5 Passports: Over the Mountains

On the road once again, we planned on one more stop in Switzerland. Today’s travels would take us past Lake Geneva, up the Valais Valley, over the Furka and St. Gotthard pass, and finally down to Lugano on the shores of a lake by the same name. Gone were the German and French languages, we were back in the land of Italian. While the Italian border was still a few miles away, you’d never know it. We decided to spend two nights here and fill our days exploring the little villages along the lake.

One unusual thing we found in Lugano was a bank on every corner (2nd only to Zurich). As some of you may know, Switzerland is known for its secret bank accounts, allowing people from around the world to safely stash their cash. In fact, in exchange for the secrecy, accounts here actually earn negative interest when it’s all said and done. This industry we learned, is one of the big reasons Switzerland sticks with its franc and doesn’t conform to the Union and its Euro (there's no secrets in the Union). This is very convenient for the Italians bringing their suitcases of cash, and according to the locals, George W. Bush stops by annually as well.

Getting back on track, these first three photos were taken in Reckingen, which is part of the Valais Valley. Notice the unique architecture of some of these barns. The main posts are balanced on flat rocks which keep the mice out of the hay. We were told the barns are hundreds of years old and the design is unique to this area.

From this angle you can see right under the barn.

This steam train was working its way up the mountain alongside us.

The kids were happy to share their crackers with this mountain critter.

This is September 14 on the Furka Pass at an elevation of 8000 feet. The plows had just come through and it was cold! The Furka Pass is home to the Rhone Glacier which is the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva.