Around The World

The Cotswold

The Cotswolds region of England is one of the most fascinating in the UK primarily due to it having been frozen in time for 300 years resulting in the near total preservation of its beautiful ancient "chocolate box" villages set in stunning countryside. Famous for the honey coloured Cotswold limestone most of the humble cottages and more magnificent houses were built well before America was discovered and at a time when 50% of the English economy was based on Wool.

Getting to Cotswold

There are several routes from London to Cotswold, but I took the route of London Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh. 

Getting around Cotswold

Getting around cotswold is rather challenging as the buses aren't very frequent - some runs once every hour . So once you miss this hour's bus, got to wait another hour for the next bus. 

Bought the One-day cotswold explorer bus ticket, which is unlimited rides on the buses. There's also 3-day bus ticket which would be useful if staying for a longer perios of time. 

Bus Map of the Northen Cotswold Region

More detailed information can be found on their website: http://www.escapetothecotswolds.org.uk/visitor-info/gettinghere/north/

Bibury

There are several towns in Cotswold, but I chose to visit Bibury first. It's famous for the Arlington Row, probably one of the most photographed cotswold scene. The picturesque and pretty little cottages were built in 1380 as a monastic wool storem which was then converted into a row of cottages for weavers in the 17th century. It was preserved by the Royal College of Arts and has been used in a film and television location - Stardust and Bridget Jones Diary

I love these small little cootages which has a traditional english feel. People use it still for their holiday homes, as I peeped into the windows and saw furnitures and kitchenwares. It would be nice to live here, but not as an exhibition to the world.

This time in Zurich, I took a day trip to Lucerne which is 45 mins away from zurich by rail. Switzerland  is well know for its established transport network system, and railway train departs precisely on its scheduled departure time. 

The railway ticket can be purchased either online on www.sbb.ch/en or personally at the ticket booth in Zurich main train 

station. A return ticket cost 48CHF, and that's slightly cheaper than the 

rate of the bus tour which cost 59CHF organised by the local tour companies.

Besides, you get to go around the beautiful city at your own pace, taking your

time to explore unbeaten paths much less visited by tourists.

On the scenic train ride, this is typically the view through the window. On a day with good weather,

 you would probably be in luck to enjoy the scenic view of the alps.

 

Lucerne train station. 

Its a pretty small city and easily accessible via foot. just out of the train station, this would be the view of the city just by Reuss River. Boat tours operate slightly later in the morning and it's probably a one hour cruise along the river from the pier. 

Towards the left of the lake lies the iconic structure of Lucerne - Chapel Bridge or The Kapellbrücke. It is a covered wooden footbridge spanning diagonally across the Reuss River. Named after the nearby St. Peter's Chapel, the bridge is unique as it contains numerous interior paintings dating back to the 17th century, although many of them were destroyed along with most of the centuries old bridge in a 1993 fire. Subsequently restored, the Kapellbrücke is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe as well as the world's oldest surviving truss bridge.

Connected to it is the water tower, which was previously used built around 1300 as part of the city wall and used as an archive, treasury, prison and torture chamber.

Walking further down along Russe River, discover the beautifully old town of Lucerne with buildings of unique architectural designs and painted facade. Painting the front of the building was fashionable in the olden days.