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Published: July 22nd 2008
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Rajesh woke me up at 7 am banging on my door and startling the other girls in my room, who asked me if he was my boyfriend. He was showered and ready and gave me a half hour to meet him for breakfast in the dining room. I was so hungry that I ate everything they had for breakfast and even drank 2 cappuccinos. Thank god it was free, else it would have been another rip-off! RV was picking us up in front of his office at Stockerstrasse at 10:00 am, so we took the tram #7 and decided to hit Bahnofstrasse and burn more Swiss francs. The shops open at 8 am and shut at 4 pm. They are closed on Sundays. If that was the case in the States, no one would go shopping!
We went to Jelmoli and Globus. They are stores very similar to Macys, but doubly pricy. Jelmoli, I read has a great restaurant. I wanted to buy Swatches but the designs were so good and so many, that I couldn’t decide and got no help from Rajesh as well, who told me that everything was good, a fact that I already knew! I love
the thin Swatch, with the big dial and multi-designed straps. I finally bought a couple of Swiss tops and postponed buying Swatches yet again. Rajesh had his eyes on a Swiss school bag for Niki, but the lady said that the bag was free if he bought a duvet that cost 400 francs. Somehow he charmed her and in the end bought the bag for 40 Swiss francs.
RV probably followed the Indian standard time; he was late. We stood by his office, drinking coke zero bought at a grocery store called Migros across the street. Migros, I assumed is like our Price Chopper here. People paid 30 cents for shopping bags in the grocery store. Atrocious! 20 minutes later, RV arrived all apologetic and we took the autobahn to Lucerne. The whole country of Switzerland to me was like one big village. We passed more meadows and villages and fat Swiss cows with their short horns and Swiss bells dangling around their necks. “Great milk comes from happy cows. And happy cows live in Switzerland!”
Lucerne was beautiful. The day was still grey and foggy threatening to rain any moment. We walked through the oldest bridge in
Europe, a beautiful wooden covered structure with ancient paintings on the top. We bought the “golden round trip” ticket - It covered the lake cruise from Lucerne to Alpnachstad, ascent by cogwheel train up the Mount Pilatus and finally the ride down by aerial cable car and gondola to Lake Lucerne. We cruised along the lake, sitting on the outer deck. There is something very peaceful about this quiet lake tucked in-between the Swiss Alps. Small villages lined the edge of the lake, which was very green in contrast to the turquoise color of the water. There were a few sights to see along the way, but I just wanted to relax and take in the atmosphere.
From Alpnachstad, we boarded the world's steepest cogwheel railway up to the Pilatus Kulm peak. It was indeed a steep ride and scary to me in the beginning. But as we passed alpine meadows, mountain streams and rugged cliffs, I relaxed. The drawback was that the weather was too foggy to shoot great pictures.
The Pilatus Kulm peak offered fantastic views of the Alps and the Vierwaldstattersee (The Lake of the Four Forest Cantons or Lake Lucerne). According to medieval legend,
the corpse of Pontius Pilate was thrown into a small lake on this mountain. There was snow on top of the peak. I kicked some snow onto Rajesh from behind and he in turn threw a snowball at me that landed on RV and resulted in a snow fight and had all of us rolling in laughter! The brochure in English said - “Dreams and fantasies come true on this peaceful Alpine peak. Nowhere do the stars sparkle more brightly or the sunsets more stunning than on the Pilatus Kulm”.
We ate typical Swiss cuisine in a charming ancient restaurant called Pilatusstubli, starting off with warm fondue (melted cheese), in which we dipped chunks of bread. The cheese stinks a bit, but tastes delicious. I was surprised to see curried chicken and rice on the menu. I ate that while RV and Rajesh got their specialty Bratwurst, which is a veal sausage, and Roesti-potatoes, followed by raspberries and whipped cream. Swiss cream was thick and tasted unique and delicious and put the whipped cream from Price chopper to shame! We were entertained by a delightful Swiss folklore performance by men and women in traditional costumes yodeling, singing, alpenhorn blowing
and flag-throwing. I loved the sound of the alpenhorns and wished I could yodel. This performance was available only on weekends and I felt lucky to be there on a Saturday!
There is so much to do around Mount Pilatus. There are hiking trails ranging from easy round paths to demanding mountain routes. There is a children's adventure playground called 'Piluland', at the Krienseregg station that is free of charge. I am sure my kids would have loved it. But the best of all was tobogganing at the Frakmuntegg stop, on our way down the cable car. We sat in metal carts and embarked on a racy ride down the steep mountain slope in a shiny steel channel past plenty of cool steep curves, dragon holes and inbuilt mega jumps. And we got hauled up. It was an unforgettably fun experience! At this station we boarded smaller cable cars called “gondolas” and at the bottom, took a bus for a 5 minute ride back to Lucerne. The golden round trip was the adventure of a lifetime; with beautiful scenery and fun thrown into the package!
Walking through the village-like streets of Lake Lucerne, I noticed tourists browsing the
museums and churches and shopping; wasting their time while the real adventure and thrill lay in the mountains! But then, the golden round trip was 90 francs and not everyone can afford it. I saw a building with a copper dome. Alongside, I spotted the Indian flag blowing away in the wind and surprised, stopped to salute, and snap a picture. Mera Bharat mahan!
Rajesh left his ‘CK’ sunglasses behind in the Versailles train in France and wanted to buy ‘Police’ sunglasses in Switzerland. So RV took us to a mall called Sihl city; the only place open for shopping at 7pm that too because of the Euro 08 match. I expected it to be at least half the size of US malls, but it was tiny, as per European standards. There was a huge projector in the courtyard of the mall where soccer fans gathered to watch the match. The atmosphere was festive. And Rajesh after trying on numerous brands and torturing us for suggestions, finally settled on a cool ‘Armani’.
RV took us to dinner to an Indian restaurant called Sher E Punjabi. He claimed that it was the best Indian food in Zurich, but warned
that we had to eat standing around a high table. Sher E Punjabi was an Indian grocery store cum restaurant, quarter the size of our India Bazaar in Albany, run by a Singh who was the cashier as well as the cook. We were so hungry and ordered pakoras, samosas, rotis, aloo parathas, mutton curry, chicken curry and an assorted vegetarian curry platter (dhal, bhindi & mutter paneer). The Singh made hot parathas on a tiny stove, next to a sink; while we chatted and drank mazaa. Food was medium standard, but fun to eat with the guys making atrocious comments and wisecracks. I was horrified to see that the bill came to 120 francs in that sleazy place. I could eat a big-spread Sunday lunch buffet at Karavalli for $11.95.
The Singh was chatty and he asked me in Hindi if I was new in town. I told him my history and then my geography. He suggested that I visit Interlaken and Jungfrau, where a lot of cinema shootings took place. I wish I could! I bid goodbye to him and invited him to New York. He shook his head real fast and said “suna hai ki hum
log ko new york airport mein bahuth thang karthe hain” - I heard they are causing our people a lot of trouble at New York airport. I had to agree with him because most Sikhs, especially with long beards as my Singh friend, are mistaken to be Taliban!
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