Image Gallery for Swiz 2004. At trip to Switzerland.

Number of images: 215
Created on: Monday 12 July 2004

Swiz2004 Friday 25th June, 300 miles.

It was a nice dry morning, 03:30 in the morning in fact, there was a distinct absence of any breeze and it was getting light. Much better than the previous days cyclone. Time to get up for our long awaited trip to Switzerland. Six months in the planning, and now at long last it was time to go. With much excitement we met up with the others at 04:30 at Pencoed. Now we where ready and raring to go. The first leg, a mere 150 or so miles down to the Portsmouth ferry that departed at 08:30. The funny bit was, Swampy had been dutifully waiting for us since 4:00, having been told we would meet at that time :). Of course, for once he was on time, so he was waiting for us with his girlfriend. We stopped at Membury services on the M4 for a cuppa on the way. We made good progress and arrived in plenty of time for the ferry. After boarding we headed straight for the restaurant for some breakfast. Then we crashed out. We docked at 15:00 French time. The plan was to head down towards Paris on the AutoRoute, then out past Orly Airport on the A6 to stay at a hotel in Evry, the Ibis A6. This wass approx 140 miles. I can recommend it, 47EUR for a double room and about 20EUR each for a meal and drinks. Well worth it, we had a relaxing evening.

Sat 26th June, 350 miles. 650 miles total.

We where up at 08:30 and ate breakfast. The sun was shining, a few clouds in the sky and it was getting much warmer. We could dump the waterproof over jackets and ride with just leathers. And so we packed up and where off for the second leg. We had planned on setting an easy pace. Plenty of spare time to stop for coffee and take in the scenery. But our first goal was to get as far away from Paris as possible, so we did the first 250 or so miles on the A6 and A36 before leaving the AutoRoute at Dole. We then headed towards Besancon on the N roads. After going through a tunnel (A57 SE of Besancon) we stopped for coffee under the cliff top fort. Then we continued along the N57 turning off left after the dual carriageway on the road to Morteau. Then through Villers-le-Lac. Here we where overtaken by a group of HD riders going like stink, quite a sight, flat out down the straight before slowing right down to take the bend in a cloud of sparks. They obviously knew the road so we followed them to the Swiss border. We entered a tunnel, on exiting we where greeted with a most excellent panoramic view of the Alps, truly amazing. We headed down towards Nuechatel and then to Gals. We picked up the keys from a neighbour and headed to the Chalet. It was a everything, if not better than expected. Our pre-order of food and drink was in the fridge so we unpacked, showered and chilled out in the garden.

Sun 27th June, 120 miles. 770 miles total.

Sunday was spent mostly sleeping. In the afternoon we went to a local cafe on top of the local mountain at Chasseral. Very good views of the Alps from up there. The chalet in Gals could be seen in the distance. Mon 28th June, 360 miles. 1130 miles total. A big one. We would do the Grimsel, Furker, St Gothard, and Susten passes. Including the St Gothard tunnel. The Cols where brilliant, more hairpin bends than I've had hot dinners. The views, the scary drop off at the edge of the road all of it was paradise on a bike. The road surfaces where very good.

Tuesday 29th June, 350 miles. 1480 miles total.

Another big one. Down through Lausanne to the St Bernard Col before heading back up through the Mt Blanc Tunnel. Wednesday 30th June, 110 miles. 1590 miles total. We decided to have rest this day. We did venture out to Nuechatel and surrounding area for some retail therapy. A very pretty town with a nice lake front.

Thursday 1st July, 180 miles. 1770 miles total.

Today we where to go up the Jungfraujoch on the mountain railway from Grindelwald. We caught the train at Grund 3094ft then changed at Kleine Scheidegg 6762ft to do the tunnel section and arrive at the summit 11363ft. Don't have a cigarette at the top. The lack of oxygen makes one quite ill. The panoramic vista is truly amazing. A must if you have never been there before, truly unbelievable place. Well worth the 190EU each it cost to get up there on the train. We headed back doen on the train and decided to have a meal at the Grund Restaurant near the station before heading back in the general direction of the chalet.

Friday 2nd July, 320 miles. 2090 miles total.

We had decided on Thursday evening that instead of having a rest day on Friday before doing the 450 odd miles back up to Caen for the ferry we instead head up towards Paris and get a hotel for the night. This would allow us to visit Hornfluer on Sat for tea. We where packed and departed at about 10:00. A leisurely pace out of Switzerland saw us at the border. Here we stopped for a coffee and to purchase some Swiss chocolates. We then headed up to Besancon where we stopped for another coffee and a bite to eat. We where glad that we didn't have to do the 450 miles in one go. It allowed us a far more leisurely day. From here we headed towards the AutoRoute. The A36 followed by the A6 found us in Evry again at about 17:00. We decided to stay in the same Ibis hotel as the previous Friday night. This saved us searching for a decent hotel. We had a nice relaxed evening. A meal was followed by an hour or so in the bar before we crashed out for the night.

