Murren to Sevelen

The forecast said we'd wake up to rain but it was a cloudless, sunny, beautiful morning! The mountain peaks were clearly visible from our bedroom window. We've been so blessed with the weather. After being here almost a week, we've only have had a couple of hours of light rain. However, the forecast is saying that there's a 90+% chance of rain for the next seven days - which is what they said when we got here. We'll see.....

I made myself some oatmeal for breakfast. Dave had the provided breaky. We chatted with the South African couple and Denise (the B&B owner) for awhile. Such nice people. We collected all of our stuff and headed off to the gondola station. Back on the ground (about 2,200' lower than the B&B), the car was packed and headed to the spot to pay - or so we thought. Turns out we needed to pay at another location and then leave the parking lot. By the afternoon, we felt like we'd finally gotten our "travel groove" back. It's been a bit bumpy until today - out of practice I guess,

The town of Grindelwald was about 20 minutes out of our way but Rick Steeves said it was a must see so off we went. There was a café - with the chairs facing the road/mountain across the street - where we stopped for coffee and hot chocolate (always made with milk.) And, to finally write postcards to the grandkids. They had to be nailed before we left Switzerland as they had Swiss stamps. Yes, leaving Switzerland is next!

We've not done a lot of driving here. Our stays have been for two nights (rather than our typical one night) followed by about two hours driving to the next stop. Today was the longest drive at about 2.5 hrs. I'm tracing our path acorns a map of Switzerland. By the end of the day, since our arrival, we've gone from the country's western boundary to the eastern boundary.

I didn't sleep well at all last night so I slept for part of the drive - which Dave said was a good thing. The road had many "extreme switchbacks" (which are both scary and make me really nauseous). There were times when Dave hands were sweaty with fear so that indicates what the roads were like. It takes a lot to get him scared. The landscape changed significantly. Mountains were replaced by foothills. There were large sections of flat ground making farms plentiful. Dave was missing the mountains already.

We stopped to stretch our legs - going into the store where you have to pay to go to the bathroom. That's pretty normal here. The first thing we see going into the store are American products - Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, Pop Tarts, Snickers, etc. - all in the "English boxes/wrappers." Honestly, that's disappointing.

It was 3 pm and we still needed a place to sleep. Using Dave's phone, we found a B&B in Sevelen which is right on the border of Switzerland and Liechtenstein.  We booked it but needed to kill some time as it wouldn't be ready until 5 pm. Driving around we found an Aldi (in Switzerland)! Going into Aldi stores in different countries is fun - the products are so very different. More fresh bread and chocolate was purchased. 😉

The bridge to cross into Liechtenstein was right there so over we went. Immediately, on the other side of the bridge, you knew you were in another country. Slight but noticeable differences in the roads, signs, stores, etc. After about 10 minutes, we headed to the B&B (in Switzerland) - which is probably the most unique place we've ever stayed in. It's located on the very edge of town - so fields opposite the house and "subdivision" around it. There's a field of cows between two of the houses and another field with sheep - in the "subdivision."

The house itself is old and a work in progress. The decorating in our living room/bedroom is one of a kind - quirky, imaginative, odd - but it's delightful. The cat comes and goes into our "space". It's currently sitting on the chair Dave is in. I love it! The dogs, not so much. There are two pugs. At supper, one was clawing at my leg while I ate. Its breath was like 100 year old, rotting fish. Yuck and yuck. I'm not letting the dogs into our rooms but the cat can come anytime.

We went for a walk after supper in a light rain and then settled into our room for the night to get ready for a day of exploring in Liechtenstein.

One thing I learned today: Airbnb charges the host 17% of the advertised room fee and adds the cleaning/service fees - all of which the guest pays. So, the host is only getting 83% of the room fee and the rest goes to Airbnb. If you can connect with the host another way, you'll only pay the "83%." One place we stayed had a cleaning fee of $56. Quite a system. 

