Advertisement
Published: December 14th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Swiss Alps
The hills are alive, with the sound of music... Ed:
Having not spent nearly enough time with Annette and Paul gallivanting across Scotland and the Greek islands, we decided to go back for more and meet them for the weekend in Lucerne (have I mentioned how much I love living in London?)
We almost made a major blunder when booking the flights - for some reason we thought Lausanne was the same place as Lucerne. Before you rush to judge, note that the Swiss have like 28 official languages so we’d assumed it was the same place just written in different languages. It’s a simple mistake - try saying them both out loud and you will see! Luckily we double checked and realised just before shelling out £200 for non refundable flights. Phew!
Anyway, we flew into Zurich on the Friday evening, and decided to spend the night there as no one in Lucerne was willing to check us in after 10pm (well, none of the budget places we were considering). Annette and Paul were supposed to arrive from Germany and meet us in Lucerne, but since we last saw them in Mykonos two weeks prior, we’d got the odd text from them about ‘unforeseen’ change of
Swan
They were ALL doing this... what's up with that?? plans so we weren’t sure where they were coming from or even if they would even make it at all.
So it was with great relief (and/or surprise) when we got a text early the next morning from Paul saying they were waiting for us at the main train station in Zurich. The staff at the railway station (and in fact every Swiss person we encountered) were so friendly and helpful. Of course, all this service and efficiency comes at a cost, and Switzerland is definitely not cheap. This came as a bit of a surprise as I thought living in London for over a year I’d seen the uglier side of capitalism! Well - Switzerland is just as costly if not more so.
So after some careful coordination, we joined up with Annette and Paul and boarded a train towards Lucerne - with them bitching all the way about how they had to forgo their first class seats to be with us. As if!
We got into Lucerne mid morning and, after checking into our hostel, decided we should head to Interlaken - the Mecca for extreme sportsmen. We’d heard that there was a cogwheel railway
Chapel Bridge
Annette gets some ideas for flower arrangements... that takes you right into the Alps to one of the highest peaks in Europe with some of the most amazing views. Of course, this came at a huge cost, but with the promise of an unforgettable trip to a high-Alpine wonderland of permanent ice and snow, with superb views of the summit of the Vosges Mountains and the Black Forest, we didn’t have to think twice about it. Of course, we may also have been a little swayed by the live camera shots of the summit from Jungfraujoch showing a clear and sunny day at the ‘Top of Europe’.
So with excitement in the air (and our wallets bare) we hopped onto our two hour train ride up the mountain. The journey there was one of the most amazing train trips I have ever taken. The sheer cliffs, the deep valleys, green and gold pastures with cows wearing their cute cow bells, the ice capped mountains, the waterfalls - it was like a being in a quintessential Swiss postcard picture. The four of us took turns sticking our heads out of windows wide eyed and the clicking of cameras was constant for the entire journey to the summit.
Lucerne
Views of Chapel Bridge (on a cloudy morning) Along the way Annette, Paul and Matt gorged themselves on Swiss chocolate. I just sat there looking thin and gorgeous (insert sarcasm here).
Upon reaching the summit, we headed out towards the Sphinx, a weather station at the top of the mountain. As we made our way to the observation deck, the weather decided to take a turn for the worse, and the clear and sunny skies suddenly turned into a snowy blizzard. So our excitement soon turned to disappointment as there were no vistas of mountain peaks or the Black Forest, just glaciers and lots of snow! On the positive side, it was Annette’s first time she had seen falling snow, so she spent the afternoon catching snow flakes on her tongue… and not looking very bright in the process! Ha!
So after an hour on the summit, we headed back down to Interlaken and spent the last few hours of sunlight checking out the main shopping strip before heading on a very slow train back to Lucerne. By the time we eventually got back, we found a restaurant close to the hostel and enjoyed a hearty meal of deep fried everything and cheese fondue with warm
En route to Interlaken
Now where did I see that cow? bread. They were such huge servings even Paul didn’t finish his meal! When it came to dessert Annette and Matt got a rude shock when they asked for the chocolate fondue menu. They were responded with a scoff and were told - “we do not serve chocolate fondue - there’s no such thing!” Annette practically fell of her chair in disbelief. How can it be possible that the best chocolate-producing country in the world not make chocolate fondue?! That night we trailed 5 different cafés, all with the same response - “we don’t serve chocolate fondue here!”
The following day we spent sight seeing around Lucerne, fighting the trillions of tiny flies that line the Reuss River. We first headed towards the old watch towers which sit high on a hill and you get some great views of the city. We then headed to Bartel Thorvaldsen’s carving of a dying lion, a monument erected to commemorate the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1972 during the French Revolution. It’s perfectly situated inside a cliff on a secluded park and it’s a beautiful piece of art.
From then on we walked around the old town, past the
On the train
Who's the cuter couple... cathedral and headed towards the quay. We crossed the famous Chapel Bridge, a 204 meters long wooden bridge originally built in 1333 (although most of it burned down so it’s not original). The bridge is lined with cute flower boxes and as you cross it there is a series of paintings depicting events from Lucerne's history. I don’t remember any of us stopping to look at them though, finding ourselves more preoccupied with the swans that were sticking their bottoms up (it was really quite a strange sight!). We were then drawn towards the lake and decided to hop on a ferry and do a cruise which stopped along some cute villages along the lake side.
Afterwards, with evening drawing upon us, we grabbed one last meal and bought lots of chocolate before saying farewell to Annette and Paul and hopping on a train and plane to head back to London.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.154s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 14; qc: 76; dbt: 0.1071s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Ilona
non-member comment
Trying to contact you
Hi Matt and Ed I'm coming down to NSW from 27th Dec till 01st Jan, trying to get into sydney while I'm there. Angela and I would love to catch up with you both if your free. I have tried to email you on your email addy and it doesn't work, could you email me please? Cheers Ilona