Doren - our holiday home

By far the most picturesque of our three holiday homes on this trip, Doren lies about 15 miles from Bregenz. Fields in front, fields behind, wonderful balcony views and walking distance of the restaurant / pub.

Appenzell

And so to Appenzell, the most traditionally Swiss of all Swiss towns with its decorated houses and biberfladder and cheese. When we were there, the sun shone and there was music in the square.

The mountain behind is the Santis, the highest mountain in north east Switzerland.

Stein am Rhein

Not many people around a cold and drizzly Stein am Rhein (where the Bodensee becomes the Rhine again) but I did come across this rather snooty Swiss cat, who completely rejected my advances.

The Rheinfall

On a somewhat rubbish day, weatherwise, they decided that if we were going to get wet, we might as well get really wet. So a long drive to Schaffhausen and a boat trip up to the Rheinfall, which is Switzerland's Niagara. Okay, a lot smaller but the pressure of the water is still quite impressive when seen close up.

Bregenz

Bregenz is a town in Austria at the eastern end of the Bodensee. The Bodensee is really just a place where the Rhine gets very fat. Every year on the lakefront, they have operatic concerts on a large stage, usually in August, but during the rest of the year you can just amble in and relax on the seats.

Lindau

Moving north, our next stop was in the area known as Bregenzerwald in north west Austria. From Bregenz, we caught a ferry across the Bodensee (Lake Constance) to Lindau in Germany. It is not far from Friedrichshafen, the Zeppelin centre.

Bucket lift, Laveno

Well, this was one for the scrapbook - going up a mountain in a bucket. This is in a place called Laveno on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore and the cable car is called the Sasso del Ferro Cable Car. Fantastic views over the lake and beautiful weather. I'm glad I did this. It was on my bucket list.

Piazzogna

Excuse me, could we have a little privacy here? Giovanno is a little bit shy. He lives in the garden of our rented house in Piazzogna.

Verzasca Dam near Locarno

This is the Verzasca Dam, so named because at this very place they decided to dam the Verzasca, the river that runs down from the Alps into the northern end of Lake Maggiore and from thence southwards into the Po and ultimately the Med. They do bungee jumping here but not today, sadly. Was really looking forward to it.

Lugano

Five countries in fourteen days, so what better way to travel around than in a Ferrari. This was just prior to contractual negotiations with the company on the lakefront in Lugano.