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Solar power on Mont Soleil

August 13, 2009 in travel by George | 4 comments

In Switzerland it’s easy to climb mountains. All you do is hop on a cable car and up you go! The other day my Grandparents, Dad and I did just that. We travelled to St-Imier in the French part of Switzerland and took to the sun.

Bottom station of the <i>Funiculaire St Imier–Mont Soleil</i>.

Bottom station of the Funiculaire St-Imier–Mont Soleil.

The cable car from St-Imier to Mont Soleil started operating in 1903. In 2002 the line was completely overhauled and a brand-new car was put into operation in 2003.

The car with three compartments with a total capacity of 60 passengers.

We start out at 828 metres…

We started out at 828 metres… Read the rest of this entry »

Severin joins the family

August 7, 2009 in personal by George | 2 comments

Yesterday we visited Lucerne, a picturesque and lively city in the heart of Switzerland. It was very, very busy with people everywhere. Dad and my grandparents spent a solid five hours shopping! I mean, how much shopping does a human being need?!

Anyway, while I tried not to yawn myself to sleep, I kept looking out for fellow teddies. As incredible as it sounds but there were hardly any bears in Lucerne! Well, I guess, I can’t blame them, can I? Tourists and visitors everywhere, too much noise, very few trees, lots of asphalt and cobblestones… Seriously, what sort of a teddy would want to live there?

But then, in a quiet, narrow backstreet we came across a house called Spielkiste which means something like “play box”. We looked through the window, and there, look! A grey teddy with a big smile on his face frantically waved at us!

We went in to say hello. He was so adorable and cute, as was his name: Severin. He told us he was tired of living in the city and he wanted to travel, see the world and make new friends. He was soo sweet that we adopted him straight away

Teddy Severin today, at our holiday home.

A very happy Teddy Severin.

Welcome to the family! Pumpkin with Severin, Chalky & George

Welcome to the family, Severin! Pumpkin, Severin, Chalky & me.

Views and ice cream at Maiengrün

August 5, 2009 in food, travel by George | No comments

Today was my first visit to Maiengrün on top of a hill range in the lowlands of Switzerland, not far from our holiday home. Upon our arrival I was surprised to see another lookout tower, just like the Esterlitower and yet quite different. Rather than concrete this one is made of steel.

Maiengrün lookout tower, 35 metres high.

The tower is privately owned and it costs a franc to get through the gate (I was lucky, because of my size I got in for free).

162 steps to the top.

Here I am, with Aunty Ruth and Dad on top of the tower.

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Spiral staircase to the top of the world

July 31, 2009 in travel by George | 2 comments

A couple of days ago, my grandparents, Dad, Felix & I went for a walk near Lenzburg, a small town in the lowlands of Switzerland. After a steady, 30-minute climb we arrived on top of an area called Berg. There, in the middle of the forest, was a strange structure that looked a bit like a spaceship on a huge pillar. Had the Martians finally landed?

What on Earth is that?

When we got closer, I noticed a big entrance at the bottom of the pillar, but no Martian in sight.

It's huge! There's a big door at the bottom—should we go in?

It's huge! There's a big entrance at the bottom of it—should we go in?

Grandma went ahead and was quickly swallowed up by the darkness beyond the entrance. Then Dad, Felix & I went in, followed by Granddad. Honestly, I was a bit scared. The first thing I saw beyond the entrance was an array of thick, solid steel rods in the middle of the pillar.

An array of steel rods rise through the centre of the pillar.

Steel rods in the centre of the pillar.

Read the rest of this entry »

My holiday home in the park

July 27, 2009 in travel by George | 2 comments

It’s been another beautiful and warm summer’s day in Switzerland. My friends and I played in the park of our Swiss holiday home all day.

I dragged Dad’s camera along and took some photos to show you what our holiday home looks like. Here they are:

Our Swiss holiday home

There are some big trees, like this magnificent fir

Satellite dish and barbecue

Sunroom

Small orchard and pergola

Pergola and tulip tree

Tulip tree leaf

What do you reckon? Isn’t it a fabulous place for a holiday?

I looove Grandma’s fruit flan

July 26, 2009 in food, recipes by George | No comments

My Grandma is a fabulous cook! Tonight she prepared an apricot fruit flan—one of my favourite dishes.

You may wonder why the Swiss eat something sweet like fruit flan for dinner. Well, in the German part of Switzerland, the main meal is lunch, whereas dinner is generally a smallish, light meal.

Fruit flan is a somewhat traditional dish in Switzerland. Grandma told me that both, her mother and her grandmother, baked fruit flans that were normally served for dinner.

Apricot fruit flan—yum!

Usually seasonal fruit is used to put in the flans. Even vegetables like rhubarb make a good ingredient. I’ve had fruit flans with apples, apricots, cherries, rhubarb, and damsons.

Fruit flans are really easy to prepare. Here’s how:

Grandma’s Fruit Flan

(serves three to four)

fruit

apples: with large baking dish use 8 to 10 apples
canned fruit: thoroughly drain
apricots, damsons, plums (“wet fruit”): cover pastry base with ground hazelnuts or almonds

method

roll out pastry and line baking dish
prick pastry
preheat stove to 200 °C
arrange fruit on pastry
bake on lower rung for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pastry crust turns slightly brown

prepare egg mixture
- pinch of salt
- 120 grams sugar
- 1½ tablespoon flour
- 3 small or 2 large eggs
- mix until light yellow colour
- add 150 ml milk and blend

pour egg mixture evenly over fruit
turn off upper element or lower heat to 170 °C and bake for 15 to 20 minutes
turn on upper element or turn oven back up to 200 °C and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes

Voilà mes amis! Bon appétit!

I saw an Airbus A380!

July 24, 2009 in travel by George | No comments

Our flight from Auckland to Singapore struck quite a bit of headwind, sometimes more than 100 km/h. That didn’t really surprise me: it’s all uphill! Our maximum cruising altitude was 38,000 feet (11,582 m) and it was very cold outside: –49 °C. The 9680-kilometre journey took 11 hours and 20 minutes.

Bertram, Pumpkin, Benjamin, Chalky & me at Singapore Changi Airport.

Changi Terminal 3.

From touchdown to the gate took a remarkable three minutes, which is really quick at a big airport like Singapore Changi. We arrived at Terminal 3 which opened in January 2008 and looks very flash! It has a capacity of 22 million passengers per year. Eight out of the 28 aerobridge gates can accommodate the giant Airbus A380. With Singapore Airlines being the first airline to commercially fly the A380, there was a good chance that we’d get to see one. On our quest we seemed to walk for miles from one end of the terminal to the other, and all of a sudden there it was! Wow, it’s huuuuge!

Me checking out an Airbus A380 at Changi Airport.

I would really like to get one of those aircraft. It would be big enough for the whole family and friends to travel together—wouldn’t that be fantastic?

Airbus A380 at Changi Airport.

Incredible that an aircraft this big can fly! It’s 73 metres long, 24 metres tall and has a wing span of nearly 80 metres. The maximum takeoff weight is 590 tonnes and it can carry 310,000 litres of fuel. Hmm, I wonder how many carbon credits are needed to set that off… It has 22 wheels—imagine how much it would cost to get a new set of tyres…

If you’d like to find out more about the Airbus A380 check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A380.

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