One new thing I experienced today: Meeting a Belgium women in her 70's who took a bus to Italy, with her bicycle and is biking back home. She's planning on taking four weeks to get home. She's done it before. What an incredible woman! Brave on multiple levels and in incredibly great shape at her age!

Most powerful moment of the day: Another near miss on the roads. We were in the middle lane of the express way, when a car on the left came into our lane. It barely missed us. I honestly don't know how we did crash. Angels working over time!

One pleasurable experience: Watching five mother goats and their tiny kids coming out of a trailer and going into a field (a steep, lush hill) right across the street from the B&B. So nice!

The Farming Village of Gimmelwald

Finally! A really good night's sleep. Thank you Tylenol PM. 

Dave was up and about early so he went for a walk - checking out two constructions sites, one of which had someone yelling at him to get out of the way. The engineering in the mountains is amazing. All the water used in the homes/for animals comes from the mountains. No need for any filtration system. The gondolas have a compartment under them to bring up all sorts of things: food for the stores, furniture, etc. Really large items are brought in by helicopter. Dave saw building supplies arriving by helicopter this morning.

There's a couple staying at the B&B from South Africa. They're thinking of moving to Australia. There's a father and daughter, from Slovakia, who were here for a skiing festival that ended on Sunday - the last winter fling for the town. Techinally, the winter season ended this past weekend with many of the stores, hotels etc. not opening for the summer season until mid May. It used to be that winter was the busiest time, but now it's the summer.

After breaky, we walked down to the next village - Gimmelwald. Note the word "down." It took about 30 minutes to walk down and just over an hour to walk back up. It's so steep there were switchbacks on the path! The adorable farming town is about 1,000 years old. You can buy cheese, jerky, and smoked sausage right on the farms. At about 1:30, we were very hungry so bought some sausage which was very good - even with the large, white clumps of fat in it.

Everywhere we've gone so far is super clean and tidy.  This is true even on the farms. The manure is stacked in perfect cubes. The cows stay in the barn in the winter and are taken up to the high meadows in mid June. They wear the huge bells around their necks on the way up and again on the way down in late September - just before the first snow. Winters here are very bitter. While they're in the high meadows, they wear much smaller bells so the cow herders know where they are.  

There was a QR code that allowed us to take a walking tour of the town with lots of interesting commentary along the way. We stopped at the tiniest shop I've ever been in. It was about the size of our bathroom. Everything was either handmade by the woman who lived there or from products in the village/from the farms. The man who lived in the house came out to chat and we learned some interesting things from him. The gardens around the house were beautiful. A lovely jar of jam was purchased for us to enjoy later.

The weather was perfect for most of the day. It was about 50 with sun on and off.  It started to rain on our way back to Murren - which gave us a chance to wear our new rain coats. We got back to Murren about 3 pm. Breakfast was many hours ago so we looked for a place to eat but decided to go to the grocery store to get a pastry and go out for supper. We bought our fifth type of Swiss chocolate and it's been the best one so far. Dave bought a drink which turned out to be the whey left over from making cheese. It sounds awful but it actually tastes really good - an apple flavor. 

We hung out in our room for awhile - trying to find our next place to stay. We're off to Lichtenstein tomorrow. It's the smallest country in Europe, the sixth smallest country in the world, and made famous in the Heath Ledger movie - A Knight's Tale. After searching unsuccessfully for about 90 minutes, we decide to find a place when we get there. Living on the edge!

Supper was at the Edelweiss Hotel. (So far the food hasn't been anything special.) A short walk in the rain and then back to the room for the night. Here's hoping we sleep well again!

One thing I learned today: Rick Steeves has stayed in this B&B, wrote about it in his Switzerland book, and Denise (the B&B owner) knows him quite well.

One new thing I experienced today: Muesli. I thought it was oatmeal. My only option was to make it with hot water - not how I like my oatmeal. Turns out you mix it with yogurt. I added some raisins and sugar and was able to get it down but I won't be having that again.

