19th - 25th December

Christmas Day

Thursday 25th December

After breakfast we took the train to Kleine Scheidegg and the boys skied down to Wengen. Rosie went part way by train and walked down to meet up at Wengen. It was very cloudy and cold in the Wengen valley so we caught the train back up to sunny Kleine Scheidegg for lunch.

Richard and David skied back to Grindelwald and as Andrew was still full of cold he and Rosie caught the train back. 

After relaxing in the wellness area we opened our presents before pre dinner drinks. 

Another lovely dinner was enjoyed followed by coffee and drinks in the bar.

Wednesday 24th December

Richard and David were out skiing soon after breakfast. Rosie and Andrew met up with them later. Andrew went off skiing with Richard and David while Rosie walked back down to the hotel. Rosie would love to ski and did contemplate it but the specialists words rang in her ears recommending not to ski. I thought I have two legs that works and if I ski I may be left with less!

We all met up in the pool again and enjoyed time relaxing before Gluewein was served to all guests around a fire outside in the snow. It was a lovely setting and start to Christmas.

During dinner Father Christmas visited every table and left nuts chocolates and fruit.

Tuesday 23rd December

We are all feeling washed out but summon some energy to go up on the gondola to the top of "First" -  one of the mountain runs. The sun and scenery were as ever beautiful but it was only David that had enough energy to ski.

In the afternoon we relaxed in the hotel pool, spa, sauna and steam room, this helped to revitalise us all. A lovely dinner was enjoyed in the evening.

Monday 22nd December

We set off after breakfast and arrived at our hotel for lunchtime. David is keen not to waste anytime and is out on the slopes in the afternoon. Unfortunately Rosie was not feeling well and spent the rest of the day in bed. By dinner time Richard was not well and David had caught the bug soon after. Andrew arrived about 9:45 to find us all ill and he had a really bad cold too. The hotel were very good and although the kitchen staff had finished they provided food for Andrew.

Sunday 21st December

Recovery day! We are all very tired. All the shops are open today and we go and do our last Christmas shopping. From mid afternoon there are choirs singing by the lake and we go down and listen.

We pack and prepare for our week in Grindelwald.

Saturday 20th December

David joined us on a walk down the Uetliberg, there is still quite a bit of snow at the top but it is now slushy lower down. In the afternoon we went to our friends in Oberagerai, as always it was good to see them. Marc (9) and Laura (6) were really pleased to see David and he likewise.

The men played indoor hockey in the garage - Marc is a very good goalkeeper and was the only one left with any energy!

We exchanged presents and  enjoyed an amazing dinner with lots wine and drinks flowing - a really lovely evening. Quite a late night by the time we get back to Zurich.

Friday 19th December

The snow is still with us although in the city it has started to melt. With the sun shining we go out for another walk down the Uetliberg. Richard says it is good training for skiing. We both love the peace and beauty of walking in the snowy forests.

We are looking forward to David arriving this evening and we know he is too. 

In the evening we went out for the traditional Swiss Bratwurst.

11th - 18th December

Thursday 18th December

It was still snowing! again we donned our walking boots and headed for the hills, it is so refreshing walking in these conditions.

In the early evening there were 800 candles floated in the Limmat river in the city. We are not quite sure of the significance of his but it was a very pretty sight on a cold snowy evening with all the street decorations around. Hot punch and biscuits were provided free by the tourist board.

Wednesday 17th December

It was like waking up to every childs dream of Christmas. It was snowing quite heavily and had obviously been snowing all night. Everywhere was a blanket of white including all the roads as the gritting lorries had not been out - for once the Swiss forecasters had been caught out and had not forecast snow for the city area.

After breakfast we head off up the Uetliberg for a walk. There was so much snow and with shoe chains and walking poles (Rosie) we make it to the bottom without incident! What a lovely walk with amazing scenery. After lunch we spent a relaxing time reading and watching it snow.

Tuesday 16th December

A cold bright day and we head off for a brisk winters walk in the Kafler Berg to the north of the city.

Late in the evening it started to snow, we went to bed wondering whether it would amount to any thing much.

Monday 15th December

We met a friend from Guernsey in Zug for lunch today, Corola had been our German teacher in Guernsey so it was good to catch up with her. 

Sunday 14th December

Another bright start to the day and we go out for another drive to Einsiedeln. This is a place Jenny and Rosie visited on separate school trips many years ago when we were 12. Rosie has been back previously and seen how the former village is now very much a town. It has a large cathedral and monastery and produces a passion play every ten years. The hotel we stayed in is still there and open and the main square has not changed too much from what we both remember.

Saturday 13th December

A bright, snowy and sunny day and we decided to drive to the alps and we set off for Klosters and Davos which are less than 2 hours away. As you can see it was a lovely day, we had lunch in a Klosters and then a walk near the lake on the outskirts of Davos. The day was rounded off with Jenny & John taking us out for dinner, we went to a typical Swiss restaurant in the city and then visited a couple of bars that have amazing views over the city.

Friday 12th December

A morning of showing Jenny & John a bit more of the city, we started near the lake and the local Friday market. We then caught a train up the Uetliberg mountain for a walk and a coffee.

The scenery was beautiful with the snow and frost hanging on the trees.

After lunch Rosie and Jenny went shopping and round the Christmas market, which is held within the main station and is the largest indoor Christmas market in Europe. Within the station there is a very big Christmas tree with over 5,000 Swarowski crystal decorations. It has to be seen to really be appreciated.

