Stage 5 - La Chaux-de-Fonds to Nyon

Awaking to a view of some La Chaux-de-Fonds rooftops we enjoyed a hearty breakfast and, following a tip from the hotel receptionist, set off to explore one of the local beauty spots.

Just down the road from Le Locle, sometimes referred to as the birthplace of the Swiss Watch industry, is Le Saut-du-Doubs. The boat from Les Brenets meanders through the gorge at an unhurried pace to the waterfall. Switzerland on one side and France on the other.

Our next stop was La Brévine. Although the village is only just over 1000m above sea level, it does have a very special micro climate making it the coldest place in the country. In January 1987, a temperature of −41.8 °C  was recorded, apparently the coldest ever recorded in Switzerland.

A little way along the valley we stopped for a picnic beside Lac des Taillères, which, for the geographically inclined, has no stream entering or leaving it.

Having spent quite a while with both the boat trip and the picnic it was now time to press on. We left canton Neuchatel and continued our journey through the canton Vaud. Still staying as close to the border as possible we went through the town of Sainte-Croix, stopped briefly at Vuiteboeuf for a quick photo and then cruised along the north shore of Lac de Joux. Unfortunately the lake is not visible from the road.

Somewhere along the way we glimpsed our first views of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) with Geneva's famous fountain just visible in the picture.

I originally had visions of driving round Geneva's border with France, stopping from time to time to capture an image or two.

Well, things don't always turn out as planned do they. By the time we entered the city's suburbs it was about 6 o'clock in the evening, and the whole city was on its way home. All roads to the various border crossings were full. We eased metre for metre, hour upon hour towards the city centre. It seemed that all parking spaces were taken and so I couldn't even stop for a quick photo of a traffic jam. I decided to ask Naavi, my sat Nav, to get us out of the chaos... and he did.

The photos of Geneva were all taken about three months later when we visited Geneva again... this time by train.

Geneva is Switzerland's second largest city (after Zurich) and a few years ago was rated as Europe's third most important financial centre (after London and Zurich). The city is also home to many international organisations such the United Nations and the International red Cross.

It was also where the Geneva Convention was signed ;-)

Anyway, having finally left the city we headed along the northerly shores of the lake and found a bed to rest our weary heads in Nyon.

Preamble - Stage Four - Stage Six