 |
| London to Zurich |
Right from the day we arrived at UK for our long stay there was one trip which was on the top of our agenda - Trip to Switzerland. For many Indians (includes me) who have grown up watching the scenes of Switzerland in movie after movie from Bollywood it remains their most cherished dreams to visit Switzerland. For those not very familiar with Switzerland's Indian connection I request them to use the web to find the endless list of Bollywood movies that were shot here. According to statistics, more than 100 Indian films have been shot in Switzerland since 1994. In fact, more Indian films than Swiss films have been shot in Switzerland. Whether it is 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', 'Hero No 1' or 'Chori Chori Chupke Chupke', Hindi movies have a lot of footage originating in that country.
 |
| Our Trip Map |
We started exploring various travel options and tourist information for Switzerland. We found some good economical ticket options using the Easy Jet flight from London Luton to Zurich. Our plan was to cover one of the most famous tourist segments of Switzerland e.g. Interlaken, Schillthorn and Jungfrau. On exploring the travel options inside Switzerland we found that it has has very well organized system of Swiss pass. The Swiss pass is a card allowing unlimited travel on the Swiss public transport network (trains, buses, ships and tramways) for a certain number of days, as well as free entry to most Swiss museums. It is available only to people not resident in Switzerland, and can be purchased at Swiss train stations or over the Internet. Although the cost of the pass was on the higher side but it remains the best way to travel and enjoy Switzerland without any hassles.
 |
| A Swiss Train |
After doing lot of research one fine morning we finally took our easy jet flight from London Luton to Zurich. Just before we were about to reach Zurich we could see the glistening snow mountains of Alps shining magnificently in bright sun light. We were told that we were lucky to have the weather condition like this which allowed us to see Alps. On arriving at Zurich we took a train for Interlaken. It took us around three hours to reach Interlaken and we realized that we had taken the golden pass route which is one of the most scenic train journeys in Switzerland. The backdrop has changed drastically as the Swiss building architecture is pretty different from UK. Mid way through our journey our train descended over a enchanting lake with sparkling green water surrounded by a dense green valley. It was our first encounter with the Swiss natural beauty and we were simply exhilarated The backdrop started changing again as the train started to climb a mountain. Swiss trains are equipped to climb even mountains and they are fitted with cog wheels which allow them to do that. By the time we reached a station on the mountain it was snowing heavily with very little visibility. Finally we reached the lovely small town of Interlaken in the evening and checked in to the Hotel.
I'll cover the details of the attractions at Interlaken in the blog and rest of the incursions from Interlaken will be covered in my next blog. Interlaken derives it's name from Lakes Thun and Lake Brienz between which it is situated. It is also surrounded by three mighty mountains, Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, and is the starting point for numerous activities. There are some exciting lake cruises available at Interlaken with Excursion ships, including historic paddle steamers, plying the waters of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.
 |
| View of Jungfrau from Interlaken |
Interlaken is small enough to get around on foot or bike. Taxis are available from either train station and most hotels. With the guest card from your hotel, you can travel around Interlaken for free (it also gives discounts to local tourist attractions). The Höheweg is Interlaken's main street which runs between Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost Railway Stations. There are many souvenir shops on this street. There is a pretty grassland if you walk further down the street from where you get magnificent views of Jungfrau. There are few boutique cafes spread around the grassland and we decided to sit at one such cafe enjoying our cup of coffee and soaking our eyes in the mesmerizing natural beauty engulfing us.
Boat cruises on lakes are pretty enchanting and you must take a cruise at least on one of the lakes if not both. The boats on Lake Thun operate from a quay adjacent to the West station, connected to Lake Thun by the Interlaken ship canal. The boats on Lake Brienz operate from a quay on the Aar river by the Ost station. We took a nice, 2 hour walk along the shores of lake of Thun (Thunersee) which goes from West train station to "Neuhaus". It takes you along the Aare river and through the small but popular nature reserve Neuhaus at the lake of Thun. From Neuhaus we took a boat back to Interlaken.
That's all for now and I'll post the memoirs of our trip to Jungfrau and Schillthorn which we took from Interlaken very soon.
0 comments:
Post a Comment