Continuing my photos and memories of trips to the competing nations.

First up on match day 2 is Wales v Switzerland at the National Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Wales

Wales has some wonderful gems with my favourite being the Pembrokeshire Coast.

I have been twice, renting a cottage for a week on the first visit in Easter 2012.

The coast is really stunning and at times you can barely believe that you are still in the UK.

The region is also home to the UK’s smallest city of St Davids (population about 1,600).

Switzerland

My first trip to beautiful Switzerland was during my first inter-rail trip in 1987.

I have very few pictures from the trip that took in Montreux, Interlaken and Lausanne. I also saw my first ever overseas football match in Lausanne v Neuchâtel Xamax, a 2-2 draw.

Interlaken is a town between two glacial lakes. The setting is really stunning and unlike anything I had seen before. My buddy and I camped there on that first time visit on the ‘87 inter-rail trip.

Tired from a day’s walking, we decided to take a train from the east station to the west station. A train ride of about 2-minutes that would save a 10-minute walk. Typical of us that we went to the wrong platform and got on a train going in the wrong direction!

We got off at the first stop 15-minutes out and then had to wait an hour for a train back! A plan as cunning as one of Baldrick’s in Blackadder.

Score prediction – Wales 1 Switzerland 1