In Berne (and all over Switzerland), there are little squares with statues like this everywhere.  Usually below there is a fountain (always with potable water) and a cafe nearby.	Berne has an elaborate town clock, which not only accurately chimes the hour, but also displays the phase of the moon and provides a parade of bears.	The clock's mechanism was manufactured in the 16th century by a blacksmith (not a clockmaker).  We got to see it strike noon from the inside!
From Berne we took the train to Geneva, rented a car, and stayed in the nearby lakeside town of Nyon.  The Nyon castle is under repair, hence the crane.	Wednesday night, the Kilimanjaro Trio got together for food and drink.  Bill (typically) hadn't yet packed for his trip to the states, departing next morning at 10AM.	Thursday we took a boat across Lake Leman to the French town of Yvoire.  This walled medieval village has a beautiful castle right on the water.
Yvoire is also famous for its gardeners.  There were brilliantly colored blooms everywhere.	Friday we drove to Chamonix, and took the teleferrique up the Aguille de Midi.  You can see the cable car as the black dot in the cloud at the center of the photo.	The second section of cable is a single span, no towers for support.  Looking down from the car is quite thrilling.  That's Chamonix at the valley floor.
Dave was envious of the climber on the ice, some beginning their ascent of Mt. Blanc.  Maybe next year....	On Saturday, we joined the International Ski Club on a hike up Mt. Joly near St. Gervias.  The group gathered at the base of the gondola up to Le Bettex.	After the gondola ride, we hiked up steep trails to the refuge at the base of the peak.  Eugene and Anne-Marie grind up this hill.
Although fog was closing in on the peak, we went for it!  Jullian and Ata are the figures in the mist.	When Julian and I made the summit, the fog was so think we thought there was another peak beyond.  As we descended the ridge, a hailstorm blasted us.  We stayed in the pass until the lightning stopped.  Looking back on the summit, it was covered in fresh hailstones	The sun came out again as we descended, and when we reached the bottom it was time for a swim!
We joined Robert, Danny, Josiane and Jean-Philipe in Le Bettex for a delicious dinner and great conversation.  Dave could actually follow Robert's francais!	On Sunday, Karen went sightseeing in Geneva, while Dave climbed Pt. Percee.  Unfortunately, the cloud above the peak just got thicker throughout the day, so no views of Mt. Blanc from the summit....	On Monday, Karen visited museums in Geneva while Dave did a French "Via Ferrata" on Pic de Jallouvre.
The peak doesn't look that imposing until you understand that the route goes right up the middle of the vertical face of the tower.	Fortunately, if anything, the route is over-protected.  The via ferrata cable is continuous from bottom to top, even in quite tame sections.	But the route very quickly gets pretty steep.
And ends up overhanging, which takes a few muscles to get over.	Like the Dibona route, there's a suspension bridge across a chasm.	But unlike the Dibona, the pitch after the bridge is up an absolutely sheer face.
The route ascends higher and higher on the face, overhanging slightly in a few places.  Even with the good protection and the steel rungs in the rock, my hands began to sweat.	Looking straight up from the end of the suspension bridge at the climbers above me.	After the wall, things like crossing a two by six across a chasm were an easy stroll.
A few more steep sections brought me to the top of the ridge and the end of the via ferrata.  Rather than descend (the normal thing to do), I continued up a steep slope and across a knife-edge ridge to the summit of Pic de Jallouvre.	From there I could see Pt. Percee clearly, and broken views of Mt. Blanc behind it.	No, I wasn't even the craziest guy around.....