SKI-er or Sk-ater. We know how to enjoy ourselves

whodathunkit

margaretclare wrote: »

We're leaving here very early Sunday morning to drive to Switzerland. Stop for breakfast at Maidstone services then catch the Eurotunnel train at Folkestone. We have an overnight stop in France near Verdun then staying a few days at a golf hotel on the shores of Thunersee (Lake Thun) near Interlaken.

I was last in Switzerland on a school trip 61 years ago, stayed at Thun, came back to London to see the Coronation. Didn't see a thing, got rained on all day, stood for 12 hours waiting. The atmosphere was fantastic, though.

DH has been to Switzerland on business, so it's another of those places we each visited but not together. Making memories.

DH is meant to be taking some very powerful antibiotics because of the possibility of recurrence of that septicaemia which nearly killed him in the autumn of 2008. He was in hospital early May for 8 days on IV antibiotics. Unfortunately they make him very dizzy and unsteady on his feet. Yesterday he fell over twice in the garden, attempted to move a tree-root with his head. He's decided not to take any more. I can't argue with him. He knows how he feels. This possibility of septicaemia is like a time-bomb ticking away below the surface. He sees his consultant at the end of June when we get back and will argue the toss with him. It's really between the 2 of them - the registrar can't decide and I can't say anything either. It's miserable feeling ill and not even being able to walk in the garden without toppling over. So, we are going to live while we can.

One place we want to go in Switzerland is Berne. The old city is a World Heritage Site and there's also a newly-established park for the famous bears of Berne. Did anyone read the series of children's books 'Mary Plain' as a child? The bears used to be kept in pits in the ground and that was what the books were about, the bear family in the bear-pits in Berne. I'm glad they have a proper park now. European brown bears. And we want to go up into the mountains, see the Jungfrau, go on the lake, eat Swiss food (not too much!) and practise speaking German.

Going to Switzerland is more SKI-ing than MSE. DH says the Swiss would charge you for breathing if they could!

MC, you're the only person I've ever come across who's even heard of the Mary Plain books, much less read them! Have a great trip.

Mint1955

6.5 weeks in our little place in cyprus went so fast and step daughter has only dropped three boxes for the loft and managed to get herself set up in a place in London so she hasn't come home whilst I was away..... Result!

Step son now has settled into a full time job and is again talking about getting a place of his own again.

Maybe I will be able to sell up and move abroad sooner than I thought :j

margaretclare

whodathunkit wrote: »

MC, you're the only person I've ever come across who's even heard of the Mary Plain books, much less read them! Have a great trip.

Thank you. We've had a great trip. Maybe the last time we'll do anything similar, who knows. DH had a 'to do' list of things he wanted to see, places he wanted to go. One of these was the Longines watch factory near Lake Neuchatel. He'd arranged with them to be shown around their museum and he managed to do that, even though it meant being on his feet for an hour and a half. I didn't go with him. I knew I wouldn't be able to do that so I sat in their spotless reception area and watched videos of the history and development of the firm.

We went to Bern, but it proved impossible for us to see the new bear park. There was just nowhere to park. We were pointed to disabled spaces on surrounding roads but these were just too far from the bears. Bern is a very old city and we drove through the historic area, annoying pedestrians but we managed it. I couldn't help thinking of the time I'd walked there before in 1953. I didn't give a thought to not being able to walk very far. You don't, do you.

In 1953 on that school trip we went on a boat on Lake Thun. We went on the same boat! The MV 'Blumlisalp' built 1906 and refurbished 100 years later.

Where we spent the first 5 nights in Switzerland was just on the edge of Lake Thun near Interlaken, and it was lovely. We had a lovely room looking out towards the mountains, with a balcony on which we sat every evening watching the thunderstorm and heavy rain which seemed to happen every evening and which freshened up the air after a hot day. Yes, hot, 35 C most days. We went up into the Alps, met some lovely people, I enjoyed speaking some German, had some lovely meals out.

The second place we stayed was something like a ski lodge. Bit less luxurious, but the people were very nice. We went right up into the Jura, 5000 feet up, and by then we're in the French part of Switzerland. We went to St Imier where Longines is based, on the way out of Switzerland into France.

We stayed for 2 nights in Strasbourg. Again, a lot of these places are where DH has been on business in an earlier life. But as he says, on business you see nothing, you fly in, get picked up, maybe taken out for a meal, but that's it. We saw all the European Union buildings, and went on a boat trip around the canals and waterways in the centre. Strasbourg again is a very old city with a lot of history which mainly we're not aware of!

And then to Reims, where again, DH used to drive past on the motorway and see the cathedral but never go there. What to say about that? It's huge, massive, no words or even photographs can do it justice. Although the Chinese and Japanese tourists seem to think they can, taking pics of each other with that stunning backdrop 'we woz 'ere'. We actually managed to get into the cathedral, which we didn't in Strasbourg. There were queues of coach parties and a few people were being allowed in at a time, then it was closed for the 11 am service. I can understand that. They just can't trust people not to take flash photography or make a noise during a service. We've experienced that before, at Cologne and other places.

