If you have not read part one, read that first.
The picture on the left shows
you the small balcony we have off of the bottom floor room. On the left is part of our view from the balcony. You see some of the buildings of Celerina and parts of the Alps. The next picture shows on the peaks of the Alps that finally appeared from behind the clouds late in the afternoon on Tuesday.
(Creepy, isn't it...you could be reading this Tuesday morning...it would be like it has not happened yet.) This view was completely blocked when we arrived, and it was not until later that we discovered our luck. These views were repeated many times over on the trade ride here.
After quickly settling in to our room, we freshened up and went to grab a bite to eat at one of the hotel's restaurants. We were the only ones there, and we grabbed ourselves a window-side table that looked over a rapidly flowing river with the Alps as a backdrop. This picture is not the exact view, but it is a picture of the river we snapped while taking a short walk to a grocery store.
Luckily the menu was partly in English, but prices seemed to be in pesos. Everything was incredibly expensive. And, the porter told us this was the not-so-fancy restaurant. We actually all settled on the most moderately priced item - a baguette with salami or ham. Each one cost 8,90 Swiss francs. Currently, the franc is nearly equal to the American dollar. We were surprised, but we had been given a heads up by my dad who saw that Big Macs were selling for 11,00 at the McDonald's in Bern. We assumed everyone must make lots of money to have prices this high, and this was confirmed when my dad found out that the starting salary for a McDonald's employee is 3500 Swiss francs a month. To accompany our sandwiches we asked for water. The waitress came back with a bottle of mineral water and poured each of us some. We have since found that the Swiss must not believe in tap water. The bottle of water cost us just over $10. The food was tasty but meager. Funny enough, while everything was predominately in German, they continually played American music. Some Elton John and R&B...
After finishing we walked to a nearby food market to see if we could reduce some of our food costs by buying food and eating in the room. The prices were high but nothing like what was seen in the restaurant. In the end, we spent nearly a dollar for one banana, and Bob bought some authentic Swiss chocolate that we later found out was made by Nestle.
In the store, I found this little gem, and I could not resist.
We also found Kellogg's Sugar Smacks...we haven't seen those state-side in a long time.
Walking back I snapped this picture.
It seemed to go along with the theme from Hawaii, and it was just too funny. It reminded us of our little, four-legged, furry bundles of joy.
Right now, we are preparing to go to bed and shake off the travel fatigue. Tomorrow, we plan some more exploration and a hike or two.
Auf Wiedersehen.
4 comments:
Your pictures look like postcards! Those of us sweating away in the 110 degrees are very jealous! Enjoy, and hike a bit for me... Also, work is no fun without you. Wish you were here, or actually, wish I was there!
Sarcastic? Cynical? You're kidding!
Looks absolutely beautiful! Glad you made it there okay. Enjoy you three.
Awesome photo's of your accommodations, reminds me of a bed and breakfast I would love to take the tall drink of water too. Enjoy your trip!! Toodles.
some very fine pictures. Yes, Switzerland is extremely expensive. Nestle is a Swiss company, and it does taste a lot different there than here...oh, and airline companies way overestimate travel time so they have a higher "on time" rate. Plus, if the plane leaves on-time, it will go much slower...it burns less fuel that way. They are sneaky devils...
Post a Comment