Day 20 – Riding the rails to Zermatt

Posted on July 3, 2019 by herktrav

Travel day from the scorching heat in Lausanne to the cool mountains of Zermatt. The weather is showing a 30 degree difference in temperatures. Break out the woolies!

Up early to clean up and pack before heading out. We decided to take the 11:50am train to give ourselves a little time. We can’t check-in until 2:00pm, so why rush.

We really enjoyed Lausanne. There isn’t one thing that we would have changed about the itinerary. If the heat wave wasn’t in full effect, we might have had a little extra time for sight-seeing instead of taking three showers a day, but what the heck – we smelled good!

Off to the train station we went. It only took about 15 minutes to get there and we only had a half hour to wait for our train. Our route today had us travel from Lausanne to the town of Visp. At Visp we changed trains and then headed to Zermatt. The scenery along the way was beautiful, especially as we neared Zermatt.

Much of our journey went through agricultural regions with lots of fruit, vegetables and vineyards. When we neared Visp and headed for Zermatt, the scenery changed to high, rocky mountainsides with occasional streams of water cascading down between the rocky crags.

Below are a few pictures from the journey:

When we arrived in Zermatt, the town was bustling. Others from the trains, plus the daily tour bus people were scurrying about taking pictures, looking for rides or just wandering the streets.

Zermatt is a car-free town, but they do have some small electric cabs and vehicles from hotels to move people or luggage. Our hotel included a pick-up service, so we called and they were there for us in five minutes. It was a short trip to the hotel, but we managed to get a feeling for the way the roads worked.

Our hotel is the Hotel Bellerive and at first glance looked nice. Our location is nice and quiet with beautiful views.

We were a little early for check-in, but our room was ready for us. We’re on the third floor and there is an elevator – hooray!

Our room is wonderful. Wow! The bed is big and comfy, and there is a day bed in case a friend drops by. The outer wall is a sliding glass door and there is a balcony with two chairs and a table. Because I booked through the hotel website, we not only got the free ride, but we also have free access to the minibar for soft drinks.

I wanted to see the Matterhorn while in Switzerland – little did I know it would be the first thing I see upon opening my eyes each morning. Not that waking up on the other side and seeing Sue isn’t just as awe inspiring – sort of.

We are here, we are thrilled with our room and hotel, we took a little walk to get acquainted with the area and now it’s dinner time. For our first night we chose the Restaurant Spycher to entertain our taste buds.

After a three minute walk, we arrived at the restaurant and we were first. We made earlier reservations to avoid the crowds and so that we could get home earlier this evening.

Everything was truly delicious and we had fun with the servers. Fun with the servers means we tried to order in German, and then found that they also spoke Italian, so the night was a mix of bad German, bad Italian and English thrown in when we were completely stumped.

We sat outside even though rain was predicted. The Host assured us the umbrellas over our table would keep us dry, and luckily we never had to worry about it at all as the rain waited until the overnight to fall.

As for our meal, let me tell you about it. We had heard that the food was good here, but hadn’t anticipated it being as good as it was. We started with a glass of Prosecco, then had a bottle of La Coraline Cornalin 2017, which is a delicious Swiss red wine.

For our meals, Sue had a salad with greens, warm goat cheese, tomatoes and nuts. Her main was braised veal cheeks and she opted for a scoop of pistachio ice cream for dessert. For me, I started with a salad of fresh homemade burrata cheese with greens, sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. My main was a filet sampler – veal, lamb and beef filets with side vegetables and spatzle. Dessert was a trio of chocolate – cake, mousse and ice cream with chocolate liqueur.

Yes, we were full. Yes, we loved it. And yes, we waddled our way back to our hotel to rest and digest.

We are crossing our fingers that the weather tomorrow will hold out – so we can go to the mountains.

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Day 19 – Lausanne – When the day gets warm, the warm go cruising!

Posted on July 2, 2019 by herktrav

Temps are going to be the hottest we have encountered so far, so a boat ride sounds much cooler than walking around town.

