FINAL CHAPTER

 Matterhorn
You might recognise this one from the packaging on the Swiss chocolate Toblerone. The Matterhorn is one of the most impressive peaks we have ever seen, standing in the clear at 4,478 m elevation. We stayed in Zermatt, a picturesque village under the Matterhorn for only a few days, but again we got lucky with the weather and scored this bluebird day with plenty of fresh snow. It made for some great shots.

 Hangover Cure
Time fast running out, we headed for Geneva visiting the United Nations, Red Cross Museum and exploring the city for a few days. Then we traveled to Altdorf to visit Roger and Myriam, who happened to be working in the local bar that night. We were treated to tasty caparinias and some good laughs (photo). From there it was back to Niki and Fabi’s place, a final night out with Daniel’s cousins and dinner with some friends that we'd met in Mexico, before we were off to Japan.

 100cm in 3 Days
We were beginning to wonder if it ever stopped snowing in the Japanese Alps. The first 3 days we spent in Hakuba (near Nagano where they had the 1998 Winter Olympics). It dumped over a meter of snow and showed no sign of letting up. We pretty much rode fresh power runs the whole week, the perfect way to finish up our snowboarding for the trip. And after a hard day on the slopes, it was off to the outdoor hot springs to soak our ailing muscles and sip on green tea.

 Tokyo
Neon signs, cutting edge fashion, super express trains, millions of people, sushi and great hospitality. Tokyo had us dazzled. We stayed with Kai and Wakka near Tokyo central and caught up with some old friends of Daniels who are working in the thick of it. The Japanese are packed into this city like sardines but it all seems to work with such efficiency and precision, I guess tribute to why they are the 3rd largest economy in the world.

 Kyoto and Hiroshima
Kyoto (the ancient capital of Japan) escaped much of the bombing during the 2nd World War and as a result was left with many of its temples and palaces intact. We picked off over a dozen of these sites by bike, however the conditions were pretty tough as it was snowing again. As impressive as the temples were the gardens, manicured bonzi trees, and zen-style rock patches. There was a real sense of peace and connection to nature in these places, which was in stark contrast to the castles of Europe.

Hiroshima didn’t escape the World War II bombing and was the site for the first ever use of an A-bomb, dropped by the Americans in 1945. A day at the Hiroshima Peace Museum and the site of ‘Ground-Zero’, left us with a new appreciation of the devastation that can be inflicted by these weapons. Following 1945, Japan has become a world leader in the advocacy of nuclear deproliferation.