The Hills Are Alive

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Leaving Montreaux not too long after a short night's (morning's?) sleep after the Jazz Festival, Michael and I began what proved to be an unbelievably scenic train ride to Interlaken. We accidentally bought tickets for a much longer train ride than necessary, with two stopovers and train changes in Zweisimmen and Spiez, but it turned out to be a beautiful blessing in disguise. These trains snaked us slowly from low valleys with their verdant vineyards dramatically up into the Swiss Alps toward the Bernese Oberland region, with adorable rustic mountain towns in between. Blinding white snow covered the highest peaks that were getting closer and closer, while bright summer flowers bloomed everywhere in the green hills-- I fully expected Fräulein Maria to burst through the mountains belting The Sound of Music at any minute! The scenery was far more stunning than I had ever expected-- perhaps because I did so little research on this place and trip before I came-- but I fully recommend that anyone who ever makes it to Switzerland take the time to travel by train through its countryside and into the heart of the Alps! As words truly cannot aptly capture the beauty of the place, please look through all the photos (of which these, believe it or not, are only a small handful of total photos taken!).

After four hours, we successfully made it through the sudden transition from French to German mid train-ride as we entered the Swiss-German region (and the same ticket collector knew exactly which stop on which to switch tongues), and arrived in Interlaken, the reputed backpacker adventure capital of Europe, if not the world. Interlaken is a charming small town at the base of the Swiss Alps, squeezed in between the two sparkling lakes of Lac Thunersee and Lac Brienzersee (hence its name).

Like the beauty of the Swiss Alps, Interlaken also exceeded all my expectations, but this time for both better and worse. The natural landscape of the place was far more majestic and magnificent than I ever imagined. I found myself stopped in my tracks at every other turn because the mountain and valley landscapes in front of me were so stunning. At the same time, it was far more touristy and kitschy than we anticipated-- I expected it (perhaps naively) to be a close-knit eclectic town of hikers, backpackers, extreme adventurers, and hippies-- and there is certainly all of that-- but there were also tons of tour groups in giant tour buses transporting large groups with many large suitcases and seemingly three cameras for every one passenger. Tacky stores cheapened an otherwise beautiful town, all selling the same souvenirs. The makeup of the visitors to Interlaken was also quite unique, with more Americans and less Europeans than we had seen in the rest of Switzerland, and many traditional Arab, Japanese, and Korean visitors, making for a very unique mix of place and people that was both surprising and fascinating. It also gives rise to a lot of international cuisine, including an abundance of delicious Italian restaurants and pizzerias, and a good array of Indian, French, Swiss, German, Korean, Chinese, Thai and Japanese restaurants (all of which equally gouge you).

We did very little on our first night there, as we had traveled all day and were still exhausted from little sleep the night before, so we just ate dinner and got to know our hostel, the Funny Farm, where we were lucky to have a private room three of the five nights despite paying shared room rates. The Funny Farm felt awkward at first, because it is supposedly both a hotel and hostel, so again there was an odd mix of people, but over the days, it really grew on me and I came to love the bar, the bartenders, the front desk workers, the guests both long term and short term, and most of all, Spliff the pet dog. Spliff is a GIGANTIC St. Bernard (see pictures) and resident pet of the hostel, and she wanders and sleeps wherever she wants all over the compound. She is often up front greeting guests as they arrive and walks from table to table during breakfast or as the bar picks up at night. She is, in a word, enormous. And slobbery. And very iconically Swiss. And I loved every 200+ pound of her!

I forgot to mention that the best part about the Swiss Alps, other than the mountains, is that there are giant fluffy St. Bernards and Bernese Mountain dogs everywhere!! On more occasions than I'd like to admit (or that I remember), I chased down Bernese Mountain dogs, which I am now obsessed with after helping take care of three in Kaua'i, and lunged my body into theirs with giant bear hugs, often interrupting the owners' meals, walks, or whatever other activity they were doing with their pet before I came along. The best part?-- all these amazingly behaved dogs are allowed on buses, trains and even cable cars with no problem (or fare), as if they are just another child in tow! So, we would enter a restaurant, and there next to us would be a giant Swiss Shepard underneath the table. Get on a bus and several dogs are in the aisles. Even in a group gondola hanging hundreds of feet in the air off a cable, going down a mountain, I befriended a Berner who was in the cable car and then got on the next bus with us. I loved this openly accepting attitude for dogs!

Now, back to activities. Interlaken is indeed a haven for adventures, but you gotta be willing to spend a pretty penny! Like all of Switzerland, it is very, very expensive. As in, over $500-US-dollars-to-skydive expensive. (And that's without the video!) So, unless you come with a lot of money (which most adventurers or backpackers who come through do not), you really have to pick and choose your activities. Having both skydived before, Michael and I opted to save that $500 even though it looked amazing to skydive in the Swiss Alps. I also really wanted to paraglide in these mountains-- on any given hour, you can look up toward the mountains and see many paragliders in the air, floating down and whizzing about like happy birds in flight-- but ultimately, we chose to go canyoning, for which Interlaken is known and which is a unique adventure offered in few other places in the world.

