After two weeks in the UK, we headed to France aboard the Eurostar line. There is something magical about that two-hour journey between London and Paris. It feels like being "transported" between those iconic cities rather than taking a mundane train ride - maybe because it runs for almost 25 miles under the English Channel. Here is an excellent video of how it works by our trusted train guru, The Man in Seat 61.
Our stop in France was to visit our daughter and her family. We see them a couple of times a year - once in their village of Samois-sur-Seine and then elsewhere in Europe, depending on our travels. We met in Italy in October, and I'll share more about that in my next post.
Here is a rare picture of the entire clan (minus grand-père who was taking the photo) circa 2023. We do our “best” to fit in in the village (limited success). But after visiting for over ten years, we are on friendly terms with the various shopkeepers.
Spending time in their beautiful hamlet on the Seine River is always pleasant any time of year. I've written about it many times, including this post that shares what life is like there.
We don't stay with Mary and her family since there isn't a spare room, so we find an Airbnb nearby. That's not always easy, but we found a lovely apartment right on the river this time. We enjoyed watching the steady commercial barge traffic plying the waters toward Paris and back. They come in all sizes and with a mix of materials on board.
The top photos are of our Airbnb. The spec in the upper left window is me. - all four windows were in our apartment. The spec on the dock is Michael. The middle shows the type of barge traffic we enjoyed rolling along the river, and this last photo is just one of the mansions built in the late 18th and early 19th century that line the river in Lower Samois. This one was just a few houses down the lane.
We did manage to get into Paris a few times. It’s just a 35-minute train ride to Gare de Lyon, and from there, the Metro can take you anywhere in the city. Mary and I enjoyed a day of shopping and a delicious lunch at a trendy new mega-bistro called Boullion that can seat up to 200 patrons for a quick but traditional lunch! Michael and I enjoyed a more liesurely lunch at Un Zebre, a cozy brasserie in Montemarte, an area of the city we love.
While in the neighborhood, we took a fascinating free walking tour that featured several filming locations from the movie Amelie, as well as the homes and ateliers of various impressionist artists, including Monet and Van Gogh. The tour ended at the magnificent Sacre Cour Basilica, from which we could see miles-long views of Paris.
Father and daughter in front of Fontainebleau Chateau near Samois. Mother and Father at the the end of our Paris walking tour.
Like any household with three kids, 10, 12, and 14, it is busy, so our visits with the kids aren’t actually restful, but they are filled with enjoyable activities, and the time goes quickly!
Before we knew it, the day arrived when it was time to travel on to Switzerland. We've visited all the major cities except Zurich, so that was our destination for a three-day stay. From there, we would go on to Chur (pronounced Coor) and catch the Bernina Express train to Italy.
From a window at the Swiss History Museum.
Zurich was a fantastic destination. There was so much culture to absorb and beauty to take in! And the weather, for the most part, was pleasant - so we could walk everywhere. And when we weren't walking (or it was raining), we were aboard a swift, clean, easy-to-use tram.
The Zurich train station is massive, and we arrived on a rainy evening at peak commute time. We were determining how to get from the station to our Airbnb (we've all been there), and it was a bit overwhelming. But English is spoken widely in Switzerland, so with help from various locals, we eventually found a very nice COOP supermarket to grab essentials and a UBER to take us to our front door. The Airbnb was stylish and pristine - just what you’d expect in a cosmopolitan Swiss city, and we loved it.
In the light of day, our place was right in front of a tram line that took us to the train station in under 10 minutes. You could get anywhere in the city from there by changing trams or walking. And it is a great city to explore on foot. As usual, we took a free walking tour, which was the perfect way to get oriented to this historic city.
We soon discovered that Zurich’s go-to fast food is bratwurst and a roll, which you can eat as you stroll. Any leftover bread causes quite a stir among the swans on Lake Zurich.
Highlights of our stay included a half-day at the renowned Kunsthaus Art Museum. It was amazing. There were two special exhibits, one on the provenance of artwork stolen by the Nazis, including pieces in the museum. It was the first time we’d come across a museum in the process of accounting for its own collection - and any art in question was flagged. The other major exhibit compared the work of an up-and-coming young Canadian artist named Matthew Wong, who tragically committed suicide at age 35, side-by-side with the paintings by Van Gogh that influenced his work.
