It was our last day in Switzerland and Sheridan wanted to make the most of the morning before we left so Chris and Sheridan headed out on bikes to ride around Zugersee which is the lake which Zug adjoins.

Cycling around Zugersee is very beautiful. All of Swizerland seems to be the stuff of postcards. I am not sure how far it is to ride around Zugersee but it took us 2 hours and 10 mins at a moderate pace including a couple of stops to take in the view.

Di was packing while Chris and Sheridan were riding around the lake. As soon as we arrived back at Sheridan’s we left for the train station. As soon as we arrived at the train station we unpacked and realised we had left two bags behind and Sheridan and Di drove back to Sheridan’s place to pick up the missing bags while Chris, Matthew and Sophie found their way onto the correct platform. Di eventually arived back missing bags and food in hand a couple of minutes before the train arrived and then we set off for Koln.

The first leg of the trip was from Zug to Zurich. The 2nd from Zurich to Basel. Both legs were on beautiful Swis trains. At Basel we had our first issue. It seemed our train was cancelled due to a signalling issue somewhere. So while Di went to ask someone what we should do Chris was listening to the announcements in German and studying the indicator boards. After a couple of mins Chris worked out which train to catch and we scurried off. Din checked with the guard and it seemed that we had to change trains one stop later and change again. We expected teh next stop to be at least 30 mins away but as it turned out it was two mins away and we ended up scrambling for the exit with our bags in hand.

Now this fourth train was actually going to Koln and we piled in. The train carriage was fantastic. We had a compartment of 6 to ourself and this time the train had a restaurant car and someone going around taking orders. We were scheduled to be on the train for about four hours and we settled into our journey. After about two hours a guard came around and said that the train was full and since we did not have a booked seat we would have to stand or change trains for the last two hours of the trip. Chris explained that he had tried to book seats and was told that this was unnecessary and that he was told first on got the seat. The guard helpfully told us that this was bad advice. In any case we did not move. Chris found an unreserved seat in the next carriage and Di, Sophie and Matthew stayed put. Di managed to hang onto at least two seats all the way and simply nursed Sophie for part of the trip. At some stage a member of the Stevenson family managed to spill two full cups of lemonade over two of their compartment buddies. That will teach them to sit next to poorly bred Australians.

We finally got to Koln about 7pm. Di stopped to sort our rubbish in to the bins while Chris went to line up for the lift. While I (Di) was then making my way to the lift looking out for Chris I recognized another face in the crowd. It was Maike!!!!!!! She and Lucas had found us among a whole crowd of Friday night train travelers on the platform. It was amazing, a bit like a scene from a movie where, even though there are hundreds of people walking around you, you stop and look at each other and it’s like time has not passed since you last saw each other four and a half years ago. Obviously, Sophie and Matthew had grown a lot and accompanied us, via the tube, back to their apartment which looks a bit like a pool on the outside but is beautifully decorated on the inside. After catching up and stuffing ourselves with food we went to bed.