Greetings from Switzerland

I'm not really in Switzerland, but we did just get back. We flew into Basel and then drove through Bern to Beatenberg which is in the mountains near Interlaken. We followed the directions that the GPS unit gave us and apparently it didn't know that there was a main road that lead up to Beatenberg. Instead it lead us through a mainly one lane road that wound about the mountain with blind corners on one side and cliffs that dropped virtually straight down on the other. I think I developed an ulcer from the spikes of anxiety I felt each time we had to pass a car coming the opposite direction. So scary. The bright side of the drive was that it was absolutely beautiful. Amazing views at every turn. Thankfully we discovered there was another route so we didn't have to drive it again, though.

Switzerland is exactly liked I pictured it...beautiful, lush green mountain scapes with cute chalets and cows grazing all about.
This was down by the lake.We also went to the Beatus Caves. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but this is from the walk up to the caves.
This was the palace grounds that we visited.
Cooper making himself at home a the palace's nursery.
This was a painting from 1700-something...and you thought sideburns and faux-hawks were only popular in the 21st century?

Enjoying fondue. So delicious.
Have you ever heard of raclette? It's a big plate of melted cheese served with potatoes, bread, and pickled vegetables. Does life get any better? I think not.
We visited a cheese factory where they make the official Emmenthaler cheese.
These are happy cows. Is that why the cheese is so darn good?
Did I mention that Switzerland is really expensive? I mean, really expensive? Check out this value meal at McDonald's. Sidenote: The Swiss Frank is just about equal to the U.S. Dollar right now so the prices you see are about what you would pay in dollars.

And that is for a small Coke and small fries. You have to pay extra to upgrade to a medium Coke and fries. Holy moly! We went to a grocery store and chicken breast equaled out to $17/lb.! For chicken!!! Good thing I didn't listen to Pat when he said his ideal vacation after the program is over is spending 7-10 days in Switzerland. I think we both would have gone out of our minds having to pay $20/person for each meal we consumed for 3 meals a day for 7-10 days.

This is us in front of the old Rathaus (City Hall) in Basel.
All over Switzerland they have these fancy drinking fountains. I was scared to drink out of them because fountains back home are definitely not potable.

This is Cooper hanging out in front of Muenster Church.
This was a fun trip. Very beautiful. Perfect weather. Pretty expensive, so I was glad to be back home where we could get Doner kebabs and drinks for the whole family (my parents, Pat and me) for under $15. Gotta love Berlin!