Switzerland 1968/1969

ITA-68 - A backpackers trip to Italy, San Marino, Vatican and Switzerland Date of travel: July 25 - Aug 21, 1968 ITINERARY: This trip was done by trains and started in Prague (Czechoslovakia). It continued across Austria and reached ITALY in the afternoon on July 26. We visited: Venice, Verona, Lago di Garda and Rimini. From Rimini by bus for a day (on July 31) to SAN MARINO. After that a train to Rome and VATICAN (on Aug 2). Next came Napoli (with Pompey, Herculaneum and Mt. Vesuvius) and the island of Sicily (with Palermo, Agrigento, Syracuse, Catania, Mt. Etna and Taormina all these between Aug 6 and 13). Back by train to the mainland and Sorento with a boat trip to the island of Capri (Aug 14), then to Florence and Pisa followed by Genoa and Milan (from here an overnight train to Venice and then back to Milan still on Aug 18). Early on Aug 19 the train crossed the border to SWITZERLAND (visiting Geneva and Bern). In the morning on Aug 21, when changing trains in Lucerne, we learned that the Warsaw Pact led by the Soviet Union military occupied Czechoslovakia and the Czechoslovakian borders were closed. That stopped our further travel for a while. Travel office: No travel office used, but a government permission for travel to Western countries had to be obtained, however this year no invitation letter was needed. We traveled by train and slept in a tent. Who took part: I traveled with my childhood friend Frank Z. (Aramis). --------------------------------------------------------------- SW-68-69 - My stay in SWITZERLAND and trips to FRANCE and LICHTENSTEIN between 1968 to 1969 Date of stay: Aug 21, 1968 - Apr 2, 1969 ITINERARY: After the invasion of Warsaw Pack members into Czechoslovakia and temporary closing its border on Aug 21, 1968, the Swiss authority secured accommodation and jobs for Czechoslovaks, who were caught in the situation in SWITZERLAND. I got a job at Grundig as a TV repairman. The accommodation was secured at houses and apartments of local citizens. I got a room in an apartment of one older lady. Immediately I started working on my German language, which needed a lot of improvement. On Sep 20, 1968 I took part in a yearly trip with Grundig employees. By train from Zurich to Lausanne on Lake Geneva, then crossing the lake by boat and several hours stay in Evian in FRANCE. My first visit to that country. The return was the same as entrance to France but in a reversed order. On Mar 16, 1969 I took a car trip with two Czech friends to the eastern Switzerland and LICHTENSTEIN. We visited a Lichtenstein ski area, the capital Vaduz we saw its castle there and drove the lengths of this small country to its southern point, where is another castle. During the year I visited many places in Switzerland. Among them: Geneva, Lausanne, Berne, Basel, Zurich, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, Constance and other and learn German pretty well. I left Switzerland on Apr 2, 1969 for my trip to Paris, Luxembourg, Iceland and United States of America.