Caveaux

We are checking out the wine cellars along the shore of Lake Geneva from Lausanne to Montreux (Lavaux) and they all seem to be nightspots, open from 5-9 pm. Perhaps that is so people bike sober.

The Bernese Oberland

Penny sent us a link to Sam Cotton's flickr account with lots of photos of Switzerland. It makes you want to go up into the Alps right away. Many of the photos are from the Bernese Oberland so I looked to see where that was and, according to Rick Steves, there is a train, the Golden Pass, that goes from Geneva to Zurich via this area. In fact, the section we probably want is the section from Montreux to Zweisimmen. Then we could get off at Zweisimmen, take a hike and then go back to Montreux and Lausanne. We'll have to check out the logistics. And the costs.
So if we consider the swiss rail flexipass for 2 or more persons, maybe that would work. The roundtrip from Lausanne to Zweisimmen would be 74 Swiss Francs in second class, 124 first class. The chocolate train appears only to be first class and is $91 US roundtrip. Does that mean it wouldn't be available using the second class rail pass?

And then there were three!

No, folks! No news from Jen, yet. This is a news bulletin that Penny is tagging along with Cathy and Fernando to explore Lausanne and the "Swiss Riviera." It's about time to add another chapter to our travels after Istanbul and Barcelona. And Penny is going to have to start training to develop her stamina, not to mention her legs. Here is a picture of us in Istanbul in 2000 (when we were young-er)

Check out the LAUSANNE GUESTHOUSE

I was poking around on TripAdvisor for Lausanne and read the reviews for the Lausanne Guesthouse which is much more reasonable than the Regina and doesn't sound half bad. Did you check it out....you would have a kitchen to share as well? And laundry facilities!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Search?q=LAUSANNE+GUESTHOUSE
and they have doubles with private and semi-private bathrooms
http://www.lausanne-guesthouse.ch/indexe.html
It would make you feel young again!

Swiss Riviera

It looks like I will have to bring a bathing suit:

http://www.swiss-riviera.com/

Or maybe a wet suit.

When will you have time to sleep?

Let's see....You'll be there a week...you have jet lag, a conference, and at least a month's worth of hiking. Oh my, oh my!

Via Jacobi

Oh my, Penny, the Hiking in Switzerland site has information on the Via Jacobi, the St. James pilgrimage. So that means we can pick up the Camino de Santiago in Switzerland! Who would have thought.
Here's more information http://www.viajacobi.ch/

Rochers-de-Naye

I wonder if the Grand Hotel seen in this postcard is still there.

Here is some information on Rochers-de-Naye: "an imposing rock formation above Montreux offers simply stunning views of Lac Léman and the surrounding Alps". You get to it via a cogwheel railway that leaves from the Montreux railway station.

Rochers-de-Naye is the starting point for hikes and also has the La Rambertia Alpine Garden, where around 1000 various colourful and sweetly scented species of plants from all over the world are on display. (Maybe I can find something that will grow in Pittsburgh!)

• Montreux Vevey

It appears that Friday and Saturday are the days to do the wine trail. Monday through Wednesday almost all of them appear to be closed. It is too bad we are traveling on the weekend!

Lausanne Weather

Obviously we have to keep track of the weather since we have to know what to take. With 2 stops on our flight to Geneva, our luggage is 3 times more likely to be lost so we absolutely have to carry it on which means we can't take anything but the essentials. Just like on the Camino.

• Lausanne Weather from meteosuisse

Where did the French ever come up with "meteo" for weather? I guess it means measure...

This morning I took the giant leap and bought our airline tickets. For a price from Expedia (the cheapest rates). Now I'll have to continually check online to see if they go down. But the hours were reasonable and the layovers long enough but not too long. We'll be leaving Saturday night, August 23rd at 5:30 pm on US Air to Philadelphia and then on to Dublin. From Dublin we take Aer Lingus to Geneva, arriving at 3:10 pm on Sunday (sounds long, doesn't it?). On the way back on Sunday, August 31st we take Swiss Air to Zurich at 7:40 am (sounds early doesn't it) and then US Air to Philadelphia and then home to Pittsburgh.

