© Richard Randall

We visited Switzerland whilst driving from the U.K. back home to France. It was winter and obviously very cold, and both of us really dislike being cold, and yet we still really enjoyed our visit to Switzerland. We drove through many places in Switzerland stopping in a couple of places to have a look round, and we stopped for the night in Spiez to rest.

SPIEZ

Spiez is a very pretty place dominated by its medieval castle, and amazing views over the lake surrounded by mountains. We decided to stay overnight in Spiez, and after a quick drive round found ourselves outside the Seegarten Hotel Marina. I went in to see if they had any vacancies, whilst Richard waited in the car in the adjacent car park. Eventually I found a member of staff, they had a vacancy, and we checked in. The hotel is located right on the lake with wonderful views across it. Our room was reached up a spiral stairway, good exercise. The room was large enough, clean, and well furnished, although the furniture and decor was all very old and dated. The room felt very cold, so I had a look at the two radiators, they were off, no wonder it was cold. I turned them both on full blast, although I thought that they would probably have been controlled by a master switch elsewhere in the hotel, it was worth a try. We decided to venture up the hill into the town, we needed a bank or more accurately a cashpoint machine. Everything was closed as it was Sunday, but the main high street looked quite good with a wide variety of shops. Once we had withdrawn some money we had a walk round before heading back to the warmth of the hotel for something to drink and possibly some food. In one wing of the hotel there was a pizzeria which as well as pizza, baked fresh in the large stone oven, served the usual meals. In the other wing there were two dining rooms where the fish from the lake was served. We sat in one of these although neither of us ordered any fish. It was fairly busy considering we visited during the low season, the other diners were mostly families enjoying Sunday lunch together. We both ordered a large beer while we sat chatting and enjoying the views out across the water. The menu was pretty basic, and as we had expected not very reasonable. We were so tired from all of the driving that eating anything too good would have been wasted on us, which was just as well because the food was very average. At least it was warm and the beer was cold. Once we had eaten and relaxed sufficiently we headed up to our room which I wasn't looking forward to as I knew it would be cold. Well I was wrong, we stepped into the room and the heat hit us, it was wonderfully warm. It did get very cold though during the night, and the bed and or the mattress was well past its best. Early the next morning before we checked out, we thought we would have breakfast for a change, we don't usually eat early in the day. There were a few other couples already in the dining room when we entered, and we were offered tea or coffee, and then left to it. It was the usual buffet of cereal, fruit, cold meat and cheese etc. Although there were a couple of choices of each, none of it looked very appetizing, it all looked rather cheap and stale. After a warm cup of tea we went out for a walk up to the castle. The castle, Schloss Spiez (April_Oct Mon 2-5pm, Tues-Sun 10am-5pm, Fri 4pm) dates from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries but the foundations are earlier. The castle was the residence of the Stretlingen family before it passed on to the Bernese noble dynasties of Von Bubenberg and from 1516 to 1875 Von Erlach. You can enter several of the grand halls inside, including the Baroque Banqueting Hall of 1614. The adjacent Romanesque church has original frescoes in the apse and the crypt and a seventeenth century spire. It was closed during our visit, but we enjoyed walking round and admiring the scenery. Although the weather was very cold, and the sky was so dull and grey, and most things were closed, we still managed to enjoy our stay in Spiez. Just going for a walk was a real pleasure, everywhere was so clean, and the air was fresh, and practically all of the houses were decorated with ornate coloured wood edging around the roofs, doors and windows. After our walk we went back to the hotel to check out and continue our journey home.

AIGLE

The next place we stopped for a stretch was Aigle. Aigle is the main town of the Chablis wine region, so a perfect place for a spot of wine tasting, although not for us at this time. Other than the wine the towns main attraction is the Chateau d'Aigle, a fifteenth century folly complete with corner towers and turrets shaped like witches hats. We had a pleasant walk along the cobbled lanes to the Chateau (July & Aug 10am-6pm, April-June & Sept -Oct Tues-Sun 10am-noon 7 2-6pm). Apparently the ramparts walk is especially spectacular with frescoes in the watchtowers and breathtaking views over the vines all around. The Chateau d'Aigle really is picture postcard material, with its fairy tale turrets framed by lush green vines and snow capped mountains, definitely worth a visit. Now it is the home of two museums devoted to wine and its production. In 1476 the town was integrated into Canton Bern as the first French speaking territory to join the Swiss Confederation. Later in 1526 newly converted Bernese Protestants sent Guillaume Farel there to preach the Reformation in Aigle. This was the first time that this had ever occurred in a francophone region. I guess this is why everything felt like home to us, I kept thinking that we were back in France. After walking round the stunning Chateau d'Aigle and taking some photos, we headed into the main part of the town. It was lunch time so the only places open were a bar and a restaurant. We went into the bar for a drink before once again hitting the road toward home.

Switzerland was as I had imagined it would be, clean, efficient and picturesque. I am very pleased that Richard decided to drive us home via Switzerland, as we both thoroughly enjoyed our short time in this lovely country.

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