Switzerland's triumph

The date of the World Cup match between Switzerland and Spain was held on 16 June, the same day as our visits to the Olympic Museum and Chillon castle.  Spain was heavily favored.  But Switzerland won 1:0, against all odds.

We had decided to drive back home through the lakeside communities, both for a different view from the one we had had when we came, but also because we feared that the big highway, at rush hour, would be practically impassable, especially because we had noticed construction sites there that had blocked traffic on our way even when it was not rush hour.

In the communities, the wet air was electric with triumph.  Cars were honking and people were shouting at each other with Swiss flags streaming from their car windows.  Such behavior is quite atypical for staid little Switzerland.  My passengers tried to get some shots with their cameras but I'm afraid that the driver's occasional lurches didn't help their focus.

Still, these are clearly moments of happy delirium.

As it happened, Switzerland was ultimately knocked out of the competition before the round of 16.  But we were there to witness these moments of well-deserved joy.  You can share them with us below.

The Latter-Day Prisoners of Chillon

During the drive from Lausanne to Montreux, we first stopped for lunch at one of the roadside rest stops.  This occasioned a photo op with some "fans" with World Cup events in mind. 

Then we caught a glimpse - just a glimpse through the mist - of the fabled Swiss "Riviera."

We left the main highway and made our way to Chillon castle.  The weather had occasional breaks, but, as you can see here, was still pretty wet.

Chillon has, in my experience, always been a favorite visit for the younger set.  I am not sure whether it is simply "castle mystique" or that this particular one - with its medieval underground dungeons and crenellated walls and seemingly endless series of rooms - just fits neatly into one's imaginings of what a castle should be.

In any event, Prince C and Princess C pronounced Chillon to be their favorite castle visit.  And that was even after we had visited Gruyères castle later on.  But first, the dungeon visit ...

This particular dungeon was made famous literarily by the English poet, Lord Byron, in his poem "The Prisoner of Chillon."  The poem was inspired by the four-year imprisonment of François Bonivard in the 16th century.

Lord Byron left his own mark in the dungeon ...

and one of the young'uns (audiotour headphones and all) decided to see what it would be like to be shackled to the post.

They were both impressed by how cold it must have been - given that the dungeon overlooks Lake Geneva.

They were also intrigued by the sanitary arrangements elsewhere in the castle, quite similar to those we had seen in Annecy castle but with wooden seats!

Bathing in the castle was also interesting.

The window seats, bereft of pillows, were hard to sit on.

And the fireplaces were big enough to roast a whole ox  - or a couple of teenagers.

Some of the porcelain stoves that served to heat the castle rooms were quite decorative.

There were a few moments where Dad B was in danger (not really).

We all survived the "imprisonment" and were impressed to see the medieval castle next to the modern roads and especially the big highway as it made its way down to Villeneuve.

Then we began the drive home, unaware that the day's adventures were not quite finished.

Going for the rings

After our day in Annecy and our return to Switzerland, we began our next day of adventures by heading to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.  As usual, the weather was rainy.  It was a good day to head for a museum - any museum.

And the Olympic Museum is a fun one to visit, especially for those who are interested in sports and the history of the modern Olympics movement.

This shows the path that we had to climb to get to the entrance.

This particular statue is new - a reminder of the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC in Canada.

We made it to the top!

Of course, the young'uns still had energy to burn!

Then they checked out the displays with audio tour headsets firmly clamped to their ears.

From the Olympic Museum, we clambered into the trusty little Nissan once again, this time to head for the Swiss "Riviera" and Chillon castle.

Butterfly interlude

Princess Butterfly recently had a close encounter with a bagel and cream cheese.

She arrived for the match in Butterfly chic, with ball cap and sunglasses pushed back on her head.

The battle scars are evident but Princess Butterfly is unbowed.

And the bagel is no more!

Closer to the home base

Before continuing the adventures with the summer visitors, here are a few glimpses of things closer to the Swiss home base ... the visitors' first glimpse of my little village in an uncharacteristic gloom due to the consistently rainy weather that we had throughout their visit.

A quick visit to the nearby beach - where the water is obviously too cold for swimming.

But the playground in the park provides some diversion.

A good raclette on the terrace is hard to beat.

Walking through the village arcades ...

and seeing the TV set up outdoors under the arcades so that tea shop patrons could view the World Cup events.

More al fresco dining ...

and posing by the town fountain - in front of one of the pastry shops where pains au chocolat could be found in abundance.

These were quick slices of village life.

Encore Annecy

I returned to Geneva after a thoroughly satisfying weekend in France to ensure that all was ready for Son B and the teenage grandkids who would arrive on Monday.  Sure enough, the visitors arrived in due course.  They were functioning principally on adrenaline because none had slept much on the transatlantic flight.  Here are the grandkids are boarding the flight from Paris CDG to Geneva Cointrin.

