Of course it would be just my bad timing that the ski fields at Bretaye above Villars, the town up the hill, are closing this weekend. And the telecabine (8 seated gondola) that transport skiers up to the ski fields at Bretaye just happened to stop running last weekend! Bummer!! I really wanted to ride up the mountain in one of those! So instead I had to make do with a 20 CHF (Swiss Franc) return train ride up to see the ski slopes at Bretaye. (Bretaye, according to the sign at the train station at the top of the ski fields, is 1808m above sea level). Things looked pretty deserted up there with only the odd skier or two to be seen. This winter, a friendly local told me, has been a particularly good one for skiing with generous falls of snow. You definitely need your sun glasses up there on the ski fields. I have never seen so much white in a landscape before. Very beautiful and awe-inspiring views of the surrounding alps can be seen from the train as you near the top of the fields. The rugged Mont Blanc forms an impressive background to the smooth, undulating snow-covered slopes of the ski runs. Watching the few remaining skiers gliding their way down the slopes made me wish I had arrived a week earlier - it looked like so much fun!

In order to catch the train up to Bretaye, I decided to walk the 40 minute uphill treck along the public walking tracks to the town of Villars rather than catching the bus. Huemoz, where I am staying at my friend's place is approximately 1000m above sea level. Villars on the other hand is about 1200m above sea level! Uhuh, so as you can imagine, this was no casual stroll I had to make up the hill! (Just out of interest Harry Harris, some sections of this walk made that path up to the top of Pelican Hill at Peregian seem like a dawdle!). Most of this walk was uphill; steep uphill if you know what I mean! Fortunately a lot of the steep uphill bits were through gorgeous alpine forest with snow-covered ground and running mountain streams so there was enough novelty to distract me from my exertion. By the time I reached the centre of the town of Villars, after one last utterly gut-busting hill, all I could think about was how much I needed a cold beer! Hilarious! Today's temperature during my walk was 12 degrees Celsius or slightly less, so I had prepared by wearing four layers of clothes. Partway through my walk I had peeled off two layers and had no need for them at all by the time I sat down in the brilliant sunshine at the open-air restaurant for lunch. The first thing I ordered was a Corona and I don't think that beer has ever tasted so good even despite the alpine temperature. My Corona cost CHF 7 but it was worth ever Franc!

Local public walking paths are signposted here with yellow signs and markers making it very easy to find your way around. Plenty of bench seats are provided along the tracks and paths, even in the forest sections. My main impressions after walking the tracks around these parts is that the local council do a mighty fine job of planning, constructing and maintaining their public facilities. As I walked through the forest sections I did wonder if some of these tracks had been established centuries ago though. My friend tells me that the village of Huemoz was established in the late 1700's after the original version of the town (further downhill) had been burnt to the ground when the Black Plague ravaged the place. I am not aware of the age of Villars but I imagine it is probably the same or older. History in this area goes as far back as Ancient Roman times.

The quaint architectural style of the chalets has me a bit intrigued and amused. They are built in differing sizes and all look rather alike and share many of the same features, however, it seems that decorative cut-outs in the balustrading on the balconies provides an opportunity for homeowners to express a bit of individuality. What would look totally kitsch and out of place on houses back in Australa somehow looks ok and like it belongs in these Swiss surroundings. Decorative cutouts in the wooden planks that form the balustrades vary greatly; some are in the stylised shapes of animals and plants (I saw eagles, parrots and weasels, flowers) and some have shapes like stars and hearts and other have desigs based on a series of connected geometric shapes ans swirls. The wooden cladding of the chalets is left naked and bare (perhaps oiled from time to time?) and over time, obviously it changes its character and colour. Some of the very oldest chalets tend to be darker and a bit more ragged in their appearance whereas the newly constructed ones are almost blonde in colour and look very sharp and neat in finish. One thing is certain, they are all extremely solid in their construction in order to bear the weight of the heavy winter snow falls on their roofs.

There is a certain charm to both the natural and the man made environments here in rural Switzerland that is very beguiling and sneaks in under your skin. But perhaps that is merely because it is Spring and everything feels clean and new and filled with promise and the organic energy required for nature to burst open into bloom. Maybe if I was visiting here in the middle of the freezing cold winter my impressions might not be so romantic!

The other very appealing thing about these rural areas of Switzerland is of course the food! This evening my friend prepared a platter of some of the local soft and hard cheeses made from cow or sheep milk. (I missed out on tasting the Brie unfortunately as my friend's very stealthy and cheeky dog wolfed it from the cheese board while our backs were turned!). The fresh goats cheese here is creamier and much less tangy than any I have ever tasted in Australia and the Gruyere has a much more district flavour also. I am yet to sample some of the many locally produced wines!

A very lovely, friendly local lady called Jacqui tels me that I must go and visit the nearby town of Montreux and its Castle de Chillon. Tomorrow maybe???