Belgium | Switzerland | Austria
After two nights and one absolutely supreme day in London with perfect Autumn weather, we began another tour, this one definitely to be a whirlwind time. 
With mostly one night stops, this tour is only a taster for us rather than thorough.
We drove from London to Dover to catch the ferry across the Channel to Calais. It was a coolish day with a bit of wind, but the journey was quite comfortable. We left the white cliffs of Dover and arrived to similar looking cliffs in France. But France was fleeting as we boarded another bus and were whisked across the countryside, quickly getting to the border with Belgium. Belgium was a founding member of the European Union and Brussels is where the EU has its parliament.
Belgium is a federal monarchy, and yet seems to be a divided country within its unity. It was unified in 1830 and yet this unity is impacted by two languages, two personalities, and two geographies. The northern portion is very flat, in fact a significant area is below sea level, having been reclaimed land while the southern portion is more hilly. The northern portion speaks Flemish, a germanic language, while the southern portion speaks French. The northern portion has better employment statistics than the south, is more the economic centre, and of course, the capital Brussels, is also the capital of the European Union. However the parliamentary system finds it difficult to be effective as these differences result in disagreements.
But of course, what is Belgium known for? Chocolates and Beer! These two products seem to solve all the other issues!
As we were only there for one night, we caught the train into Brussels from our accommodation and enjoyed walking around, having a lovely meal, seeing the ‘Grand Place’ which is the central square, with beautiful buildings all lit up. We wandered up to see the very impressive Palace where the King and Queen of Belgium reside. The flag was flying so we assume they were home.
The next day we had a long journey of around 650km driving through 4 countries – Belgium, Luxembourg, France and ending up in Switzerland.
We had a stop in Luxembourg City and strolled around the pedestrian malls, seeing exclusive shops, parks and beautiful old buildings. Hearing that Luxembourg is a very wealthy country, we weren’t surprised to see lots of construction work going on. Many buildings, bridges and monuments had scaffolding, which meant that for our limited time there we were unable to cross the bridge to see the Palace of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg up close. Luxembourg is the last remaining Grand Duchy in the world. It is a small country with very low unemployment [3%], crime rate [1%] and taxes [10%]. Luxembourg has an overall population of 500,000 with 120,000 in Luxembourg City.
We passed through some very lush and scenic villages in the east of France as we journeyed south to Switzerland.
We arrived in the picturesque and beautiful city of Lucerne situated on Lake Lucerne. The weather was mild and we used the remaining daylight seeing much of the old city on foot. We quickly found out how expensive Switzerland is. We ended up with a very basic hamburger [i.e. bun with meat only!] and chips with 2 drinks for dinner and it cost us the equivalent of $A35. Every second shop sells Swiss watches, and that is one souvenir from Switzerland we won’t be bringing home.
The architecture is quintessentially Swiss and everything imagined was fulfilled. The next morning we saw the Lion’s Monument, dedicated to the Swiss soldiers who were killed during the French Revolution as they served Liouis XVI of France. The inscription means ‘To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss”. This sculpture was as magnificent as it was huge. It was impressive as we looked at the Lion’s face and saw the pain and brokenness of the Swiss people. It was beautifully captured in this 6 metre high and 10 metre long work of art. It was carved in 1820/21 by Bertel Thorvaldsen a Dane, originally from Iceland.
We then had a cruise on Lake Lucerne seeing magnificent multi-million dollar villas, Wagner’s House, famous hotels, chalets and many elegant white swans. As I looked at Wagner’s House, it was very clear to see how he was inspired to compose the beautiful and rich music that continues to bless the world today.
However the highlight without a doubt was going up Mt Stanserhorn via funicular and open-top cabrio. We were concerned about the view as there was significant fog, however, as we ascended we came out of the fog and into some sunshine and the sheer joy of God-given grandeur and majesty. Beautiful peaks, some snow-capped, glorious green valleys, farms, dairy cows, green hills without comparison, and glacial lakes on three sides. Cow bells are something we’ve all seen whenever we enter a Cuckoo clock shop, but never did I imagine that cows actually still wore them! Well they do … and the beautiful clanging of cow bells rings out up the valleys and right to the mountain tops. This was such a delight to hear as we did one of the short walks at the top of Stanserhorn, around the northern side and up to the summit.
We then drove through stunning scenery, with fast flowing streams in the green farm-filled valleys, with steep rocky peaks reaching to the heavens on either side. We wound our way through tunnels, through village after village, through fir-filled mountain sides and sheer rocky cliffs. The tunnels were incredibly feats of engineering with one of them being 15.5km long, others at various shorter lengths.
The hundreds of small villages dotted everywhere all have one characteristic – the local church is the focal point. Either set in the centre, or on a hill-top at the edge, the church and its steeple are the tallest in the village and the eye is naturally drawn to it.
Another day of driving through several countries, starting in Switzerland, passing through Liechtenstein and ending up in Austria. Liechtenstein, like Switzerland is a very wealthy country and is used as a tax haven for many from around the world. Again there are so many companies registered there, that the population of corporations far exceeds the human population. It is run by the Liechtenstein family, protected by Switzerland, has a taxation level of 9%, and unemployment of 1%. But, it’s a very expensive place to live. Standard of living might be high, but the cost of living is exorbitant. Switzerland and Liechtenstein are expensive places to visit, and we had to hold our breath as we bought dinner or a coffee. We had a coffee and cake at our brief stop in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, where we decided not to pay the 2.50 Euro for the privilege of having our passport stamped.
As we arrived in Innsbruck, Austria, we were blown away by the sheer beauty of this town, and its setting in the valley surrounded by sheer mountains. Our hotel room overlooked the ice skating arena from the Olympics. Innsbruck is one of two cities that has hosted the Winter Olympics twice – in 1964 & 1976.
As we drove out of Innsbruck the following morning, again the scenery was spectacular, but the engineering feats of tunnels and bridges were incredible. We were stunned as we went over one bridge, the pylons of which rose 250m from the valley floor to the road. We were on our way to Italy.
Chris and Lynda Johnson 