Balloons

This weekend we decided to head over to the annual Festival International de Ballons, held in Château-d'Oex. The "ballons" in question are of the large, hot-air variety, so you can expect the sky to be filled with colourful balloons of various interesting shapes.

We made the 1 hour trip from Lausanne to Château-d'Oex for the same reason last January, but unfortunately the bad weather meant that the balloons could not take off. On that occasion we had to make do with looking at balloons being inflated on the ground for a short while, and then deflated so that the next balloon could be blown up.

Luckily this year the weather was much kinder to us, and the festival was able to go ahead as planned.

Balloons fill the sky over Château-d'Oex

As we approached the town of Château-d'Oex, we could already see many balloons in the sky, and Lydia excitedly shouted "Ballon! Ballon!" repeatedly as we arrived in the town. Having parked the car in the town itself (the festival car park was not open at this point as they wanted people to fill up the Coop car park first), we walked towards the grounds.

A short distance from the entrance we were stopped by some of the festival workers, who informed us that we had to purchase tickets for 10.- CHF just to get in. I was surprised at this, as I didn't remember paying for entry when we went last year. Perhaps they waived the entry fee last year as the weather was so bad and no flights were expected? In any case, we paid the man (fortunately Lydia got in for free) and entered the festival grounds.

Inside there was a band playing Güggenmusik, a type of music with loud drums and brass instruments, typically associated with the carnaval season in Switzerland (see "Carnaval"). Lydia loves music in general and although she seemed a bit scared of the loud Güggenmusik, as she pressed her head against my arm, every time they finished a song she repeatedly shouted "Encore!".

Aside from the band, a large number of people were gathered along the gates lining the field where the balloons are inflated, while an announcer described certain balloons over the PA system. At one point a partially inflated balloon laid itself down over half the watching crowd before lifting back into the air, much to the amusement of those momentarily covered by the colourful material.

Also in this area was a booth where you can pay for balloon flights. Out of curiosity, Christelle checked how much a trip would cost, and the answer was 250.- CHF per person. That meant it was a bit out of our price range, and in any case they said the day's passenger list was basically full. Maybe next year.

Near the inflating field were some assorted stalls selling such goodies as hats and scarves, as well as others peddling pizzas, churros and various other typical festival delicacies. Chris and I decided to have a glass of mulled wine to help warm our chilled cockles, and stumped up 5.- CHF per glass for the honour. To be fair, they were large cups (possibly 300ml) and the mulled wine was delicious, so we certainly got our money's worth there.

Afterwards we headed over to a hill on one side of the grounds, partly because of Lydia's insistence to follow the band who had disappeared in that direction. We made our way up the slope and picked out a good spot to see the balloons being blown up. At the top of the hill were some more food stalls, so I bought a bowl of macaroni du chalet for Lydia (macaroni with ham, cheese and cream). It was 10.- CHF for the bowl which I thought was a bit on the steep side, but I put this down to everything being more expensive at festivals.

Lydia really liked her lunch, as she managed to eat probably two-thirds of the bowl (which is a lot for her, as she isn't a big eater). The other third was happily finished off by yours truly. Yum yum. At this point Chris' friend Sandrine had showed up with her son Matys (see "Ah, Young Love..."), so they joined us on the snowy hill to watch the balloons.

I guess Lydia had absorbed some energy from her pasta lunch as she jumped out of her pushchair and started walking around in the snow. After a few steps she laid down on her back in the snow, so we rolled her over to her sheer delight. She giggled as she rolled around in the snow, occasionally standing up and trudging around before dropping down and laughing as she began to roll again.

This was actually brilliant to see as Lydia had never really seemed that comfortable with snow, not wanting to touch it or play with it and barely tolerating walking in it. So to see her enjoying herself in the snow was a wonderful moment for us. Her happy relationship with the snow lasted for until she tried to run and tripped, landing on her knees with her glove-less hands in the snow (it's impossible to make her keep her gloves on), at which point she whinged and didn't want anything more to do with the white stuff.

That, along with the fact that it was round about the time that Lydia would normally have her nap, signalled the time for us to leave, so we made our way back home. That afternoon Lydia slept for two and a half hours, so it looks like the combination of fresh air and playing in the snow tired her out - might have to remember that!

All in all, the Festival International de Ballons at Château-d'Oex is good to see, and at night (weather permitting) they have a "Night Glow" with illuminated balloons, which is probably something spectacular to witness. The main downside for me was the fact that we had to pay to get in, even though all that entitled you to was to stand a bit closer to the balloons while they were grounded (as everything else involved additional charges, such as drinks, food, rides, etc.).

