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A very exciting day lay ahead of us on Wednesday morning. We were about to embark on our journey through some very dramatic scenery, and as we planned to begin crossing the Alps into Switzerland we could feel our excitement building. For those that had driven through the Alps before and knew that the feel of a powerful and beautiful car amongst the mountain roads can only be experienced and never imagined, the day was not a disappointment.
Many drivers commented that they only really found out how well their cars performed, and with such ease, when driving in this environment. Our first clue today was by the meandering river in the beautiful town of Verdun. This had plenty of the participants hunting and guessing for quite a while – 'By the river, what old sum was water?' The clues here were the words 'sum' and 'water', and after much searching the answer could be found at the end of the slipway on a wall plaque – '10 francs' (old sum) for the use of the water tap.
Many of the cars stopped at Lausanne for lunch on the shores of Lake Geneva at the amazing Beau-Rivage Palace hotel. It was a beautiful afternoon and with the sun warming the terrace some of us stayed a little longer than perhaps we should have! After lunch we drove through a mountain landscape that can only be described as breath-takingly spectacular. Every time we passed a viewing place, we could be sure to see either a Bentley or Aston Martin parked up and taking in the amazing views.
For most of us, this afternoon posed one of the most cyptic of all clues so far. High up on the Jaunpass, in a sun-drenched mountain café that served the most invigorating coffee, we were asked to find the answer to – 'Memento! What Christian
name for belittled Thailand on I'. The answer was situated on a name plaque on a side entrance door to the café (which also served as a souvenir shop - memento) at the summit of the pass. On the name plaque was written the family name of 'Michael Thoni'. From here we wound our way back down the mountains and followed our route to the splendid Victoria-Jungfrau hotel situated at the foot of the Jungfrau mountain range in Interlaken.
The evening champagne cocktail reception was held on the front terrace in sight of the formidable Eiger and during
the early evening there was a great deal of high spirited discussion over the answers to the clues together with much re-enacting of the most exciting driving so far. All this revelry was set against the stunning backdrop of the Jungfrau mountains which made for a magical evening and much celebration before we made our way through to well-deserved dinner.
The 1st of August is a Bank Holiday in Switzerland and one that the Swiss celebrate very seriously. We were treated to the most magnificent fireworks display between the main course and dessert which lit up the mountain backdrop in the most dazzling way imaginable.
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