Fasnacht escape '08
As we've all come to expect by now, we packed up the car and the dogs and hit the road to get out of Basel before Fasnacht. We left Saturday morning headed for the Valais to stay with friends in the town of Martigny, just past the southeast tip of Lac Leman (or Lake Geneva in English vernacular).
As you drive through Switzerland, you always notice how much land they use for farming despite the very moutainous terrain of the country. There are nearly vertical plots sometimes, and big Swiss brown cows clinging sideways to the slopes. The Valais is a wine region of Switzerland, so you see terraced vineyards all the way up on mountainsides.
The step-looking things up on that hillside are vineyards. Amazing. There is also an old chateau up on the mountain in the town of Martigny. I can't remember what it's called, but this is a picture of it at night.
This view of the chateau is from just outside our friends' apartment, which also had great mountain views. The other thing the apartment had was a great backyard, which the dogs totally loved running around in.
Deedee pays a lot of attention to Scott when he's handing out treats...
Yeah, Gibby does too.
Of course, the biggest highlight of our holiday for Scott was skiing, this time at Verbier. What a beautiful town, just a 20-minute drive from Martigny. Scott is used to driving nearly two hours from Basel to go skiing in the Berner Oberland area, so this was especially cool.
Whilst the boys skiied, we walked around the town and I snapped some great photos...
As you can see, it was an absolutely beautiful sunny day. So we ate at one of the many outdoor terraces, and lingered there for several hours. So enjoyable.
People were waiting for tables from time to time, but we didn't get the shove from the restaurant. For the price of a single Coke Light, you can pretty much buy yourself this kind of view and real estate all day long. No such thing as the bum's rush here. While we lounged about, the dogs did too, because the sun was warm and the livin' was easy. Gibby especially loves the sun and snoozed happily on the bench by our table.
I believe these dogs are actually getting used to dodging clompy ski boots, poles and other hazards, and are even sanguine about gondola rides that go straight up. Good doggies!!
We walked around Verbier quite a bit as well. Due to the amazing weather, the paragliders were out in force. I couldn't even count how many we saw, but I snapped this photo where there are at least eight or nine.
They're tiny, but you can see them if you look close. Also, in the bottom part of the photo, you can see the Verbier sign (on the gondola landing), which indicates we're at 1,531 meters. It was the perfect day out.
After our lovely days in the Valais, we headed to Geneva, to visit another friend who lives there. We got there while she was still at work, so we proceeded to walk around town and enjoy the views of Geneva. Did you know that the Rhone River originates/flows out of Lac Leman/Lake Geneva? Interesting.
One of the must-visits in Geneva is this place:
It's very hard to see, but right above that "Open" sign is this: "American Market." Oh yeah, baby. We got brown sugar, root beer, instant pudding, cake mix, Twizzlers, Hellman's mayo, and other miscellaneous stuff that is a luxury to get here. One cake mix (yellow, Duncan Hines, my fave) costs CHF 9.20, so it's not cheap. Hence the "luxury."
Geneva is a lovely city situated on the lake. Here it is in twilight...
That church you can see above the buildings was where John Calvin preached his Reformation movement, and there's a monument to him and other Reformation figures near the church.
And here's Geneva at night...
I love the lighted signs and the way they reflect in the water. Lovely. It was great to walk all around and enjoy the city. It was also quite tiring...
So we took a break at Starbucks, where the dogs quickly decided a nap was in order.
We had a great time on our little holiday, and as usual, we returned Wednesday morning, the last day of Fasnacht, by 1.00 pm, which is vital so that we're not blocked from accessing our road.
And, as usual, we went on our balcony and had Fasnacht to the left of us...
Fasnacht to the right...
And Fasnacht directly below us...
And here's a typical costumed, masked band leader.
I hate those damn masks, they scare me. Honestly, I can't stand 'em. But we met some American guy who comes to Basel every year for Fasnacht, so my opinion is not representative, certainly. Fasnacht is also famous for confetti, which is thrown in tons over the three days. The revelers like to throw it directly on people that are walking about. I got confetti'ed in the face and it all went straight down my top. So I was at dinner with friends trying to discreetly remove handfuls of confetti from my bra. That stuff itches.
The poor dogs really hate Fasnacht, as it's quite loud with beating drums and a few fireworks. They cower and shake and cringe their way through it.
Here's Gibby, panting wildly and hiding under a very small side table.
And here's Deedee panting wildly and cringing in a chair in the corner. It's impossible to take a picture of her where she doesn't have those alien glowing eyes. Oh well, it makes me laugh, so I don't photoshop 'em out.
