TEN SUISSE OBSERVATIONS 10. FRANCS - The Swiss don't use the Euro, which is a smart move given their history of strong economic performance. The currency is Swiss Francs (CHF). They have a 5 CHF coin, which is dangerous because it makes it seem like you aren't spending much when you actually are - especially when beers are 6 CHF. 9. CLEANLINESS - Switzerland is very clean, whether you pay 2 CHF to use the public toilets or not. 8. CHEESE - Saw a lot of differe...

SNOW! We got fresh snow tonight! What a cool way to see off the Swiss leg of the tour (snap!). Here's a happy-Nell-in-the-snow-with-Swiss-beer photo that I took with my phone. We set off for Florence in the morning.

LUCERNE DAY TRIP Our full day in Switzerland included a cable-car ride down the mountain, which was insane for views. I took a bunch of photos, dunno how good they'll turn out. Stupid tourists. Once at the bottom, in a village called Weggis (pronounced "Vegas"), we caught a ferry over to Lucerne, which is a pretty nice place, especially if you're into watches or Swiss Army knives. We're not into that sort of thing, so it was really just a chance to see some co...

ELEVATION We arrived in Switzerland in the afternoon on Monday. Everything people say about the views is true. It's a naturally beautiful country. Photographs and video footage could never do it justice. It's super-grouse. The people here are really nice too, and pretty relaxed. German is the prime language spoken where we are, so we're pretty screwed if people don't speak English. We took a train straight up Mt Rigi, where we're staying at about 1500m. The t...