This Friday, the brand new iPhone 3G will be launched to the drooling masses. Up until yesterday, I was one of those, wiping saliva away and making sure my bank balance would be able to cope. That was until O2, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the UK, made a late decision.

I hardly ever use my existing mobile. I’m a pre-pay customer on Orange. I get 5 free texts a day and I top-up about £10 every 2-3 months. I’ve currently got an iPod Touch and a rubbish four year Sony Ericsson which I carry around with me everywhere. It’d be nice to be able to combine these two devices into one. I’ve held off from the 1st Generation iPhone because of my limited mobile usage. It’s simply unjustifiable signing up to a £35 a month contract when I currently spend so little.

When Apple announced the new iPhone, O2 followed up by announcing their plans. Within the press release was mention of a Pay as you Go version. I was delighted. My delight was intensified when an apparent “technical glitch” caused the prices of the Pay&Go version to be released in error. The prices were quickly pulled, but I managed to catch a glimpse and was pleased to find O2 wasn’t charging too much. To sweeten the deal, they were even throwing in 6 months of free, unlimited public wifi and 3G data. Brilliant!

Then the rumour mill started to churn, as it does with all Apple products. People were suggesting the Pay as you Go version was to be delayed. After two weeks of misinformation at O2 stores nationwide, on O2’s customer service line and by email, the waiting thousands heard yesterday, four days before the expected launch that the rumours were true. The pre-pay iPhone would not be available until Christmas! CHRISTMAS!

Unbelievable! How horribly disappointing! Why they waited so long to tell us I don’t know. Why they’ve decided to deny those not wanting to be roped into an expensive, 18 month contract I also don’t know. I was ready to give them my money this Friday, but turns out, they don’t want it.

These were my first ever dealings with O2. I can’t say I’ve been very impressed so far with their indecision and lack of internal communication. I didn’t think a first impression could get much worse, but already, that’s been proved wrong.

Upon closer inspection of their website (which crashed yesterday under the strain of those wanting to upgrade), it appears there is an option for those like me. If I get hold of a 1st Generation iPhone, I can pop a free Pay&Go sim card in it and away I go. Today, I went into my local O2 store, as instructed by the website, to get my SIM card in readiness of me being able to track down a reasonably priced 1st Gen. Perhaps not surprinsingly, they didn’t know what I was talking about. They even went as far as to suggest that I had got it wrong and directed me back to the website I had come from.

It’s such a shame that O2 have the iPhone monopoly in the UK. After these first encounters of a company who clearly don’t know what they’re doing, I really don’t want to become one of their customers. But I really want an iPhone! I seems though that Apple are more concerned with making money from their exclusive deal with O2 than they are with ensuring their previously loyal customers don’t have to jump through hoops and sign their lives away to get at their new products.

Were you planning on getting a Pay as you Go iPhone 3G? Do you feel you’ve been let down? Vent out using the comments form below.

Yesterday, it was the Williams Sisters Show with them playing one another in the final of the Ladies singles competition. While I normally favour the women’s game, I didn’t watch the final, partly because I thought it’d be boring (who likes one Williams sister more than the other?) and partly because their match was up against another match that I wanted to watch more.

Over on Court 1, Mansour Bahrami of Iran and Henri Leconte of France were playing Britain’s Jeremy Bates and Sweden’s Anders Jarryd in the Senior Gentlemen’s Invited Doubles. I had already seen Bahrami and Leconte play in the past and have been hugely entertained and yesterday, they failed to disappoint. Bahrami was as funny, clever and full of trick-shots as ever and Leconte was equally funny as he was flamboyant. Though they clowned around, they still proved they had superb tennis in them. Bahrami’s lob was always spectacularly accurate, while Leconte’s drop shots were marvellous. The best moments of the match though were when they were mucking about.

For instance, Leconte challenged a call that was called out. In the seconds between he Umpire announcing the challenge and the big screen displaying the results, Leconte had climbed the steps on the Umpire’s chair, watched as the big screen said the ball was actually in and then laughed in the Umpire’s face. This sequence shows this moment.

Another point and Leconte is about the serve when someone calls out at him from the stands. He hits a ball at the person and then yells at them, “You have a big mouth.” He then turns away to continue his serve. With a loud scream, the ball rockets over the roof and out of the stadium. He casually turns to the Umpire and questions whether the ball was in and slams the racquet on the ground when he’s told it wasn’t. “CHALLENGE! I want to Challenge!” he yells. With much laughter, the four players watch the big screen as Hawkeye flounders, it’s lasers not able to register the location of the ball when it leaves the court, and displays, “Original call stands.”