There is a longer cruise that goes from Lausanne to Geneva and back that sounds perfect. It is on one of the paddle boats which is just what we wanted. We scampered over to the pier and caught the first boat leaving Lausanne. We found a shady spot on the upper deck and staked our claim to the seats. The lake looked very calm, even with a slight breeze blowing,

I never realized just how big Lake Geneva is. It’s about 73 km from end to end, which would roughly be Montreux to Geneva. It’s not overly wide, as you could always see both shorelines as we cruised along, but I wasn’t volunteering to swim it. Lausanne is probably about 60% of the way, so we will be embarking on a three hour cruise.

In case you were fearing for us, I checked and there were no unchartered islands and our boat had a full crew, not just the Skipper and Gilligan.

As the boat left the harbor and started on its way, we ordered glasses of champagne to toast to a nice day on the lake. I figured that was a good choice to appease the Water Gods so there would be nothing but good intervention – unlike Jason and his Argonauts.

Sculptures in the harbor of Lausanne – D’Ouchy. Top and Bottom

Nectar of the gods plus nuts

The boat sailed along the coast of the lake for the majority of the cruise, but did cross over to the French side for a stop along the way. The scenery all along the journey was beautiful – everything from chateaus, beaches, churches, sail boats, other cruisers and a whole lot more. Hopefully the pictures give you a feel for the sights.

While the other passengers disembarked and the new passengers came aboard, we re-arranged ourselves to be comfy for the ride home. The new people coming aboard would give a little look as we were already shaded and the open seats were in the sun. Many disappointedly headed inside for shade and a little protection from the sun.

Geneva looked nice along the waterfront, but we didn’t have much interest in walking around. It’s a bit of a walk to the old town and most people have told us that there isn’t much to see.

Before long, we were heading back to sea. The ride back provided some different perspectives on what we had already scene, plus some new sights. We passed by a sailboat regatta, piers and beaches that now had many more people, a girl who was fabulously wake-boarding behind a boat and some quiet spots where the sun seemed to have gotten the best of the people who were there earlier.

Again it was a relaxing and peaceful way to spend a hot, sunny day.

When we returned to Lausanne it had been a long day, but a delightful day on the lake. We were both a bit hungry and warm, so we headed back to the hotel to cool off and await dinner.

We will be dining at the hotel restaurant again tonight. Our meal the first night was delicious, so why not end at the same place ?

The folks at the restaurant recognized us and were very nice. We shared a shrimp cocktail appetizer and then shared a whole roasted chicken. The chicken came with french fries, a salad and ratatouille. We also ordered a bottle of white wine from the Morges region of Switzerland that paired well with our chicken. Everything was delicious once again. They also brought us a dessert because our ratatouille didn’t arrive along with with the chicken.

Since many of you know how we are, when they came out to the table to present the roasted chicken, we named it. So for the meal we were eating, our French chicken from the Gruyère region named… Étienne. He gave his feathers for a good cause.

All in all it was a great way to finish up our time in Lausanne.

We went up to the room to relax and ended up watching the heat lightning lighting up the lake. Didn’t take long for me to doze off while Sue relaxed. All that fresh air is working its magic.

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Day 18 – Visiting the Lavaux Vineyards

Posted on July 1, 2019 by herktrav

Another warm day ahead of us, but looking forward to seeing the vineyards and tasting some new wines.

Today we visited the UNESCO World Heritage Lavaux wine region. We’ve seen them from afar while taking the train in to Lausanne and while on our Lake Geneva boat cruise. Today, we meet the grapes up close and personal.

We have two tours scheduled today. They both begin in the village of Chexbres, which is where our story begins. We were up early to catch the 8:30 train. Not too many others were out and about this morning. In fact, we had the entire first-class car to ourselves. The ride over only took about 35 minutes.

Empty Lausanne rail station

Heading off to see the vineyards

Train station in Chexbres

Our first tour began at 10:30am. Swiss precision was on display as the train pulled up within a few minutes and at 10:30 we were off. By we, I mean Sue, myself and the conductor – there was nobody else on the tour. We were definitely surprised that they didn’t cancel the tour and we got the full treatment.

The train weaves its way through the tight twisting roads cut into the vineyards. The views of the vines reaching down to the lake and up to the summit is tremendous. There were workers amongst the vines trimming the canopies and making sure the small berries were getting all the sunshine they needed.

We eventually arrived at the small town of St Saphorin, where we were greeted by a lovely woman and the local fire brigade. The lovely woman was going to take us on a short walking tour of the town, while the fire brigade continued their training drills.

