Secret Passage

 

There is a gate at the Creux-de-Genthod bus stop.  I walked past it many times but thought it was private property.  Then one day Krista told me about a secret passage to the lake.  So I took the kids to find it.

Shortly past the gate there is a path on the right hand side.

 At the end of the path is a gate to a tunnel. 

When you look in the tunnel, you see dark, and some trees at the end.  It seemed very axe murder-ish, but we went in.  Also, if you are wondering the tunnel goes under a main road.   

 

Exit the tunnel and voila! 

 

Boats and a dock....

And a beautiful view.

The dock is open to the public (if you know about it) and you can also bring your dog to swim in the lake.  Off of the dock was a ramp for the dogs to walk up and down.  There isn't much of a shore, but I think its a pretty cool place, maybe even good for a private picnic.

A clear view

I love this view of Mont Blanc.  I took this picture in late August and there wasn't a cloud in the sky that day.  I also love how it can be 80 degrees here in the summer and you can still see snow on the mountains.  It's one of the best things about living near mountains. 

On the road

I'm no stranger to taking pictures of signs in the US but I feel like I got to a late start over here.  There are so many good signs too.  Here are a few I took when we drove to Lyon one Saturday.  

Overall there are a lot less words on signs here.  I supposed it makes sense since Switzerland alone has 3 national languages. 

Speed limit signs have a number with a red circle around it.

The picture below shows digital signs which can change due to traffic or weather.  The speed limit was 110 since we were going into a tunnel.  

Late Summer

The family I nanny for lives in a house with wonderful views of the lake.  

Here are some pictures I took back in late August just after a rain storm came through.  

The Y-Files: Paturages

Brand: Paturages Frutimax 
Flavor: Fraise (Strawberry)

While this does not even touch my all-time favorite yogurt, it was tasty and enjoyable.  Probably something you could eat everyday.  It wasn't too liquidy and had a nice strawberry flavor.  I believe these were purchased in France and they come in packs of 4 or 6.

Montreux Jazz Festival

We checked out the Montreux Jazz Festival in early July.  The best part is you don't even need to buy tickets to have a great time.  There are tents and boats and all sorts of outdoor concerts for free.  Along with food and plenty of craft vendors, you could really spend the day and just hang out.  We did have tickets to the headlining show, and got to see BB King, Susan Tadeschi, Santana and Robert Randolf to name a few.  The music was great and the location breathtaking. 

view of the lake from the concert hall

Susan Tadeschi and BB King

Zurich by Train

We took the train to Zurich the weekend before my "leave of absence" this past summer.  Jim woke up on Saturday said he wanted to go somewhere, and in 2 hours we booked a hotel and were on the train to Zurich.  The stay only lasted 24 hours, but it was tons of fun and I got to see a totally different side of Switzerland.  The German-side. 

It was very strange to me at first that we never left the country but there was a whole other language everywhere that I couldn't understand.  

Zurich is about 3 hours from Geneva

View from the train

Our room for the night was quite nice since Jim decided we should stay in luxury and upgraded us. I can't remember the name of the place but it was just around the corner from the Zurich train station, and close to the tram which was convenient.  The room also had an amazing feather bed and Nespresso machine, yipee.  Interestingly, the headboard was really cool needlepoint of traditional Swiss patterns.

found in the lobby

After a quick rest, we did what everyone should do when they are close to Germany.  

We found a beer garden.

After the fun at the beer garden we had a lovely walking tour of Zurich with a friend of Jim's who lives there.  It looks like the city is deserted, but it was actually 10pm!  Zurich also has some wonderful German architecture which is a nice change from boring Geneva.

The next day after checking out we walked down the Bahnhofstrasse.  One of the main shopping streets in Zurich which dead ends at Lake Zurich.  

Finally it was back to the train station, after boarding we started the trip home with lunch in the restaurant car.  It was more delicious than it looks.

Auf Wiedersehen!