Hmmm… Swiss chocolate!  Why does it taste so good ?  Even after 50 free samples at the Callier factory in Broc, we were no closer to the answer.  Now slightly ill, we concluded – it just does.  Room for one more Jess?

Free chocolate wasn’t the only highlight in ride through the lakes district of Switzerland.  In Interlaken, I got to live out a boyhood dream and attend a Harley Davidson biker party – the biggest in Europe!  The Jungfrau valley and the Grosse Scheidegg pass (1962m) were also pretty special.  But unfortunately, Switzerland has been our least favourite country so far.  No one smiles, it is outrageously expensive and the service was often not just poor, but downright rude.

Now Austria was just as stunning, but the overall feeling was a lot more friendly and welcoming.  Our route took us through the mountains, beside alpine lakes, including the stunning Halstatt, and finally along the river Danube to Salzberg & Vienna.  After Switzerland, it really did feel like the hills were alive with the sound of music…

The weather remains very changeable.  One minute it can be 32 degrees and sunny, the next, torrential rain and freezing cold winds.  But mostly the riding and camping has been very easy though – maybe too easy.  By the end of our high country tour though, we were longing for that sense of adventure again…

The past few days in Eastern Europe has given us just that.  While it is modernising quickly, its edges are still rough enough to keep you excited.  The people are incredibly friendly, and literally, fall over themselves to help you with directions or give you gifts of fruit etc.  This is what cycle touring is all about for us.

We have a special treat for the next leg.  Our friends, Julia, Jim, Tim & B are coming out from the UK for the ride to Warsaw in Poland.  We will be just like a real bikey gang!  Stay tuned for the mayhem!

Thanks again for all the comments, emails and well wishes.  They are greatly appreciated and give us something special to think about as we pedal our way across the globe!

Jules & Jess

Welcome to the Swiss lakes district

...And you can try as many as you like !!

Boys will be boys

Tez & Matilda taking a rest

How many more hills are there? Grosse Scheidegg (1962m)

Luzern, Switzerland

Leichtenstein, 6km wide, 24kms long...that's it!

More hills, our steepest yet at 23% incline!

Jess rugged up for a cold, wet downhill

The stunning Halstatt, Austria

The path we want is around here somewhere ??

Danube dreaming...