Another day, another border (or four! ). We left Germany, bound for Switzerland and drove through Austria and Liechtenstein to get there. We are still amazed how quickly you can get from one place to another !
I've had an interest in one of the smallest principalities in the world since I was a child, but after seeing that it is smaller than the main drag if Castle Hill I shall admit that Liechtenstein was underwhelming. Good coffee though!
Next stop, Zurich.
We paid $60AUD for a toll pass at the border (valid for one year) but we figure its worth to drive "through" mountains. It took virtually no time getting to Zurich.
This is lovely old town on a huge lake with sensational food and a variety of cultures.
For lunch had our most expensive meal to date (and it was a hamburger!), albeit a very nice meal.
It didn't take us long to figure out that if we stayed in a hotel Zurich we'd be broke by the weekend, so we have relocated to a nice lakeside town about 30km away.
Once we got to our accommodation, which booked through Zurich tourist office , it looked like a housing commission flat (we booked a private room in someone's house and envisioned a B&B). We took one look, had a laugh, said "we ain't doing it that tough!" and kept on driving.
Next stop.... the local tourist office to find a more suitable alternative. Unsure of the address, we aimed for the cobblestones (as you do in most villages cause it's the centre if town), only this time, we ignore the "no entry" sign because we thought it said "no entry between 6am and 9pm". We admit, we were breaking the rules as it was 3pm, but were planning to pull the "I'm a tourist who doesn't speak your language" card if we were caught out.
We had a Grisswald moment, as the cobblestone roads quickly turned into a labyrinth of pedestrian walkways and we were weaving in and out of small paths with pedestrians everywhere. We kept calm but my heart rate was through the roof and I was sweating bullets. We were so far in, I wouldn't have been able to reverse out.
After 5 endless mins of anxious driving, we finally got out, a few swear words were muttered and we have been in hysterics ever since. No more rule breaking. PROMISE!!
So eventually found a hotel room in town that is not the penthouse, not the basement but somewhere in the middle. Nice and comfy with a flat screen to watch the last 50km of the TdF. Go Cadel. Yeah!!
We have decided that "meandering" across Switzerland will send us both broke (and me back to work), so we will hotfoot it to France where hopefully, our little Aussie dollar will go further.
Switzerland ........a beautiful place and would be even more fantastic if money was no object!

We might be offline till we get to Grenoble on Friday. So Mum, don't panic!