The town dates back to at least Roman times and is incredibly cute: winding streets with narrow passages that let you scoot up and down. Magnificent little gardens tucked in every nook and cranny and wine!

The white wines of St Saphorin are delicious. Besides the one we tasted, we have had two others that we truly enjoyed.

Ready to go…..where are the people ?

Lavaux vineyards

In St Saphorin

Another group tasting wine

Pillar dating back to Roman Emperor Claudius

The wine to taste

Our tour ended just after 12:00 noon and the next tour didn’t begin until 2:30 pm, so we got ourselves a cool beverage and found a shady place to sit and relaxed. We were still amazed that we had ended up with a private tour, but hoped there would be others on the next tour.

Where we were touring

So 2:20 pm rolled around and so did the train. This afternoon, we’ll be heading to the Chardonne appellation and stopping at one of the vineyards for a tasting with about 20 others.

Just like this morning, the little train traversed the narrow roads and hair-pin turns while providing some beautiful views all around.

I loved seeing all the small berries on the vines. Right now they are young and adorable; later, when mature – Ooh La La!!

We stopped at the small winery “Le Fil du Soleil” high in the vineyards for our tasting. The two wines we tasted were very good. The first was a Rosé and the second was a white, much like a Pinot Blanc. The winemaker and his wife were very welcoming and seemed happy to answer questions and share their wine.

Soon it was time to climb back on the little train and head back to Chexbres. The scenery was just as nice on the way back, though it was getting warmer as the day went on.

Winery – Le Fil du Soleil

Cartoon images at the winery

The tour finished timely and we were able to hop on the train back to Lausanne within about five minutes. We were both pretty hot and sweaty by the time we got back to Lausanne and then rode the Metro to the hotel. Cool showers were definitely needed as well as the a/c in the room to cool off.

Dinner was at a restaurant called “Minuit Soleil”. There wasn’t a chance in the world that I was taking the Metro and walking to the restaurant. The front desk called a cab and within minutes we were on our way in a/c splendor.

The restaurant was really nice and since we had earlier reservations, we scored a great table on the terrace. We began with a nice glass of champagne and starters of a wonderful gazpacho for Sue and a crab and avocado tartare for me. For dinner we both went with the Souris d’Agneau, complemented with grilled vegetables and couscous. A Swiss Pinot Noir from Epesses rounded things out. We also had a little ice cream for dessert – a scoop each of chestnut and butter brickle for Sue and pistachio and dark chocolate for me.

Restaurant Minuit Soleil

Souris d’Agneau avec couscous

A brief chat with the owner of the restaurant as we departed and then a quick Uber ride back to the hotel. With full tummies, we headed back to our room and fell asleep early.

The fresh air and warm sun depletes one’s energy, but a nice comfy bed can sure replenish it.

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Day 17 – Lausanne and Lake Geneva

Posted on June 30, 2019 by herktrav

Another warm day ahead. Not really complaining – it just makes the moseying a little slower.

We were up early today, hoping to catch a morning boat ride on Lake Geneva before it gets too warm. We missed the 9:15 am boat, but did catch the 9:30 am one. While we were hoping for an open-air paddle boat, we got the next best thing (sort of) – this one had air conditioning.

The plan was to cruise down to Montreux, walk around a little bit and then catch a boat back to Lausanne. The emphasis being on the boat rides up and down the lake.

So I was already sweating up a storm just walking to the pier and that only took five minutes. I was a little disappointed to see a regular lake cruiser rather than the Belle Époque steam paddle boat, but you can’t win them all. The nice part, as I mentioned, was that the Premiere Classe cabin was air conditioned.

The scenery all along the route was beautiful, though the glare from the windows didn’t allow for too many pictures.

About three-quarters of the way to Montreux, we made a stop and a huge group of school kids came aboard. Suddenly, the cabin was loaded with rambunctious little kids on a school field trip.

Things got a little frantic as the teachers and aides attempted to rein them in. We laughed when at the next stop, another group got on. Luckily the next stop was ours and I haven’t moved that quickly in a while as I headed for the exit.

Much to our chagrin, today was the first day of the Montreux Music Festival and workers were scurrying around putting the final touches on the surroundings. We had a choice and it was an easy one since it was already getting hotter. The next boat to arrive was the Belle Époque paddleboat, so we got in line for the ride back to Lausanne.