Most powerful moment of the day: Once again, it's the mountains. Specifically, the view from the path to Gimmelwald of several mountains - snow covered at the top - the valley below with a creek of mountain water, the farms and animals on the lush, green foothills. Words and pictures can't capture the beauty.

One pleasurable experience: Coming upon on babbling brook with marsh marigolds blooming by it. So nice!!

Ackersand to Murren

The laptop is giving me problems today so there'll probably be mistakes in the post that I can't fix. It's most frustrating but it is what it is.

After perhaps the poorest night's sleep so far (this is getting old), we packed up to head out to our next stop. Many businesses are closed on Sunday - including hotels. We were the only people in the hotel when we "checked out." No staff. Just left the key on the front desk. It was very strange. 

Dave had booked a room in a chalet in Murren which was about two hours away - mostly through mountains and some valleys. The actual distance between the two places probably wasn't that far but travel just takes time here - which is fine because the scenery is breathtaking. The switchbacks today were - wow! At one point we had to board a train since the road continued on the other side of a mountain. Dave had bought the ticket online but the QR code that we received didn't work at the train station. An impatient person behind us thought honking his horn would "help". I had to get out of the car and have a attendant scan the code. More on this experience below.

About 1 pm, we stopped in a Lidl (grocery) store to get some lunch. Sitting on a bench in a park (which I don't think people do here as we got some strange looks), we ate a sandwich (meat, pickle, and a slice of hard boiled egg) and drank milk. I drink skim milk at home. That's not an option here. Most of the milk is 4%. It's like drinking cream. Dave loves it. It's sweeter than our milk. Perhaps all of the lush grass the cows enjoy?

We weren't super clear on how to get the cable car station - the only way to get to our B&B - so we used What's App to call our host. Dave was quite delighted that this worked. After packing a couple of bags to take, and forgetting a few key items I later found out, we boarded the gondola. Two stops later we were in Murren. A short walk and we were at Chalet Fontana - our B&B. (I should mention the parasailers that were jumping off of the mountains/cliffs and landing at by the cable car station. While the views and experience would be incredible, there's no way either of us would do that!)

Up until this point, it had been another beautiful, warm, sunny day. The rain that we had expected several days ago, finally arrived. We're literally in the mountains here so the clouds and the rain hid the peaks that are right outside our bedroom window. We really hope it clears up so we can see what must be an amazing view.

The grocery store is literally across the street from the B&B. We got a couple of things for supper. I had oatmeal and tea - simple but it was so good. There's a kitchen here so we can make our food rather than having to eat out all the time - which is refreshing and much cheaper.

By 7 pm were we tucked into our very cosy, tiny room - about 8' across and not much longer - for the night. It was raining and we were so very tired. The tiredness is a combination of lack of sleep and the altitude. We're hoping for a good night's sleep tonight and some rain free time so we can explore this truly unique spot tomorrow.

One thing I learned today: The colored eggs at the grocery store are colored to indicate that they're already cooked. Fresh eggs are brown or white.

One new thing I experienced today: Taking a train ferry. In order to get to Murren, we had to board a train with/in the car just like you would a ferry. The vehicles were parked in single file on flat bed rail cars with a Quonset type roof. The 15 minute ride was entirely through a tunnel in a mountain with almost no light. It could cause claustrophobic people a lot of stress.

Most powerful moment of the day: The majestic waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen - a town in valley in the Alps with very steep, shear cliffs. The waterfalls start at the top and cascade/plummet to the valley floor where most of the water gathers into small, but very swiftly flowing creeks (they actually have rapids). The color of the water is hard to describe - a white/gray/green - but very beautiful. And it's ice cold.

 One pleasurable experience: Taking a gondola up to Murren (5,374') where we'll stay in an authentic Swiss home in the mountain.:  

A Day in the Alps

After a breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we drove about 20 minutes to catch a train to Zermatt. There were some switchbacks on the road which makes you marvel at the engineering that goes into creating roads in this terrain. We went through one mountain tunnel that was about 2 miles long. 