Next time you see Leconte and Bahrami scheduled to play, make sure you watch. I guarantee you’ll be in stitches within minutes. Even the pre-match warmup is an opportunity for them to make people laugh. I’m glad I chose to watch these legends of tennis against the Williams sisters. While I congratulate their obvious acheivement, I have to say, entertainment-wise, the clowns win hands down.

• Money! A day at Wimbledon isn’t cheap! A hotel room the night before (see below for why you might need one) costs no less than £80, the cost to get in is anywhere between £20 and £90 depending on the ticket you get, and food & drink is a total rip-off. A small cup of Pimms (nice as it is) costs £6. Ouch! With the forthcoming iPhone 3G on my shopping list and upcoming trips to Paris and Norway, a day at Wimbledon doesn’t fit inside my current budget.
• It’s a long day! To ensure you get a seat on one of the show courts, you need to get a good spot in the infamous queue. To maximise your chances, you really ought to be in the queue by 06h30-07h00. To do that, you can either start the day from home, in which case you need to wake up at 03h00, or you can book a room at a hotel, which still means you need to wake up at 05h30. What with the more expensive peak-time evening hours on the trains, you’ll not want to leave the ground until after 19h30 and if there’s a good match on, you could be there until 21h30. That means you’d be getting home at 23h00. What with all the waiting around in the queue (normally 4-5 hours), it’s a draining day.
• Catering at Wimbledon is rubbish! This is a minor point, but still important. I’ve already mentioned how expensive the food is, but it’s also worth saying how terrible it is. No matter what time of day you go, there’ll be an enormous queue and by the time you reach the counter, you’ll be disappointed by the selection. Incidentally, you’ll be joining the queue without knowing what’s on offer since the list of available items is written in tiny font behind the counter. The selection is the same every single year and is not particularly good quality either.
• The best seat is at home. Seriously! It’s particularly the case if you’re in Britain where the host broadcaster, the BBC, lay on a plethora of ways to watch. This year you can watch in high definition on BBC HD, choose from six courts at any one time with BBCi, watch on the BBC Sport website or watch again up to seven days later via BBC iPlayer. While you don’t get to soak in the unique Wimbledon atmosphere, you do get the closer to the action.

It’s important to note that these are the reasons I’m not going this year. I’d still recommend you go, especially if you haven’t been before. It’s a very special event that is so deeply routed into British culture that everyone ought to experience it at least once, even if you’re not that into Tennis. Seeing world-famous Tennis players in the flesh (doing their best to ignore you) and seeing the court attendants pull the covers on as another shower floats over is exciting! If you can put up with the catering, the expense and the long day, you should definitely go.

Do yourself a favour though and get yourself entered into the public ballot for tickets. That’s what I’ll be doing for next year. It doesn’t guarantee you tickets, but if you are lucky, the day is much more relaxing and there’s hardly any queuing at all (unless you want a cray fish sandwich).

Last night, a global crisis occurred. The football went off air. Breathe deeply and hold someone’s hand as we look at how the world coped.

As you’ll know, the Euro 2008 championships have been taking place in Switzerland and Austria. So far, everything’s gone without a hitch, perhaps helped considerably by England’s absence from the competition. Last night was perhaps the best match of the tournament so far, the semi-final between Germany and Turkey. In the 58th minute of yesterday’s match, just as the match looked as if it was turning into a thriller, television pictures around the world began to break up, eventually freezing.

The worldwide community immediately began to publish their annoyance. Here’s a sample of some of the many tweets;

ESPN has lost the feed to what’s turned out to be a stellar finish in the Germany/Turkey Euro 2008 game. Nice work.

Who put Twitter in charge of retransmitting the Euro 2008 Championship?

In Britain, coverage of the competition is shared between the BBC and ITV. Last night’s semi-final was being covered by the BBC, who almost immediately switched to BBC Radio 5 Livecommentary whilst displaying an apology caption. The speed in which they did this suggests they were expecting the feed to drop.

In the 63rd minute, The Guardian, who were live blogging the match on their website posted;

TV pictures are down in Montreal and Rome too. And France. And Germany. It’s a global meltdown, people!

In France, TF1 crossed to a dark, half empty studio just in time to capture the presenter running to his desk and fixing his ear piece in to make an apology. Luckily, someone managed to capture this moment.