Sat 3rd July, 330 miles. 2420 miles total.

We head off north end then west past versailles to Dreux to bypass Paris. Then north through Evreux where we stop at a supermarket for petrol and more coffee. We where aiming for the harbour of Hornfleur. This is a very picturesque port just south of Le-harve. Well worth a visit. Here we had approx two hours before we had to make our way to Caen to catch the fastcat to Portsmouth. We had lunch, and chilled out. A nice respite after the ride up. The fastcat was half an hour late. Catching up on time lost due to the previous day's chopy sea conditions. We arrived back in the UK at 23:30 and headed back home to arrive at 02:30 after stopping for petrol yet more offee at Membury services on the M4. A very enjoyable holiday indeed. As I am writing this, I wish I were still winding my way up yet another Col. Oh well, I will have to wait till next year.

Membury Services	Chalet in Gals	Chasseral	Chasseral
Grimsel Col	Grimsel Col	Grimsel Col	Furka Col
Furka Col	Furka Col	Furka Col Rhone Glacier	Furka Col 1536 x 2048
Furka Col	Gals	Gals/div>	Gals
Gals Map	Jungfrau Trip from Grindelwald	Jungfrau	Jungfrau
Jungfrau	Jungfrau	Jungfrau	Jungfrau
Jungfrau	Jungfrau	Jungfrau	Jungfrau
Jungfrau	Jungfrau	Jungfrau	Jungfrau
Jungfrau 1536 x 2048	Train at Eigerwano	Eigerwano window half way up the Eiger	Jungfraujoch-Top of Europe
Ice Palace	Ice Palace	Jungfraujoch-Top of Europe	Jungfraujoch-Top of Europe
Kleine Scheidegg	Kleine Scheidegg	Kleine Scheidegg	From the Train
From the Train	From the Train	From the Train	From the Train 1536 x 2048
DSCF0403 1536 x 2048	From the Train	DSCF0405	The bikes
The bikes	Homeward bound	Homeward bound	Homeward bound
Homeward bound	Hotel in Evry	Hornfleur	Hornfleur
Hornfleur	Hornfleur	Hornfleur	Hornfleur
Hornfleur	Hornfleur	On the Fastcat	On the Fastcat
On the Fastcat	On the Fastcat	A Petrol Station in France 2272 x 1704	Again 2272 x 1704
Rest area after the A36 near Dole 2272 x 1704	Again 2272 x 1704	Again 2272 x 1704	Gals 2272 x 1704
Gals 2272 x 1704	Gals 2272 x 1704	Gals 2272 x 1704	Gals 2272 x 1704
Gals 2272 x 1704	Gals 2272 x 1704	Gals 2272 x 1704	Chasseral 2272 x 1704
Chasseral 2272 x 1704	Chasseral 2272 x 1704	Chasseral 2272 x 1704	Chasseral 2272 x 1704
Lake Thunersee 2272 x 1704	Lake Thunersee 2272 x 1704	Lake Thunersee 2272 x 1704	Lake Thunersee 2272 x 1704
Lake Thunersee 2272 x 1704	Lake Thunersee 2272 x 1704	Grimsel Col 2272 x 1704	Grimsel Col 2272 x 1704
Grimsel Col 2272 x 1704	Grimsel Col 2272 x 1704	Grimsel Col 2272 x 1704	Grimsel Col 2272 x 1704
Grimsel Col 2272 x 1704	Grimsel Col 2272 x 1704	Furka Col 2272 x 1704	Furka Col 2272 x 1704
Furka Col 2272 x 1704	Furka Col 2272 x 1704	Gals 2272 x 1704	Gals 2272 x 1704
Gals 2272 x 1704	Gals 2272 x 1704	Nuechatel 2272 x 1704	Nuechatel 2272 x 1704
Nuechatel 2272 x 1704	Nuechatel 2272 x 1704	Nuechatel real Swan 2272 x 1704	Not a real Swan on lake Biel 2272 x 1704
Lake Biel 2272 x 1704	Lake Biel 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704
Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704
Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704
Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704
Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Jungfraeujoch 2272 x 1704	Gals	Gals
Gals	Gals	Gals	Gals
Gals	Gals	Gals	Gals
Gals	Gals	Gals	Gals
Gals	Gals	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip 1280 x 960
Gt St Bernard Col Trip 1280 x 960	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip
Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Gt St Bernard Col Trip	Lake Biel
Lake Biel	Gals	Gals	Gals
Gals	Gals	Gals	Gals
Being silly	B team at the Chunnel	B team at the Chunnel	B team at the Chunnel
Says it all really	Again	Again