Day 59 – The Hogwarts Express

Today we started on our way to Switzerland, to drop Phillip at his boarding school (also known to me as Hogwarts School of Magic). Chrissy was at the wheel, Phillip in front, and I in back together with our combined luggage. We were supposed to start at 11 am, but it was nearly noon when we finally rolled out of Frankfurt.

It was a good trip, without much traffic, but I am embarrassed to say that Phillip and I fell asleep, and poor Chrissy had to drive without much company. We stopped for lunch in Rottenburg, a very charming Bavarian town that is the postcard for the image that all tourists have of Bavaria.

We finally arrived at Hogwarts, in the northern Swiss city of Saint-Gall, at about 5:30 pm. Wow, the city is gorgeous, draping over a small hill in a valley surrounded by snow-clad mountains. Hogwarts is everything I could have thought it would be, and sits at the top of the hill. From here you can look over the Boden See (a large lake just like the one where Harry Potter and his friends go for walks) in one direction, and over the snow clad mountains on the other. Pity there is no enchanted forest.

After saying goodbye to Phillip Chrissy and I went down to town, booked our rooms in the local hotel, and went for fondue in small restaurant. Yummy. And what shall Chrissy pull out of her sleeve for the after-dinner? The Backgammon board! People around us regarded us as if we were crazy. Good set of games, but clearly I had used all my good luck; Chrissy won two out of three, and the universe resumed its state of equilibrium.