Defining canyoning is not easy-- it consists of many different activities as you make your way down a river canyon, doing anything from boulder hopping, swimming, sliding down rock facades and "slides," jumping from rock ledges into river pools, ziplining, and rappelling, amongst others. We chose an adventure through the Grimsel Canyon, a very picturesque canyon and mountain region east of Interlaken. Fortunately, we had great sunny weather and many protective layers of wetsuit and equipment, so the freezing water of the river, sourced from the melting glaciers above, was not so cold! We had a fun group and a blast sliding down many rock slides and attempting (failing) to do backflips off a zipline-- see the picture of Michael trying to do one and landing literally upside down, helmet first into the water! I did not fare much better, landing in the water on the back with my legs up in the air! (More hilarious photos of canyoning adventures on the next few pages.)

At one point, we were supposed to leap over a strip of water using quite a bit of momentum, land on a slippery rock, fall down onto our butts, and slide the rest of the way down the rock facade, ultimately dropping into the water below us, all which happens in less than two seconds. The other rock slides where I sit down and just slide were easy, even if they were longer, but this leaping-and-slipping-thing somehow halted me in my tracks! I watched all the other guys go (I was the only girl in the group), and almost did it, but hesitated in the last second. One of our guides decided it would be best if I just sat and he pushed me, thus avoiding the need for the run-and-leap move. So, I wimped out and agreed. Since we needed some speed to clear a tiny hump in the rock, the next thing I knew after I sat down was that I was being launched off this rock at a seemingly much higher speed and ferocity than I would have been if I had just ran and jumped myself!-- I lose control sliding down the wet rock and land SPLAT in the water in a very awkward, very painful position on my left side, and the air is completely knocked out of me for at least the next five minutes as I gasped to swim over to the bank. For the rest of the time in Europe, I would suffer the pain of what I whiningly insisted was a broken rib in the following couple days, but what I now know is probably just a really bruised rib/muscle. Learned my lesson-- jump off rock ledges/slides on your own and don't rely on others to push you! Other than that, it was super fun and definitely a worthwhile activity in Interlaken!

Amusingly, after the glorious morning weather that we had for canyoning, we got back into town and encountered a crazy 10-minute HAILSTORM! Yes, hail in mid July, and not even up in the mountains!

Other than canyoning, Michael and I decided to spend almost all of the rest of our days up in the mountains, since we wanted to get in some good hiking. We were not disappointed. Interlaken is sort of a gateway to the Bernese Alps, with the peak of Jungfrau Mountain the most famous and iconic summit towering over the town. Trains from Interlaken take you into lots of mountain towns scattered across the valleys, all of which are bustling ski towns in the winter and hiking bases in the summer. The transportation system throughout the mountains here is out. of. control. If we learned only one thing, it's that the Swiss are really, really, really good at chiseling mountain tunnels and creating entire worlds within the bowels of these giant mountains! We got a pass much like a ski pass that allowed us unlimited access across this complex system of trains, cable cars, and shuttles, because buying tickets to each of these individual towns or cable cars is extremely expensive. The pass is worthwhile if you are in the area for at least 4-5 days and really spend a lot of time hiking and exploring all the various regions. We tried to do exactly that.

Our first Alps excursion took us on a train to Grindelwald, which is a very cute town with many restaurants, shops, and markets. If we had researched the area better, it might have made sense for us-- people who plan to be in the mountains for most of their stay in the region-- to stay in Grindelwald rather than the farther Interlaken, but when we tried to look for places when we got there, almost everything was booked or crazy expensive and not worth the move from the Funny Farm (and leaving Splif!). In any case, Grindelwald was a good place for us to pick up lunch to bring with us on our hike. From there, we took the gondola to First, making stops along the way-- it was possibly the longest and most beautiful cable car ride I've ever been on! From First, we hiked to these two high altitude lakes at Bachalpsee and up onto a mountain ridge, where we picnicked up at 7,200 ft before hiking back down to the village of Bussalp (which is really nothing more than a couple log cabins, one restaurant, and lots of goats and cows). This was an ideal first hike, as it was not very difficult but still crossed amazing terrain, making it a great bang for our buck in terms of views and number of times my jaw dropped. Hiking the first part to Bachalpsee was "crowded" as far as trails go, but beyond the lakes, the trail emptied out and became much narrower, and we found ourselves suddenly isolated, at the top of an unnamed ridge (unnamed to us, at least), with the Bernese Alps completely encircling us. It was cold and quiet in a very powerfully beautiful way as we ate our sandwiches up top and looked down on the town of Grindelwald, now far below us in the valley.