We had a great time. Sometimes a short holiday, involving no airports, is really somehow better than a longer one, even if it's less exotic.
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
As you drive through Switzerland, you always notice how much land they use for farming despite the very moutainous terrain of the country. There are nearly vertical plots sometimes, and big Swiss brown cows clinging sideways to the slopes. The Valais is a wine region of Switzerland, so you see terraced vineyards all the way up on mountainsides.
The step-looking things up on that hillside are vineyards. Amazing. There is also an old chateau up on the mountain in the town of Martigny. I can't remember what it's called, but this is a picture of it at night.
This view of the chateau is from just outside our friends' apartment, which also had great mountain views. The other thing the apartment had was a great backyard, which the dogs totally loved running around in.
Deedee pays a lot of attention to Scott when he's handing out treats...
Yeah, Gibby does too.
Of course, the biggest highlight of our holiday for Scott was skiing, this time at Verbier. What a beautiful town, just a 20-minute drive from Martigny. Scott is used to driving nearly two hours from Basel to go skiing in the Berner Oberland area, so this was especially cool.
Whilst the boys skiied, we walked around the town and I snapped some great photos...
As you can see, it was an absolutely beautiful sunny day. So we ate at one of the many outdoor terraces, and lingered there for several hours. So enjoyable.
People were waiting for tables from time to time, but we didn't get the shove from the restaurant. For the price of a single Coke Light, you can pretty much buy yourself this kind of view and real estate all day long. No such thing as the bum's rush here. While we lounged about, the dogs did too, because the sun was warm and the livin' was easy. Gibby especially loves the sun and snoozed happily on the bench by our table.
I believe these dogs are actually getting used to dodging clompy ski boots, poles and other hazards, and are even sanguine about gondola rides that go straight up. Good doggies!!
We walked around Verbier quite a bit as well. Due to the amazing weather, the paragliders were out in force. I couldn't even count how many we saw, but I snapped this photo where there are at least eight or nine.
They're tiny, but you can see them if you look close. Also, in the bottom part of the photo, you can see the Verbier sign (on the gondola landing), which indicates we're at 1,531 meters. It was the perfect day out.
After our lovely days in the Valais, we headed to Geneva, to visit another friend who lives there. We got there while she was still at work, so we proceeded to walk around town and enjoy the views of Geneva. Did you know that the Rhone River originates/flows out of Lac Leman/Lake Geneva? Interesting.
One of the must-visits in Geneva is this place:
It's very hard to see, but right above that "Open" sign is this: "American Market." Oh yeah, baby. We got brown sugar, root beer, instant pudding, cake mix, Twizzlers, Hellman's mayo, and other miscellaneous stuff that is a luxury to get here. One cake mix (yellow, Duncan Hines, my fave) costs CHF 9.20, so it's not cheap. Hence the "luxury."
Geneva is a lovely city situated on the lake. Here it is in twilight...
That church you can see above the buildings was where John Calvin preached his Reformation movement, and there's a monument to him and other Reformation figures near the church.
And here's Geneva at night...
I love the lighted signs and the way they reflect in the water. Lovely. It was great to walk all around and enjoy the city. It was also quite tiring...
So we took a break at Starbucks, where the dogs quickly decided a nap was in order.
We had a great time on our little holiday, and as usual, we returned Wednesday morning, the last day of Fasnacht, by 1.00 pm, which is vital so that we're not blocked from accessing our road.
And, as usual, we went on our balcony and had Fasnacht to the left of us...
Fasnacht to the right...
And Fasnacht directly below us...
And here's a typical costumed, masked band leader.
I hate those damn masks, they scare me. Honestly, I can't stand 'em. But we met some American guy who comes to Basel every year for Fasnacht, so my opinion is not representative, certainly. Fasnacht is also famous for confetti, which is thrown in tons over the three days. The revelers like to throw it directly on people that are walking about. I got confetti'ed in the face and it all went straight down my top. So I was at dinner with friends trying to discreetly remove handfuls of confetti from my bra. That stuff itches.
The poor dogs really hate Fasnacht, as it's quite loud with beating drums and a few fireworks. They cower and shake and cringe their way through it.
Here's Gibby, panting wildly and hiding under a very small side table.
And here's Deedee panting wildly and cringing in a chair in the corner. It's impossible to take a picture of her where she doesn't have those alien glowing eyes. Oh well, it makes me laugh, so I don't photoshop 'em out.
We had a great time. Sometimes a short holiday, involving no airports, is really somehow better than a longer one, even if it's less exotic.
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
posted by Swizzies at 22:10
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