Switzerland - Part 1!

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Day 1

Another early start and a few train trips later and we had arrived in Interlaken! And it was cold! We stayed in a backpackers villa in the tiniest room ever! Luckily we didn't plan on spending too much time in the room! So we dropped off our gear and headed out. Whilst it was cold, the sky was clear and the sun was out. So we headed up a smaller mountain near our hostel called Harder Kulm. You go up the side of the mountain in a funicular which was pretty cool!! Up the top of the mountain they have a new viewing platform which hangs over the edge of the cliff and there is a glass floor which looks straight down the cliff! I wasn't too keen on standing on that!! The view was picture perfect! Green hills with gorgeous wooden houses, then a beautiful blue lake and snow covered mountains along the horizon! Perfection! We knew it was going to be a brilliant couple of days!!

Day 2

Today was going to be the clearest weather so we decided to go up to Jungfraujoch - the top of Europe! It involved a couple of trains, one of which had heaters under the seats! Heaven! Up the top it was FREEZING! We were not really prepared for how cold it would actually be! So we bought a beanie and headed off on the tour. The first stop is the sphinx which is the highest lookout point. We stepped out onto the viewing platform and the ice cold wind took our breath away! It was a crazy -9.5 degrees! I have never been that cold ever! Chris played with some snow and almost immediately had to go put his hands on a heater inside before they froze over! The view from here was incredible! We didn't stay out too long though as the wind was brutal! We were quite surprised at how the altitude affected us! We were so out of breath any time we walked up stairs and were quite light headed for a while! We walked out by the snow fun area but all the activities were shut due to the poor weather they had had. Next stop was the ice cave which was full of ice sculptures. It was pretty cool! We slide around there for a while and then walked out on to the plateau which had another spectacular view! Now I was FREEZING in warm pants, snow socks and about 6 layers of tops,vests and coats and yet for some reason there was an Asian girl in a formal dress having photos done!! Crazy!! And people sitting and lying in the snow for photos!! Craziness! We came back down the mountain and warmed up a bit and went out for dinner. Italian food in switzerland..... Fail!

Day 3

We had so much planned for today but the weather was dismal! Cold, windy and raining! So on the advice of some locals we headed to the capital of Bern. A beautiful place with old buildings and lots of character! We walked down the main street and stopped at a chocolate shop! I was in heaven! I managed to restrain myself and not buy everything in the store! Best chocolate ever though! At the end of the main street there is a bridge over a beautiful blue river and then a bear park! There were 4 bears just traipsing around! Very cute! They were quite active and entertaining so we stayed and watched them for a little while. The weather started to clear up and the sun came out so we thought we would head back to Interlaken and make the most of the afternoon. Bad idea! When we got back to Interlaken it was pouring more than ever and the wind was crazy!! So we lazed around at the backpackers until dinner time where we headed to a Thai restaurant. Best Thai I've had in a long time!! And for a half decent price too!! We looked forward to the weather clearing up for our big plans tomorrow!

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