Neuchâtel, Switzerland

We had a good time in Neuchâtel. It is an absolutely gorgeous town. It sits right on Lake Neuchâtel, which is the biggest lake entirely in Switzerland. It also has spectacular views of the Alps. They are just on the other side of the lake. They were all covered in snow. I even saw Mt. Blanc for the first time!

On Saturday we decided to go on a hike to see this gorge thing called Creux-du-Van. It is located in the Jura Mountains to the west of Neuchâtel. We asked at the information place, and they said it was a little hilly and it would take about an hour and a half to get to it.

That was not the case at all. It was the HARDEST climb I have even done in my life. It had about 2100 feet of elevation gain. In the end it took up 2 hours and 45 minutes. Then we got to the top, and this is all we could see…




Here is what it is supposed to look like. Just a little different…




We worked so hard, and all we saw was fog. It was such a bummer!! At least we all made it. That night we came back completely exhausted and sore, but we went out to dinner and had fondue. It was fun to have real Swiss fondue in Switzerland, and I didn’t lose a single piece of bread in the pot!

Today we saw some more of the town. There is a really beautiful castle, but we could only see it from the outside because it is closed in the winter. (It is hard to travel in January, I guess) I still got some neat pictures of the outside though. We also walked down to the lake on a little promenade. It was a nice weather the entire time, cool but sunny.

I really liked Switzerland. Before this trip I had only passed through it a few times in Bâle. This was the first time I had spent any real time there. The Swiss people are all really nice and friendly, and they keep everything so clean. Plus they actually stop to let you cross the road, which is nice.

Even though we didn’t get to see the gorge it was still a fun trip. Now I have to go back in to work mode. This week I will be teaching all the kiddies about animals. Good times!

I will put up pictures on my Web site soon.