SWITZERLAND AND ON...

We arrived in Zurich on our last overnight train to be met by Maritza, an old friend from Temuco, and her Swiss husband Pascal. We enjoyed visiting the city, seeing the Grossmunster (where Zwingli started the Swiss reformation) and climbing its tower for a view over the city and down the lake. We spent the afternoon on a beach by the lake – very busy as it was the first fine day for several weeks! We also took a water taxi down the Limat River under the low bridges; the service had been suspended the previous week because the water level was too high.
We also both had our first haircuts since Almaty!

From there we took the Swiss train (setting our watches by the departure time!) to Chur to stay a few days with Anne-Marie and Florin, and baby Maya. Their house in the little village of Felsberg (not in the photo!) – overhung by a crumbling mountain – was very welcoming, and the city of Chur (claiming to be the oldest in Switzerland, founded by the Romans in 15BC) was charming. We had four days walking, doing a two day trip over the passes from Davos to Berguen and staying in the Kesch hut. The weather was cloudy but dry; we came down to the pretty village of Berguen in the afternoon and booked into the 18thC coaching inn, with its low ceilings and panelled walls. The only surprise came when the fire alarm went off at 2 a.m.; luckily it turned out to be a false alarm.

Then Florin and A-M came to Berguen on the lovely sunny Sunday, with Maya and Heidi (the dog) and we all walked up from the village together – well, some took a chairlift some of the way! (Florin's photo!)

Our final train ride took us to Amsterdam for two days to see Mehran, also an old friend from Chile, and from there we boarded our first plane since Beijing for the crossing to England.

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Llegamos en Zurich viajando por tren nocturne por ultima vez, para estar con Maritza, una amiga de Temuco, y conocer a su marido Suizo, Pascal. Disfrutamos de la ciudad y de la Grossmunster (la Iglesia Grande, donde Zwingli inicio la reformacion suiza) – donde subimos la torre para tener una panorama de la ciudad y del lago. Pasamos la tarde en una playa del lago – muy recorrido, ya que era el primer dia bonito en varias semanas! Tomamos un botecito por el rio Limat, pasando debajo de los puentes; se suspendio el servicio la semana anterior por el nivel alto del agua. Nos cortamos el pelo por primera vez desde Almaty!

Tomamos el tren (tan puntual que los suizos reglan los relojes por las salidas) a Chur para quedar unos dias con Anne-Marie y Florin, y la pequena Maya. Nos dieron la bienvenida en su casa en el pequeno pueblo de Felsberg – en la sombre de un cerro dedonde caen frecuentes piedras – y la ciudad de Chur (se dice la mas Antigua de Suiza, fundad por los Romanos en 15AC) es encantadora. Caminamos cuatro dias, incluyendo una caminata de dos dias desde Davos a Berguen, alojando en el refugio de Kesch. Habia mucha nube pero no llovio; al final bajamos al hermoso pueblo Berguen en la tarde y alojamos en un hotel del siglo 18, de cielos bajos y paredes forradas de madera. El unico inconveniente era que sono la alarma de incendio a las 2 a.m.; afortunadamente no era de verdad.
Florin y A-M llegaron a Berguen un hermoso dia domingo de sol, con Maya y Heidi (la perrita) y subimosal cerro desde el pueblo – algunos caminando, otras no...

El ultimo viaje en tren nos llevo a Amsterdam para dos dias con Mehran, tambien un amigo de Chile, y cruzamos a Inglaterra en el primer vuelo desde nuestra llegada a Beijing.