Without too much trouble, we found the parking lot, purchased train tickets, and ran to catch the train before it pulled out of the station. There are very few cars allowed in Zermatt so everyone arrives by train. 

About 10 minutes later, we arrived in Zermatt which reminded us both of the city of Banff and Mackinac Island. Many of the restaurants and hotels aren't open yet but there were plenty of people around and places to serve them. Zermatt's elevation is 5.315'. Much of the town "goes up hill" - when you arrive that is. We had a bit of trouble finding the place to get tickets to get to the highest point possible which is Matterhorn Glacier Paradise (12,740'). We were scheduled to take the first cable car at 1:30 so we had a bit of time to kill. I got a couple of gifts in the shops and got lost on the way back to where Dave was sitting. With most of the walking "going up," having to take extra steps isn't ideal.

It was another glorious day - full sun and about 74 in Zermatt and about 25 on the glacier. We rode the cable car to the first stop - a ride that made me nervous but Dave was okay with it. We switched to a gondola and went to the next stop and then a different gondola to the top. Dave was very nervous in the gondolas but I loved it. The views were spectacular! 

It was much colder at the top - especially in the ice tunnels. Tunnels have been carved out of the mountain - tunnels which are completely covered in very thick ice. Rubber mats line the floor so you can walk around. About six very impressive ice sculptures are throughout the tunnels. It was truly amazing in there.

We had to use an elevator to get to the "next place." It was a bit scary. There was no indication if we were going up or down. The two of us were in this small metal box inside a mountain. What it if stopped?!! We got to the "panoramic viewing platform" and hesitated to go up as the steps/flooring were metal grates. Some were packed with snow and others, not so much. But we came all this way so we were going up there! Words can't express the beauty of what we saw. You could see over 40 mountain peaks including the Matterhorn - which is world famous. On the other side of the Matterhorn is Italy. The air was clean and crisp. It was quite warm with the sun shining brightly. At almost 13,000 feet, this is the highest we've ever been.

There were lots of skiers. You can ski year round there. We went to one of the spots the skiers left from and saw someone parasailing down the mountain. That looked amazing but terrifying. There were also 20 or so people hiking up to the highest "hikable" peak. Since we left our sherpas at home - along with our crampons - we decided not to do the hike. 😁

We took the two gondolas down but decided to hike down the last leg of the journey - from Furi (6,125') to Zermatt (5,315'). It was 5 kms and took us an hour and 45 mins. It was easy walking in that we were always on "roads" but that's were the easy part ended. The first bit was climbing up and then we went down, at steep declines, for most of the hike. The scenery was breathtaking. We came across a couple of tiny villages (a few houses), the oldest being Zematt (from the 1200s). By the time we were back in Zermatt, our knees were unhappy.

The day ended with supper at an outdoor restaurant on the main street, train ride, car ride, and arrival back at the hotel by 8. A very full and wonderful day!

One thing I learned today: High altitudes = poor sleep. It's hard to fall asleep. We wake up a lot. Don't feel rested. (I googled this so these are facts.) This! explains why we're both sleeping so poorly. 

One new thing I experienced today: Seeing a cervice on/in a mountain and thinking what a horrible thing it'd be to fall into that. 

Most powerful moment of the day: Being in Zematt (the tiny, old village) imaging what life was like for the residents almost 1,000 years ago. It takes "being in the middle of nowhere" to a whole new level. (Some people still live there.)

One pleasurable experience: Standing on the viewing platform looking at the mountains. Total peace. Incredible beauty. There were two bible verses there about how great God and his creation are. A bit surprising to see but so true!

Montbovon to Ackersand

What a rough night. Neither of us slept well at all. We spent way too many hours awake when we should have been sleeping. No idea why. Here's hoping we don't do that again!

The plan was that we were going to move on from the B&B but it seems we've lost a bit of our regular traveling rhythm.  This is probably mostly due to the language barrier which makes things more difficult. Once we got ourselves "functioning well", the decision was made to go Zermatt where the famous Matterhorn mountain is located. It's one of the highest mountains in the Alps/in Europe. While it's not that far from the B&B, travel in the mountains takes a long time. We drove about 50 miles in an hour and 40 minutes.