The paddle boats have been on the lake since the early 1900’s and the restoration of each of them is wonderful. Just the sound of their steam whistles makes you look up and smile.

The cruise back to Lausanne was awesome. We practically had the first class deck to ourselves, which made it great for taking pictures. The scenery consisted of small towns, vineyards and hillsides; oh, and warm sunny skies.

When we arrived back in Lausanne, we walked back towards our hotel. Along the way, there was an ice cream stand that called to us like the Song of the Sirens. What could we do, the lure was too much. Next thing you know we are both holding cones with two scoops each. Darn, Sirens! The pistachio was delicious.

For dinner, we went to a small Italian restaurant called ‘Il Ghiotto’. It took a little effort to get there, but it was well worth it. It’s not often that Sue and I choose the same thing, but tonight, the chef’s menu couldn’t be beat. Started with a salad, then fagottini ‘beggar’s purses’ – homemade pasta, filled with cheese and herbs in a sauce of black truffles. For dessert, limoncello sorbet and two glasses of limoncello.

If it looks good to you, it tasted great to us.

Our ride back to the hotel was our first Uber ride. It was a great experience and saved us $10 over the cost of a cab. Jean Olivier was a perfect first driver for us.

The evening was beautiful by the lake, so we stayed at the hotel’s outside lounge for a nightcap or two before retiring.

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Day 16 – Dust off the French, we’re heading to Lausanne

Posted on June 30, 2019 by herktrav

After a wonderful stay in Lauterbrunnen, today we travel to the French region of Switzerland. We’ll be staying in the town of Lausanne, taking boat rides on Lake Geneva and visiting the nearby vineyards.

This morning we were up early to eat breakfast and finish packing before our check-out. Check-out was at 10:00 and we made our way downstairs a little earlier to avoid the rush. Since we had nothing else to do, we strolled over to the train station to wait for our train.

One last view

Arriving at the station early, we were able to catch an earlier train back to Interlaken, which will make things much easier as we won’t have to rush to catch the second train. We originally had just seven minutes, now we have thirty-seven.

Our Interlaken train was right on time to whisk us off to Bern. Just as on the first trip to Bern, the views all along Lake Thun were beautiful. Even though it was before noon, there were lots of people enjoying the lake.

When we arrived in Bern, we had twelve minutes before our next train. No need to rush though, it was just on the next set of tracks. We left right on schedule – 12:04 and headed to Lausanne.

The scenery was much different on this leg of the journey. Rolling hills covered with crops of all sorts. Hectares upon hectares of corn, wheat and other green stuff as far as the eye could see.

When we neared the town of Levey, the train began to follow along the shore of Lake Geneva, making the scenery even more beautiful. It wasn’t long before we passed by the terraced vineyards of the Lavaux region and then arrived at Lausanne.

Bienvenue mes amis! Nous Somme’s arrivés à Lausanne.

The train station in Lausanne is large, but quite manageable. We easily found our way to the Metro station, which we rode down to Ouchy along the lake.

We are staying at the Chateau d’Ouchy, located right on the lakefront. When we arrived to check-in, our room was ready for us. It overlooks the lake and is very nice. Pretty spacious, with a large bathroom and great shower. There are two huge windows that open, but more importantly, there is air conditioning.

Historic Chateau d’Ouchy

The view from the windows.

We took the opportunity to rest a little bit before cleaning up for dinner. I don’t know why sitting on a train tires one out, but it does.

Dinner tonight is at the hotel restaurant. It’s called Le 57 Grill and is situated so you have a lovely view of the lake while dining. Our waitress was a delightful young woman who we enjoyed talking to throughout our meal. The other staff were equally friendly and attentive and really made the dinner a treat.

Sue had grilled veal filet mignon and I had grilled lamb chops. Hers came with french fries and I had potatoes with Parmesan and truffle dip. If I said ‘Yum’, would you believe me?

After dinner, we took a little walk along the waterfront and located the piers for tomorrow’s boat cruise.

It is so pretty here, I’m sure we’re going to enjoy Lausanne.

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Day 15 – Trümmelbach Falls

Posted on June 29, 2019 by herktrav

What do you do when it’s hot outside? Find someplace cool.

