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Published: September 21st 2010
View from rack railway
On our way to Schynige Platte above Interlaken The Final chapter:Interlaken and Zurich
Arrived in Interlaken by train. Interlaken is located between Lake Brienz to the east and Lake Thun to the west in the area called Bödeli , hence the name of the town.
Our landlady suggested that we take a ride on the The Schynige Platte Railway which rises 1987m. It is a rack railway and travels at an average speed of 12km/h, but rewards visually were great on the way up and at the top. It overlooks many mountains, the 3 best known being The Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. We went for a hike (to work off 20 days of carbs and ice cream) for a couple of hours the trigger button on the camera was glowing red hot. We climbed to the top of the ridge through an alpine garden and had panoramic views of Interlaken between its lakes as well as the mountain top spectacular.
On returning to town we went to the supermarket and bought some steak, vegs and eggs and had a non carb dinner, our hotel has a well appointed kitchen. So far we have been pleased with all our travel plans and accommodation and the 6Ps (prior preparation and
L on ridge
At Schynige Platte planning prevents pathetic performance ) have certainly paid off.
Day 2 at Interlaken
We rose to good weather and our landlady recommended a trip to Schiltorn, the top of mountain which has a revolving restaurant on in it which is directly opposite the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. We rode up there by various marvels of engineering including train and cable cars. The 360 view was great, it was 6 degrees outside and we both had soup . We caught cable car down to a town called Murren a very pretty village and did a downhill walk to a little town called Gimmelwald both of which had views of the mountains, they'd be very interesting in winter. From here we journeyed by cable car and bus to the Trummelbach falls in Black Monch mountain. You go up in a lift inside the mountain and walk through caves and tunnels to find it. 200M drop, 20 000L/s cascade down in an amazing and thunderous display. The water comes from glaciers on Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.
After this we went to Lauterbrunnen nearby which had a street fair we tried melted, grilled Raclette cheese on bread (nearly as good as an ice cream
D & L at Grutschalp cable
On our way to the restaurant at the top - probably equally healthy).
Finally we hit the Migros (local supermarket ) and bought goodies for a home cooked tea.
A note on supermarkets- 2 most popular are called Migros and Coop There appears to be more variety here. For instance Schweinfleish? (pork) is a section devoted entirely to pig pieces steaks, bacon, knobs, salami etc..
In the fruit /veg section you weigh your own stuff, punch in a code on the machine which spits out a ticket which you stick on the bag. There is also a butcher and a deli in the shop.
There is an amazing range of breads, cheeses and proscuitti. You can even get a fondue kit in a box.
Zurich
It rained early today, but it doesn't look too bad. We are presently on the train to Zurich via Bern. Bern looks like a typical small city with river, couple of old cathedrals and old centre.
Zurich was cloudy but good. Zurich has a brilliant tram system (plus trolley buses), so there isn't much traffic on the roads. We bought a 24h pass which lets us travel on all local transport. The tram has a screen on board showing the next
View to 3 mountains
From cable car going to top of Schilthorn 5 stops, plus at each stop the screen shows other connections there. We are staying in an excellent YHA which is quiet has its own bathroom (although the term Youth may not apply to us. That may be why we got a few funny looks).
After checking in, and the privilege of paying 5 swiss francs (worth about $1.05) we grabbed a tram to the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) then used our ticket to take a boat trip up the Limmat river under 7 bridges, up to Lake Constanz, on our way back we got off near the old town (16-17C buildings). We saw a church with the largest clock face in Europe (excluding Big Ben I think). Then walked along the river to Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum) which is all about Swiss history, very well done. The second day we explored the narrow streets of old Zurich and climbed the Grossmunster tower for terrific views over Zurich. We walked the length of the most expensive and fashionable street down to the lake. Zurich was a very easy lovely small city. A great way to finish up our 26 day trip.
News flash: Lorraine arrested by Museum Guard Outwitted
Schilthorn Restaurant near top of Europe
Revolving restaurant ( Piz Gloria) overlooking Eiger, Monch & Junfrau at last L took a photo in the museum which did not have a No Photo sign, so being off her guard she clicked away. One of the museums two guards caught her and admonished her, warning that future infractions were punishable by death. After recovering from the shock and putting the camera away, she later found an irresistible exhibit and she risked execution to get a snap of two 15C sleighs!! She’s incorrigible.
At the end of this journey we are writing two books.
The best two and half star travel for active (?) holders of the Senior's card and
Lorraine's favourite 4000 photos of Norway, Italy and Switzerland (any buyers?)
We hope that you have enjoyed the Travel Blogs. .
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Jan and Graham
non-member comment
Dear Dan and Lorraine We have thoroughly enjoyed your travel blogs with "shutter bugs" pics making for an entralling trip with you both. Ice creams will look much more inviting. Well done we look forward to sharing your travels on your return regards Graham and Jan