In Norway, they showed a still caption whilst the pitch side commentator continued to relay the match events via mobile phone. A channel in Hong Kong also resorted to using a mobile phone, only they didn’t have a mobile available and had to borrow one from a spectator. Austria’s ORF1 went completely black for a time before dumping back into the match as if nothing had happened. In Germany, where viewers were no doubt pulling their hair out and gnashing their teeth, ZDF rebroadcast SF (Swiss TV) footage complete with the SF logo in the top left-hand corner. In the USA, ESPN returned to the studio for a chat before the pictures returned. Unusually though, their feed dropped completely a while later and they weren’t able to broadcast the final moments of the match. In Belgian, VT4 and La Deux managed to get pictures back but without any sound. According to The Guardian, most other countries around the world decided that at times such as these, the best thing to do is put on some adverts. It seems the only broadcasters whose coverage went unaffected, and who was able to broadcast Germany’s second goal was SF and oddly, Al Jazeera.

In all, there were three outages caused by a violent electrical storm in Vienna which cut the power to the international broadcast centre. Despite the match taking place in Basel, Switzerland, the pictures are sent via Vienna, Austria and then sent via satellite to broadcasters all over the world. The storm was so violent that 22,000 fans were evacuated from Vienna’s ‘fan zone’, where fans were watching the match via a big screen.

Back in Britain, coverage of the rest of the second half was clumsy at best. The picture dropped on numerous occasions, with commentary flicking between that of Radio 5 Live and the TV commentators. At times, the audio lagged behind the pictures resulting in commentators describing events that had already occurred. With an absence of on-screen scores or timer, it had seemed the Beeb had managed to source an alternative clean feed from somewhere, although no one had told the commentary team who continued to apologise for the picture-loss despite the pictures having returned.

So far, the BBC have received 154 complaints from viewers, with the BBC along with Germany’s ZDF lodging an official complaint with UEFA.

It was a shame as this match was quite clearly the match of the competition so far. Obviously, it was a fair result, but it doesn’t feel fair. Turkey’s play was much more creative, much more courageous and much more fun to watch. They were probably the better side. But Germany showed patience and resilience and managed to reach the final with a late goal.

So, what happened where you live? How did your national broadcaster cope with the loss of pictures? Were you in Vienna when the storm hit? Sound off in the comments.

Related Content

• Two football fans hurt as thousands flee Euro 2008 storm - CNN

This is an advert from Heinz publicising their new range of deli-style mayonnaise. Mmmm! I like mayonnaise. Goes great with ham salad. But, OH MY GOD, what’s that other taste in my mouth? It’s not just mayonnaise! I no longer feel the sweet satisfaction of a filling lunch. I now feel… UNCOMFORTABLE!

Why? Well, did you spot something in the advert? Something that might have caused an uncomfortable feeling? Yep, your eyes didn’t try to deceive you. There really was a man-on-man kiss thrown in there. Eugh! GAY!

Thank goodness there’s an organisation we can write to to express how horrified we are with gayness; The Advertising Standards Authority, who, due to the 200 complaints they’ve received about this funny and clever advert, will be still trying to push their front door open.

According to the Media Guardian;

Some complainants said the ad was “offensive” and that it is “inappropriate to see two men kissing”. Other complaints include that the ad was “unsuitable to be seen by children” and that it raised the difficult problem of parents having to discuss the issue of same-sex relationships with younger viewers.

Meanwhile, Bill O’Reilly, an American presenter on Fox News and a man I find absolutely fascinating, felt he ought to add his two cents to the growing pile of small change.

“Obviously a gay thing,” he says. Wrong as usual, Bill.

I cannot believe that in 2008, I have to explain this to some people, but I’m going to do it anyway to help bring some clarity to the issue. The problem I think some people are having is interpreting the meaning of the advert. They’re seeing the two men kiss and are allowing it to blur their judgement. Mr O-Reilly, take notes.

The scene is set in British suburbia. In the kitchen, there is a man with a strong Brooklyn accent wearing full deli regalia. White apron, white shirt, white paper hat. This isn’t normal. British houses don’t have resident deli workers imported from New York to make the kids sarnies. Instead, it’s normally the mothers (female) who make the sandwiches. The product being used and being advertised is a range of deli-style mayonnaises. If you piece the clues together, you’ll see that the message of the advert is that if you add Heinz Mayonnaise to your ham salad bap, it’s just like eating a genuine New York deli-style ham salad bap. The typical mother (female) making the sandwiches is replaced by a New York deli owner making the sandwiches to emphasise this point.

