We found Snow!

Mum flew home tonight from Euro Aiport, (Basel/Mulhouse/Frieburg) which is on the border of Switzerland, France and Germany, so we decided to make a day of it seeing as we had a bit of a drive to get there.

We drove up into the Vosges mountains to Lac Blanc, in search of snow.  The original plan was to go to the Lac Blanc ski resort, but we found snow at the lake, so didn't need to go any further.  When we arrived it was snowing and the sky looked very heavy, but it soon cleared and Alan and I went for a walk by the side of the lake.  Mum wanted to stay in the car and just enjoy the view so we left the boys with her, but when we got back, we took the boys out for a quick walk.  They've never really seen snow before, just a very thin scattering a couple of years ago, but they seemed to like it - Milou turned it yellow though!  

We drove back down the mountains and then went for lunch before heading to Mulhouse.  We didn't really know what to expect there, and it was going dark by the time we arrived, but it looks like a nice town and there was a big Christmas market on in the main square.  The cathedral was illuminated and everywhere was dressed in fabric, as apparently Mulhouse is famous for its printed fabrics.

When we got to the airport, we parked on the French side, but mum's check in desk and gate was in Switzerland, so we crossed the border inside the terminal building.  We were already aware of this, so Alan and I took our passports with us in case we needed them to get back into France!  We saw a customs desk as we went 'over' but it wasn't manned - I guess it is at busy times.  Anyway, I went with mum to check in and I'd arranged for her to have special assistance to take her through security and to the plane.  The girl on the desk was very helpful and telephoned someone to let them know that mum had arrived and within no time at all a guy turned up to get her.  We said our farewells and then Alan and I headed back to Riquewihr.  It's the quickest visit we've ever had to Switzerland lol!