Castles, Cheese, and Chocolate in the Alps

This Sunday, January 19, 2014, I went with four other friends from my law school to a small town in Switzerland recommended to me by my coworker - Gruyéres.   Our train route from Geneva took us through Montreux to Montbovon on the Golden Pass panoramic train. Unlike my first visit to Montreux, the lake and town was covered in a heavy blanket of fog that completely obscured Lake Geneva and the mountains behind it.  As the Golden Pass train climbed higher and higher above Montreux, we made our way through pitch black tunnels and through the mists that revealed the most amazing view we have yet been blessed with seeing in the mountains.  It was the most beautiful part of our train journey and we were able to see these mountains...

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Posted in: 3L,Alps,Cailler,Chateau de Gruyeres,cheese,chocolate,English,factory,Golden Pass,J-Mad,Nestle,Switzerland

Daytrip to Basel

Helvetia with a Seagull on her head On Saturday, January 18, 2014, I woke up early in the morning and hopped the train to Basel.  Basel is a city divided into two parts by the Rhine River as it cuts its way through Europe and sits right on the Swiss border with Germany.  The German part of Switzerland is very different from the Francophone part (and I'm sure the Italian and Romansch parts that I have yet to visit).  I've been in Geneva long enough to get used to hearing French that I don't understand in the background, and now on this trip, the background sounds completely changed and it took a bit to get used to hearing Swiss German filling the space.  Swiss German is cute though, much more sing-songy than German-German...

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Posted in: 3L,Basel,Calame,Cathedral,City Hall,Corot,English,Gauguin,Henri Rousseau,Hodler,J-Mad,Juan Gris,Kunstmuseum,Manet,Monet,Munster,Picasso,Rhine,Ruins,Switzerland