After packing up and a breaky of bread (fresh every day from the store - available even at gas station stores which are nothing like the ones back home), we headed out, We drove up the mountain to the small village of Allieres which has about 10 homes in it. These tiny villages are everywhere. On the side of the mountain were about 10 brown Swiss cows being tormented by flies. The bells around their necks were constantly clanging because they had to keep whipping their heads around to try to get the flies off of them - which was impossible.  We felt bad for them. The drive and the cows were the highlight of Dave's day.

Two interesting tidbits. Along the narrow roads you can see garden hoses running from the farmer's house to the water trough for their animals. And in the villages are signs noting the distance to many villages/towns - all with walking times. Some are as high as 5+ hours. 

We made our way back to the castle at Gruyeres. What a difference from last night. The parking lots were full - including seven or so buses full of tourists. We met people from Toronto and MN. Hearing English was delightful.

The castle was unlike any other we've visited - totally different architecture. The kitchen was "remodeled" in the 1400's. There were tapestries and graffiti on the walls from the 1500's. Two guys bought it in the 1850's as a summer house. They invited a lot of artist friends to stay which is why today the castle is hosting what I consider an "intrusive art exhibit." Very odd pictures significantly clashing with the décor - which we heard was the desired effect. I found it very annoying.

Things are pricey here. We sat in the village square and each had a hot chocolate (six ounces - if that) and an apple tart. It was really good but cost us $40 US. The cost of living here is very high. Hopefully people are paid well.

About 3 pm, we headed off in the direction of Zermatt. It was a nice drive with just a few rain drops. The forecast for the next seven days is rain which we're not excited about but we're really enjoying the sun while it's around. Today was another warm day in the mid 70's. Tomorrow is still supposed to be nice and then.....

The motorway was the quickest way to get to our destination. The terrain became more mountainous with farmers working any little bit of tillable land as far up the mountain as they could. How equipment can operate at such steep angles is a mystery. Some of that land is terraced with grape vines.  

The drive took us into the Alps - rather than seeing them in the distance. If you didn't know better, you'd think you were in the Canadian Rockies. Our hotel is in a valley of the Alps. The view out of the window is spectacular. Tomorrow could be our last day of sun for quite awhile so we're going to make the most of it by going up the Matterhorn - as far as we can.

Supper was pizza at the hotel restaurant followed by relaxing in our room. (The language has switched from French to German.)

One thing I learned today: If you don't have an account with a bank, they can't give you change for your bills. It took three different stops to get the coins we needed. 

One new thing I experienced today: Relief from the sun coming through the car roof. (Something I never thought was even a thing.) The map of Switzerland is between the glass and the screen in order to block out the sun. What relief!

Most powerful moment of the day: I'm finding these more difficult to come up with so far on this trip. Nothing for today I'm afraid.

One pleasurable experience today: We were struggling with a parking meter and a German speaking Swiss man, who also spoke English, helped us figure it out. We couldn't have done it without him!

Lessoc and Gruyeres

Dave was up and at it by 7 - walking along the very quiet roads of the countryside where we're staying. I slept until 10 or so. The owners of the B&B had moved their sheep - about 8 of them - to a different field as they're heading off to Italy for a vacation tomorrow. Dave watched them as they were walked down the road. 

We started our day by going to the hillside where the sheep were. Walking up to the tiny barn on the side of the hill was challenging since it was so steep. After visiting the sheep, we kept climbing until we came upon a very small  - seats about 10 people - Catholic chapel. It seems rather odd to have a chapel in this remote location but the B&B owners said their kids were baptized there. 

We took the road back to the B&B and sat in the front garden for a bit but the sun was so hot that we couldn't stay long. It got up to 75 today which we didn't expect when we were planning for the trip but it was glorious weather to be out and about. However, the heat and our car don't go very well together. It has a permanent sun roof - meaning you always have the glass exposed. It makes the car super hot and hard to see at times - with the sun shining overhead.

