Taglierini Pasta With Mushroom Sauce

Coming from snowy Zermat, we stopped by Lago Majorie in Baveno, Italy.  It had been raining for days in Baveno so a nice comfort food was in order.  I had this Taglierini Pasta With Mushroom Sauce.  The Northern Italians know how to plate their dishes well.  It tastes good as it looks.  Coupled with a bottle of Chianti - ah, heavenly.  Bon Appetit.

Blue Hour in Lucerne

We are at the end of our stay in Switzerland.  Image taken during the Blue Hour in Lucerne.  The Lake people do drink the water from the lake.  Lake Lucerne is so clear that you can see the bottom at 10 feet.  They say that Swiss Alpine water is the cleanest in the world.  Maybe I was not used to clean water because I had stomach upset the whole time we were there.  
  
If you decide to shop in Switzerland, Lucerne is the place to go.  Switzerland is very expensive but Lucerne is the least expensive place to buy Swiss watches and knives and souvenirs.  

The Swiss speaks French; Swiss German; Italian and Romansh.  Lucerne is a predominantly German speaking city but has a mix of French and Italian.  For instance, the locals say "merci" (French) when they say thank you but say "wiedersehen" (German) for goodbye and "bon appetite" (Italian) for "enjoy your meal"- all in the same sentence.

Shoemaker at Bern

This industrious shoemaker kept working on the shoe like clockwork - almost the entire day.  I never saw him took a break.  The Swiss are known for being very hard working people, and their work ethic is impeccable, which is the influence of the Swiss Protestant Reformer Swingli, who began the reformation in Switzerland during the 1500s.

Taken at Bern, the de facto capital city of Switzerland.

Swiss Chickens

The Swiss Chickens can be a bit wacky.  That is why their eggs taste weird.  I had a bit of scrambled eggs for breakfast and I started talking Swiss German.  Cluck cluck cluck.  Still nobody understood me.  

Taken in Zermatt, in southern Switzerland’s Valais canton.  The town, at an elevation of around 1,600m, lies below the iconic, pyramid-shaped Matterhorn peak, which hid itself the whole time we were there. It's a mountain resort renowned for skiing, climbing, hiking, and old fashion Fondue.  In fact this was the only place we had Fondue, which was as the waiter claimed good for one person.  The one he served us appeared to be good for four people and some leftovers for a couple more days.  Maybe even a week.

Sante.

House on a Hill

Stans, Nidwalden in Switzerland.  Taken on the train on the way up to Stanserhorn Mountain.  It's early spring but there are still lots of snow on the mountain.  This is how imagined Switzerland would be.  The Swiss alps, the blue sky, the corny but happy music, the endless green rolling hills, the fuzzy sound of the Alpine Horn, the experience of dipping a week old bread on the Fondue.

The people in the villages are very friendly. (Contrast with the people down by the lake. )   But that seems to be across the board in most of our travels in Europe.

Hope your day goes well.