Switzerland Marathon

While Cassy and I were apart for 6 months last summer, we trained for a marathon.  While I was running at night in the Afghanistan dust, Cassy was running 1/2 marathons in Tahoe and training in Italy.  Part of our reunion vacation was the Lausanne Marathon in Switzerland.  This was my first full marathon and Cassy's second.

The entire race was on a hilly road sandwiched between bright yellow vineyards and Lake Geneva.  It was an absolutely gorgeous time of year to run.

Just after the finish line, Cassy fights an oncoming migraine.

A few photos from our trip to the vineyards the next day.

We made a side trip to the Cailler chocolate factory, which was one of the coolest factory tours we have ever done. Did you know the Swiss invented milk chocolate?

The sampling room.  No watchful employees, no video cameras (that I could see), just the opportunity to eat as much chocolate as you want.  Pure awesomeness.

Nearby the chocolate factory was the touristy town of Gruyeres.

This is the Gruyeres trademark meal.  That's a huge chunk of cheese on a heater.  The procedure is to scrape the top layer of melted cheese onto baked potatoes, pickles, or onions.  

I saved my favorite shot from the trip for last.  I took this from the shore of Lake Geneva just before we drove into France.