Swiss National Day Celebrations - the night before

Not too many photos, but we had a good time.

  

Jan coming back from the supermarket (forgot the cheese!) through the amazingly GREEN backyard (which I mowed shortly afterwards).

  

This and the next are crowd scenes from the Big Barbie at the Valley swimming pool - beer, sausages (saucisses de veau) and crêpes and gauffres (waffles) as well as amazing fireworks.  Where's Jan?

  

They even had a good sunset :)

20km Walk - Cernier to Dombresson (and back)

This is the first "proper" walk we've done since getting here.  We walked through the forest from our place in Cernier to Dombresson, a village further up the valley (the "Val de Ruz").  Daniel and Nicole will know it's not 21km normally, but we made a few wrong turns and walked down into Dombresson, and, using the old 1 hour = 5km rule, we calculate we did between 20 and 22 kilometres.

Whatever, it was a good walk and we did it without feeling crippled at the end of it, so we're happy.

  

Looking back towards Cernier.

  

Jan boosting her energy with a banana (thanks for the advice re bananas Dom, Patrick and Benjamin!).

  

Intrepid Bega Valley Bushwalkers having a well eaned rest.

  

Jan coming back to the track in Dombresson after she accepted that it wasn't possible to walk back along the road.

Approximately 2 minutes after I said something like "we won't see any wildlife here", this deer and a friend came into a clearing nearby while we were having a breather half way up a long hill.

  

Like my new merino t-shirt?

  

We liked seeing these signs - they meant we were on the right path.

  

Close to home - this building is just down the road from chez nous.

A Bit of a Walk Around Cernier

 Woke up this morning and could see Mt Blanc from the breakfast table.  You'll be able to see it better if you click on the pic to see it full size.

  A nearby house on the walk in to Cernier shops.

  When we first arrived, Daniel and Nicole took us down to this exhibition about water and fibres.  A little weird, but we had to go back for a second look this morning.  Here, spinach and chard are interspersed with flowers.

  Jan in a house of (Swiss) wool - very cool (and artistic naturally) inside.

  For Mark really: cactii in imitation rocks made of ................. wool.

The track from Cernier to the local piscine ("we don't swim in your toilet, don't piscine our pool")

  View back to Cernier from te track, accross fields of corn and wheat.

  The mighty red Peugeot (it goes really well) in front of the house, complete with washing.

At Bea and Tobi's house in Birkenau

  Us with Uschi, Tobi and Bea.

  The kitchen - for Mark mainly :)

  The backyard and some very cool furniture.

Bea und Tobi's Hochzeit

   Bea at her place after the Standesamt ceremony.

  Bea looking great before the trip to the church.

  Rainer mit Heliumgaz!

  Tobi about to leave for church.

  Waiting for the bride.

  Waiting for the bride - still.

 Rainer and Bea.

  Classy carriage and horses - Aja will love this one :)

  The happy couple.

  Kaffee und Kuchen bei Familie Stracke.

  We LOVE Kaffee und Kuchen!

  Uschi zu Hause, welcoming guests after the church ceremony.

  Tobi and Bea - Herr und Frau Schlichtmann - at the Golf Club.

  Gemuetlichkeit im Golfclub.

  Bea mit Rainer

  With Anna and Matthias.  Bea's favourite bit - singing in front of everyone :)

  Not just a pose - Tobi plays really well.

  Bei Familie Schlichtmann - Benjamin, Patrick, Dom and Didi - I have more photos, but they are paying good money for me not to post them ;)

On Neuchâtel Lake

The water in the lake is around 21 degrees C, and is very pleasant to swim in  These are 2 shots from the water's edge

 

 Jan observing the hectic pace of life at Colombiers beach.

Walking in the Jura

Our first bushwalk in Europe was a 10km trail from Les Bernets to Le Saut Du Doubs (and back).  Mainly along the river Doubs, this track was classified as easy (or "simple" in French), and was for most of it, but with a little medium level thrown in just to keep us alert.  We even got to cross the river into France.

 Jan starting off along the river.

  The first photo back to the starting place.  That's Switzerland on the left and France on the right.

  A little higher up the trail (after the "medium" bit).  Again France on the right bank, Switzerland on the left.

  Unlike Oz, you're never far from civilisation over here.  This hotel is on the Swiss side about 10 minutes from the falls.

  Looking upstream from the bridge between Switzerland and France.

  Handsome local on the lookout on the French side.

  Another good looking local on the path along the French side of the river.

  This is what greets hardy walkers in France - reminded us of walks we did in Bali "off the beaten track".

  The view from our lunch spot when we got back to the start.