Month: September 2009
Lunch!
A really delicious, hearty lunch in Waldspitz. We had this Rosti, which is essentially potato hashbrowns in this case with cheese, ham, egg, and tomato. And While we sat there eating, the clouds cleared up and the views became even more spectacular. We we first sat down, you couldn’t see anything out that window but clouds.
More Hiking
Some of the Hikers We Met Along the Way
Hiking at 7,160 Feet
We took a gondola from Grindelwald up to First for a days hiking. The weather was cool, cloudy, and at times rainy. But the clouds kind of made the already amazing scenery more mysterious and interesting.
Interlaken to Grindelwald
The 30 minute train ride from Interlaken to Grindelwald was quite beauftiful and was only a taste of what was to come over the coming days. The train was also great because it had windows that opened so we got to enjoy the fresh, cool air while we enjoyed the scenery. The first picture is in Interlaken, the final picture is in Grindelwald of the train we rode up the hill.
On the Golden Pass Line to Interlaken
These pictures don’t even come close to doing justice to the beauty we saw along the way from Montreux to Interlaken. The weather was rainy at times, but it kind of made the views all the more spectacular. You leave Montreux winding your way up switchbacks with ever changing views of Lake Geneva, you go through beautiful forests and small towns, incredibly green farmland, and lots and lots of views of the hills, valleys, and mountain peaks. It was a fascinating ride.
A Boy and His Trains
I love trains and Switzerland has trains of every possible variety and lots of them. And they are super efficient, and the stations and signage way better than they are in France, Here I am enjoying our wait for the Golden Pass Panoramic train that we will take from Montreux to Interlaken. No doubt I will have more on Swiss trains later.
A Cloudy Day on the Shores of Lac Leman
We stayed one night in Lausanne, Switzerland on Lake Geneva before heading off into the Berner Oberland. Switzerland has a really serious graffitti problem that first became obvious to us in Lausanne. We ended up staying in the very expensive Beau Rivage because many things in town were booked up months in advance and there wasn’t enough difference in price betwee a cheaper place that “had bedbugs” according to Trip Advisor, and the Beau Rivage. Plus, I can’t say that I minded the Rivage’s TV line-up.
Our Rental Cars
While we were in France we rented cars in two different places rather than paying for a one way rental which can get kind of pricey. Our first one was the colorful Citroen you see above…ha ha, actually, no it wasn’t. Our first car was a cute little Audi A3 station wagon. It was an awesome fuel efficient diesel. It might have been too little for Ron and Barry sitting in the back seat, but it was fun to drive.
The second car we got turned out to be another Audi, but this time the A4 station wagon. This we didn’t need the bigger version, especially since we no longer had passengers in the back seat, but it was all they had for us. I liked the A4 as well, but for Europe, I liked the little A3 better.
Driving in France was no problem at at all. It helped that we were nowhere near Paris and we had a trusty GPS unit. I think I only got yelled at once by a French driver–at least I only heard someone yell at me once.
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