Adventure in Europe 2008 PART 17 (Switzerland-Grindelwald, Kleine Scheidegg)

Monday 15 September
It is our last day here in Spiez, so we must go into the Alps and hope that the weather is not too bad. So we caught the train to Interlaken, where we had to change trains for Grindelwald and then change again for Kleine Scheidegg and if the weather is good we can even go higher to the top of the Jungfrau Mountain, the highest train station in Europe.

Can you guess? Bill loves trains especially with his daughter.

We are climbing up to Grindelwald but the mountains are shrouded in mist and clouds.

Paul is waiting for the train to Kleine Scheidegg in Grindelwald, I was too cross with the clouds to take any pics of the beautiful village of Grindelwald.

A map of the Jungfrau Region. Interlaken is at the bottom, between the two lakes. Grindelwald is to the left in the middle, Kleine Scheidegg is highlighted in red at the snowline. Jungfrau is the tallest mountain with the station highlighted in red.

We are starting to climb out of Grindelwald into the clouds. (Bah)

Getting higher and there are patches of sunlight. (spirits are rising)

We arrive at Kleine Scheidegg, the trip was magic but here the clouds are scurrying around the peaks and we can't see the mountains properly.

This is the famous Eiger, North Wall, covered in cloud.

This is what the Eiger and Monch mountains look like on a sunny day. (a postcard)

We couldn't see the Jungfrau through the clouds so we won't go any higher, as it would be a waste of money, we had lunch instead. (Sausage and Rösti, what else in the Swiss mountains)

After lunch Carol and I walked up the hill from the station and restaurant to see......

......the view, but those pesky clouds would not lift off the mountains.

Oh well we just have to enjoy the freshly fallen snow. Then we got back in the train and headed down, down, down...........

....to Grindelwald nestling in the valley below. Then change trains again and go down, down..........

......to the lakes and our lovely little village of Spiez. I want to roll it up and take it home with me.

Adventure in Europe 2008 PART 16 (Switzerland-Blümlisalp, Zweisimmen, Montreux and Brigg)

Saturday 13 September.

Today we had planned to go into the Alps but unfortunately it was raining. However, our clever tour guide, Bill (sometimes referred to as the Boot Camp Sergent) had made alternative arrangements in case of rain. Bill and his friend Roland organised lunch on the renovated paddle steamer, "Blümlisalp". So the 8 of us grabbed our umbrellas and walked to the wharf.

David (my brother), Bill, me, Roland (Bill's school friend), Ann (my sister in law), Helen and Paul (our travelling companions). Carol-Ann, our daughter took the photo.
Here she comes out of the sinking clouds. She is a beautifully renovated ship originally built in 1906. She has a fascinating history which I might retell in a later post.

Roland had booked us a table for lunch. Most of us had the local fish from the lake......
..... washed down with a glass of wine. Carol is getting into holiday mode.......
.... and savouring a traditional "Apfelkuchen" too.
So we all had an enjoyable time on the beautiful Lake of Thun sailing to Interlaken and back to Spiez, even though it was a gloomy day.

Sunday 14 September.

Today is Sonya's birthday, our other daughter in Sydney, we all wished she could be here with us. We had a booking on the MOB panorama train from Zweisimmen to Montreux, so raining or not we had to go. Firstly, we caught a local train, which climbed through the mist into the mountains to Zweisimmen, where Bill had arranged to meet yet another cousin, Kurt. He hadn't seen him for 50 years.

They were the best of friends when growing up together. After hot chocolate and a chat, we walked back to the station.......
...passed the flag bedecked streets and.......
....traditional mountain houses, (the mountains were hiding in the clouds), until we reached ........
.......the MOB panorama train to Montreux.
Kurt and Bill said an emotional goodbye, knowing they probably will never see one another again.
Kurt had booked us great seats in the front carriage, where the driver has a little cabin to one side and passengers can sit next to him looking out the front window.
Looking back to the tail of the train.
Front seat view of going into a tunnel and........
...out again. We wound down through the mountains to........

...Lake Geneva. It was a fantastic trip with magic views even in the cloudy weather.
Coming down the mountain to Montreux.
We had lunch and walked along the edge of the lake.

Montreux Castle Chateaux Chillion and autobahn.
We explored the town and then made our way back to the station for another train ride. This is fun! This time we were going back to Spiez a different way. We travelled along "The Valley" to....
...the town of Brigg, very close to the Italian border.
Then we changed trains and went through very long tunnels from the southern side of the Alps to the northern side. It was a very long day with long comfortable train rides with magnificent views all the way. We had covered a big area of the south west of Switzerland.

Adventure in Europe 2008 PART 15 (Switzerland-Bern)

Friday 12 September

Today we are going to explore the capital city of Switzerland, Bern. We caught the train from Spiez to Bern and we were met by Bill's distant cousins, who we hadn't met before. They had found Bill on the internet, so we arranged to meet them. They were lovely people and took us on a tour of the city.

David and Ann decided on a more leisurely stroll through the city so off we marched.

Bern is famous for its covered walkways.

Can you see the walkways, sort of footpaths under the buildings. Its great for going shopping when its raining. Shopping in Bern is a paradise.

The Federal Parliament

The streets are decorated with flags. The Bern flag has a bear on it.

This is a famous clock, where the little guy at the top bangs the bell with a hammer on the hour and lower down a gizmo revolves. The pictures are dark due to the dull weather.

In the middle of the streets there are many, many fountains depicting legendary characters.

This is a gruesome one. It is the baby eater.

The emblem of Bern. Poor things have been housed in a pit for many years but at last the city is modernising their enclosure.

The cathedral.

The old town.

It was a hard day! Going home on the train.