We all came down to Prangins, on the Lake Geneva shore . . .

After our time in the mountains, we enjoyed one of Geneva's other great attractions, the lake. We left Geneva for the small town of Prangins to stay with our great friends from Almaty, the Reeves family. The last time we had seen Ken, Gretchen, Isabel, Olivia and Oscar was when they stayed with us in South Africa for Christmas 2006.

If the Geyrs live in the second biggest house in Geneva, the Reeves live in the second biggest house in Switzerland. The house originally belonged to the couturier of Queen Victoria. It is now owned by 4 siblings, three of whom live with their families in the house. Ken and Gretchen have the middle floor. The house is wonderful with huge rooms, high ceilings, wooden panelling, and its own private dock. It looks like something from a Hitchcock movie, and would be the perfect "pied a terre" for any axe wielding psycho killer.

The village of Prangins is about 30 km from Geneva. and is next to Nyon, the home of the headquarters of FIFA. Thanks to the wonderful Swiss public transport, it is only a 12 minute train ride to the centre of Geneva. In fact the train is quite annoying as you don't even have time for a coffee and a read of your newspaper before you have reached your destination. How Johannesburg could learn from this.

We spent three lazy days swimming in the lake, playing in the grounds of the house (they are too big to be called gardens) and watching the World Cup in the evening. We also had a fun time picking raspberries, and an even better time eating them with cream.

Switzerland is a fascinating country. It is the most devolved democracy I have seen, and therefore important for any Scots who want to talk about devolution or independence. If devolution or independence is about bringing decision making and accountability as close as possible to the people governed, then Switzerland is a great case study. The local communes have large budgets and significant powers, as do the cantons which is the next level of government after that. More importantly it seems they exercise that power in a positive way to bring services and facilities to their area. The federal government is not exactly powerless, but is very much the least important of the three levels of government. Mind, there is a distinctive Swiss mentality which does include a devotion to both following and enforcing rules which would make a German accountant look like a Californian liberal. Tales abound of expats being reported to the police by their neighbours for excess noise, incorrect recycling, flushing toilets too late at night etc. The local commune in Prangins even shuts down electricity for washing machines at certain times of the day. Mind, if that is the cost of living among beautiful mountains in a country with a wonderful public transport system, fabulous sports facilities and a great health service, then maybe it is worth it.