We found that cool place in Lauterbrunnen at the Trümmelbach Falls. The melting glaciers create a river that over the years has cut right through the mountain. It is literally a powerful waterfall within a mountain.

We bought our bus tickets and rode over to the falls in about ten minutes. The entrance fee was 11 CHF each and was well worth it. We even got a ten percent discount for staying in Lauterbrunnen.

There are ten viewports and each provides a unique perspective. Some are close enough that you get caught in the mist. Other areas, where the water is rushing in, are chilly, bordering on cold; but on a hot day it felt good.

As you approach the falls, you can hear the roar of the rushing water but you can’t see falls. We opted to take the elevator up to the higher caves first and then walked our way back down.

Inside the mountain, the roar of the rushing water echoes through the caverns. There is a cool mist in the air that is inescapable. Luckily, they have cut in good steps with sturdy handrails, as the floor can be a bit slippery with the wetness.

As you walk to each viewport, you don’t know what to expect. Some are really cavernous and some are like windows with water splashing through.

I hope the pictures give you a feeling for the power and beauty of the falls.

When you get down to the bottom, the water that was rushing through feeds into a stream that carries it away.

We rode the bus back to town, found a nice shady spot in the hotel and cooled off with a bottle of Rosé.

While we were sitting there, minding our own business, there were three big booms that were not only loud, but shook the whole building. Turns out there were some fighter jets zooming through the valley that caused sonic booms.

After our wine, we went upstairs to relax and clean up before dinner. We chose to eat at the hotel again and enjoyed our final meal there. Once again, the meal was wonderful. We certainly are enjoying our meals so far, as well as the various Swiss wines we’ve been drinking.

We have to get up early tomorrow, so after a little digestion time we headed to bed.

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Day 14 – Staubbach Falls

Posted on June 29, 2019 by herktrav

Woke up and it was warm already. The unusually warm weather is definitely making water activities more attractive. For example, we’ve been taking two showers a day.

While others have gone nearby and done some rafting on the river, we decided to take a little hike through the valley to see some of the waterfalls.

We headed out early hoping to beat the heat, but it did not help – it was still hot! The first waterfall we came to was the famous Staubbach Falls. It is located on the Mürren side of the valley and is mesmerizing to watch as it falls to the ground. It isn’t a powerful falls, but it is beautiful.

We took some pictures, met a traveling college kid named Dave and then continued on our way. While some folks climbed up closer to the falls, we opted to just enjoy the view from bottom.

We did continue our walk though, heading farther down the path to see the view of the Staubbach Falls from the other side. We followed the path a bit farther and we were able to spot four more waterfalls. One of them barely landing a dribble on the ground as most of the water turned to mist on the way down.

It wasn’t getting any cooler, so we opted to head back to the hotel. We have learned that keeping hydrated in the heat is important, so on top of our water bottle that we kept refilling, we thought a bottle of Rosé would cool us off just perfectly.

Since neither one of us wanted to go back out and get all sweated up, we finished the bottle while sitting in the hotel breezeway. Sue was able to read a little, while I worked on the blog.

There is a woman who works at the hotel that we have been having fun with. She does a little of everything, but has been our waitress in the evening. While we were enjoying the wine, she brought us a big dish of hazelnuts.

Not only were they delicious, but Sue and I had a laugh. A couple weeks before we left, we were looking all over for hazelnuts to make a dessert when friends came to visit – with no luck. Here, it’s hazelnut heaven.

After walking through town earlier and checking out the available places for dinner, we chose to once again eat at our hotel. The food is excellent, the people are friendly and the prices are reasonable.

For tonight’s meal, Sue had the trout again and I had the Wiener schnitzel. We even splurged and had dessert of homemade ice cream – two scoops each.

After dinner, we retreated to the room to enjoy the view, listen to some music and relax. I must say, not keeping up a torrid pace has allowed me to keep my back in check. Besides, who doesn’t like to relax on vacation..

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Day 13 – Lauterbrunnen, here we come

Posted on June 26, 2019 by herktrav

We really enjoyed our time in and around Interlaken, but now it is time to move on. We’ll spend the next three nights in the town of Lauterbrunnen.

