Switzerland: Lausanne, Part 2

Picking up from where I left off in Part 1, after our visit to Ouchy and a quick drive around Lausanne (seeing the cows), we went to the old city of Lausanne to visit its cathedral and walk around.

At the cathedral we finally had a good look at the Alps. After visiting the cathedral we visited a bookstore and had a delicious pastry and coffee. For lunch every day we made sandwiches from a baguette, (real) Swiss cheese and some deli meat to take with us. Eating out in Switzerland is VERY expensive. By making our lunch we were able to cut costs, plus the cheese was delicious.

I love Lausanne. It is such a beautiful place.

Switzerland: Lausanne, Part 1

Early in November, a little ahead schedule, Osvaldo finished his book. We wanted to visit a couple places in Europe while we were there, and we thought him finishing his book was a good reason to celebrate.

The weather was turning colder and the days getting shorter so we were looking forward to some time away. We were fortunate to find plane tickets on RyanAir to Basel, Switzerland for 8 GBP, which is about $15, each way. We couldn’t pass up such cheap tickets so we made plans to visit Switzerland for about five days.

Even though we flew into Basel, we wanted to visit the French side of Switzerland, staying in Lausanne. Osvaldo lived in Lausanne for a few months doing post-graduate studies after finishing his PhD dissertation, so he wanted to take us there to see it.

After we flew into Basel we rented a car and drove to Lausanne. It was a lot of fun driving from the German side to the French side, watching the signs change from German to French. Also, this allowed us to see more of the country. We rented a flat in Lausanne we found on Airbnb.com, and it was great. The apartment was clean, modern, and open. It had a flatscreen TV,  in-floor heating and a washer and dryer! We felt like we were living in the States again.

Here are some pictures from our first day in Switzerland and half of our second day. The morning of the second day (or first full day) was spent down by Lake Geneva at the port of Ouchy. On clear days I am told you can see Evian France (home of Evian water), which sits across the lake from Ouchy.

Despite the cloudiness and rain, early November was a great time to be in Switzerland. It was chilly but not freezing, Christmas lights and decorations were beginning to come up, there weren’t very many tourists, and there was still a lot of color in the trees and plants. Winter had not yet fully come.

Although the Alps stayed hidden that first morning in Lausanne (see if you can spot them in some of the lake and cow pictures), they were breathtakingly beautiful and one of my favorite sights. Also, the Swiss cows with their big cow bells around their necks was another favorite sight and sound!

Stay tuned for more pictures!