It’s abstract. It’s not a portrayal of actual events. The female mother is replaced by a male mother to make a point about the quality and authenticity of the product. The two men are not a gay couple. It’s not “a gay thing.”

Obviously, the marketing people knew that by including the man kiss, they’d be opening a can of worms. Despite this in mind, it’s not a gratuitous kiss. It’s just adding to the realism of the situation within the abstract setting. In a normal situation, the husband and wife would kiss to say goodbye to one another.

I could go on with this and ask, even if it was a “gay thing,” why would that be a problem, but I won’t. There’s just no getting through to some people. I fully anticipate that the ASA will reject all of the complaints. There are absolutely no grounds for taking action against an advert that dared to do something different with clever and funny results.

Update: 24/06/08

This morning, I’m waking up to the new that Heinz have withdrawn the advert.

It is our policy to listen to consumers. We recognise that some consumers raised concerns over the content of the ad and this prompted our decision to withdraw it.

Unbelievably bad decision!

Last Saturday, I spent much of the day in London for my very first Flickr Meet. About 50 Flickr members and I went on a very pleasant stroll around London’s South bank along the Tate Modern’s Street Art walking route. Even if you’re not into Street Art, it’s still a great way to spend a few hours in an area of London you may not have otherwise ever ventured into.

The art, by five Madrid-based street artists, was pretty cool. Not sensational, but still worth a look. Some of it is pretty random, while other pieces you can appreciate for their obvious complexity. I have to admit, I found wandering through unfamiliar streets and seeing brand new, shiny buildings standing next to old, dirty warehouse buildings more of a thrill than the art. Even more thrilling was seeing my first ever Space Invader, followed shortly afterwards by my second. That’ll be 20 points to me then!

After the walk, we all followed the pink and blue balloons towards the Founders Arms where Flickr treated us to a free drink (literally anything from the bar) and piles of free toasted paninis and sandwiches. Oh, and there was also the obligatory Flickr Schwag and geeky chat. I was a good day.

The photos you see in this post were all taken with a Panasonic Lumix TZ5, a camera that boasts an impressive feature set (9MP, 10x Optical, Intelligent Auto mode, HD video). With good reviews elsewhere on the net, and the device looking good on paper, I was expecting to get my money’s worth. My expectations however, were not met. Compared with my much cheaper Nikon L6, the Panasonic did produce sharper images, but failed in producing rich vibrant colours. On the whole, the colours were washed out with a slight, yet detectable blue tint. The lack of vibrancy affected the depth of field and so the images looked flat and lifeless. Some of the images were OK, but for £240, OK isn’t good enough. After two days of ownership, it’s now been sent back. Disappointing.

Incidentally, if you’re considering going to the Tate Modern, don’t! It’s rubbish! Even though it’s free to get in, it’ll be a waste of your time. After just 25 minutes, I left feeling a mixture of depression, confusion and anger. I can appreciate art so long as it looks like someone’s taken time over it to make sure it resembles the thing it’s meant to represent (and admitedly, there are some pieces in the Tate Modern that fulfil this criteria). I cannot and will not appreciate “art” that looks like someone’s rubbed the canvas on the pavement, or dipped it in in a vat of sewage or spilt tea over it. Utter twoddle! It’s the only free attraction I’ve been to where I’ve left feeling I’ve been robbed. The best part of visiting the Tate Modern was crossing the Millennium Bridge (above) to get away from it.

Related Content

For more photos taken on the day, check out the Flickr set.

This is part two of a two-part set of notes I wrote while on a short trip to Switzerland in March 2008. If you haven’t read part one yet, do so before you read part two.

Wednesday

06h38
White out! A massive snowfall overnight. Still coming down. They’re working furiously at the moment to clear the road. Little snow sweeper and massive plough doing noisy laps of the village. Bus went past as I was watching from my balcony with chains wrapped around its tyres. Snow blowers and chains on tires are new to me. I’ll be seeing St Bernards next.

10h54
Its zero according to the thermometer in Grindelwald. The world cup event has been cancelled. If you can believe it, there’s too much snow! The lifts aren’t even working. So, I’m going on a train trip. Little disappointed, but not massively. Grindelwald wasn’t as picturesque as the other villages. It’s good for skiers, but if you’re not a skier, there’s not much here for you.