We drove a couple of miles to a small village, Lessoc, which was settled in the 1500's. In the heart of the village, the original, wooden homes sat along stone streets with the only green being vegy, and a few flower, gardens. Most of the houses appear to heat with wood. The large church had a cemetery beside it and it's the most unique cemetery we've ever seen - large, shiny tombstones with none older than 15 years. All of them have either fresh flowers or flowering plants growing on the stone. Moms were walking to the school to pick up their kids. 

On this our first full day, we went to a must see - a chocolate factory. It took a bit to find it. In all our travels, we're finding Switzerland the most challenging in regards to the language. Not many people speak English so it takes more effort to get the info /help that we need. At the Cailler factory we learned a lot about chocolate. The tour ended with samples - about 15 for each of us. Delightful! Of course, you end the tour in the gift shop where we got our favorite of the sampled chocolates. Those packages will remain unopened until we get home as they're for the family - not us!

Beside the parking lot a farmer was round baling hay - baling and wrapping it all at the same time. Dave was very impressed by this since he'd never seen this done before. In the opposite field were a herd of Holsteins - the cow of choice for the milk used to make chocolate. They all had bells on - the sound of which bounced around in the air. It sounds a lot like large wind chimes which Dave doesn't like at all. I don't know that he could live here with those bells ringing all the time.

It was now 6 pm and we were hoping to get into a castle that we could see in the near distance. We parked and had to walk up a steep path. This is what it'll be like here. Lots of walking up steep hills, paths, roads to get where you want to go. Of course, you also get to come down again but the legs are getting a work out that's for sure!

The castle was located in the small village of Gruyeres which is where the cheese by the same name comes from. It was settled in the 1200's. After climbing the the hill, we entered the very picturesque village square. Stone cobbled streets with shops and restaurants. The church at the top of a hill. We ate outside which is favorite thing for us to do. Dave had a local dish - ham, cheese, and egg toast. The whole thing was covered with almost 1/2" of cheese. He ordered tiramisu for dessert and got two meringues with more cheese for dipping. 

We took a walk through the village. On the side of a very steep hill were about 20 sheep that had recently been sheared. It's amazing they could stand on the hill due to the incline. They loved attention and wanted to be touched. 

Up the hill was a large Catholic church and the castle - which, of course, was closed since it was 8 pm. We'll go back tomorrow to see that. We were back to our B&B by 9 and settled in for the night.

One thing I learned today: When the Spanish explorers first brought chocolate to Europe, the people loved it so much that the monks declared it a sin to eat it. The pope said it was fine and the love affair with chocolate began.

One new thing I experienced today: We've seen many "deer crossing" signs but today we saw a "frog crossing" sign. It wasn't a joke but an "official" sign. What fun!

Most powerful moment of the day: The winding roads are everywhere which makes pulling out onto them very tricky. Dave was going to pull out in front of a motorcycle coming around the corner but thankfully I saw it the the mirror that was on the other side of the road. That got my heart thumping.

One pleasurable experience: Being "older" has it perks. It appears that we might be considered "seniors" and able to get discounted tickets for sightseeing spots. (Women can retire at 64 and men at 65.) We'll see how we make out with this tomorrow.

Door to Door = 20 Hours ------- Cedar Springs to Montbovon, Switzerland

I'm sitting in a tiny kitchen on the second floor of a 300 year old farm house with an attached barn, sipping tea as I start another blog series on our travels. It's been four years since I've done this and it's exciting to be able to do it once again!

We left home at 7:30 on Tuesday morning and began a near perfect traveling experience. The trip to Chicago was smooth sailing. We parked our car at an off-site spot and took our first Uber ride to the airport. Next was check-in and security where we were able to go through the TSA precheck line which had about two people vs the the regular line with many, many people. After lunch we went to our gate and only had to wait for about an hour before boarding our flight to JFK. Landed in New York, grabbed a bagel, and were ready for the 8 hour flight to Geneva. 

