first day of the continental school holidays yesterday so most of Holland, Belgium and Germany were trying to squeeze through Switzerland on their way to Italy. We had to abandon the motorway queues and had another very convoluted and very scenic drive to Kriens and the Pilatus cable car. http://www.pilatus.ch/
Inevitably, like any tourist attraction this time of year, Pilatus was crawling with a very international bunch of tourists, all doing their "Grand Tour" of Europe in week or two. A few years ago the jet-set bunch would have been limited to a few Americans and Japanese, however, with expanding economies around the world, you are just as likely these days to mingle with Indians, Chinese and Russians. It adds to the mix.......and definitely to the volume!
If you are looking for lunch out I definitely don't recommend Pilatus! Considering the huge number of visitors, the "restaurants" at the top are reasonably poor. Having said that, the view is stunning (between the clouds) and you do have the option of a cable car or train to the summit. You can even do a round trip including ferry and bus from Luzern.
The weather hasn't stopped too many normal activities since I'm only just recovering from the technicolor yawn syndrome that I picked up while in Bangkok. I have managed to get out on my new MTB a few times, but nothing too serious, in fact, I've been able to do a lot of Geocaching recently instead. Unfortunately, I have been using the car instead.......which is probably why the tyres are about to wear out!
So today, you will find me sitting in the pleasant Sunday sunshine, expecting thunderstorms over night and a return to cooler weather for the working week. We have had the pool serviced which means we can finally (weather permitting) go for a swim. The "pool guy" turned up last Wednesday and then literally disappeared again, leaving all his tools and stuff in the garden in the rain until he decided to return on Friday.
Mum is visiting this weekend so I picked her up from Zürich airport on Friday morning. We drove home via a fairly convoluted scenic route - which is really easy when you don't use the motorways in Switzerland. We tried a different restaurant in Möhlin since driving down to Rheinfelden is a complete disaster at the moment.
Yesterday, Fi and I took Mum down to Pilatus near Luzern. Actually, we had planned to go to the Rigi which is by far prettier but were thwarted in our efforts by the traffic. It was first day of the continental school holidays yesterday so most of Holland, Belgium and Germany were trying to squeeze through Switzerland on their way to Italy. We had to abandon the motorway queues and had another very convoluted and very scenic drive to Kriens and the Pilatus cable car. http://www.pilatus.ch/
Inevitably, like any tourist attraction this time of year, Pilatus was crawling with a very international bunch of tourists, all doing their "Grand Tour" of Europe in week or two. A few years ago the jet-set bunch would have been limited to a few Americans and Japanese, however, with expanding economies around the world, you are just as likely these days to mingle with Indians, Chinese and Russians. It adds to the mix.......and definitely to the volume!
If you are looking for lunch out I definitely don't recommend Pilatus! Considering the huge number of visitors, the "restaurants" at the top are reasonably poor. Having said that, the view is stunning (between the clouds) and you do have the option of a cable car or train to the summit. You can even do a round trip including ferry and bus from Luzern.
So, now we are all set for the summer and now we only need the weather to oblige...... Mum's heading home tonight so hopefully the predicted storms will hold off! We are off to Schupfahrt for an ice cream soon ;-))
Just a note - To make uploading quicker, I've staring using the Picasa service from Google for displaying photo's on-line. Please click on the links......
Mum & Fi having fun:
http://picasaweb.google.ch/angloswisselms/Angloswiss2/photo#5082198866684943090
View from Pilatus:
http://picasaweb.google.ch/angloswisselms/Angloswiss2/photo#5082199519519972098
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