The Grottoes of Hell...

Gruezi to all once again,

Been a little while since the last post and again there has, as always, been plenty going on over here in Zurich. Ness and I are both keeping well, one of us still working hard as usual, and have had a few interesting weekends as well as our usual style of misadventure.

Last Saturday we made our way out to the town of Baden not more than 20 minutes out of Zurich by train. It is definitely a sleepy little town but has a big community of international business and such in and around the area. Baden also boasts a fairly well known Casino, The Grand Casino Baden - a very fine, but very upmarket establishment with everything you would imagine a casino to offer. The strasse around town are much the same as what we have become used to in Europe; cobblestones, small winding strasse and very very old architecture. We also found ourselves, and maybe just a little bit lost ourselves, at an 'English' pub by the name of Pickwick's (cue the situational joke: 2 Aussies, an American named Gary and a Swiss born Italian named after his Russian grandfather - Igor, walk into a bar...... guess you had to be there) - a chain that has other venues in both Zurich and Zug. On Sunday we had a nice easy day, found ourselves yet another 'English' pub here in Zurich, Admiral Nelsons', then headed off to the movies to see the 3rd installment of Pirates of The Caribbean (for those of you who haven't seen it, it is worth it just for the fantastic cameo appearance by none other than the great Keith Richards).

This weekend we had a very quiet Saturday as 2 very sore heads were rested after a rather riotous Friday evening, gruesome details shall be omitted. Sunday we headed out to find Hollgrotten, a subterranean cave much like Aus's Jenolan Caves, just outside of Zug. It was eventually found, after some confusing directions, and definitely worth the trip. Found in the mid 1800's the name Hollgrotten translates literally to Hell Grottoes. In the vicinity of 30,000 some years old, the natural formations of strange stalactites and stalagmites creates a feel of a Geigeresque landscape. Bizarre shapes and figures jut from the walls and ceilings, often giving to the names of the certain areas within such as the Nymphs Source and the Magic Lock (the German versions of these names have around twenty syllables more than the translation). Every now and then you get a glimpse that reminds you of the true beauty and power of nature and the world we live in, this was definitely one of those moments. Here come the photos...

A little bit of Baden

Why getting lost is easy (if you can't make it out Hollgrotten is apparently in both directions, another sign had it in 3 directions... Hmmmm, signposts)

In the Hell Grottoes (cue Grieg's "Hall of The Mountain King" - it was a Peer Gynt moment, my slow careful footsteps after smacking my head once or twice)

'Tites grow down 'mites grow up (or at least I think they do...)

What in just the right light and shade looked like a strange Gnome or Orc (Hail to all WoW and LOTR fans [who yelled NERD from the background?])

That brings you up to date with our follies over here, for the moment at least, but there is plenty more to come for us yet. We hope that everyone back home is doing well, while you all freeze in abnormally cold weather we are right in the middle of summer and the temperature keeps creeping up and up. The time for us to head home is every so quickly creeping up on us but there is still much more travel and sights to come.


For now we bid you all a fond farewell, until next time,

Peace and regards,

Jim and Ness

When in Switzerland.... Bathe in Cheese!

Gruezi once again,

Well, it has been another eventful weekend here in sunny, rainy, windy, boiling and freezing Switzerland. This weekend was the annual Zurich Festival, which is a bit like Queen's Day in Amsterdam, and what is usually a relatively quiet city bursts into life with over 2 million people cramming into Zurich. Near to half of the city turns into a carnival. You find everything you'd expect of a carnival; rides, bands, market stalls, a plethora of food stalls (meat on a stick was one of my favourite features) and a mass of bars, stages and music of all sorts from Hip-Hop to Bavarian knee-slapping jaunts. There were quite a few rather spectacular moments such as Friday and Saturday nights fireworks, stunt planes over the lake, motocross demos and plenty of other things going on all to entertain all ages. The festivities started on Friday and continued through to Sunday, so we spent most of Friday night and all day Saturday eating, drinking and just wandering the city and enjoying the atmosphere of it all. Zurich finally proved itself to me as knowing how to party - and I was impressed.

Sunday was a different story. Being it was the last day to use the rail pass we had, we decided to go to Mount Titlis (yeah, I giggled too). From Zurich we went to Lucerne, Lucerne down to Engelberg and then from Engelberg to just on 10,000 feet above sea level. Finally I had my chance to 'see' a real snow capped alpine mountain, close up. To get up the mountain you take a series of cable cars that ascend to the highest peak. The 1st a little 6 person cable car, the 2nd fits 80 people and the 3rd is the Titlis Rotair (the world's 1st revolving cable car - very cool if not a little disconcerting at the same time). Unfortunately, our Mountain disappeared in cloud and rain not too long after we got there, but for a brief moment we were on top of the world. We threw a few snowballs, trudged around in the snow for a bit getting rather wet and cold - all in all, it was pretty dam fun. I stood in real snow for the 1st time ever, the furthest from the ground I have ever been and caused my general brand of mischief by licking a glacial wall - as you do. I'd love to see a place like that in full swing during ski season but, again, it was one of those opportunities I'd never thought I'd have....

Like having a snowball thrown at me....

or disappearing into the clouds....

and being in a place like this....

and this.

Other than continuing our adventures through Europe, we are both keeping well - Ness is of course working hard and I've spent my morning entering data from tour surveys (the things we do for a buck). We hope everyone back home is all good, but here's a special shout out to my little mate Sammy - Uncle Jim and Aunty Ness are thinking of you. On that note, we shall love you and leave you, we'll be sure to have a few more photos from our weekend on the blog soon, but until next time,

Peace and Regards to all,

Jimi and Ness.