Reims is the capital of Champagne country. We drove along the Champagne route past miles and miles of vineyards, all the familiar names like Moet et Chandon, Bollinger, you name it. We were offered champagne at dinner but neither of us actually likes it all that much. That's sacrilege! DH likes the local beer and I like Alsatian wines.

We drove through all the parts which have been so much contested in wars over the centuries, the bit of France that sticks out into Germany, called Alsace-Lorraine. I don't blame the Swiss for sticking to their neutrality over the last 2 centuries. They haven't been bankrupted by wars as we have and they maintain their own individuality and culture. Go back far enough in Switzerland to the 15th century, the wars with Burgundy, and one of the places on Lake Neuchatel has that brooding air, the castle at Grandson. I remember reading about the blood-bath there. And the religious wars of the following 2 centuries.

Now we're back I have a new hobby. There's a hedgehog visitor at the back - I spotted it one evening and we've now got a wildlife camera set up to record. Hedgehogs are very much a threatened species so I'm doing what I can to encourage them here in our garden. I've put out a shallow dish of water and some crushed peanuts with dried mealworms. I saw one last night about 10.30 and it really did like the peanuts, was chomping away until disturbed then it scuttled off. This is the time of year when they're raising young and they're much at risk from tidy gardeners, strimmers etc. Due to age and infirmity we no longer garden much and there are lots of hidey-holes they can get into and not be disturbed. This hot weather, all visiting creatures need a drink of water.

There's only one more bit of work needs doing here and it involves a bit more concreting on the path at the foot of the steps, and also, a grab-rail beside the steps. DH still gets a bit dizzy from the effects of those powerful antibiotics, even though he stopped taking them just before we went away, a month ago now. He told his consultant on Tuesday that he'd fallen over in the garden and attempted to dislodge a tree-root with his head. After that, no more antibiotics, thank you. His blood results are excellent, nevertheless, so obviously the antibiotics aren't needed long-term.

One of the best things is - after all the lovely meals we had, I hadn't gained any weight! Weighed exactly the same when we got back. I don't want to add weight gain to the other problems of moving.

We had 2 young foxes about 4 am, I wouldn't have known except for the camera, and they also like the crushed peanuts! It's like trying to feed a family.

iris

Pleased to hear you enjoyed your holiday MargaretClare. DH and I have visited many of the places/areas you have mentioned, both in our own car and also on coach trips. Well done regarding your weight. I also have to keep an eye on my weight and always return from holiday a couple of pounds heavier (sigh).


What a lovely new hobby. Even though we have lived in rural areas since we were in our early 30's, I have never seen a hedgehog in our garden - I'm very envious.

desert_rose

What a wonderful description of your holiday Margaret - I felt as if I was there with you reading it.

I've never visited that part of Europe so you've given me some great ideas.

Not sure about the watch factory though!

margaretclare

Iris, hedgehogs are a very threatened species according to what I've been reading. They used to be so common that no one gave them a thought, but not now. I hadn't seen one for a few years, alive or dead, until I saw one a few nights ago and that impelled me to get the wildlife camera - very MSE, not quite £70 from Lidl. It took us a bit of trial-and-error to get it set up. There are a few problems with hedgehogs. One is, as usual, loss of habitat. Some people are making log-piles in a corner of the garden where they won't be disturbed. They need water. They need undisturbed places where they can rear their young at this time of year. Problems with people putting in those fences with a concrete base - hedgehogs travel a long way each night and they need to be able to get from one garden to another without a concrete barrier. Problems with tidy gardeners using a strimmer. I thought the steps we had put in last summer would be an obstacle to a hedgehog - I know someone who has made a plank 'ladder' up their steps - but I've seen it go down the steps and it didn't seem to have a problem. I look forward to seeing the young ones if/when they come out of the nest! Because of age/infirmity we no longer garden as such so it should be ideal for them.

pollypenny

Welcome back, MC. What a trip!

margaretclare

I'm not the one who is SKI-ing this time. Only a month after our 'big trip' to Switzerland and France and DH has planned and booked a weekend away in a month's time for my 79th birthday. 3 nights on a converted barge (looks very luxurious) in Bruges.

I said 'can we afford it?' His response 'what are we saving it for?' There's no answer to that. He's paying for it.

We've just paid off the credit card - that June holiday cost 2.5 grand between us. We also need a bit of work done out the back before the bad weather comes and I need some trees lopped once the birds are no longer nesting.

seven-day-weekend

Ordering one of these tomorrow

https://www.quick-garden.co.uk/sale/log-cabin-aisne-300x300-28mm-uk.html

It will stand of the site of our old greenhouse. Although it is bigger it will fit nicely.

Newly_retired

I like that.
We have a shed coming on Monday.
A chap removed the old one which was rotten, and built a base over the existing concrete slabs, Also replaced 4 fence panels, cleared surrounding ground in readiness.
Then DH will be able to get the gardening tools out of the garage and revamp it as his workshop ( his car lives on the drive, whilst my car stands on the road! - I think I 've got that wrong somehow)