Montreux & Lausanne

You mustn't forget to visit Montreux where Mitch says he wants to retire (1/2 hr by train). You'll have missed the jazz festival, but c'est dommage!

Look up the hiking routes on Switzerland Mobility http://www.myswitzerland.com/en.cfm/holidayoffers/page-Tab_Activities-Activities_SchweizMobil-320588.html

As far as breakfast I think all the Swiss and German hotels have great breakfast buffets.
You should also (according to Mitch) take a historical tour of the city, and visit the museum at the International Olympic Headquarters. He'll look up the name of his favorite chocolate shop in Lausanne so you don't miss that, and he doesn't know a thing about markets!

Oh my there are lots of things to do on the lake, too. Maybe a couple of weeks?
P.S. It's very hilly and makes Pittsburgh look flat

Lausanne, Switzerland

Fernando has a conference (Eusipco 2008) in Lausanne, Switzerland in August so this is a good place to collect information even if I don't go. IsYours.com has a section on Lausanne, which they call Switzerland's San Francisco (it is sounding more and more inviting...). It is located 37 miles from Geneva's airport on the northern shore of Lake Geneva.

• Lausanne Tourism
• Bed and Breakfast Switzerland
  
• Swiss Geo (mapping site)
• Eusipco map of Lausanne with hotels
• Transit map of Lausanne
  

Here are some 3 star hotels:

• Hotel Regina - This had the best reviews in Trip Advisor and Venere
  
• Hotel AlaGare - This is a Minotel with a big Swiss buffet breakfast and traditional Swiss dining rooms.


• Lausanne Guesthouse
  

Camino Day 15 - Saturday 5/12/07 Madrid

Camino Day 16 -Sunday 5/13/07: Madrid

Camino Day 17 - Madrid to Pittsburgh

I have decided to redo the postings so that they appear Chronologically. But do I start With the latest or the earliest? Day 1 or Day 17?

Camino de Santiago in Hindsight

Since i never got around to publishing our account of the trip in a timely fashion, I am in a quandary over exactly how to go about it. I think that tonight I will put in all the dates as headings and then edit them to add the content.

Camino Day 14, Friday 5/11/07: Burgos

This morning we walked back to the bus station to buy tickets to Madrid at 9:30 am on Saturday, because we are always worried that we might not get a seat. Usually such worries are unwarranted. The tickets were 15.40 euros apiece and the trip takes 2 hours and 45 minutes. Much more expensive than the price of buses from town to town.
Then we went to the Pato de ro for Cafe conleche and croissants a la plancha con mantequilla y mermelada. But they weren't as tasty as the ones in Logroño - or maybe food always tastes better the first time you have it.
After breakfast we were off on our tour of the city. We stopped by the Tourist Information Office in the Plaza Alonzo Martinez where Fernando picked up a second map showing the Monasterio de las huelgas on the western outskirts by the Albergue. Unfortunately during one of his pit stops, he misplaced his map so we had to go in the "general direction" to find it. We followed the Camino much of the way, as it is marked with the scallop shell.

Camino Day 13, Thursday 5/10/07: Santo Domingo de la Calzada to Burgos

There were buses to Burgos at 9:15 and 11:45 in the morning. since the early bust to najera just got us to a town that hadn't awakened, we decided to take the 11:45 bus.

We had breakfast in a pasteleria and chocolate store because our exorbitant room price did not include the buffet breakfast. I'm afraid we feel that the paradores are not worth the extra cost. We could have bought our own toiletries at the pharmacy for much less :-).
We wandered around town, I checked my email and sent out a letter to everybody. I also responded to Camila's request that we go to Washington DC on June 6-7-8 to help her move in. She is moving a UPack container to move her stuff.

The booths for the festival still weren't open when we left but I have a feeling that they were mainly clothes and purses and other flea market items that we really wouldn't be interested in anyway. The bus was about 15 minutes late. It was run by Linea Jimenez and I swear it was the same driver that took us from Lograono to Najera and from Najera to Santo Domingo. As we drove along you could see the pilgrims on the camino that paralleled the highway. The camino was nice and flat and wide, like the one from Estella to Los Arcos. It always makes me sad to see them waling while we are in the bus. But I would rather travel without the backpack, using the two services Jacotrans (in La Rioja) and Globetrotters (in Burgos). There were packs in the Hotel Espana in Burgos from pilgrims using Globetrotters.

