Switzerland!

My BFF of over 35 years and I just returned from a two week trip to Switzerland!    I have never been overseas before and couldn't pass up this wonderful opportunity.  We flew out of LAX on a direct flight to Zurich and then a puddle jumper to Geneva where her sister met us and we took the train to her house. She provided a wonderful picnic of ham and cheese sandwiches on walnut bread, chips, grape tomatoes and little KISSS Baby Cookies.  Arrived in Montbovon around 10pm and walked down the cobblestone street to her house where I settled in.  She and her husband  have a wonderfully old home in the town which I was able to explore over the next two weeks.

The first day we were off to Gruyeres where we walked up the hill to the castle and had lunch at the HR Giger Bar.  Lunch was toasted cheese sandwiches and a beer but it was the inside of the bar that had me taking pictures as fast as I could.  You are encased in what appears to be a ribcage, the floor is embossed rubber, the seats are molded plastic with black foam inserts, the table legs include skulls and the wall we sat by was filled with almost life size baby heads and bodies.  It was incredible.  Here are some photos...

 Some of the artwork on the outside of the museum.  Yes, I am kicking myself now that I didn't go into the museum.

 One of the molded seats at a table and at the right is the ceiling of the bar

 One of the legs of the tables and on the right is the embossed rubber on the floor.

 This picture is taken from our seat at the far table looking towards the front door.  You can see the bar seats around the bar and the seats to the right are at tables.

As you can imagine I now was to figure out how to make one of the walls in the house done with baby bodies.  

 Castle in Gruyeres.  It is amazing that something this old is still standing.

 In the courtyard at the castle

 Notice the cobblestone streets

 An artist was selling these cute little cows.  Their bodies are made from drift wood and their heads from metal.

There was an exhibit of glass painting by Massimo Cruciani (www.cruciani.com) that was exceptional.  This concludes day 1 of my trip.  Day 2 plus more to come