Since the adrenaline fix seemed to keep them up for it, I drove around to give an overview of Geneva and the international organizations area.  Then we stopped by one of the grocery chain stores so that we could stock up on what they might actually eat - in addition to some of the specialties that I hoped they would try.  They seemed to enjoy seeing how displays and products are different.  Still, they were impressed by the variety of products that are available in Switzerland.

Then, predictably, they all crashed.  They had the rest of the day to get settled, nap, take short walks, and, of course, do what they most avidly wanted to do.  That was to get caught up on the World Cup matches being played in South Africa.  Both Prince C and Princess C are passionate soccer (aka "football" to the rest of the world) players.  Indeed, their visit had been postponed just so that they could all view the US-UK game in the US!  Fortunately, we had several networks broadcasting the events, although not all broadcasts were in English.

The next day, we all headed back to Annecy, there to meet up with Sweet V and Friend G so that Friend G could travel back to Switzerland with us. 

Once Prince C and Princess C had caught sight of the Annecy castle, however, there was no question as to how we would spend the time before the 2:30 pm meet-up.  So, up to the castle we climbed.

The castle in Annecy was built between the 12th and 16th centuries and served as the residence of the Counts of Geneva, among others. Several times the victim of fires, the castle was abandoned in the 17th century and later repaired to serve as a barracks until 1947.  The town of Annecy acquired the castle in 1953, restored it and installed a museum there.

And yes, this hole is exactly what one imagines that it is! 

After having lunch along the main canal, we took a walk along the lakefront.

Then we met up with Friend G and headed back to Switzerland.

La Fondue savoyarde

For my last night in Champagny-en-Vanoise (Friend G stayed over for a couple more nights), Sweet V treated us both to warmly typical Savoyarde hospitality.  First, we drove back up to Champagny-le-Haut (Upper Champagny), but instead of stopping there as we had earlier in the day, we continued following the road our errant cows had earlier travelled, once they had returned to it after their mildly exciting detour.  We continued up and up to the highest mountain refuge (Alpine mountain hut) in the area.

The refuge is principally used by mountaineers, climbers and hikers.  Sweet V will herself begin working at the small restaurant associated with the refuge in July.  Although it was still early in the season, the little restaurant was offering its delicious specialty - la fondue savoyarde.

La fondue savoyarde is similar to its Swiss cousin, except that it contains a blend of three cheeses.  Usually at least two of them are French.  In the most traditional savoyarde recipes, kirsch - a standard of the Swiss version - is either not used at all or another liqueur is substituted.  Another feature of French fondues is that the bread usually arrives already cubed.  In Switzerland, at least in the most traditional version, one receives thick slices of bread and tears them into smaller portions oneself.

We arrived, literally in a deluge, so were not able to spend time taking photos outside.  Here is the refuge from the inside looking out, with raindrops splattering on the window.  It was a night when la fondue savoyarde would be greatly appreciated.

To complement the fondue, a salad and a selection of the local charcuterie was served, along with an excellent white wine of the region.

As with all French meals, nothing was rushed.  We had time to visit and savor the moments and the atmosphere.  It was literally perfect.  I truly hope that Sweet V enjoyed the evening even half as much as we both did.

Champagny-en-Vanoise and its region are wonderful places to visit.  I am so grateful to have had such a lovely experience during my brief visit there.

Meandering through Bozel

After an adventure-filled morning and a delicious lunch of quiche, we drove down the mountain a bit to the community of Bozel, which is a larger ski station than Champagny and closer to Courchevel, one of the well-known ski areas of the French Alps.  As Sweet V explained to us, her little Princess I will attend middle school in Bozel when she is quite a bit older.  Now, at 2.5 years, she attends the local crèche (day care center) in Champagny, just as she will later attend elementary school there.

Friend G filled the prescriptions that she had received from her doctor visit earlier.  Then, because the sun was shining and we were enjoying the fresh air, we strolled about the picturesque town, enjoying some of the houses

the flowers decorating them

and the lovely Alpine flowers. 

Sweet V suggested that we might want to stroll down to the town's artificial lake, so we took her up on the suggestion.  As we approached the lake and park, we realized that an event was being held there.  We had happened upon one of the many community festivals organized in support of environmental issues.  While the major crowds from earlier in the day had largely dissipated, we were still able to see the stands

many that had been set up to demonstrate

or to inform

or to entertain while informing

or to sell items found in nature.

There was an opportunity for Princess I to meet up with friends by the lake

and a nearby playground where more little ones were having a ball!

What a beautiful, wonderful place for little ones to grow up!