Back!
Sun Jan 29, 2012 4:36:02 pm

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I survived. So did he, I think. I'll post some pictures later, first I'll have to go next door for coffee and gossip. Then I might check if he's really survived.

The short version: Awesome.

Now with pictures and story!

I flew into an airport which is half French and half Swiss, meaning I had to pick an exit/immigration, and of course I picked the wrong one. He found me there in the end, I went to ask at information how we'd get into France to pick up the car, and it was really easy - at arrivals you can't, but you can simply go up to departures and then go down the stairs there again, and you're in France. Ace.

Then we went to find the chalet via buying some supplies. We found a Ferrari shop before a supermarket, and in the supermarket we couldn't buy wine for the fondue but had to go to the pharmacy instead... okay. Done! The road to the chalet was pretty scary (think lots of bends, not much space for cars to pass if traffic should come the other way, and steep drops with no railings), but very pretty, and we arrived just as a LOT of snow started to fall. That's what the chalet looks like in daylight:

From Schweiz 2012

The landlady was very friendly. There were 2 fireplaces, and fire in both, and tons of wood to add to it should we want to (hell yes!) Then we unpacked and tried on the warm comfy slippers that were there. There was even a seat on side of the fireplace to warm up your bottom in case it should be cold! And there was fondue:

From Schweiz 2012

The next morning we got up earlyish and had breakfast. The landlady had put home-made jams and 3 types of cheese in the fridge, and made bread, too. OMGFOODCOMA! And the view from the breakfast table:

From Schweiz 2012

From Schweiz 2012

We fought our way up the hill through the snow with ill-fitting chains (but it all worked out in the end), and went to Bern, the Swiss capital. I was hoping to see the bears, but they were hibernating, lazy bastards. So I just saw the place where the bears live.

From Schweiz 2012

Bern was really really pretty, but awfully quiet. Here's the river, and the little things they have on top of their chimneys.

From Schweiz 2012

From Schweiz 2012

I said that everyone was probably somewhere at a party, and we'd go back only to find out that there was a big party we hadn't been told about. And I was right, only we DID find the party before leaving. The "Winter Barbecue Festival"!! Imagine lots and lots of food, and all arranged in a huge square with seats made of straw, fires everywhere to keep people warm, boxes of free apples for whatever reason, and a guy with a microphone constantly talking about sausages. And the best thing was, it was affordable, unlike pretty much everything else in Bern. So we had a huge mixed grill, only to be then handed a flyer by a man dressed as a pig who it turned out wasn't advocating more sausages, but veganism. Oh how we laughed.

From Schweiz 2012

I did find another bear in the end.

From Schweiz 2012

Then it was back to the chalet, and with the help of the famous Panda Hat, we built two snowmen.

From Schweiz 2012

From Schweiz 2012

There was more wine, and boardgames. We didn't play "Oil for us all", but I found the picture incredibly funny. Apparently it was originally made for BP and got popular, so they released it for the public. It was from the early 60s I think.

From Schweiz 2012

Board games were fun - I taught him all my favourite German ones, and he beat me half the time. That was good. I like it when people figure games out quickly. Also I was told every few hours what the current colour of my hair was (there was some debate about blonde, brown or red, but the final verdict was that it depends on the light). I liked that, too.

So. Yay!