Around Villafranca de Montes de Oca, the road begins climbing into the mountains. It becomes forested with a deciduous tree that has not leafed out yet and then with conifers. There was a short stretch that was covered with a short shrub with mauve flowers. Oh! if honly we had been walking! The Camino guide says the forests were oak and then pine and it is heather covered moorland. The highest point on the Cmaino was 1,050 meters before reaching San Juan de ortega, which is off the highway and so we didn't see it.

The trip to Burgos on the bus only took about an hour and a half. By foot it would have been 3 days: Santo Domingo to Belorado (23.9 KM), Belorado to San Juan de Ortega (24.1 KM), and San Juan de ortega to Burgos (27.3 KM).


In Burgos, the bus station was not located far from our hotel, the Hotel España, which is across from the Teatro Principal. We got a room on the inside looking into a dirty pigeon-filled interiro "patio" but at least it was cool and quiet.


We first visited the Cathedral of Burgos, which is truly huge and magnificent and very beautiful. Primarily the stone carvings on all the columns and ceilings. Evidently it has been cleaned up recently because it looked fresh and new. VERY impressive and not to be missed.
Here's a statue of Santiago the Pilgrim.
And here's another one of Santiago the Moor Killer.
The stained glass in the ceiling was truly spectacular.

For lunch we went to a restaurant near the Cathedral that served a "gastronomic" menu of chorizo and morcilla (a specialty of Burgos), cordero lechal (supposedly suckling lamb but they cook everything here until it falls apart), sopa a la castellana (another bread soup) and queso de burgos for dessert. We also ordered two ensaladas mixtas. I am afraid we have reached our limit with Spanish food and that heavy meat diet. Fernando, however, keeps eating all the bread.
After such a meal, it is time for a siesta, a habit which we have been following religiously. Then, since Fernando always sleeps more than I do, it is time to wash clothes and shower.
Around 6 pm, life in Spanish cities picks up again and we walked quite a lot, exploring the area around the cathedral and our hotel. We found a vegetarian restaurant called Gaia near the Hotel Meson de Cid (El Cid, by the way, was born and buried in Burgos, enterred in the Cathedral although expelled from the city as a young man, hence his wanderings).
We also passed an ice cream shop called El Candilejo where Fernando had his espresso and I an orujo con hierbas (a liqueur). It was run by a man and wife and had Charlie Chaplin all over the walls. We decided to also order churros and torta de queso. Then we walked farther down the Calle San Juan to the bar and taps area but it looked like more drinking than eating was going on.

Camino Day 12: Wednesday 5/9/07: Logrono to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

This morning we checked out and caught the 8:30 am bus to Najera,a town midway between Logroño and Santo Domingo de la Calzada and the next overnight stop on the Camino if we were walking. It is so sad not to be walking and to watch the other pilgrims from the bus.



Fernando liked Najera very much. The town has a clear wide stream running through it and it is built up against red sandstone cliffs, which contain caves that have been inhabited in former days. We walked around taking photos for a couple of hours, picking up souvenirs and pins for Fernando's hat. Oh, to be walking on the Camino - it was a nice sunny day with no rain and the terrain was flat. We picked up a couple of egg cups for will.

The bus trip to Santo Domingo de la Calzada was another 1/2 hour (another day's walk). From May 10-15th they are having their Dias del Santo,with bullfights and pelota games. They were setting up stalls and booths along the main pedestrian walk beside the main road. many of the vendors appeared to be Bolivian Indians or gypsies -- maybe Arabs.


We walked over to the Central Plaza of the old city to check in at our Parado de Santo Domingo, a former pilgrim hospital on the route. It was very expensive for us: 145 euros a night which is about $190. The room was large, with a small couch and a minibar (which, of course, we never take advantage of). The bathroom was all white/black marble with bathtub and bidet as well as the normal sink and toilet. All the toiletries were provided: shampoo/shower gel, lotion, agua de cologne, shoe sponge, comb, toothbrush and toothpaste, sewing kit.

