Interlaken and Jungfrau

As I gaze from the balcony of our hotel in Montreux, and see grey on grey, rain falling over Lake Geneva, it confirms that the weather has changed, the over 40 days of continuous sunshine has come to an end. We have truly been blessed with great weather.

The train from Luzern left at precisely 10:05, on schedule, and arrived exactly on time. Again we had an Australian family as neighbours for the journey. In a near-deserted carriage, a Melbourne mum and her two daughters were also travelling to Interlaken, but then going on to Lauterbrunnen, a small village going up the valley towards the Eiger and Jungfrau. There does not seem to be a day when we don’t have a conversation with an Australian.

Wherever you are in this country there is a postcard picture and we seemed incapable of resisting the impulse to take yet another photograph of bubbling streams, rolling green fields, forests, mountains, waterfalls, cute cottages. Hopefully by the time we get to have our Monster Slide Night, we can have our selection down to about 50,000 slides.

Interlaken was bathed in sunshine and we had half a thought to do the Jungfrau trip while the day was clear. The mountains were clearly visible with just a few puffy clouds tickling the peaks. However it was getting late in the day, so we stayed in town, surveying the innumerable horological emporia, admiring the many grand hotels, and walking the banks of the river Aar that joins the two lakes of Interlaken. Later, as we walked back to the hotel, we could see dark clouds with thunderous intent rolling into the valley, and that night the rain started steadily.

Monday gave us continued rain and limited visibility, but we thought it was worth the effort to take the journey to the Jungfrau. To get there from Interlaken requires three trains, first to Lauterbrunnen, then to Kleine Scheidegg, and then to Jungraujoch. As always the conductor comes along to check our tickets, and he waves ours away dismissively, saying that our Eurail Pass was not eligible for this journey. Our Jungfrau receipt would need to be exchanged for tickets at Lauterbrunnen. That was ok, as there was several minutes between trains. The snow was falling lightly here but as the trains continued the climb, snowfall increased and it was indeed a most picturesque landscape.

When we got on the train at Kleine Schedegg, the engineer emerged from his cabin and asked “sprechen Deutsch?” We offered “We have some English” and he smiled and asked if we would like to join him in the cabin. Would we! Well, seven of the nine kilometres of this part of the journey are inside the mountain, but it will still be the best view of the tunnel which was finished just over a hundred years ago.

It was snowing heavily at the top and the lookout presented crisp white in every direction and it impossible to differentiate any physical mountain forms, let alone the valleys below. Yesterday would have been perfect. Still, the experience was great, including the ice castle with its beautiful ice carvings, and the journey itself presented some unforgettable views.

At around 3,450 metres, we had climbed nearly three kilometres from the lakes at Interlaken, and we were both feeling the effects of the altitude. We were taking very deliberate steps and walking slowly. Sitting in the restaurant for lunch I had the sensation of being on a ship, rolling with the waves.

As an aside I noted that Canberra has a higher altitude than Interlaken, which surprised me.

There were an astonishing number of Indian tourists, and Franz, our train driver had commented that Indians were among the largest groups to visit the mountain. I noted that in addition to the buffet restaurant there was a separate “Bollywood Restaurant”. The Indians seem to have a different approach to group behaviour, such as queuing. We were at the front of a queue waiting for a lift (elevator). When it arrived a large group of Indian folk basically pushed around us so we found ourselves at the doors of the lift, which was by then full, but under assault as the crowd just wanted to keep coming in. I put up stern resistance, saying to them that it was full and some would just have to wait for the next lift. Indeed, it was over full, and we had to evict a couple more before the lift would move. On another occasion, in the Ice Palace, I was taking a photograph when a chap just comes up and pushes me away so he could take a photo. I was too breathless to resist.
I would never generalise about races, but this particular group of people left a lot to be desired in their behaviour. It is interesting: the Chinese and Japanese people who were also quite numerous are just so polite. Anyway it was an interesting experience.

Back at a Interlaken, we started a search for a reasonably priced restaurant. We probably needed a couple of extra days to prove that “reasonably priced” and “Interlaken restaurant” are oxymoronic. We settled on a nearby restaurant for some soup and you guessed it, pizza. The pizzerias seem to outnumber all other restaurants.

It took three trains to deliver us to Montreux, all of them as smooth as silk, and timed to the second. I was a bit surprised that the loo in one of the trains just gave up its offerings to the waiting track below. Most unSwisslike.

Hopefully we will get some sunshine here in Montreux, as the aspect from our hotel is magnificent. The hotel is very comfy, though Jen asked if we could switch to another room as the first one reeked of tobacco odour. We will have a look around the city and do some long walks along the lakeshore. Wednesday we head for Geneva enroute for Paris thence Messac in Brittany where we pick up our boat, and meet up with Fiona and her partner Don.

Thanks for reading my blogs, and for the many words of encouragement.

Cheers