Author: admin

So this a 7 second video that Dave took – in slo-mo mode – and he caught a lovely rainbow 🌈 halo (not sure of the technical term) which is almost ethereal… (hey – get me 😂😂😂 !!!) 💋💗 xxx

So here are 2 short clips – one in “normal” mode showing the viewing platform and the view just before we went to stand under the Waterfall – and the other in “slo-mo” mode showing the water dropping down… 💋💗 xxx

Friday dawned another beautiful day so we all hopped in The Van and Dave braved the switch-backs and drove us to Axalp (“a high alpine pasture on the northern slope of Axalphorn overlooking Lake Brienz”) to visit Giessbach Wasserfall 🇩🇪 !!!
I had sensibly worn my pretty pink trainers but believe me – with regards to traction – they weren’t enough !!!
Quite quickly we did an easy-ish climb to the main visitor bit where there is a platform built into the rock so you can stand under the waterfall and even cup your hands to take a drink, but…
My accompanying acquaintances (!!!) kept saying “Let’s go a bit higher”, I wasn’t happy and (just about) got UP to the top but there was NO WAY I could get down…
The photos below really do not convey my actual terror and those where I am smiling are when we are back down on terra firma the rest Dave snapped as I (silently) descended clutching onto Paul – who is a fireman, was wearing proper walking boots and was my absolute hero !!!
Terror aside, the waterfall was truly magnificent and we had a well-deserved beer & wine at the bottom in the beautiful Grandhotel Giessbach where we also stood in the frame for the obligatory tourist photo.
Videos to follow … 💋💗 xxx

• Location: 46° 43′ 59.11″ N 8° 1′ 26.41″ E

So we got off the funicular and cycled back to camp then Paul & Sue hopped in The Van and Dave stoically got it up to this restaurant they recommended and we had the BEST apricot cake, cream washed down with a cup of tea with yet more spectacular 👏 😎views (and that’s us looking down on our campsite)💋💗 xxx

• Location: 46° 41′ 16.98″ N 7° 49′ 6.72″ E

So Thursday we cycled into Interlaken then caught the funicular (train that goes up a mountain) up to Harder Kulm and the views were awesome 👏 😎 !!!
Interlaken, as its name suggests, means “between lakes” so up there you get a tremendous view of both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz and the waterways that connect them – topped off with a cracking view of the Eiger !!!
So you can see below a couple of photos of the track, My Dave in the train (!) and a couple of us on the viewing platform with Lake Brienz behind us, me with Lake Thun behind me, us having a well-deserved then we had an ice cream 🍦and The Eiger 🏔 – truly magnificent 😎💗💋 xxx

• Location: 46° 41′ 50.27″ N 7° 51′ 6.03″ E

So after the storm ⛈ we got together in The Van with Dave’s brother, Paul and his new wife, Sue and had a lovely joint tea, a few drinks and played a game (Dave wanted to stick pins in his eyes as usual 😂😂😂).
The next day we knew was going to be rubbish weather (although still warm) so we mixed with the public and caught a bus 🚌 (here we are at the bus stop and look at the low cloud behind us) and met our in-laws at a flea-market – an old hotel with 7 floors – from clothes to a sauna and everything in between you could think of ! Dave bought himself a brand new music 🎵 stand for 10 CH (Swiss Francs) which is £8.40 – so he was happy 😊
Then we went into Interlaken and looked at the (very expensive) shops and every second shop was a watch shop (e.g. Tissot)…
Then we had a FAB curry, a few drinks, a chat and bed 🛌 xxx 💗😊

• Location: 46° 41′ 4.19″ N 7° 49′ 48.55″ E

So we got to the campsite that Dave has visited many times before on motorcycle holidays and that Dave’s brother, Paul spends at least a month on – every year…
It was hot and we sat under the shade of a tree drinking tea out of china cups (Sue likes all of her home comforts around her…) and had a catch-up…
Then we bibbed off back to The Van and had a fruit 🍉 🍇 salad and went over to check in properly with Heidi, the owner. She had just about finished talking us through the free public transport, bus timetables, what discounts we could get with her free camping card, etc. when the MOTHER of all storms ⛈ broke – and it was so QUICK !!!
Dave ran off saying the canopy was out and literally started shouting for help and as the heavens opened and (more seriously) the wind whipped up (just like The Wizard of Oz !!!) I found him hanging onto the canopy for dear life shouting for me to wind it in !!!
We managed to get it sorted with no damage (just) but unfortunately not so for some of the other tents and awnings on site…
Here’s a piccie of us when we came back in and stripped off 😂😂😂 xxx 💗💋

• Location: 46° 41′ 4.44″ N 7° 49′ 48.68″ E

So we had a lovely BBQ, a couple of drinks and were tucked up 🛌 just after 10:30pm then woke to a thunder storm ⛈ this morning…
Luckily Dave had put the table, chairs & bikes away in the garage last night 😅
We showered in The Van and headed for Interlaken to meet Paul and Sue – Dave’s brother and his wife. But on the way – oh my goodness – the scenery !!!
The rain ☔️ made way for brilliant sunshine ☀️ again and we climbed in The Van… The vastness of the mountains and low cloud ☁️ in places was awesome and it was all picture-book – little wooden Swiss chalets dotted up the rolling green hills…
Then suddenly we turned a corner and the turquoise blue of the lake was like a photo on a postcard – I’ve never seen water so blue and Dave just said, “They’re mountain lakes”…
We saw waterfalls originating from the melting snow of the white-capped mountains…
Stunning 😎 👏 💋💗 xxx

• Location: 46° 48′ 24.98″ N 8° 10′ 11.21″ E

So we trundled away from Titisee on Monday morning, stopping at a Lidl’s on the way for provisions. About half an hour later, having remembered that we had forgotten to buy cordial and also crossed the border into Switzerland 🇨🇭, we stopped at another Lidl’s and the price 💰 increase was phenomenal !!! The identical products were double the price !!! Should have stocked up on more Sauvignon Blanc 🍸 !!!
Anyway we drove into Lucerne (major city like London but overlooking a beautiful lake) and the speed limits are really low and unfortunately Dave got flashed so that’s another bill to look forward to when we get back 😐
Got onto the TCS campsite just outside Lucerne and it was SO hot 🥵 – 35 degrees – the sweat 😓 was literally dripping off us.
We waited until it cooled a little then went off to the private beach 🏖 for a swim !!! It initially felt chilly but once immersed it was fine and I’ve never swim with swans 🦢 and ducks 🦆 before !!!
If you look at the last piccie, you’ll see a little pier which I jumped off the end of – hence the bad hairdo 💁‍♀️ 😂😂😂
And those are The Alps 🏔 you can see behind 💗💋 xxx

• Location: 47° 0′ 33.91″ N 8° 18′ 33.75″ E

Ok one blog entry from me.
The electric bikes have 1,2,3,4 and F modes.
I worked out what F was. Flip.
That’s what the bike did going up a steep hill!