Day 11 – Wednesday 1 June 2016

We drove from France to Switzerland today, leaving Dijon at 8.15am, passing through Besancon before stopping for morning tea & a comfort break at a fromagarie (cheese making place) high in the Jura Mountains. It was in a lovely spot surrounded by green, rolling fields & cattle grazing, apparently in winter it is covered in snow. At the fromagerie we were treated to a cheese sampling of 3 of the cheese they make on premise & we viewed the cheese curing room, with hundreds of rolls of cheese maturing on racks.

After more glorious scenery we reached the Swiss border at a small town & passed through without any checks. The view of Lake Geneva is superb, it is such a stunning scene with the tall cloud-covered French Alps brooding behind the lake. We drove through the outskirts of Lausanne before dropping down to lake level & driving along to Montreux, where we stopped for a walk & lunch alongside the crystal clear Lake Geneva. If it wasn’t for the tourists it would be very tranquil & quiet indeed. Close to Montreaux is Chateau de Chillon, commonly known as Chillon Castle, an imposing building dating from the 13^th century. Chillon Castle is built on a large piece of rock that is separated from the land & has very deep water on the lake side of it. Our guide, Sam, was very thorough & clear to understand as he took us through Chillon Castle & explained the various rooms, paintings on the walls, the dungeon & took us through the history of the battles & because of that the different ownership of the castle. The old toilet is a true long drop, about 50 metres straight down into the lake.

The drive through the mountains was magical. The tall mountains covered by snow, reaching into the clouds, waterfalls cascading down & little villages nestled in the green valley. We arrived in Grindewald a small skiing village – beautiful & full of Swiss chalets, as you would expect. Romantik Hotel Sweizerhof, our Hotel is over 100 years old, picture perfect with the snow-capped mountains behind it. On entering we were greeted by a lady playing on the grand piano in a beautiful reception area, our room is lovely, with fruit & chocolates included. We went for a walk into town, very nice. Ron & I decided to end the day by a romantic dinner at the beautiful restaurant at our hotel. The food, service & the company was excellent, truly 5 star.