Last year, we decided to do something a little different for New Year and decided early on in the year that we'd like to go to Switzerland. Our friends Mark & Marlen live in a lovely little town about an hour from Zurich called Lachen. It's a very sweet, sleepy little town situated on lake Zurich. Apart from views of the lake and gorgeous snow-capped mountains, you also get views from Mark & Marlen's apartment of the Lindt factory! One thing that I can always be sure of when we go and stay in Switzerland, is that Lindt chocolate just 'appears' everywhere. I'm not complaining!
We arrived in the evening and were treated to a lovely Thai dinner by Mark & Marlen (cooked by Marlen, I might add!). It was lovely to relax with good company and catch-up with good friends.
The following day had been planned out for us as part of our birthday presents. Dave and I had no idea what to expect, but we woke to beautiful sunshine - it was going to be a good day no matter what. First of all, we set off for a gorgeous little village, I'm not sure where it was, but we had the most lovely breakfast at a cafe there. Although I didn't have it, I just had to take a photo of their hot chocolate... complete with melting chocolate 'lid'! The price put me off though... eek!
After our breakfast, we rolled out of the cafe and down the road back to the car and we were then whisked off to the Laderach chocolate factory. We were given porcelain spoons and set off on a tour of the working chocolate factory - unfortunately all the machinery was asleep for the weekend, but you could still see what the process was. There were massive chocolate fountains spilling out molten chocolate in various states at every stage of the tour - right from the bitter stage (which, despite a huge warning sign saying 'BITTER!', we all tried... and all promptly almost spat out!) through the chocolate flakes and powder compounds right to the milk, dark and white varieties of the final product. It was a short and sweet (see what I did there?) journey through the chocolate making process, but really informative. I couldn't believe what cocoa beans actually look like before they're made into chocolate! After that, we spent about 10 minutes and about £40 buying their wares!
Neither Dave nor I have ever been sledging in our lives, and although a bit nervous, we were ready and willing to see what the fuss was all about. After a few test runs down a mini slope, we were ready to go!
We made our way winding along the side of the mountain, with the sun beating down on us and spectacular scenery and views around us, until we got to the start of the run.
The start of the sledging run looks more than a little scary. Snow compacted down smoothly by countless sledges and nothing to stop you from careering over the edge of the mountain! I was slightly nervous when I first started, using my heels to slow me down, especially when all I could see in front of me was a sheer drop down the side of the mountain, but somehow, the sledge stays on the track and you carry on down the winding sledge track, away from the edge. It was a 3km run... and I laughed like a child all the way down! Granted, some of it might have been nervous laughter, but by about halfway down I'd gotten the hang of it and was whizzing down the track to the meeting points where we'd all re-group and carry on. These pictures were taken halfway down on the first run.
All you future sledgers out there, be warned... one thing that is sure to put a damper on your sledging fun (literally, VERY wet jeans) and a bruise on your bum is hitting a 'donga' at full speed! OUCH! But although it hurts somewhat, you can't help but have a giggle about it. At the end of the run, it was straight back to the cable car for another round. But first... LUNCH! I was awestruck at the amazing scenery you can find on top of a mountain covered in snow. I have never been skiing, but the scene we found outside of the restaurant was reminiscint of what I've seen in films and on TV... skis and sledges all lined up in the snow - people sitting on the balcony all wrapped up in woollen mittens, scarves and hats with bobbles on top, eating, drinking and being merry in the sunshine, despite the freezing cold. Gorgeous!
After a lovely warming lunch, it was back to the sledging run for our last run of the day. Both Dave and I had a little more confidence this time around and we sped down the run like bats out of hell, again, laughing our heads off as the nervousness was flushed away and replaced with a massive sense of being 16 again!
We were sad to leave, but what a fantastic day! We owed big thanks to Mark and Marlen for our birthday treats, it was a pretty spectacular day out. We relaxed at home that evening with a traditional Swiss raclette dinner. Whilst relaxing in the lounge after dinner I came across the most enormous mismatched pair of slippers! (It turns out that they were foot wamers, intended for both of your feet at once, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a funny photo!).
The following day the boys and I went on a road trip to Lucerne. Once again, the sun was shining beautifully and it made the cold far more bearable. Lucerne is lovely, right on the water which has masses of resident swans and ducks and amazing views across the lake to the mountains. Dave used the opportunity to stretch his photography muscles and take some gorgeous shots.
One of the central focus points in Lucerne is the The Chapel Bridge, which we walked down, while looking at the intricate paintings on the roof panels. It's really pretty and almost seems out of place in this bright and fairly modern-looking city, but on the other side of the bridge is a maze of little cobbled streets, which fits perfectly. It's a city of two sides.
After having a drink at a pavement cafe, visiting the Laderach chocolate shop (again!) and not forgetting my bag of roasted chestnuts, we were on our way back to Lachen and to a rosti resaurant for dinner. We'd eaten at this restaurant on our last visit to Switzerland and it is SO good! If you're a rosti fan, this is definitely the place to go. And seeing as I love burgers and rosti, I couldn't have found a more perfect meal on the menu...
Burgers and rosti on one plate! YUM! Absolutely overly-indulgent, but oh-so-good. A lovely evening was rounded off with coconut ice cream served in a coconut! Well.. if you're going to have coconut ice cream, what better to have it served in?
The next day was New Year's Eve and we got up really early to go through to the town of Herisau where they have a New Year's Eve tradition called Silvesterchlausen (New Year's Eve Spirits). Since coming back from this holiday, I have tried on several occasions to describe this to people, but I fail every time. Marlen explained it to me really well on the day and the link above gives quite a good concise explanation, but all I can really do is show you the photos...
You see? Not really something I can describe. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see all 3 groups at once, which was the intention. Everybody was waiting around in eager anticipation for them, but they were taking their time and after waiting around for over 3 hours, we all decided to go in search of some breakfast. After breakfast, we started on the hour-long drive back to Lachen.
Getting bored on the wait for the walking trees...
New Year's Eve was a lovely, quiet affair with Marlen's family and their friends. We had gorgeous homemade hors d'oeuvres, were served a welcome cocktail in sugar-frosted glasses and made homemade pizzas with all the trimmings. It was a really nice, relaxing evening and midnight came sooner than any of us expected. Switzerland's new year was slap-bang in the middle of the time that South Africa and England celebrate, so we sort of celebrated 3 times. I called my family in SA soon after their new year, then 45 minutes later, we brought in the new year and watched the fireworks exploding over Lake Zurich. We then all sat around the TV in absolute awe of the spectacular display that London put on to ring in the New Year. What a lovely welcome to 2013!
The following day was a relaxing one spent having brunch with Marlen's family. What a spread! WOW! We were treated to a spread fit for a king - all home-made, but all looking like something I'd expect to buy from one of those really expensive high street Delis.
Unfortunately, the following day marked the end of our lovely holiday and we had to leave for the airport straight after breakfast. We are always treated to a really relaxing time away when we spend time with these lovely friends and this time was no different. It was a perfect way to chill out after a fairly difficult and stressful 2012 and welcome 2013 full of renewed energy and positivity! The following day I was off to start my new job, so I was pumped and excited to go.
2013... here we come!
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