We might go back next year, and hopefully we will get to see the Night Glow next time, although it might be more economical to watch the balloons from the town itself instead of paying to get a bit closer.

Tip: if you fancy going to the festival you should make sure to check their website the morning of the day you plan to go, as they post information about what to expect that day. This will tell you if the weather is too bad for flights, or if the Night Glow is cancelled.

Snowed in ...ish

The first snow of the winter season arrived for us on 28th October, which is much earlier than it normally would do. I think last year it didn't turn up until late November. Perhaps this is a sign of the forthcoming apocalypse in December this year? Or maybe it was just a bit colder than usual, turning a passing cloud's downpour into snow instead of rain. I'll let you be the judge of which is the most likely cause.

In our little corner of Switzerland - Bussigny - we are fairly low-lying, at an altitude of only 400 metres or so above sea level. That might sound quite high up to some people, but compared to some other places in the Lausanne area, such as Epalinges which peaks at a lofty 850 metres above sea level, it looks positively subterranean. Being at such a low altitude means most other location in Switzerland, like the aforementioned Epalinges, get snow before we do. Not this time.

The snow seemed to fall all over the Canton of Vaud this weekend, leaving a white dusting everywhere. Snow always makes me feel Christmassy. I don't really know why that is, given that I have never actually experienced a White Christmas that I can remember. Christmas in England in 2009 was the closest I ever came in England, with my brother's snowman still standing in the garden from snowfall several days before, although it didn't actually snow on Christmas Day. In Switzerland 2008, we went in search of snow by driving from Lausanne to Les Paccots, which is a bit higher up and therefore more prone to snow when it gets a bit chilly.

The snowy view from
our balcony

Despite these close calls, I have never personally witnessed snow on Christmas Day. I could be forgiven, therefore, for allowing our early blast of white gold to get my hopes up that this year's Big Day will finally buck the trend. It's not like we had a huge deluge of snow; as you can see in the photo, it was only a light dusting of around 1-2 cm.

In any case, it gave me that warm, Christmassy feeling that brings a smile to my face and warms my heart.

The warm feeling didn't last that long. My heart, and the rest of my body, were quickly cooled down when I went outside in the snow. It was seriously cold, with a blisteringly chilly wind blowing right in my face as soon as I stepped away from the entrance to our building.

World's Smallest Snowman?

I had decided to take Lydia out for a walk that day to give her an early glimpse of snow, so she could play with it and have fun throwing it around, or enjoy the feeling of it crunching under her footsteps. As mentioned above, there wasn't a lot of snow, so I wasn't expecting to be able to build a 6 foot tall snowman and have enough snow left over to make a similar sized snowlady and snowbaby.

All the same, I helped Lydia to make her very first snowman (see photo).

OK, so it isn't the biggest snowman in the world. It doesn't even have any eyes. It was more symbolic really, showing Lydia that you can do stuff with snow other than tread on it. By this time she had already given me quite a few puzzled looks as she tried to walk on it, and at the odd feeling of having these freezing droplets landing on her cheeks.

It's hard to say if she enjoyed the experience, partly because I had to cut it short due to the fact that it was so darn cold. It must have been very odd for Lydia to step outside and see white everywhere. She had plenty of snow experience last winter, even going tobogganing down hills at Chalet à Gobet, but she won't remember that now. I know in the years to come she won't remember this winter either, but my aim is to show her that she should enjoy it while it lasts.

...which will basically be until she is grown up and endures the frustration of traffic jams and flights cancellations caused by snow, or has to dig her car out from under a couple of feet of a substance she once thought of as fun.

Sixty Days in Suisse - Part IX

Grimaces, Gourmet and Games



My Permis B, complete with psycho stare photo

As I write this blog I am now in my ninth week of being a Swiss resident, and finally received my Permis B (the document that shows I am legally allowed to work in Switzerland). I popped down to the SPOP in Lausanne to collect the document, and luckily I didn’t have to pay any extra administration fees, apart from the 8.- CHF for a passport photo to affix to the permit.

Admittedly it isn’t the greatest photo of me ever, as it looks like I had just been told some exceedingly bad news. The reason for the grimace is that the photo booth had a warning that said “Do Not Smile”, so I didn’t. The end result is a very grumpy looking work permit, but at least that grumpy person can now proudly tell prospective employers that he can work for them (legally).