The view from the window wasn't pretty: over backyards and so maybe one should always ask for a room with a view. The sun is very hot and bright now in Spain and so all houses have wooden or other shutters that completely shut out the light.
It doesn't take too long to wander over the whole casco viejo in these towns and so we were soon ready for lunch. But first we visited the cathedral for 1 euro (special peregrino price) and saw the live hen and rooster in their cage, which is the hallmark of Santo Domingo.

Centuries ago, a couple from France and their handsome son were on their way to Santiago. An innkeeper's daughter made advances toward the son and was rejected. In revenge, she hid silver in his bags and accused him of theft. he was subsequently found guilty and hung. The sad parents proceeded on to Santiago and upon their return, they saw that their son was hanging alive. They went to the mayor of the town to proclaim it as a miracle and have their son released. But the mayor said that their son was no more alive than the hen and cock that he was presently dining upon. At which point both fowls got up and crowed. So the mayor released the son and the family was reunited and went home happily. Thus you see these two fowls all over Santo Domingo.
For lunch we finally found the Restaurant Hidalgo on the second floor of a building. In the stairwell there were already 4 workers in line. The dining room was already full but we were seated within about 10 minutes. The establishment was run by a man and his wife who were rushing around clearing and serving about 15 tables. Most of the diners were laborers. I had the famous ensalada mixta (and then wished I had ordered the tomate con atun when I saw it). Fernando had lentejas. For the segundo I asked if I could have the alubias blancas of the primero instead and the patron said "claro" (so it would actually be easy to eat vegetarian). Fernando had calvos madrilenos or tripe. For dessert we both had the postres de la casera - made in house: flan and arroz con leche. Naturally we finished an entire bottle of wine and gaseosa. I should mention here that we ran across a trio of Spanish pilgrims that we had met in Puente la Reina and then again in Logrono: two middle-aged women and a man. They really enjoyed eating - just like us.
After such a repast one has to have a siesta. Fernando took one for two hours but after the first hour I decided to get up and look around the town some more (I was missing the walking of the Camino). Afterall, we weren't caminando but gaining weight.
I forgot to mention that before lunch we had picked up some typical breads of Santo Domingo. The first, a torta, wasn't bad but smelled like ammonia. The second one was a special "bollos del santo" (turds of the saint) that were supposed to have canela and anis but tasted really of nothing.
After Fernando's siesta, around 8 pm, we went out again and the town was hopping! Everyone was going to mass and the church was full so we had to skip that. The sky here is still dusk until 10 pm so there is a fair amount of time to do things. Although I don't think stores are open long hours (except for supermarkets) since they open at 10 am, close at 2 pm, reopen around 4;30 pm and then close at 8 pm. But I guess that's no worse than stores in the United States that open at 10 am and close at 5 pm.


There are two albergues for pilgrims in Santo Domingo. One had an Internet connection and self-service laundry in a building in front.

Camino Day 11, Tuesday 5/8/07: Logroño

This is our second day in Logroño. I forgot to mention that Fernando's big toenail on the left foot is turning blue and going to fall off so we have stopped the Camino and he has bought a pair of Spanish sandals so that it doesn't rub against the shoe. I never thought I'd see the day he wore sandals.
We had breakfast down the street at El Pato: cafe con leche with croissants grilled with butter and served with mermelada. I said "sounds horridly fattening" but it sure tasted good.

Then we walked around the mercado and the old city some more, stopping at a cultural center where senior citizens had made their own alpargatas, the sandals made from fique fiber, like zapatillas.


In Logrono there is a relief sculpture of Santiago Matamoros or Moor killer and lots of balconies and windows with flower boxes.

We then ventured out to the newer part, stopped at a grocery store and picked up cheese, canned piquillo peppers, fruit and bread for lunch. I felt funny eating lunch in the park. From 12 to 2 we wandered over to the Biblioteca Publica where Fernando read his "Cien Años" and I looked at magazines, trying to glean information about the food and agriculture of the area. At 2 there is nothing really to do but go back to the hotel and take a siesta - which we did until 4, since it actually felt good.