Lauterbrunnen is located in a valley just twenty minutes away from Interlaken. The valley has been called the “Valley of Seventy-two Waterfalls” and Lauterbrunnen gives you perfect access to so many places. To the left, we have the towns of Wengen and Grindelwald, which we passed through on our way up to the Jungfraujoch. On the right you have the towns of Mürren and Gimmelwald – the gateways to the Schilthorn.

Our train ride went quickly and before you knew it, we arrived in Lauterbrunnen. It is such a pretty little town with the iconic Staubbach Falls and the high, rocky cliffs that create the valley – the first things you see.

We are staying at the Hotel Silberhorn, which we can see right from the train station. It’s a short walk to the hotel, but it’s uphill – Yikes!

Our room isn’t ready yet, so we decided to go explore a little bit. Sue’s choice – up to Schilthorn!

So Schilthorn is the mountaintop lair of the criminal in the James Bond movie – ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’. In fact, just before we left for Switzerland, they had a 50 year celebration for the movie up top with many of the remaining actors and staff attending.

Anyways, to get there you first take a cable car up to the town of Grütschalp. Once there, you take a small mountain train to the town of Mürren. Next is about a ten minute walk across town to get to another cable car station. The cable car takes you from Mürren to Birg. And from Birg, there is another cable car that takes you up to Schilthorn.

Cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp

Train heading to Mürren

Above and below: Grütschalp station.

Scenery along the train route to Mürren

Cable car station in Mürren heading up to Birg and Schilthorn

Flowers on the way to the cable car

When you finally arrive, you have a 360 degree view of some awesome scenery. Snow covered mountain tops, streams of water from the melting snow rushing down the mountain, views down to the towns in the valley and on this day – blue skies.

Since the weather is so warm, I was walking around in just a short-sleeved polo shirt and felt very comfortable.

Schilthorn views

Taking aim with Bond

Someone doesn’t like this Bond

A couple of Alphorny guys

Inside the building there is a restaurant / bar called Piz Gloria that actually rotates over the course of your drink or dinner. There is the “James Bond Experience”, which contains pictures and memorabilia from the movie, plus there are some interactive games that you can amuse yourself and others with. There are a few shops that you can peruse and maybe find something to add to your souvenir pile.

Piz Gloria

007 Bar

Telly Savales – Who loves you baby?

Interactive bobsled chase

Bond, James Bond

After walking around for a while, we headed back to the hotel by reversing our original path. Cable cars down, short walk to the train, train ride to cable car; and cable car down.

It’s probably about a four to five hour round trip journey, though you could make a full day of it by checking out a few other places or stopping along the way.

The coolness of the mountaintop dissipated with each level heading down, so much so that we were both in need of a cool shower to refresh ourselves. Luckily for us, when we arrived back at the hotel our room was ready.

We have a corner room on the top floor with gorgeous views down the valley. The room is a nice size with big windows and a balcony. The bathroom has a wonderful shower that happened to be the first thing we made use of. Very happy with our choice of hotel again.

We made a reservation for dinner in the hotel restaurant, so when 7:00 pm rolled around, two very hungry people were ready. We had a great table, right next to an open window that provided an incredible dining backdrop. Our meals were delicious. Sue started with a bowl of beef barley soup and I started with a house-smoked salmon plate. Then we both had the river trout over ratatouille with roasted potatoes. A nice bottle of Swiss white wine paired perfectly and we were happy as could be.

Quite a jam-packed first day in Lauterbrunnen. And I thought we were just taking a train ride today – go figure!

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Day 12 – Bern, baby, Bern

Posted on June 25, 2019 by herktrav

So now that the threat of thunderstorms has passed, it’s time for heat warnings for the next week. Temperatures are expected to soar into the 90’s and possibly even hit 100 in parts of Switzerland.

Today we visited Bern, the capitol of the Swiss Cantons. The train ride was really nice. You travel along the shore of Lake Thun the majority of the way and have great views of the lake and surrounding mountains. The trip only took about an hour and was an easy journey.

Once there, we headed for the old town. It was just a short walk down to the Zytglogge or clock tower. The tower was built in the 1200’s and was part of the city’s western fortifications. The famous clock was added in the 1400’s. It features an astronomical calendar clock and an animated mechanism that chimes on the hour with moving bears, lions, a bell ringing jester and Chronos, who flips his hourglass at the hour change.