12h13
In Kleine Scheidegg, 6762 ft above sea level. Crammed with skiers. Just bought some new gloves. Some of them were £60 a pair. Unbelievable! OMG! As I’m writing this, a St Bernard just wandered past. How cool is that!

18h34
Discovered the Wanderweg, a hiking trail and toboggan run between Kleine Scheidegg and Wengen. Beautiful scenery. The snow set in almost immediately, reducing visibility significantly. It calmed as I walked (stumbled upright) through woodland. But, I faced a different onslaught, this time from clumps of snow falling off of the trees. Lost the trail half way along so took the train the rest of the way. A great couple of hours. Just had my last meal, another Rösti. Delish!

Thursday

12h29
Stunning hike from Grütschalp (4379 ft) to Mürren (5361 ft). The ankle deep snow sparkled in the sun. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The silence was broken only by birdsong. It was a fantastic end to my break in the mountains. Now on the Intercity to Bern, where I change for the Intercity to Geneva. I don’t want to leave, but I’m certain I’ll be back to experience a proper winter again.

12h32
Before leaving the hotel, I spoke to Jacqui on reception. She said the snow was unusual for this time of year. Guess I’ve been lucky again. Last time I was here, the weather was unusually dry and sunny. Just arrived at Interlaken West. Snow slowly disappearing at this lower level. Snow covered mountains still surround though. Spectacular against the totally clear blue sky.

13h07
Man! The chap sat opposite me honks of cigarettes. Do smokers not realise they stink? Or do they just not care? If they don’t care about slowly killing themselves, I suppose not. Just left Thun. Snow now completely gone. :(

13h12
Scrap that. Snows back. God, I’m obsessed.

13h40
You know I’m on a train when the number of updates increase. Now on train from Bern to Geneva. Bern was pretty chilly. I love these double-deckers. So comfortable. So quiet. Sipping Rivella and watching the countryside flow past.

14h10
The train announcements are in French first, then German, and all the passengers are suddenly speaking French. I must be in the canton of Fribourg, heading for Lausanne and then Geneva.

14h14
Suddenly, there’s masses of snow everywhere. Yay!

16h27
They do things differently at Geneva airport. Took a little while to get to grips with but managed to get through to the departure lounge which is where I am now. You had to self check-in where the luggage tags and boarding pass were printed. Then, having fixed the tag to your bag, you dropped the bag off at the drop-off point. Then, you walk half a mile to security and then to the gate. Went to Geneva centre on the way to the airport. Fountain was switched off due to high winds. After 20 minutes, I headed back to the train station. Roasting hot on this departure lounge.

17h22
Plane just arrived at the gate. Feeling a bit groggy. Felt like this the last time I came back from Switzerland. Here comes a cold. Luckily I have some tablets I bought from Wengen on my last visit.

18h26
Plane left Geneva 40 minutes late. Ah well. Airborne. For some reason, not enjoying it as much as before.

20h43gmt
Back in Britain. I had to queue for 20 minutes at the UK border to have my passport waved through. Then I had to travel back home on a 25 year old train, from a station where none of the clocks were working. Back to earth with a bump

21h45
Just uploading the 300 odd photos to my mac. There’s some really nice ones. Its been a fantastic short trip, and you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be going back.

Related Media

• Switzerland Photo Set on Flickr
• ‘The Hike’ on Here To Geneva (includes video shot during the hike).

Is Geneva in the Northern or Southern hemisphere?

According to maps, Geneva is very much within the Northern hemisphere. You’ll find it in Switzerland, which is in Europe.

Why won’t people let the Olympic torch group?

Hmmm. I didn’t realise the Olympic torch had the desire to group. Group with whom? I’d say, judging by the number of Chinese paramilitary soldiers who ran along with the torch on its global relay, the torch’s needs were met. There was definitely a large group of them surrounding the torch, thus the torch was a part of a group. I’m only guessing here, but whoever wanted to stop the torch from grouping, failed.

What happens to the Olympic torch when finished?

The torch bearers on this year’s relay were all allowed to keep their torches. Any left will no doubt be sold to whoever wants one.

What things should I take on a trip to Switzerland in Summer?

Start with an empty bag, and then think about what items you might need while on your trip. Then, find those items and put those items inside the bag. You might find writing a list helpful.