Oh, I nearly forgot, if you suffer from bad skin - come over to Switzerland and soak the pain away in a tub filled with whey. No way - way. Is there anything they don't do with milk products over here - maybe that is a question that shouldn't be asked.

Photos from Avignon....

Just a few of the photos from our trip to the south of France....

...In Avignon

The imposing Pont du Gard

The Palais des Papes

"Sur Le Pont des Avignon" (Pont St. Benezet)

Rue de Avignon

More to follow soon....

Where am I? Parlez Vous Anglais? Quoi?

Gruezi, Bonjour, Dag, Hey et Guten something or other.............................. What language do I speak again, I'm so confused,

Well, we made it all the way to France and some of the most spectacular countryside I have ever smacked my little eyes on. Before I get too far ahead of myself I am just going to let you all know that I'm only going to do a part of this blog entry {which turned out to be much more than he said he would!} and my sweetness is going to give the finer details of all the 'proper' place names, relatives and French connections for all of the Francais family and the rest of you back home. Who writes what here should be fairly obvious, so if you read this and only hear my voice in the back of our mind please do check back soon for the updated version. So keep in mind that the spaces {ummm what spaces??} that are in this account will of course be filled.

After a long train journey from Switzerland to Geneve, an even longer car ride from Geneve through to Mazan (Merci Beaucoup Cathy) we were in southern France. What an amazingly breathtaking place it is; rolling hills, lavender fields and vineyards stretching as far as the eye can see. Apart from the land being very dry, which is an all too familiar sight, the colours and scents of Provence and area are a pleasurable assault on the senses. To me this was only really a small taste at what France has to offer, but we were really there for a connection to heritage and family.

Although I did feel like the proverbial duck out of water, I was made to feel incredibly welcome by everyone I met. Besides, I am used to being the novelty everywhere I go. Friday night, after running around some time after we arrived, we had a traditional family dinner (with a large extended family of 16) in Le Pontet. Most of the evening I spent saying "Wee" and nodding a lot, that said though there were quite a few at the table who enjoyed my thick Aussie vernacular. I got to experience 1st hand what I consider to be true European hospitality. I also had the pleasure of eating Le Soupe au Pistou, a regional specialty that's kind of a brothy soup filled with pasta, veg and served with pesto - mmmmmmmmm (Merci Beaucoup Denise, Tres Bien). There was cheeses and breads, wines and beers - more fare than you can poke a baguette at. Dinner lasted about 4 hours, by then everyone was filled to the brim and ready for a good nights sleep.

Saturday, which was rapidly becoming very hot, we headed into the amazing city of Avignon. I thought the Chateau de Gruyeres was impressive, but this was just beyond belief - the stories I heard, and pictures in my mind of Avignon clearly didn't match what I was to see. The entire city has a rampart wall around it, and from the way we approached the city, the Palais des Papes (Palace of The Popes) loomed over the wall of the city. Soon after came into view the famous Le Pont Saint-Benezet (Le Pont d'Avignon). Being the oldest city in France, everything in sight had some major historical significance. In all honesty, there is no possible way I can do this place justice in words and it would probably take me a long time to do so (but I do hope some of the photos we post will give a sense of the beauty and stature of Avignon). Just after midday we were treated to a traditional French lunch (of about 5 courses, including assorted pate and roasted lamb) courtesy of Cathy's mum, Christiane (Encore, Merci Beaucoup). After which we wandered a little more of the rues of Avignon, walked out onto the famous pont and then headed out of the city to visit the Pont du Gard - a truly incredible aquaduct constructed by the Roman empire (entirely without the use of mortar) some 1900 years ago and spans the gorge over the Gardon river just outside the city Nimes.

After yours truly prepared dinner that evening for Cathy and the kids (Bonjour, Nicolas and Gladys), with a little help, we were taken back into the city of Avignon to see the city by night and the Koala Bar (recommended by Cathy). This was Jimi's moment to shine, as I walked in I discovered the punters at the bar playing a game of name that artist and song. At the start I just stood back enjoying a few glasses of Leffe and the tunes until Cathy began to egg me on (all in good fun), "come on Jim, you're good at music!" The story goes the group of locals near to us had been playing all night and collecting their 'Tokens' (Pistachio nuts) in order to get to 7 and score a free Pastis - in the matter of the 40 minutes I was in the bar I managed to nail 6 tracks in a row and the competition was on. The tables were turned by the bartender then playing a few french and dance songs which stumped me right up until I heard Jamiroquai - after that I proceeded to call no less than a dozen plus songs in a row, which received a tremendously cool reception from the 20 odd patrons in the club. This led to me being shouted several drinks, making a few very cool friends (Merci, 'Jeff' and crew) and leaving with the offer of a strip tease (which, no, I did not take up). For a short moment I had made a very impressive mark on the city of Avignon and its locals. Having good reasons to make our way, we headed once again to see the Palais des Papes by night and eventually made our way back home.

Sunday morning, we were taken to see Josette and Yvon (Nana's sister and husband) just outside of Avignon. Again, I did a lot of nodding and "Wee"ing, but it apparently made a lovely old pair of people very happy - and I guess that's really all that counts. Like the rest of our trip, it was a whirlwind visit but several people were very happy to see the both of us in the home towns of the family. After a quick bite of lunch, several more Au Revoirs and dropping the kids off we headed back to Geneve, onto a train again and back into Zurich by 9:30....... Now I can take a breath.

I did enjoy my time, I did feel a little out of place but very welcome and if given the opportunity I would happily go back. To all of you that made my stay feel homely I thank you in my tongue - Grouse Mate, Avignon (and Provence) you Rock.

To everyone back home, I hope you enjoyed my account, as I said earlier stay tuned for Ness's addition to this entry and some photos from the journey.

Gros (sloppy) Bisous,

Jimi and Ness