Switzerland and the Alps

When we bought tickets to Switzerland we could only get train tickets to Geneva, for some reason. So, we were headed towards Geneva when we really wanted to head towards the Alps! It is a nice daytime ride on the train. Anyway, shortly after crossing into Switzerland (a little past the Matterhorn) and about the time we saw the quaint villages around beautiful Lake Geneva, they announced that the train was late, and everyone would have to disembark at Lausanne. So, checking connections in our handy Eurorail Guide, we found we could go to Bern, and over to Interlaken, changing trains in Speitz. It was amazed when it worked, and somehow we ended up exactly where we wanted to go.

We also did much better in Switzerland than a guy from Australia who was on holiday and taking the train around Europe. He had more trouble with people understanding his English due to his very heavy Australian accent. I loved listening to him, but had to listen very carefully to understand him. He had a ticket for Genoa, Italy not Geneva, Switzerland. And, since they check train tickets *after* we leave the station, the conductor was the one who caught the problem. The poor guy was "escorted" off the train at the very next station and sent back to Milan. We wished him good luck in getting to Genoa!

It was a bit of a challenge to find a hotel in Interlaken without steps so I could ride my scooter. We had to finally settle for one with some steps out front but nice rooms, an elevator, and a restaurant. Much of Europe is not accessible for those of us with special needs. I will have more to say on that later, but we found many places where they are certainly trying especially when they remodel or add on to a hotel.

It was foggy with a light rain day we were in Switzerland, so we took a lovely boat ride around Lake Brienz instead of taking the train up to the Alps. We didn't have time to see one of the most popular places in all Switzerland: the Schilthorn, which is the world famous rotating restaurant, offering a spectacular 360° panoramic view of the Alps, and at an altitude of over 10,000 feet. It was also featured in the James Bond film: "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." We would also like to go to the Jungfraujoch: the highest European railway station, post office, and more (11,333 feet). Some day, we may get the chance to once again visit the Eiger, Mönch and the Jungfrau: three mountains in the Swiss Alps above the town of Interlaken, and part of the Bernese Oberland. We stayed two nights and would have stayed longer if we had only had more time. The Swiss Alps are definitely on our list of places we've like to go back and vacation, again.

Links:

Gimmelwald
"Sleeping in the Straw"
The Trümmelbach Falls, inside the glacier, in the Lauterbrunnen Valley
Jungfraujoch (Top of Europe)
Travel in the Jungfrau Region

© 2001 JKH