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Published: August 12th 2006
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Interlaken - by the river
This was a secluded spot along the river that we found - we loved the colour of the water! Switzerland is honestly a place that you have to see to believe its utter beauty. It is an amazing place, and Interlaken was a great choice of place to stay right in the middle of the snow-covered Swiss Alps. The three hour drive from Milan to Interlaken turned into a 9.5 hr drive when we were stopped in traffic jam after traffic jam - people even got out of their cars and set up picnics! Once we got off the motorway, and was driving through the Alps, the scenery was spectacular and breathtaking and the roads very narrow and winding. Sometimes the steep drops got a little too close jumping out at the car every now and then
We spent the first day just strolling around Interlaken. Again, flat and accessible, good shopping and most importantly, back to yummy food! This place is great, so scenic with beautifully coloured, fast flowing rivers and surrounded by the Swiss Alps.
The next day was spent in Bern, the capital of Switzerland and about an hours drive from where we were staying. Bern was surprisingly quiet and very picturesque for a main city. It is a UNESCO World Heritage sight. The old
Interlaken - Jungfaujoch
Here we are at the "Top of Europe"! town was filled with cobblestoned and arcaded streets and led to a bear pit where there were housed three big brown bears - Ric started singing "There's a bear in there, and a chair as well....' and quickly stopped when he realised what he was saying! Bern is named after the first bear that was shot and killed in this area, and the bear has been the city's emblem ever since. How romantic! We waited at the famous old clock tower for 20 mins before the hour which has a bear, jester and rooster that is meant to perform every hour. As the time got closer, crowds gathered to see this marvellous spectacle. When the clock struck 3pm, out popped a couple of tiny figurines for about 10 seconds - Whoopee!
Now the next two days were something to write home about......
First we drove to a small town closeby to catch a train that took two hours to climb 3,500 metres to the top of the Jungfrau Mountain - the highest railway station in Europe, "The Top of Europe"! From there we ventured up 100m higher to the viewing platform. We couldn't believe that this place was
Interlaken - Jungfaujoch
After the snow fight! For some reason, I kept losing this game! accessible to get here in the first place, let alone be able to venture out into the snow and experience the Swiss Alps firsthand! It was bloody cold at -5 degrees C, a big change from 37 degrees the week before! When the wind picked up I thought me dreadlocks were going to snap off...... I just wish that words and pictures could aptly descibe how we were feeling - it was breathtaking! We even went into the supposedly inaccessible (now we understand why!) "Ice Palace" where everything from ground and walls to the many sculptures inside was made of ice! A very slippery experience especially when we went down a bit of a hole and Pip nearly went arse over tit. We basically had to ski around the place as my chair and the girls shoes has no grip on them whatsoever. I felt like Santa in his sleigh.
The following days' adventure involved catching a cable car some 3,000m high to the top of the Shilthorn Mountain where one of the early Bond movies was shot. For someone that is very scared of heights, Pip did extremely well, especially when the cable car started swinging several times
Interlaken - Shilthorn
Now renamed 'Shithorn' as Pip is shit-scared of heights...... Pip conquering her fear of heights! when going over the supporting beams. The views were incredible (for those who could look down), and totally different to what we had seen going up the railway the previous day. Once up the top, we had some lunch in the revolving restaurant to get 360 degree panoramic views. We again ventured out into the snow, managing to get bogged a couple of times and needing lots of assistance to get out. On the journey down, I spoke to a scout group from England and scared the crap out of them by telling them that this was the first time I had been in a cable car since a cable car accident has caused my injury!
We also did a Lake Cruise that afternoon on the beautiful Lake Brienz which is one of two lakes that surrounds Interlaken. I wish we could have spent a few more days here because it was just brilliant! We would highly recommend a visit to Switzerland!
WE WILL DEFINITELY BE BACK!
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