SWITZERLAND
Rick Steves' Best of Europe in 14 DaysSept. 9-10, 2008
The five-hour bus ride from Beaune to Switzerland passed very quickly as the ever-changing scenery rolled by outside our bus windows. We saw lots of beautiful green valleys and lots of trees. Here is a glimpse of Interlaken, a small town nestled between two serene lakes at the base of the Swiss Alps.
fellow traveler Don
All that visual splendor was right outside our hotel room window! Rustic Swiss chalets snuggled next to high cliffs with the Staubbach Waterfall cascading to the ground. Hear that clicking sound? That's Gene and me as we both tried to capture the moment with our cameras. Unforgettable!
We did have a little adversity, though, when the local ATM machine ate the debit cards of three of our tour members. Mittie, above, was the ultimate good sport, refusing to get ruffled by that little problem when there was so much new territory to explore! (The bank opened at 8:00 AM the next morning, and graciously returned those ingested debit cards, along with some much-needed Swiss francs.)
In addition to the unsurpassed views from our hotel, we also enjoyed one of the best meals of the trip prepared by the Hotel Oberland staff. Authentic Swiss fondue followed by juicy sausages, fried potatoes (called rosti)—and, of course, a rich dessert made of Swiss chocolate! All this in the company of our fellow travelers, who are fast becoming our friends. Paradise!
On our free day in the Swiss Alps, the weather forecast for the Schilthorn called for low clouds and possible rain. The live web-cam shots also showed the peak socked in. So instead of trying to go up to that famous peak, ten of us from our group went on an all-day adventure through the countryside. We hiked and rode cable cars to the picturesque little towns of Grutschalp, Murren, Gimmelwald, and Stechelberg. I mean, where else can you see a billy goat munching the side of a house?
Cow bells adorned nearly every home along our route. We learned that cow bells are awarded to the prize cow each year.
Swiss houses and shops were typically made of dark wood and trimmed with green shutters. Wooden balconies and flower boxes usually featured cut-outs in all kinds of shapes—hearts, tulips, trees, fleur-de-lis, teardrops, etc.
And flowers were everywhere! I never expected the riot of flowers at this altitude in the Swiss Alps! Flowers bursting with blooms filled window boxes, gardens, and pots of all sorts. Even a boot became an unlikely planter.
In Switzerland, even the cats are colorful!
Eventually we hiked to Trummelbach Falls, a waterfall that is literally inside a mountain.
A huge volume of water pounded and churned through the mountainside, trying to find its way to the valley below. The roar was deafening, and we were glad we had worn our rain gear because of the mist spraying out from the falls. What a spectacular experience!
Finally, the clouds broke and we caught a glimpse of snowcapped peaks and glaciers. We hope to return another time to see the Schilthorn and Jungfrau peaks, but we were very impressed with all the sights around the Lauterbrunnen Valley even on a cloudy day. My pedometer logged 25,111 steps, or over eleven miles, that day. Looking back, that day of hiking in the Swiss Alps was one of the highlights of the trip for both Gene and me.
Overall impressions of Switzerland:
- so colorful!
- so picturesque!
- delicious food!
- and, oh, that yummy chocolate!
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