Scuol and Bad Engadin

In spring-time the weather is usually very pleasant in Switzerland. However there are some rainy periods as well when there's nothing really to do in the weekend except for in-door sports or sitting in front of the TV... but these are unfortunately not very good options when our family comes to visit us. That's why we decided to go for a warm thermal bath in the little town of Scuol in Graubunden.
Then we ended the day with a nice dinner on our own terrace.

Sony went big again!!!

I know it doesn't quite fit this blog but I could not resist.

With a long history of large scale bold commercials (see below), Sony went big again with a new ad nicknamed "Foam city". I would have really liked to be there.


And here are some older ads:

• Paint

• Balls

• Bunny

Innsbruck and the Swarovski Crystal World

We spent the last weekend in Tirol, in the city of Innsbruck, surrounded by the beautiful Austrian Alps (the snow at the Arlberg Pass is still at least 3 meters high).

Innsbruck is well known for its sporting opportunities, especially alpine sports, as it is located in the Alps and surrounded by mountains, one of these being the Olympia ski-jump. The so called “Bergiselschanze” facility was constructed on the hill known as Bergisel - where two Winter Olympic Games took place - for jumps up to 104 m, from the top of which there is a splendid view on the whole city. Because of its design and prominent location it is considered a new city landmark.
We have also visited the Ambras-Castle, as well as the Old Town with its tyrolean style buildings , ending the day at the swimming pool on the top floor of our hotel.To visit our album, click on the picture below:

EUROPE - Austria - Innsbruck

Next day we stepped by Wattens, the home of the Swarovski cut-crystal empire, where we explored the Crystal World, that has become one of Tirol's most popular attractions. This three-dimensional adventure museum includes the famous Swarovski crystals, mixed with light and sound offering a real multimedia show.

(The entrance to the Swarovski Crystal World) Click here, to visit the full Swarovski-Album

Weekend in Ticino

Friday afternoon, on our way to South, we stopped in Bellinzona, the capital of Ticino, which acts as a gateway to the Italian part of Switzerland. The skyline of the town is powered by 3 fortifications, well-preserved medieval castles which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

After a short hiking up to the castles, we continued our way to Lake Maggiore, where we visited the popular holiday destinations of Locarno and Ascona. We spent the night in a camping with a wonderful view on the charming, sunny bay of the Lake.

(The Promenade in Ascona)

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Next day we visited the Verzasca Valley, one of the most fascinating ones in Ticino. The Verzasca dam at the entrance to the valley is where James Bond once jumped 220m attached to no more than a rubber rope and where one can experience the "007 Bungee Jump" which lasts exactly 71/2 seconds… you can find a short movie on a real bungee jumping (and some photos) here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/gulliver.gyenge/VerzascaDamValley

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Then we spent the rest of the day in Lugano, the largest town in the holiday region of Ticino. With Mediterranean flair, Lugano offers all the advantages of a world-class city, combined with the flavor of a small town.

(Greetings from the Lugano lake)

1st of May in Zurich

Zsolt (Zoli’s brother), Andi, Lilla & Hazse visited us from Budapest on the long weekend of 1st of May. After a nice walk in the old town of and a boat trip on the Zurich lake, we enjoyed together the sunny spring weather and this view from Uetliberg:

Stuttgart and the Mercedes Museum

On our way back from Flocke, we made a stop in Stuttgart, where we took a pleasant walk in the city center.



Then we visited the Mercedes-Benz Museum, which was almost like a voyage of discovery through the automotive history, from the invention of automobile to the latest visions for the future (see entire Album here).

Flocke

For weeks, one of the main topics in our daily newspaper is Flocke, the polar bear in the Nuremberg Zoo (just like her older "brother", Knut - the little star from the Berlin Zoo last year).
One weekend we decided to make a trip to Germany and visit her. In the Zoo from Nurnberg, there was marked "the shortest way to Flocke" all the way from the entrance to her place ... and lots of visitors were waiting for the chance to enter the area in front of her compound. Flocke seemed to enjoy a lot the nice sunny weather, however she didn't feel like taking a bath that day - unlike her mother, who had a great time swimming and playing in the water. You cfan visit Flocke's Album here (we also took a few photos about other animals, but clearly Flocke and her mother were the biggest stars of the day):

2008 - Nurnberg Zoo - Flocke

(If you wish to find out how everything started, why Flocke is being reared by caretakers with a bottle, instead of by her mother, click here to her official website: http://www.nuernberg.de/internet/polarbear/background.html).

Once in Nurnberg, we also took the chance to visit the city, with its old castle and lovely old town. The whole atmosphere of the historical center was great, people were eating, drinking and having fun...
You can visit the entire Album on Nurnberg here.