15 days in Switzerland and Austria-Part 2

If you read Part 1 You know we landed in Zurich and went to Bern, the capital city. We set off by train from Bern to Grindelwald, for the most awaited part of the trip. To me,Switzerland is synonymous with the Alps, and what better way to experience, than to be in the lap of the Alps, in the Bernese Oberland area. The journey is about an hour and a half and you do have to change trains in Interlaken Ost or East. The time between trains is 7-8 minutes, which is usually enough to change platforms and get to your next train. By the time we checked into the hotel in Grindelwald and ate lunch, it was close to 3.30 p.m. Wanting to hike, the only option for that day was to go to Bort, a mid station between Grindelwald and First. Yes, “First” is the name of a small summit! We took the cable car to Bort. Even from the distance, way up in the cable car, you can hear the echo of the cowbells, divine! There is a small restaurant serving amazing pizza! Has to be the cheese in Switzerland, it was delicious! There is a playground for children and Gazebo to just sit back and take in the views. After spending an hour there , decided to walk back. Very nice and safe trail for families. Cows grazing, green pastures, flower filled meadows, cow bells for music and The Alps in the background, truly an alpine experience. Took us about an hour to get back to our hotel.

If you are going to be in the Bernese Oberland area, highly recommend buying the Jungfrau Regional Pass. Each cable car ride can be expensive and you don’t want to miss out on the glorious Alps because of price. The pass allows you unlimited access to trains,funiculars,buses within the area of validity. We bought 2 adult and one child/youth pass. The best part was one of the ladies at the information desk, where we were buying tickets , on her own, changed my daughters Regional 4 day pass to a Junior Pass, valid for a whole year!!!

Day 2 was kept for Schilthorn and Trummelbach falls. It was a toss-up between Jungfrau and Schilthorn and we decided to go with the latter, I think partly because deep down we are both James Bond fans and partly because the last 1 hour of the train ride to Jungfrau is through a tunnel and I couldn’t fathom us sitting in a train and not seeing the beautiful vistas. Unless you absolutely have to be “at the top of Europe” I would say Schilthorn is an awesome choice. From Grindelwald to Zweilutschinen, ( I know, quite a mouthful) to Lauterbrunnen by train. Then on to Murren, and two more cablecars to Birg and then finally on to Schilthorn. Between the 3 sequential cable cars and the wait between each, it can easily take two to two and a half hours to get to Schilthorn. Also, you are continuing to go up, so be prepared for a drop in temperature. The clouds played hike and seek with the sun the whole time, so everytime the sun was out, you couldn’t help but stare and take in the incredible views! Each time the sun went behind the clouds, that’s what we saw, clouds and more clouds! In Piz Gloria, the James Bond themed revolving restaurant at Schilthorn, I liked the little James Bond touches they had everywhere, even in the bathrooms, though some people may find it cheesy. Highly recommend eating at the restaurant Piz Gloria, where else will you get a 360 degree view of the Alps! We did see the James Bond movie ” On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” before going on this trip. Will give a little info about our Bollywood fans too in the end. After Schilthorn, head to Gimmelwald, and continue hiking to Trummelbach Falls. It’s a series of 10 glacier falls inside a mountain, all visible through a series of lifts, tunnels and viewing platforms. Had no stamina by this time, took bus to Lauterbrunnen and retraced the journey back to Grindelwald by train.

The next day was set aside for” First” and the hike to Bachalpsee Lake. It was raining and the lake was completely frozen, the trail to the lake was also closed due to snow. This is end of May, guys!! It was disappointing, because I was so looking forward to this hike. You can check weather conditions by webcam before taking the cable car up, so we knew what to expect. Not ones to give up, we wore our rain jackets, they really didn’t come off after that, and braved the rain and clouds and headed to First. It was rainy, cloudy and yet so beautiful, with everything covered in snow. When you see snow, you have to make snowballs and have a snowball fight. so much fun!! Had lunch in the restaurant and went back to hotel to dry up. After resting took train to Interlaken Ost. It’s extremely popular with tourists,specially from India. it’s a big city with lots of options for lodging and eating. We were not in the mood to roam around in the city, just took the funicular to Harder Kulm and were rewarded with amazing views of Interlaken city and the lakes on either side.

if you want to see the famous three-Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau upclose, head up to Mannlichen by cable car. It is quiet a steep climb. When we reached the summit, what a sight, pristine white snow and barely a handful of people .We had planned on hiking from Mannlichen to kleine scheidegg, but again due to snow all trails except one was closed. It was disappointing to say the least. We hiked on the only trail open from Mannlichen to Holenstein. With the three majestic mountains as a backdrop, whats there to not love. After reaching Holenstein we retraced our steps back to Mannlichen and then on to the cute small town of Wengen. I guess tourist season had not yet hit Wengen , even though it was end of May, lots of hotels and restaurants were still closed. Ate lunch at one of the few restaurants open and called it a day as we had to pack and head on to Lucerne.

Next, on to Lucerne by train through Interlaken. By the time we reached, checked in and ate something, half the day was over. Spent the remainder of the day roaming around in Old town Lucerne, souvenir shopping and walking to the Lion Monument. The monument is off the beaten path and hard to find. It’s poignant to see the emotions on the dying lions face. Its free and can get pretty crowded. The next day we took a cruise on Lake Lucerne. A great way to sightsee and with the head phones you do get a good history lesson too about the city. Definitely recommended. There is also a Indian themed dinner cruise with a buffet of traditional Indian fare, both veg and non veg options available and bollywood music playing in the background! So if you are missing your dose of Indian food and music, then you must do this cruise. We didnt do it though it sounded pretty interesting. Spent the rest of the day roaming in Old town, browsing through shops, buying gifts and souvenirs as this was the last day in Switzerland and walking on the famous wooden bridge,Kapelbrucke, that connects Old town to New town. Covered with flowers on both sides, it’s a beautiful sight

My next post is going to be about Salzburg and Vienna in Austria, so look out for Part 3.

I did say I would share some Bollywood tidbits about Switzerland. We did see Dilwale Dulhaniya Le jayenge before the trip since a large part of the movie is shot in Switzerland. I started researching about the movies shot there, and it wasnt just Yash Chopra,but a host of other movie makers who had trekked from Mumbai to Switzerland to capture the scenery,though Mr Chopra can certainly be credited for putting Switzerland on the radar for all Indians. Way before Yash Chopra,in 1964, the movie Sangam had a scene shot at Trummelbach falls . I was surprised to find out that there is a Bollywood tour in the Gstaad region of all the Bollywood locations. Not only that, the Swiss Government honored Mr Chopra by naming a lake after him, even though he never shot any movies at that lake.

Sharing some pictures from the trip

Alps and meadows! Hike from Bort