Switzerland Part I

Camerons (cant find an apostrophe on this french keyboard) Swiss Travelogue

I received my first shock after take off from Dulles Airport: drink are no longer free on international flights across the Atlantic. I nearly wept. Other than that, no travel problems. Zurich has a great airport. Quiet, clean, efficient.

Our friends Raphael and René picked us up (René is the father) and we managed to cram three Americans worth of luggage into a compact European car (dont ask me what the countryside looked like, i couldnt see it). Off to Fribourg (cant find the exclamation mark).

Fribourg dates from the middle ages and the original walls can still be seen around the citz. In fact, to enter, you still drive through the original gates. Cobblestone streets with terra cotta roofs. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the town last night. Several very old cathedrals with beautiful stained glass. Many fountains with statues of important figures from Fribourgs history.

I wasnt sure what consisted of Swiss cuisine (besides chocolate and coffee) but I havent been disapointed. Dinner was a feast. Started with a pumpkin soup (from the garden), followed by salad. Then the main course of mutton, mashed potatoes, fresh breads with jam and honey, plenty of vegetables, and several bottles of 20 year old French wine. Dessert was an icecream cake followed by a varietz of coffee and dessert bisquits. Im sorry, that was lunch. Dinner was a simpler affair of a varietz of local cheese, bread, and fruit, also excellent. Im not going to go hungry on this trip.

Raphaels familz consists of his father (already mentioned), his mother, Fabienne, brother Damien, and his sister, Virginia. It was a great experience sitting around a table, drinking wine and listening to three languages being spoken (everyone in the family speaks French, German, Italian, and English; Raphael also speaks Greek and Latin and soon will have Spanish under his belt).

Since Beth and I have stayed up for around 40 hours now, we taking an early night. Tommorow we will travel to a 2300 year old Roman amphitheatre and then on to Bern. More to follow........