Wednesday 5th - Monday 10th November

We spent a lot of time over these days walking around Zurich and finding areas we had not visited before. The weather was ideal walking weather, some days warm enough to go out without a jacket. We have found some lovely walking paths in forests nearby and have seen some beautiful scenes, both autumnal and wintery. On Sunday we went walking near the airport and could clearly see the snow covered alps - a lovely sight.

Tuesday 11th November

An early start today, we left our apartment at 5:30am to catch a flight to Berlin.  At Berlin airport we purchased a "welcome card" which was an excellent buy - it gave us unlimited travel on all bus, train and tram routes for the 3 days as well as entitling us to reduced entrnce fees to many places of interest. 

The rest of Tuesday was taken up with finding our way around and getting our bearings in Berlin. The buses were an excellent way and very frequent. A city full of contrasts, so much to see and do. 

We also found a huge department store that I just had to visit - well I had to warm up somehow! 

For dinner we found a typical German restaurant and then hopped on a bus for a night time tour of the city.

Wednesday 12th November

After a good breakfast we were set up for a day of sightseeing, as the weather was again warm and sunny we set off on foot. Our first stop was the television tower where we had views over the whole city and beyond. From there we walked for a further 6 hours, visiting the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag where we went to the top of the dome 

for more views and lots more including bombed sites, before ending the day at the

 "Topography of Terror" this was quite chilling and brought home the suffering and persecution that had prevailed. 

Our vision of the wall was far from reality - we had imagined it would be 3 or 4 feet thick but this is not the case as it is only about 1 foot. We also saw memorials to many people who had been shot or drowned whilst trying to escape from the east

to the west.

 This was another reminder of how desperate some of them had been prior to 1989. 

After dinner we took another night time city tour on a different route.

Thursday 13th November

After another good breakfast we set off to walk to the Jewish museum - walking through Check point Charlie on the way -  so much to see

 and read, we could have spent days there. We experienced the Berlin trains which in some cases like the trams were in need of refurbishment.

After another very interesting and informative day we headed back to the airport for our flight back to Zurich. Flying with Air Berlin we had complimentary hot and cold drinks and a savoury sandwich - better than Flybe!!. 

Friday 14th November

Recovery day today! we were both quite tired after our busy time in Berlin, Richard met a former colleague for lunch and Rosie chilled out for a couple of hours! We found time for a couple of walks, my thinking is that the sunny weather won't be around for much longer so we will not want to walk as far or as often.

Saturday 15th November

A grey start to the day but with shades of blue appearing we go out, it is definitely getting colder! After lunch we get on a tram to Oerlikon an area we had not visited before other then travelling through it - lots of shops but too cold to stay out too long and anyway on Saturdays almost all shops close at 4pm.

We have found time to read and relax in the apartment today - lovely.

Italy to Switzerland

25th October

A driving day today starting with Pisa, the sun was again shining today and it was very warm. We enjoyed walking around the town and taking in the obvious tower and other impressive buildings.

On leaving Pisa it was time to put the roof down - we we

re worried with the clocks going back we might not get another chance his year!

We spent a very pleasant few hours idly driving around Tuscany again, the scenery was certainly worth seeing, there were preparations afoot for the olive picking which we had been informed was due to start the following week.       

26th October

A bit of a scary start to the day as the driver started off on the wrong side of the road almost on a bend -  this was not Rosie!

Time to leave Tuscany and Italy and head north to the mediterranean coast of France. Another beautiful day and  the roof was down, it was hard to believe summer time ended yesterday.

With Sunday being a quiet day on the roads in Italy Rosie did share the driving again although we did encounter a vast number of tunnels whilst I was driving.

We arrived in Menton early in th

e afternoon with the sun and sea almost inviting - we stopped short of joining others who had ventured into the water and settled for a walk and an ice cream.

Monday 27th October

Again an unbelievably warm and sunny day so the roof was down again.  Our route this morning was through Monte Carlo and north to Sisteron in Provence. Nothing eventful today.

Tuesday 28th October

 The weather has changed!  What a shock to have to find our jeans and put away our shorts. We drove through an impressive gorge on our way to Uzes.

By the time we reached Uzes the weather had deteriorated to being damp grey and much cooler. We went for a walk into the town which was quite quiet, there were however blankets supplied on chairs at outside tables of coffee shops - we sat inside.

Wednesday 29th October

After a very good breakfast - the best thing about the hotel - we left for Macon, again the weather was dull and damp. We had booked the hotel on the internet and got an amazingly cheap deal so were amazed when we walked into our room and saw what we got for our money, we certainly had a good deal. Due to the weather we ate in the hotel and again were n

ot disappointed - excellent value for money.

Thursday 30th October

A shorter drive to Bern today and it wasn't long before we caught our first sight of snow. The temperature dropped to a cool 1 degree. 

We spent the afternoon discovering Bern, the Bear pit was interesting and we were very pleased to see that a large new bear park is currently under construction adjacent to the existing one and alongside the river. It will be a great improvement and is due for completion early in 2009.

Friday 31st October

Our final day of living out of an holdall, for now anyway! We drove to Zurich and our last hotel before moving into our apartment. We spent the afternoon shopping and locating our apartment and garage space in preparation for Saturday. A traditional Swiss supper of bratwurst and beer to start our time in Zurich.

Saturday 1st November

After collecting the keys we moved in at last! The apartment is actually larger than we thought it would be and lovely and light. After a few trips in the lift - we are on the 7th floor -  we unpacked.  We had a very enjoyable dinner with our friends in Oberageri who had looked after some of our bits and bobs before driving "home". Quite a lot of snow around.

Sunday 2nd November

Lovely to wake up and not be in an hotel. We went for a walk to the city which took us less than 15 minutes so we are really close. If we don't want to walk we have a tram stop within 50 yards from the apartment block. We sorted travel passes and enjoyed being in the city again.

Monday 3rd November

We caught a train up the Uetliberg (a small mountain nearby with snow still lying in places) and went for a walk from there. After lunch we went to the airport and have booked a trip to Berlin next week, another bargain 3 days, 2 nights (incl. hotel with breakfast) for the price of a flight to the UK from Guernsey.

Tuesday 4th November

We have driven to the Black forest area in Germany today, this is only about an hour away. We have been there before and like walking in the area, also shopping is much cheaper there! We visited an Aldi for the first time and were both amazed at how little our trolley load cost - if only Guernsey prices were as good. We of course had to sample some Black forest gateau before the drive home.