Back – without a limp!

Zermatt does have a little magic – dominated by the Matterhorn – yet it is a very commercial environment. The locals seem a nice bunch, rather it is the visiting hoardes that are less bearable. Still, it’s my first time skiing here and considering the poor weather this year, I think we were quite lucky – 4 days of sunny skiing with good snow – yes, I’m a fairweather skier!

From the perspective of a proficient piste skier I found the only redeeming feature of the Klein Matterhorn region to be the stunning views, but the pistes were featureless motorways – particularly on the route to Cervinia. Gornergrat was a little better, Höhetahlli more so and the Röthorn even better. I’d heard someone say that Zermatt has the best piste skiing in the world, but personally I think I still prefer Klosters and Les Trois Vallées.

Some nice bottles were drunk along the way, spoiled by inappropriate glassware, but c’est la vie! Two 1995 Pomerols – Château Plince and Château Lagrange, a lovely 1998 Petit Cheval, a nice shiraz (that I can’t remember the name of!) and a good Recioto de la Valpolicella. Then there was a trio rieslings – 1986 Trittenheimer, 2001 Sipp-Mack and 2002 Rolly-Gassmann, followed by a 2002 Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay and a 2000 Guyon Corton-Charlemagne. The Charlemagne, at least until it warmed in the glass, was rather disadvantaged by a Swiss ‘Heida’ a wine that is grown at the highest altitude in the area of Wallis (or Valais!). I shall have to find out a little more about these bottles – they cost little more than the Jadot Bourgogne!

Oh-well, back to the mailbox…

A sunny day out in the country yesterday – German Blackforest country. Of-course Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte (Blackforest Gateau) was eaten (merely okay) and many cuckoo clocks were seen. To the left is the ex-largest cuckoo clock in the world – well in Schonach Germany anyway. The cuckoo weighs in at 20 kilos – but as you will note from the photo, we just missed it! Next onto Triberg with Germany’s highest waterfall – unfortunately the paths were closed off for saftey reasons – but for some unknown reason. I could only take a picture of the lower part of the falls and a plaque to Ernest Hemingway who (it says) visited in 1922.

After a rain-soaked weekend, I followed up with a rain-soaked two and a half hour journey to Nuits St.Georges this morning. Fortunately the sun shone on some of the wines – there was even half a sunset to finish the day. Tomorrow 3 more visits await, and an occasional bottle might pass my lips too!
This evening we are drinking a very lovely Puligny 1er Cru – Les Caillerets no-less – from M&M, notes for which will follow one day…

No wine today, just ‘Sacher Torte‘ and a very long day…

Back home, completely jet-lagged from Spain. You don’t need to return from Japan to get jetlagged, you just need to go direct from the nightclub (BiKiNi) to your 7:00am breakfast meeting…

Barcelona is a great place to spend 3 or 4 days – I can’t recommend it enough – there is all the culture that you can dream of and it has a nice facile side too!

Oh, and by the way, I also found time to work while I was there!

No wine today – well, maybe a glass of Rioja with some gambas later-on.

I just took a jog down to the end of the ‘Diagonal’ to Barcelona’s version of London’s giant cucumber – the Agbar Building. It does look rather cool – less obviously dominating the sky than the Swiss Re building, but more colourful. I understand it looks even better at night, so I will have to revisit it.

On the way back up the Diagonal I decided to jink right and do a loop of the Sagrada Familia. Of-course once you get there it is impossible not to linger; I think you can make a case for Gaudi being on the same level as da Vinci in terms of artistry. There is no corner, facade, or pillar that seems without a story. The older parts, already darkened by the years, look much more Gothic than the newer – slightly more organic – shapes; I wonder if it is all still his design or new people developing his style. What they can construct from concrete is amazing.

I’ll post a few extra pictures as and when I have the opportunity.