After the siesta we walked down the central walkway lined with European plane trees to the universidad de la Rioja, but there really wasn't anything to see.
Fernando had an espresso and I had a Belgian ale (Gulden Draak - golden dragon) in a wonderful goblet that I wish I could have taken back for Will. Here you can see Fernando's Spanish sandals.

And here you can see that wonderful goblet. This was the only place in Spain where we ran across interesting beers. It must have been the student populations.
We took the bus back to the Casco Viejo where we ran into the German couple from Puente la Reina. They have decided only to walk 10 kilometers a day because she is having problems with her arthritis. But they are retired and have the time to do it.
We stopped by an Italian ice (or helado veneziano) store and Fernando asked for avellano (hazelnut) which was awfully good. Now we are taking a break until the tapas bars open at 8:30 or 9 pm.
We went to Calle San Juan for tapas but they didn't have many bars. We had a very good tortilla espanola with hot pepper sauce at Tortilla Ma Mere and grilled champignones at another place where 3 Muslim young women with head scarves were having tapas with wine. I think they knew the bartender. We decided to go back to Calle Laurel where Fernando had fried calamares and I just had a chorizo in a roll. Then we had patatas bravas but I still think the mayonnaise and tomato sauce are too much. We had eaten so many tapas the night before that this was enough.

Camino Day 10, Monday 5/7/07: Viana to Logroño

The bus trip from Viana to Logroño is very short - about 15 minutes and when we missed the bus at 9 am we were tempted to walk. But I didn't have my boots on and I don't think Fernando would have been good for much else after the walk (about 6 miles). We had a good tortilla espanola for breakfast and it was a good thing because the wait for the next bus at 11:30 was very long, windy and cold. It is hard to believe it was that cold because I am writing this on Tuesday and today is a very sunny, hot day.

Before we went to wait for it, however, we went photoshooting around town again. The architecture is very historic and the balconies serve as backyards: for hanging laundry and airing the dog.


And one can never have enough photos of young artichokes and other spring vegetables like green onions and borage.

In Logroño, the bus left us off at the bus station in and we started walking towards the Casco Viejo (old town) only to discover we were going in the wrong direction and so had to reverse our steps. Logroño is quite big with some broad sycamore planted avenues. They have these very typical wooden and glass balconies that look over the sidewalk.

Fernando always has to stop at the panaderia and we picked up a fardelejo, which wasn't too good, and a teja, which was. We eat way too much bread.
Our hostal, Hostal Niza, is well situated and our room is on the second floor and overlooks the street.
It is expensive (65 euros) but Spain IS expensive, except for the albergues.


The windows are double and the interior one has double panes so it must get cold in the winter.
The hostal is located behind the mercado and between the two tapas streets: Calle Laurel and Calle San Juan. The worst thing about the hostal is that the rugs are thin, stained, and look dirty: I don't think they have vacuum cleaners. (Mother noted this in Burgos on their Triumph rally to Europe in 1958 - that they used brooms but that everything was immaculate.)
We ate a salad and piquillo peppers for lunch because Fernando doesn't want any more menus del dia. Everything shuts down from 2-4:30 for lunch and siesta. So we took a nap ourselves and then went out walking again. Fernando picked up a commemorative edition of Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (he finished it on the flight back to Pittsburgh while I was watching 4 movies).
We decided to do tapas for dinner, which doesn't start until 8:30 or 9 pm, on the Calle Laurel just up the street from our hostal. The first place wasn't very good: berenjena and cheese fried in a batter. The eggplant wasn't cooked enough and it wasn't very tasty.
The next place had grilled champignones which were very good. Then we had pinchos moruños, also good. By now we have had 3 glasses of wine. There was a Spaniard leading a tourist group and so he made a point of telling us also which were the good pinchos. The next one had salchicha and quail egg (good). We also had chorizo and green fried peppers (good). Then the Spaniard pointed out a place with pinchos ibericos - or pork shish kebab with meat from the pata negra pig. It was very good but probably mainly because it was roasted over a wood fire.
Lastly we had pulpo (octopus) a la gallego which I thought was good but Fernando didn't care for. It was after 10 when we got home. When we do this again it won't be after drinking a bottle of cidra! (which we picked up at a grocery store just to test whether it was really as bad as the stuff we had in Barcelona.)