After a smooth flight and some sleep, we landed in Geneva. The first thing we noticed is how quiet and clean everything is - not only the airport but it's been the same everywhere we've gone so far. Customs was amazing. Said hello, handed over the passports, and we were on our way. Not one question! We got our bags and after a conversation with the guy at the car rental booth, found out that we had to go downtown to get our rental car. It took about an hour from getting the bags to getting on the train to downtown - even though the train station is right at the airport. We had to get cash to pay for the train, buy tickets, ask a couple of people for help, etc. It all takes time. (Not everyone speaks English. French is the language in this part of Switzerland.) 

The car rental place was a five minute walk from the train station but it took us about 30 minutes since we got lost. It was a beautiful day so we didn't mind walking around. We have the cutest little red car - a Fiat 500 which has enough room for us and our suitcases and that's it. We forgot our GPS at home (first trip without "her"). The car rental guy had to help us figure out the one in the car. Off we went to our first B&B - almost two hours away.

All of the signs are in French and we haven't figured out how to get the GPS to talk yet so there were a couple of hiccups on the trip but that adds to the adventure. The farther we got away from the city the more beautiful it became. Almost all of the houses are light yellow/tan stucco with orangy colored ceramic tiles or a steel roof to look like tiles. Their roofs are very large. 

As we drove, the mountains were always in the distance and for quite awhile, Lake Geneva was in sight. The terrain became more hilly, with several tunnels going through the hills/sides of very old mountains (which look more like large hills.) The sun was shining and everything is so lush and green. Farmers are doing first cut leaving huge rows of very deep grass to dry. The fields of canola are in full bloom showing off huge patches of bright yellow amongst the green. The Swiss cows - some with large bells around their necks - are in the fields looking very healthy. There were even a few sheep on the hillsides. Apples trees are blooming in the orchards which are covered by nets to keep the birds out. It's very beautiful here. They're about a month or more ahead us at home so it looks like summer. 

Our B&B is just outside the village of Montbovon on a road that's super narrow, winding, and steep. Coming around the corners cause me anxiety but doesn't phase Dave. Apparently there's room for two cars to pass each other. We'll see.....

Our B&B is on the side of a "hill"/old mountain with the village quite a distance below. There are about 8 black nosed sheep in the backyard which we can pet. That'll happen tomorrow. The doorways in the house are very low - one of which I have to duck to get through. The hinges on the bedroom door must be the original from 300 years ago. Such fun!

After getting our things in our "mini apartment", we headed out to buy a few things for breakfast and to find a place to eat supper. The combination of the winding road and my "lack of sleep hangover" was making me incredibly nauseous. Dave had to keep pulling over to let cars go by because we were going so slow. He would have loved to go much faster. Maybe when I'm not in the car he can do that.

In the grocery story, I had to rely on my two years of middle school French and the help of two nice guys who spoke almost no English. We got the essentials: bread, butter, chocolate, wine, milk, and some fruit. After a few unsuccessful attempts at finding a place to eat supper, we headed back to the B&B for bread and chocolate. 😀

We were able to stay up until 9 pm and then went to bed. So tired, but excited to be here and looking forward to our adventure to begin tomorrow!

One thing I learned today: It's best not to drive behind a truck with wood strapped into the back of it. We'd been following the truck for a bit when Dave pulled out to pass it. It's a good thing that he did because as soon as we were in the other lane, one of the 12' boards came flying off the truck. It would have hit us and caused a lot of damage and probably a bad accident.  

One new thing I experienced today: Biometrics check-in at JFK. No ticket needed, No passport needed, Just look at the camera and you're good to go. Great system!

Most powerful moment of the day: This is a hard one for a travel day so I'm going to have to go with being able to lie down in a bed to sleep after being up for a very long time. So sweet!

One pleasurable experience: Coming back from the grocery store to find the Burmese mountain dog that lives at the B&B lying on the step in front of the door. Such a beautiful dog, It made for a great picture.