Monday 12 March 2007

Switzerland...

Hi folks... Last week a friend and I spent a week in Grindelwald, Switzerland and a fab time was had:

We flew out on a De Havilland Dash 8 Q400 - A lovely turboprop plane

We drank much beer, so I looked like this for most of the week :0)

Grindelwald is a lovely Swiss alpine picture-postcard town, nestled in the Alps

One of the many lovely buildings in the town, set against the mountains

We stayed in the Sunstar Hotel and it was 1st class - they served 4 or 5 course meals every night and it gave me the chance to try many new yummy things, including:

Raw Swordfish
Plum Sorbet
Mussel Soup
Caviar
Ox Tail (not the soup)
Guinea Foul


The view from the hotel room's balcony - overlooking the Eiger

The 'in-house' entertainment was possibly cheesier than the Microsoft 'Wordart' font used on his poster! :)


I spotted this slight translation error on the room's phone, which presumably should have read 'Wake-Up'?
Perhaps they offered an alternative alarm call and come and hit you to wake you or maybe it meant something more dubious with the maid if both buttons are pressed simultaneously? LOL

The snow conditions weren't perfect, but we got a good few days in...

Andy, about hit a double-diamond black... NOT :]

Getting up the mountain was very pleasant, as a modern rack and pinion train took you to the top!

On the none-skiing days, we decided to go down the 6-MILE (9.7km) sledge run! (... Oh, sorry, I meant 'sledding')

A traditional Swiss Saint Bernard dogga.
There was no Brandy in the keg though :[


A snowy log stack I spotted on one of the slopes


Only 4 people have completed climbing the north face of the Eiger!
I've marked my contribution :]


Icicles hanging off a mountain cafe, 5000ft up


Having seen 'Curling' played on TV for years, I thought I'd give it a go and boy is it hard!

For ages I've wanted a hat with ears and after going to EVERY shop in town, the last shop I came across had what I was looking for!
How cool eh?
I got approached three times by Americans asking were they could buy one and I got stopped by a Chinese lady so she could take my picture :)

On a clear day, we decided to embark upon a trip to the highest point in Europe, Jungfraujoch. (Well, the highest point you're average joe public can get to)

The views were stunning looking down on the clouds!

I suffered from altitude sickness as the air was VERY thin up there and I was seriously light-headed for the hour stay. Tip: Don't hold you're breath when taking a photo to avoid camera shake, it makes the room spin :)


There's an exit out onto the glacier and I was genuinely scared. The winds were gale force and the platform shook a lot and was like a balcony with a several thousand-foot drop below!

The top of the Eiger [North Face]

While up there, you could also walk inside the glacier! How cool is that? Literally :]

I wondered how cold it was and the 2nd most sensitive bit of instrumentation I had with me was my arse... So a bare-butt test it was and I can confirm it was flipping cold!
Luckily I didn't stick or get caught by the attendant :0)

'Flybe' messed up the flight home, so they hired a BAE-146 200, which flew over empty, just to fly us home! Well done...
It's my fave plane ever and it was only a 3rd full, so I got to lie across three empty seats and have a nap on the way home.


Today, I'm Most Angry About: Having ZERO enthusiasm and generally feeling a bit rotten!
Grrr-O-Meter Rating: 8/10

Today's Top Tip:
Avoid jet lag by simply taking an earlier flight, thus arriving fully refreshed and on time.

16 comments:

kat said...

Wecken is a good word - almost better than wack-up.

Not sure I would fancy a hat with ears but yours does suit you I suppose. :-)

Great pics! Nice arse. :-)

Anonymous said...

Great trip, great hat, have you met Omally? I'm sure he'd love your arse in his gallery :)

Phil said...

Kat:
Hehe, wecken in good in its own right yeah :)
*gasp* what more could you want than a hat with ears... A hat... with ears!!!
Cheers Kat :0)

Stu:
Glad you like the hat, a guessed you would :]
I've been reading Omally's blog recently - I'll have to enquire about this 'gallery'!

b o o said...

u looked like a teddy bear in that hat :-X

mooned the cave u did u did

Max said...

Yes, definityly one for Omallys gallery
http://www.omally.co.uk/gallery.php

Fantastic pictures!

Your video from last entry has been removed from Utube due to copy right issues.

Dakota said...

OMG, that hat is sooooo cool!! I want one :)

And you just had to sneak a bare arse picture in there now did you? Cute!

Great pictures, lovely place and fantastic hotel…..accept the cheesy piano guy that’s a bit of a downer ;) Good to see you had so much fun!

Me Myself and I said...

Wow Dogga, what an amazing trip!

I love the St.Bernard dogga!

and...

-the views
-the arse picture ;)
-the wack-up call! hahahaha

Looks like a lot of fun. I hope you're feeling relaxed and refreshed :)

~Celeste~

Kayla said...

What a great hotel! Nice website they have..love all the pics.
Ha..the "entertainment" does look cheesy!

Beautiful shot of the icicles!
Love your new hat. Wonder if the chinese lady that took your photo is telling sordid stories about the 2 of you? hehe...just to spice up her vacation memories and impress her friends, you know..

And of course a true DoGGa vacation is not complete without a nice photo of your arse!!
Glad you didn't get stuck..however it would have been a good opportunity to use your farting prowess to melt the ice and free yourself! haha..(thinking about the purple and brown video you posted)

BEAUTIFUL photos!

Phil said...

Boo:
Hehe, a teddy bear :x
...and may that cave stay mooned!!!

Max:
Ah, I'll go check it out!
Link below the vid works OK dude...
Thanks Max :]

Dakota:
Yay, a hat with ears fan!!! :)))
C'mon, a post like that wouldn't complete with a pic of my rear now would it? LOL
It's very picturesque - glad you liked the pics :]

Celeste:
Twas an amazing trip indeed and that St. Bernard was such gentle giant and loved a good fuss :]
Glad your liking the pics...
Cheers Celeste!

Kayla:
Glad you liked the photos and woot, another ear hat liker :]
Whatever that Chinese lady did with the photo I dunno, keep an eye out on Flickr :0)
...and precisely, what holiday post would be complete without a shot of my behind eh; and yeah, a purple and brown moment it could of been LOL :]
Cheers Kayla

mellowlee said...

wow! those photos are fabulous! The hat/butt photo made me laugh so hard I almost cried!! :O)

Andre Veloux said...

Fantastic set of pics there Dogga. Did you get the maid wack-up? Love the hat, is it an Eisbör? I have an earlier version, sadly without ears.

Phil said...

Mellow:
Hiyup... Hehe, glad you liked to fotos :]]]

Andre:
Cheers Andre! :]
No, no maid wack-up combo I'm affraid, but I did go for a massage!
Hehe, yes, the hat is an Eisbor - well spotted... Everyone had that brand on over there, but not like my new one :0)
You need to upgrade to the ear version!!! They do horns too.

Anonymous said...

The Berner Oberland is one of the BEST places in the entire world, esp the fantastic little trains. Very envious.
BTW I hope the swordfish was locally caught and the mussels locally harvested. And was the Guinea truly foul?
And definitely one for the King of Sweden's arse gallery

Phil said...

Hutters:
Ayee, it's a really lovely place indeed.
I'm sure all the food was top notch, as was the restaurant and 'boom boom' no the Guinea was not foul :]
My arse is at the top of Omally's mooning page now :0)

Kayla said...

Ha!!
Nice job making Omally's page
:-)
I had to check it out..that gallery is hilarious

Phil said...

Kayla:
I know. How cool is that eh! :]