Van Gogh’s famous Starry Night and the interpretation by Matthew Wong. There were many others in the exhibit, so it was an opportunity to see original Van Goghs on loan from around the world, along with magical images by Mr. Wong.
The Kunsthaus Museum was one of the finest we’ve ever spent time in. So many interesting types of art from every era.
We also visited the Swiss National Museum, where we took a tour. It was filled with artifacts and exhibits that started with the city's ancient history and ended with the story behind the neutral country of Switzerland we know today.
Our Senior Nomad travels have taken us to 94 countries so far. Sometimes, that is hard to fathom. And even more mind-boggling, that is only about 1/2 of the countries recognized by the United Nations! On this trip, we had the opportunity to tick off number 95 with an afternoon spent in the tiny principality of Liechtenstein. We just stepped off the train between Zurich and Chur and took a short bus ride up the mountain.
A reflection in the tourist center’s window. Liechtenstein seems like the perfect place for those who love hiking and winter sports.
They call themselves "A Modern Monarchy." From the train station, you can see the 700-year-old Vaduz Castle perched above the city where the very "hands-on" royal family lives full-time. Prince Hans Adam is the first ruler born in Leichentstien. He is young and well-loved by his subjects and is dedicated to sustainable tourism and climate change.
Our afternoon included a simple lunch and an hour at the Tourism Center, where you can sip mulled wine and write postcards. Beautiful commemorative stamps are available, and the cards are mailed on the spot. You can also get an official Liechtenstein stamp in your passport for 3 euros.
We jumped back on the train and continued to Chur (pronounced Coor), the largest town in the Swiss Alps and a popular tourist destination. It has a compact city center mainly dedicated to shopping and dining - but it is also a hub for visitors and locals alike.
We stayed at the charming Zunfthaus Zur Rebleuten hotel, originally a Guild Hall built in 1617 and converted to an inn 300 years later in 1917. It has a bar where pipe smoking is tolerated, but fortunately, our delicious breakfast was served in the main dining room.
Our quaint hotel in Chur and details from the dining room windows.
We only had two nights, but that was enough time to enjoy two fascinating museums, stop by the family-friendly library filled with games and tables where families could play on dark winter days, sample some excellent chocolate, and dinners that included rustic Wild Boar Meatloaf and a swoon-inducing Fondue. More than one Apple Strudel was consumed.
Michael bought me a Swiss wristwatch to celebrate our 46th Wedding Anniversary. It was made in 1956, the year I was born and it is simply elegant. We saw it in the window of a small shop tucked alongside dozens of other watches, but this one caught my eye, so we went inside.
We walked into the shop, and there were hundreds of timepieces crammed into a space the size of a gym locker. There were Grandfather Clocks, Cuckoo Clocks, dancing bear clocks, retro clocks, and sizeable vintage train station clocks on the wall - not to mention dozens of watches. And at 4:00 in the afternoon, just as we walked through the door, they all chirped, chimed, gonged, sang, and ticked at the top of the hour. It was a sensory experience, to say the least. The proprietor told us he often closes the door and goes to lunch just before noon to avoid the cacophony!
The shop. The watch. And the colorful cash we needed to make the purchase!
While planning this two-month trip to Europe, besides visiting Oxford in the UK and seeing Mary’s family in France, we had yet to make firm plans. But once Switzerland was on the table, it seemed the perfect gateway from France to Italy. And to get to Italy, you could take The Bernina Express, one of the great train rides in Europe. The route runs along the World Heritage Site known as the Rhaetian Railway over one of the most dramatic passes in the Swiss Alps. It includes 196 bridges and 55 tunnels!
The journey begins in Chur and runs over the Alps to Tirano, Italy. It is very popular year-round, so we bought our tickets early and ensured we were in a Panorama Car with large windows. The weather on the day of our journey was a bit dreary, and I am sure that on a sunny day in summer or in a pristine winter wonderland, it looks just like the brochure, but we still found it to be a fantastic excursion.
The weather wasn’t perfect on the day of our Bernina Express journey, but I think we saw some exceptional autumnal scenery.
The valleys below were misty, the leaves in the forests were just beginning to turn color, and the dark and craggy mountains were majestic. Our journey ended in Tirano, Italy, where we started a month-long tour of one of our favorite countries.
Thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell
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