In all seriousness though, I’m guessing you’re asking what weather conditions you should be prepared for. Switzerland’s climate is notoriously changeable, so you should be prepared to cope with all types of weather conditions. Layers are the way to go. Take t-shirts, thick jumpers and rain coats, because you’ll probably need them all. Particularly in the mountains, the nights can still get fairly chilly in the summer. And if you go up high enough, the days can be very cold.

What’s the best place to sit for first time flyers?

I’d recommend sitting in the middle of the plane, regardless of whether you’re a first time flyer or not. The middle is said to be the most comfortable section to sit in as the wings control the steadiness when the plane hits turbulence.

Which countries were in the path of the Olympic torch relay?

In chronological order; Greece, China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Russia, United Kingdom, France, United States, Tanzania, Oman, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, China.

These notes were originally written during a trip to Switzerland in March 2008, and then posted here shortly afterwards. That post has now been deleted and the notes reformatted into two parts to make them more reader-friendly.

Monday

10h19gmt
So now I get to put my iPod touch to good use. On my last trip I wrote my notes with pen and paper. This time though I can write them on my iPod and then email them to myself to upload later. Brilliant! Currently sat in the departure lounge at the Airport. Not feeling nervous at all this time. I know what to expect. I’m actually looking forward to it. What I don’t like is saying goodbye to my bag at check-in. Feels like I’ve lost something when I haven’t. May as well start the ‘wow guess what I just ate’ stuff. Just had a Mango Tango. Mango, orange and lime mixed-up into a smoothie. It was good.

12h15
On the plane. Pilot said they tried flying at 31,000 ft but it was a little bumpy so we’re now at 30,000 ft. He was right. It was a bit bumpy. France sailing past below.

15h38cet
I’m in Switzerland. Stopped off at Geneva to see the fountain. Still here. I went the wrong way and didn’t really see anything. Gonna arrive at the hotel in the dark now. Ah well.

15h44
Things are looking up. Train to Bern arrives earlier than expected. And it’s a double decker. Yay!

15h49
The only thing I wanted to see in Geneva was the fountain. Luckily, I’ve just seen it while going past on the train.

16h12
Just saw a man underneath a railway bridge in the middle of nowhere playing the trombone.

15h28
Just left Lausanne. At the top of a steep escarpment covered in vineyards. Setting sun shining on Lake Geneva. Snow covered peaks in the distance.

15h39
OMG! On-train wifi! Ipod won’t connect though. Lady on my right connected via her MacBook though.

15h58
Just realised Switzerland is like Belgium & France in that it runs its trains on the left.

20h30
Arrived at the hotel. Pretty tired. Finally a wifi network I can use. There have been loads all over the place. Just had a Lauterbrunner Rösti followed by a Caramel ice cream. Delicious. Full up.

Tuesday

07h47
An interrupted sleep. Couldn’t wait to get up to see if it had snowed, so got up intermittently through the night to look out the window. It has! And still is! And it’s settling! This is what I came
for.

10h18
Wow! I’ve never seen snow like this. Powdery and light. Absolutely pouring in Mürren. Lots of skiers. I should probably learn to ski. The scenery is enough though. Beautiful and bracing. Leaving the mountains now to visit Interlaken. Snow might not be so bad down there. I do love it, but it isn’t great for sightseeing. I can barely keep my eyes open.

12h24
Just finished lunch underneath a pagoda in a small Japanese garden in Interlaken. Town is quieter than expected. Nice walk, but not bucket loads to do or see. Still heavy snow even at this level. Not settling though. If this were the UK, there’d be people abandoning their cars at the side of the road in tears by now. The Swiss (admittedly more used to such weather conditions) just sweep the snow to one side and get on with it.

15h39
Back at hotel to have a rest. Went to Brienz and Wilderswil. Both very nice. Some beautiful lakeside views of the mountains from Brienz. The water was crystal clear and glowed almost turquoise. Snow still coming down outside. Gonna play a bit of Nintendo and then have a walk along the valley.

17h51
Went on one of the walks I discovered on my last visit to the valley. Took a lot of the same photos I took before, only this time with 10cm of snow. Going down to eat shortly. Before I do, a rest while watching Flight of the Conchords on my iPod.

20h27
Currently sat in the lobby of the hotel on the net. Went for a short walk to see the Staubbach Waterfall lit up. I don’t know how they manage to light an entire valley wall so uniformly. Tired.

Related Content

• Switzerland Photo Set on Flickr
• ‘Views From The Balcony’ on Here To Geneva (includes video shot from the hotel balcony)
  

  

  
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