Swiss Chocolates...Chalets...and Mountains !

Switzerland - the land of chocolate box scenery - mountains, streams and gorgeous chalets with the customary red geraniums hanging over the sides of the balconies.  So beautiful.  It is autumn here and the mountains are green and have no snow.  The rivers are fast flowing glacial water - pristine.

We decided to bypass Zurich and go straight to the capital - Berne. What a lovely place, it seems like a little medieval village rather than the capital.  It has lots of lovely centuries old buildings, and public squares where people gather to eat, or drink coffee at the many outdoor cafes.

That seems to be the difference between the other countries we have visited. Singapore and Dubai seemed to be all about the shopping - large shopping malls and many new innovative buildings. Europe is about centuries old buildings, traditions, and lifestyle. While they still shop (obviously), they seem to enjoy more life balancing activities - meeting friends, eating out, pursuing outdoor activities like hiking, riding push bikes everywhere in the summer - even up the mountains -  and skiing, skating and hiking in winter.

We both love the ancient old buildings. Hard to believe some of them are 100's of years older than Australia. When we go into a building that has "built in 1456" written on it, and it's own dress shop or cafe, it makes you wonder about the people who built it and it's original purpose.  History abounds here, and our imaginations are working overtime!

Stunning buildings

One of the things we wanted to do was to go to the "top of Europe," the highest mountain in Europe, the Jungfraujoch. We set out on the train to Interlaken, a lovely little town on the way. It had this huge lake, only tiny on the map, but in reality you could hardly see the other side! Surrounded by large mountains, it was just gorgeous.  Every chalet had a view of the lake, and there were many boats tied up at the private docks and Marina's, as well as ferries to take you to the other side.  This was Bob's favourite place, and he reckons that's where he wants to retire - (this house, like many others had it's own jetty) - this is the house he likes - so as soon as we get home we are going to start buying lucky tattslotto tickets! 

This is Bob's House - after our tattslotto win.

So on we went - and what a big adventure! One train and three different rail cable cars that went up and through the mountains.  Amazing! It took them16 years to dig and blast their way through the mountain to make tunnels and build the rails to take the cable cars.  Even today, it's a 3 hour journey to the top - and everything, and everyone, has to go up that way.

The top of the Jungfrau was certainly worth getting to,
how's this for scenery?

When we got to the top there is a very modern building - right on the edge of the mountain, which is four storeys, and has several viewing places, restaurants, and exhibitions! We had lunch up there, with that amazing view and then explored for a further 3 hours!  

Having lunch at 11,782 feet.

I found the going tough, as I felt dizzy and a bit sickly.  They had warnings about that everywhere, and to report to any of the several first aid stations if you had trouble breathing. Bob was lightheaded and shaky as well, so we just took it easy as we walked miles to see all the fascinating exhibits!  

Braving the minus 8 degrees - a lovely warm day!

One of these was the Ice Palace. These were 2.5 metre tunnels dug right out of the actual permanent glaciers on the mountain. They carved various scenes in the side "rooms" of the glacier, but it was incredible to think that it was so thick and never defrosted.  

Here I am at the Ice Palace

Ice sculptures

This was a bit unsettling because not only was it freezing, the ice was all around - including where you walk, so everyone was afraid of slipping over on the ice. Thankfully, they had good handrails, so we were able to hold on. No one fell over while we were there, not even me - but there were lots of slips and slides! Every now and then you'd hear a screech as someone slid along. 

We went up to the lookouts, but didn't climb on the mountain. No handrails there, and the snow is unstable and slippery.  I can't imagine being allowed to do that in Australia - with all our overprotective safety rules.  No waivers, warnings or anything. You wanna take the chance? OK, then.

We had a wonderful time up there - but we walked our legs off, and it was still a 3 hour journey down the mountain! By the time we got back to our hotel in Berne, we were exhausted, but elated that we had the chance to have this once in a lifetime experience!

Thank goodness for the hand rails!

Our next stop will be Innsbruk, Austria, so we will be back on the train tomorrow.  In the same time it would take us to go from home to Melbourne, we will be in another country with more comforts.

The trains here are wonderful, quiet and they go fast. The Railjets we have been on have gone as fast as 220kph. They have comfortable leather seats that recline and have a foot rest, and tables!  They have waiters to bring you anything you like on the menu to eat or drink, but most of all they are always, always precisely on time!  Which means, of course, that we have to be too, as we know they won't wait.

Our seats on the fast train

Till next time...