Thursday 11th December

Exciting day today - we had winter tyres fitted! A must in Switzerland if you want to drive anywhere. (If you are involved in an accident and do not have them fitted you are likely to be blamed even if it wasn't your fault). As the snow was laying even i

n the city we decided it would be a good idea.

Rosie's sister Jenny and her husband John arrived late afternoon and after dropping off their luggage and a cup of tea we took them into the city for a walk and supper of a Bratwurst and Gluewein. Every visitor should try the Bratwurst sausages and they are best eaten with bread standing at a table in the street.

Snow

Wednesday 10th December

When we woke this morning it was snowing! as I write it is still snowing, although it did stop for a while late morning. 

It actually feels a little warmer than yesterday and we have been for a lovely walk in the snow on the Uetliberg. We made it from the top down to Triemli today as with several inches of new snow on the mountain it made walking down hill much easier than when we last went walking there.

Return to Zurich

Monday 8th December

The morning was spent reading - what a lovely way to start a week! 

In the afternoon Richard met up with some Swiss colleagues and Rosie went Christmas shopping. The city was so busy I didn't stay there too long - I thought Mondays were a quiet retail day!

Sunday 7th December

Another grey cold day started with a walk to get an English Sunday paper. After lunch we went to see the film "Anywhere but home" (This may be called "4 Christmases" in the U.K.) light hearted and funny. 

Saturday 6th December

Shopping day today, so out early to avoid the crowds. It gets much busier here late morning by which time we were home. It was a cold grey day so we spent time reading and relaxing.

Friday 5th December

Another "recovery day" started with a walk to the local market near the lake, later we had lunch with one of Richard's former colleagues from Guernsey. 

Thursday 4th December

We caught a train to Basel as we had tickets to a concert by 70's band Focus. We had only ever driven through Basel and you do not get to see the city that way. The old part of the city has very attractive buildings and is quite compact. Again there was a Christmas market which added to the ambience. In the evening we headed out to the suburb where the concert was to be held, this was different to any other concert we had been to! It was held in an old warehouse kitted out for concerts but which was situated on the edge of an industrial site. The old music was really good to hear but neither of us really appreciated their new tracks (maybe our age!). The concert did not end until well after 11:00pm so this was a long day and we did not get back to Zurich until after 1:30am.

Wednesday 3rd December

This was a "rest day" - we had a quiet day in and around Zurich.

Tuesday 2nd December

We bought a travel card today and experienced the Austrian underground and trams, this enabled us to get out to the Schonnenbrun Palace although time did not permit us to go inside, but what a magnificent building, where Mozart played his first concert at the age of 6. Here like in a lot of areas of Vienna there was a Christmas market.

From here we headed back into the city and continued sightseeing including St Stefans Kirche and tasting the Austrian Gluewein - a must for

 any visitor at this time of year. 

Monday 1st December

An early start today as we are off to Vienna. On arrival we caught a bus (it is cheaper and you get to see more) into the city and found our hotel where we dropped our bag off and headed off to explore the city on foot.  We found the museum quarter which has some beautiful 

buildings. 

We were lucky enough to purchase tickets for a chamber orchestra concert in the evening of music by Mozart & Strauss. Needless to say going to a concert in Vienna was truly memorable. 

Sunday 30th November

A bright sunny and frosty morning and we went for a drive to the Greifen See where we went for a lovely crisp walk. After lunch we headed for a pub to watch the Man Utd and Man City match and then onto the Christmas parade.

Saturday 29th November

A grey day today so we didn't venture too far, in the afternoon we went to see the film "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas". Having read the book it was a very meaningful film, so sad and showed the naivety of children and the consequences of a lack of truth and communication. 

Friday 28th November

We headed down to the local market near the lake after breakfast only to find it really was freezing cold, it was unusually breezy in the city increasing the wind chill factor. The view across the lake was lovely with lots of snow having fallen on the mountains. 

We are brave or mad and ventured out after lunch for a walk on the Uetliberg. Arriving by train near the to

p we realised how much snow there was, but undeterred we started walking down the hill. 

To begin with this was not too much of a problem with only a few icy patches encountered. Then we reached the steep part! Rosie had fortunately found a sturdy stick to assist her on the very icy parts - mainly on the bends. We passed a few walkers going up the hill who all told us it was worse further down, but being adventurous we continued until we realised it really was too dangerous even with walking boots on. We needed spiked boots. We turned back up the hill and took an easier route back to a train stop as by now the light was beginning to fade.

 

Thursday 27th November

We arrived in Zurich to find that quite a lot of snow had fallen whilst we had been away. In the city there were patches of snow still lying but quite a lot on the roof tops. It was obviously much colder!

Back in Guernsey

Tuesday 18th - Thursday 27th November

We spent these days in Guernsey, it was lovely to see friends and especially Andrew & David (and Penny our cat). 

We spent some time with the boys, caught up on post and wrote our christmas cards! Strange as it may sound it was good to wake up and see the sea again - on our travels we have spent most of our time "inland" - and the smell and sight of the sea is very refreshing what ever the weather.

The time went very quickly especially as Rosie had a "flying" trip back to Oxfordshire to see her Mum who has not been well.

Leaving Guernsey this time was easier than in October, possibly because we have a base we were returning too and it will be only 3 weeks until Andrew & David join us for Christmas and the New Year.