DAY 3 - SEPT. 4 - RECUPERATING ON THE BEAUTIFUL LAKE

 

This was a very quiet day of recuperating. Ron wasn’t feeling well, and we both needed to rest.

We had a late breakfast around 10 AM on the terrace of the hotel dining room. Not nearly as good as the Hilton Munich. There wasn’t much on the buffet we cared for. I ordered a cheese omelet – it was fine, nothing outstanding. They do have a nice selection of Dilmah tea, and I had several cups.

Ron went up to the room, while I lingered on the terrace. I finally went up and he had taken a shower and couldn’t get into the suitcase lock, none of our usual combinations worked, and he had to break it off.

We sat in the room reading, unpacking, and rearranging,  Finally went out to drop some things at the drycleaner recommended by the hotel (and half the price.of the hotel service). That was a major challenge with driving and parking. We used the Hall County GA handicap placard, and hoped for the best. (A neighbor at home copied and laminated our original for us.)

Drove to Super-U to buy some wine, tea and shaving cream (since Ron’s had been confiscated). They didn’t accept any of the US credit/debit cards we had, so had to pay cash from our limited “stash”.

It was so HOT when we were leaving Super-U, so decided we didn’t want to sit on the lake. Ron had googled the weather numerous times, and we thought it was going to be cooler, more like Autumn. Neither of us had appropriate clothes for this very warm spell. We went back to our room (which was blissfully cool) and had a drink, did more sorting and arranging. 

We went to the lounge, and visited with a couple who have been coming to the area for years. They have homes in London and New York! That morning they had taken a local bus up to a village in the mountains, only to discover that the driver was TOTALLY DRUNK. He was driving in such a way that people were screaming and hollering at him – not only the passengers, but other drivers and pedestrians. Somehow, the discussion was interrupted, and we never heard the end.

Once again, we enjoyed the view from our balcony. Lake Geneva is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Central Europe - 45-miles long and in some places, 9 miles wide. Evian is referred to as "The Pearl of Lake Geneva", and it is truly an elegant, old-world, peaceful oasis. Of course, it is best known for its still mineral water, the best-selling bottled water in the world. 

We were waiting for the crows to roost in the trees along the lake, across from the hotel. We have tried to find out what kind of trees, but there are over  53 species here. These may be chestnut or larch, very tall hardwood trees. On previous visits we've seen hundreds of crows coming in to roost around dusk. It's quite a spectacular sight.  This time, only a few. Google comes in handy again. It seems the crows are fine in small family groups in temperate weather, but when it gets colder they gather at night in very large groups (called "murders") in the hundreds or even the thousands.  Researchers believe the large groups provide heat, safety and better access to food during cold months. Well, I also learned that crows do have a system of communication and are apparently, quite intelligent. I read more, but that is enough of your ornithology lesson for now. Oh, but Ron wanted me to mention that there is a hierarchy, and the "least privileged" sleep on the lower branches and are often coated with "droppings" by morning.