Switzerland, continued…

Between the lakes

Between the lakes. Quite literally. We were staying at the Swiss town of Interlaken, nestled between the lakes Thun and Brienz. And we could not have had a smoother travel day. Often, when we look at where to sleep we need to consider our mode of transport. Where we will arrive in a place. For much of Europe we have travelled by train, as we did today, and the Hotel Merkur was literally across the street from the station.

The hotel lottery

We spend a lot of time trying to find accommodation. It is exhausting. Looking for somewhere that is not a hovel, yet always trying to find the cheapest deal. With the Hotel Merkur I wasn’t sure what to expect. Google reviews are our first point of reference, and various travellers had given, let’s say, less than positive reviews. Resulting in an overall Google review score of 3.5, the lowest we had dared to book to date.

Would we be met by the same “surly receptionist”? Will breakfast “underwhelm us” as it had done other travellers? As we disembarked the 12.04 train from Bern, and I spotted the unassuming hotel across the street, I steeled myself.

Despite being early, before the very strict 3pm check in time that Swiss hotels adhere to, we were met with a friendly face and a kind offer to watch our bags so we could explore the town ahead of the room being ready. 

Yes, the cows really do wear bells

Interlaken is a small town, very popular with what the guide books describe as “adrenalin junkies”. And immediately, looking up to the skies, you can see some of them, slowly floating back to earth in a tandem paraglide. This became a very common sight over the two days that we were there. A never ending stream of paragliders, coming down between the mountains, and landing in the field populated by cows. Cows that by now were ambivalent to the tourists landing nearby and taking selfies, to prove their achievement. The bells around the cows’ necks ringing as they nonchalantly chewed grass and no doubt wondering what all the fuss was about.

Impressive Interlaken

It is easy to see why Interlaken is such a draw for tourists. Very small, and ringed by impressive, snow capped mountains. If paragliding is not your thing, you can also go kayaking, hike the mountains, and even take a trip to the famed Jungfrau. The highest train station in Europe. 

On our second morning we did something that got our own adrenaline going. We headed to the “Top of Interlaken”, via the steepest, and highest funicular we have ever been on. Harder Bahn is the funicular that takes you, almost vertically, up the mountain, to Harder Kulm, some 1323 meters above sea level.

And the views are spectacular, looking across both the lakes, with Interlaken, tiny, nestled between the two. Even more impressive were the two walkers that appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, having trekked up the mountain on foot. Thankfully, there was a warm restaurant at the summit that we could get a beer and toast their achievements.

Zurich

For our last stop in Switzerland, we were back on the train. We were to spend three nights in Zurich, a place we were both really looking forward to visiting. It was in Zurich that we really got to start experiencing the xmas markets that Europe is famous for. Scattered all over the city, we were never far from a bratwurst and a gluhwein. It turns out that we weren’t very far from a B list celebrity. Vicky Pattison, of one time Geordie Shore fame managed to photobomb a picture of Victoria as she explored the xmas markets of Zurich. She really was “balls deep in Bratwurst” as she had promised on her Instagram feed.

Zurich is a fabulous city. Sat on the Limatt river, which cuts through the old town, it also is home to the largest clock face in Europe. A fact I had learned from an American tourist. St Peter’s church has a clock face in excess of 8 metres in diameter, putting Big Ben firmly in the shade. Strolling through the old town, we headed to a cafe to stave off the cold. We had our sights set on another great Swiss hot chocolate, incomparable with many of the poor imitators you may have had elsewhere. 

Xmas decorations

As the temperatures dropped, and the light started fading, we were drawn back to the gluhwein. Our new “cost of living” indicator. Immediately, the 6.90CHF (Swiss francs) became our new benchmark. I learned that gluhwein typically is 10% volume. Stronger than I thought. And this could explain that the more of it Victoria drank, the more she wanted to purchase xmas decorations. A tradition that started way back when we were in Dubrovnik, Croatia , picking up a xmas decoration for home has become a regular occurence. We are currently up to three with many more xmas markets to come. I fear we will need to buy a bigger bag..

Raclette, a game changer

Having spent money on luxury items such as hot chocolates, we had little left for dinners. This resulted in a few days of living on xmas market food. The highlight of which was my raclette burger. If you have never had raclette, which is very strong, very pungent, melted Swiss cheese, then you need to fix this. Quick. It is life changing. And scraped from the raclette tin, onto the pink pattie of a burger is one of life’s pleasures.

Time to bid farewell to Switzerland

This was our first visit to Switzerland, and we already know that one day we will return. Yes, it is blooming expensive. So expensive. Not the kind of country a traveller can spend much time in. So, in the future, we will return, with money in our pocket and have more than one of those decadent hot chocolates.  For now, we have a train booked for the morning. We are leaving Switzerland and off to country number 15 since we left Perth way back in June.

Our first foray into Austria will be to Innsbruck.