15/8/13 Montreaux & Vevey Switzerland

Nick found roast chicken...over 6 weeks without a hot chook...man we enjoyed it.

And here's the proof...or lack of it. Chook & salad...what a treat!

An extraordinary fortified medieval castle in the most beautiful setting imaginable, on lake Geneva surrounded by mountains.

The prestigious Chillon Castle is one of Switzerland's strongest symbols & the most visited historic monument in the country.

Built in the 12th century on a rocky island, it offered both natural protection & a strategic position, from which traffic between the north & south of Europe could be controlled.

-entry to the underground crypt.

The powerful Dukes of Savoy lived there from the 13th century to the 16th century, a glorious period for Chillon, which saw the construction of its many towers & splendid great halls.

- the gothic vaulted ceiling of the dungeon.

This legendary place, with its twofold purpose - fortress @ princely residence- has inspired some of the greatest names in literature, such as Lord Byron, Victor Hugo & Henry James.

- at least you had good views.

Lord Byron was kept in the dungeon for 6 years.

4 of them chained to this post.

The well in in the entry keep.

This is the dining room.

Ornate doors & beautiful fabric wallpaper.

They could spit roast a whole beast in the fireplace.

A bedroom with a bed that is 170cm long & in the back right hand wall is a secret passage & on the left hand side is the stone stove heater.

 The secret passage.

 The stove heater was stoked from underneath & the heat rose up through the stones. You could sit on it to get really warm.

The Lords bedroom...very ornate.

The roof lines set against the mountains.

The view of Montreaux from one of the towers.

The Lord & his immediate family worshipped in this, their private chapel.

The interior courtyard, with the keep on the left.

This courtyard was triangular with all points pointing to the Lords bedchamber.

One of the great halls for entertaining guests.

The stone seats that are at all of the windows.

 Another bedroom.

 We don't know what it is, but it was old & ornate.

This weird photo is looking through the latrine hole at the view you crap on. The rocks are all white...hmmm?

All of the underground storage & vaulted areas have been hand carved out the rock.

A view from the castle to the mainland.

A selfie from the keep tower.

The courtyard between the keep & the Lords courtyard. 

A part of the timber gantry that surrounds the upper levels of the castles outer walls & all of them have internal connecting walkways.

Look a princess & a fairy!

Vevey & one of the water channels that control the mountain run-off.

There are walkways & parks all along the foreshore...very green & very pretty.

Can you believe that the water temperature is surprising moderate & there were heaps of swimmers enjoying the high season.

No wonder...the views are amazing.

See...proof that there are people swimming @ not freezing to death.

One of the many vessels on the lake. Lake Geneva is 45miles long by 8 miles wide & up to 1,000 feet deep & is the remnant of glacial activity millions of years ago.

Seahorse statues with water nymphs guarding the children's swimming area.

Just a pretty view...notice all the ducks sleeping on the rubber ducky in the foreground.

 There are hundreds of swans on the lake.

With views like that...who could blame them.

Having some local refreshment while enjoying the view

Magnificent German sausage & salad for dinner at the campsite looking over Lake Geneva to the Swiss Alps...we miss home, but we are making the most of our European adventure.

14/8/13 Stuttgard Germany to somewhere in Switzerland

So we ended up in Stuttgard for the night & checked out what you can do. Mercedes Benz Museum jumped out at Nick! Below is our breakfast of champions...coffee, a nutty scrolly thing for Andrew & 2 pretzels for Nick & me.

I'm sure the lady at the campsite gave us the right directions...it's just that we are not so good at German. Somehow we got to the Museum, but we had to climb this 3 metre fence. Again the boys didn't think I could do it, but I was the best tree climber as a kid...shoes off, monkey grip toes working & big bum up & over the fence. We did get some strange looks from the taxi drivers sitting outside the fence.

The sign says it all & it is a beautifully designed building too.

Now I'm not a mechanic, or really very good with cars at best...but this was a brilliant museum. You pay $6 each & can spend as little or as long as you want wandering around.

It's the design that sets it apart. Your ticket then gets you an audio tour headset in your language of choice. Then they direct you to a lift which takes you to the top of the building.

It has a large open oval plan & then winds down like a large spiral ramp, so you know which way to go & it's so easy...it's all downhill. The audio is comprehensive...you just point the set at the item & you get the information. They start with the inventors, Benz & Daimler...how they were on the same path, but separately. Patents & the struggles of getting the projects off the ground.

1889 Paris & the World Trade Show where both men displayed their vehicles. Sorry about the quality, but this is an original photo.

I had to put this photo in...the boys & me spent a week in Paris travelling on the Metro trains & here is a phot showing that they haven't really changed since 1900.

All the vehicles are original & in beautiful condition. A lot of thought & planning has gone into all the displays & you don't even have to like cars to appreciate this Museum.

The first production lines where all the workers had a skill...metal workers, tools, forgers, carpenters, painters, leather workers, all under the same roof working on the assembly line.

Benz was the creator, but it was when he created a car to race that he used his daughters name for the vehicle...Mercedes.

This is only a sample of the displays you can see...just incredible.

The first super-charged cars & they so look the part.

Are you getting the idea of how impressive everything is?

One of the gull-wing cars that became so popular with the jet-set.

It looks very Bond.

I'm running out of things to say.

Check out how small the doors are.

A classic.

See the boys at the bottom right...all these cars & trucks are real.

& more.

Oops..a selfie...Santa, can I have this for Christmas?

On one of the levels you can drive the remote vehicles, while on another level you can try out the simulator to feel what it's like in today's racing vehicles...wow! This Museum was very worthwhile & that's coming from a girl who gets in a car, turns it on & expects it to do everything...including clean itself.

After a good 3 hours in the Museum, we headed to our next destination...can u guess?

A 5 hour drive & we are in The Swiss Alps.