On another day, we also hiked from the town of Lauterbrunnen to Winteregg, which has less mountain views but crosses an outstanding number of beautiful large waterfalls formed from the glaciers above. In fact, across the mountain range, you could see endless waterfalls coming from the melt of glaciers, more than we've counted on Kaua'i after a big rain, believe it or not! This hike was strictly a steep uphill climb with few undulations, so I found it less "fun" than the First-Bachalpsee-Bussalp route, but it was good nonetheless and gave us views of the other wall of the mountains. We also took the time to explore Lauterbrunnen, which is the gateway to Trümmelbach Falls, a geologically fascinating site even though it has become quite commercialized. Trümmelbach Falls is essentially a tall, deep gorge that is the sole collector of the glacier/snow melting off of the massive peaks of Jungfrau, Mönch, and Eiger, which makes for a LOT of water that rushes very quickly and very powerfully, continuously carving and shaping this canyon. They have built tunnels (like I said, they love their tunnels and are really good at them), chutes, stairs, and lifts inside the mountain so that visitors can walk right up to the thunderous falls, much like how one can get dangerously close to Niagara Falls in the U.S. While crowded, it was very unique and I am glad I went up to contrast that rush of life with the stillness of the mountains around us. Finally, Lauterbrunnen also features a very tall, light waterfall right in town, that basically just falls right over the mountain ledge above it and sprays all over the north edge of town. On a windy moment, all the water seems to dissipate in the air, making it nothing more than a soft mist by the time it makes its way to earth. I thought it gave the Lauterbrunnen a very whimsical ambiance. We climbed the steps up Staubach Hill to go behind this waterfall, and enjoyed refreshing sprays and great views of the entire town.

Finally, we also decided to go up to the top of Jungfrau, the "Top of Europe" attraction, since our pass got us a huge discount off the tickets. Going up there requires almost a full day, as it is a 2.5 hour train ride each way along steep mountainsides and inside mountains, and brings you up near the summit of Jungfrau, where they have built the "Sphinx," a lookout point and tourist area. What we weren't aware of was just how built up it was!-- it was almost like a tiny theme park with its restaurants and shops and subterranean elevators and snow activities. Even though the snow tubing looked fun and we found it absolutely hilarious that there was an Indian Restaurant named "Bollywood" at the top of the Bernese Alps, we bypassed these restaurants, shops, and activities and decided to start off by hiking across snow to view the vast Aletsch Glacier, toward a lodge tucked into the mountain underneath the peak of Mt. Mönch. This walk did not look difficult at first glance, but we were up at over 11,300 ft and trudging uphill through snow, so it ended up being far trickier than I anticipated! Nevertheless, after quite a bit of panting and deep breaths, we made it before long and enjoyed hot soup at the top with expansive winter wonderland scenes all around us. Coming back down was a lot of fun because the strong afternoon sun had made the snowy path extremely slushy and we basically used our hiking boots as mini skis or ice skates, sliding down the slippery trail.

This mini hike to Mönchjoch Hutte helped make the Top of Europe experience less contrived that what it would have been otherwise. We saw great views from the Sphinx lookout, but, despite all its engineering genius and shiny glory, it is still humbled by the stately peaks of its immediate neighbors-- the summits of Jungfrau, Mönch, and Eiger. We also did enjoy a really funny attraction at the Top of Europe, the "Ice Palace," which is a large room carved out right from the heart of the interior of a glacier, with walls, floor and ceiling of all ice, and features creative ice sculptures and scenes throughout. So, while we found highlights up there, if we had not had the pass and just bought regular tickets to go up ($180 Swiss francs!), like most of the people there did, I would not have thought it was worth it. We barely thought it was worth it as it is, as you can get many of these views on other hikes, but it does bring you closer to the peaks than almost any other activity.

Otherwise, we explored or saw much of the mountain's other regions as well, even if just through a train window, making our way across the map by train, bus, or cable cars, including our first two times in a large group cable car that fits 80 people!

Each night after a full day of hiking or riding high mountain trains, we retired back to Interlaken to fill our stomachs, chill with new friends, play chess at the hostel, and throw back pints of Rugenbräu (the local brew) with the bartenders, allowing us to soak in the character and beauty that is Interlaken and its surrounding mountainous regions. While many more hikes and adventures await us here, alas, it was time to head to Paris!

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Photos

Wine and Water
Vineyards and breathtaking Swiss countryside from train

Meeting Splif!
Splif, the resident pet at Funny Farm, greets us as we check in

Jumper
Michael jumps as he rappels down the 150' wall into Grimsel Canyon

Truly Canyon-ing!
I curl into a canyon ball to jump into the river below

Glaciers as we near Jungfrau
Our view just before we enter the tunnel INSIDE the mountain to get to the top.

Ricola Commercial
I relax in the field of flowers with the Alps before me, practicing for the upcoming Ricola commercial shoot.

Interlaken Town
I enjoy the fountains, parks, and mountains of Interlaken

High Flyin'
I rappel down the cliffside

Rescue Jump!
Michael has perfect form, just like they taught us, as he jumps into the river.

Comments

[Tina and Richard]

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE and Karen and Michael take it all in!!!
Amazing Travel Blog!! Your writing is so descriptive--almost feel like I am sharing in your adventures. Hope you are feeling OK after your "leap and slide thing". Can't wait to see the rest of the pix.