Flying into Geneva...take a good look at those alps. Zurich is a much nicer airport, but this view is truly special, so decide carefully which airport you want to fly into. Also, if you're a passport stamp collector, Geneva doesn't give stamps, but Zurich does.
Sigh. The Red Church. Lake Neuch. Look really carefully and you'll see the Jura mountains. These aren't the "Swiss Alps" that you've probably heard of. My apartment was wonderful because I could see the lake and the mountains. My condo is great because I can see the lake and the freeway.
When I first arrived to Neuch, there was a big ditch here. Plans were in the works for a new football stadium and I only found out a little bit later that it was for Euro2008. I never had a chance to watch a Xamax game, but I did get a chance to set foot in the stadium. It was only one time - at the end of the BCN Tour du Canton 2007 when I felt more exhausted than I've ever felt before. I still hate running. Anyway, it's a beautiful stadium.
In the old town of Neuch. Downtown Neuch is beautiful. There normally isn't a big slide in the middle of downtown (although that would be really cool), there just happened to be the Fete du Musique going on, so lots of other fun things happening. Word on the street is that the time on the clock tower is super-duper accurate. I have no idea if this is rumor or fact.
Behold, the Saturday market. I'm not sure why I haven't made it to the
St. Lawrence Market yet. How embarassing. I do enjoy a good market. I enjoy it a lot. Neuch has a market on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. In the winter, they scale it back a bit...it usually just takes place on Saturday. The same vendors come to the market all the time and they set up in the same area. I wonder if they have to rent the spots and/or they are protective over their lot.
Looking south and seeing the number 7 turning from Longchamps tot he last stop in Hauterive. The building on the left of the picture that has a reddish coloured roof is an elementary school and it was nice to see the kids walking to and from school each and every day. I didn't go up to this lookout spot very often, but I really should have more often. It's a beautiful view and such a perfect spot to sit and reflect. I don't know if you can tell, but the boats are at a lower level than street level. There's actually a bunch of levels below what you can see leading to the Port d'Hauterive.
Looking east from the same lookout point. There's a street that curves upwards towards the top left of the picture (you can see a silver/blue car on the street) which I would walk every day to get home from the bus stop. After three years, I got really good at going up and down that hill. I'm sure my leg muscles benefited from living there. There is a restaurant among those buildings that I always wanted to eat at, but never got the courage to go to for some reason. The manager of the restaurant when I first arrived always made a point of saying hello to me. I would often see her on the Number 7 on her way to get groceries for the day. She was a very stylish lady with firey-red hair. Sometime before my third year there, the restaurant changed ownership. I still saw the lady every so often on the Number 7, but not as often as before.
In the previous picture, there's a grassy area to the left of where that silver/blue car is. During the spring of my last year there, four little goats showed up. They were really sweet, often coming over to the wall to greet me. I was happy to see that they were still there, but completely grown up! They completely ignored me this time. Boo.
Looking toward the street up to my apartment from the bus stop. This little island, well, they always kept it looking good. Beautiful flowers all the time. Decos during the holiday season. I'm not sure what the significance of this is - but I'm sure it's something. The building at the back with the brown shutters is the restaurant that I never went to. Bonus points if you can pick it out from the other picture. 
I spent a day driving around the Jura mountains. Swiss people hike. Really, they do. I think the Swiss pretty outdoorsy and enjoy nature. There are of course lots of trails to go hiking. There are also lots of bike trails too. The Swiss also have ridiculously long lunch breaks. Sometimes up to 2 hours. This gives a chance for school children to go home and have lunch with their families even if their schools are a little further away. I have heard stories about children going home for lunch in the wintertime only to bustle off to the mountains for an hour of skiing and then return to go back to school. That's quite nice.
Another view from a town in the Jura. Obviously there is lots of farm land here. This is also the area known as the "Watch Valley". All the big watch companies are here and all the amazing watches are made in this area. I vaguely considered getting a really nice Swiss watch, but I feel like the value would be lost on me as I just want something pretty which tells time and I will inevitably scratch the face, so spending a bazillion dollars probably isn't worth it.
Looking down at the River Doubs. Standing on the Swiss side of the river of course. The other side is French. It is quite beautiful. Green and beautiful.
It's so beautiful here, non?
It was nice to drive around. Without a car, you're sort of limited to where the train stations are. The Post Bus is really good, but I still stayed with the rail. I pretty much visited every major city in the country (although I've decided that I still need to go to St. Gallen and Winterthur) but driving lets you see that much more.I like having multiple "homes". I can't wait to go home once again.
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