Bern clock tower

Astronomical clock and animated mechanism

Next, we headed over to the Einstein Museum. They have a wonderful exhibit that takes you through his life and times. Lots of interesting photos, documents and even film clips of his life and accomplishments. It was fun seeing some of the items that were patented while he worked in the patent office.

Sue cozying up with ladies man – Albert

What do you mean the Bills have no chance?

Several patents given out by Einstein

The even had an illustration of his theory of relativity in layman’s terms. As I understood it, the speed of light is constant, but you can drink cool Rosé faster on a hot day. I may have to read through it again for clarity.

Theory of Relativity explained with bouncing balls.

After the museum, we made our way over to the Bear Park. As the official mascot of Switzerland, bears can be found everywhere – not real ones, of course. However in Bern, there is a special place along the river that was built for them. On this day, there are three bears present. Berna was sent away to Bulgaria to shack up with a boy bear after clashing with her mother. Kids!!

Bear butt

Many things to see as you walk through the town. There are quite a few fountains, the riverfront and the casino as you walk, plus the sidewalks are covered most of the way, so even on the hot days you can always find a little shade.

Bern had been celebrating the return of Formula-E racing on Friday and Saturday, so today they were cleaning up. With that going on all around, we decided to head to Thun so we could take a boat ride back to Interlaken. When we checked on the boat schedule, we found that we had missed the last one for the day.

On such a nice day, a boat ride would have been perfect. No sense crying over spilled milk though. We just caught a train back to Interlaken instead.

Many restaurants were closed since it was Sunday, so we checked with the restaurant from the night before and we were able to get a reservation. It had been so warm in Bern that we both needed to cool off with a nice shower before getting ready for dinner.

We sat outside and really enjoyed the beautiful evening. Just a light breeze as the sun was beginning to set behind the mountains.

Tonight’s meal was equally as good as yesterday’s. We started with an order of spinach dumplings that I was nice enough to share with Sue. Then we both had the Veal with mushrooms in a light gravy, along with Rosti and grilled vegetables. The customary bottle of wine presented itself in the form of a red blend called “Lune Noir”.

After dinner, a nice stroll back to the hotel completed our time in Interlaken. Tomorrow we are off to Lauterbrunnen.

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Day 11 – Chilling in Interlaken.

Posted on June 25, 2019 by herktrav

After last evening’s romantic rainfall, we were hoping today would be dry and sunny. However, the weather person says more rain and a chance for some afternoon thunderstorms is in the forecast.

Oh well, we had decided to rest up a bit and enjoy Interlaken, so we can deal with it.

We started the day off with a little walk towards the river. The water flows so fast between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun; this morning there are actually paddle boarders zipping by.

The Aare River flowing through Interlaken

The water has greenish-blue tint. We found out that the color comes from all the minerals it picks up as it flows down from the glaciers.

Just around the bend from the river is the funicular to go up to Harder Kulm. Since it looks fairly clear up top, we decided to head up.

This is another steep ride. The grade is at 68 degrees at one point. We did pass some folks who were hiking up to the top and struggling a little bit – we waved.

Up top, the views were gorgeous. There were more clouds in the direction of Lake Brienz than Lake Thun, but the other mountain peaks were clear. We were snapping pictures in every direction, as the views were awesome everywhere you looked.

There is a cute restaurant up top with views to die for – just don’t drop your spoon. Additionally, there is an observation platform to take pictures and we’re told that in the evenings there are folk music performers.

A little breeze came up and in mere minutes we were surrounded by clouds and the beautiful views disappeared. We started walking back to the funicular and could see that the clouds were thinning so the views would return.

Pretty flowers along the path

More flowers along the path

Upper and lower – the views disappear when the clouds blow in

Views from the funicular

Hikers crossing over the tracks

This time, we had front row seats on the funicular and could really see how steep the grade really was. Passed some more hikers on our way down – waved again. The funicular takes eight minutes to make the trip; the hike is two sweaty hours. No math needed for that equation.

The weather was still decent, so we took a walk into the town center. Very nice, lots of little shops – especially watch shops. When we arrived at the park, waiting in front and loading passengers was the City Tourist Train. Call me crazy, but I love those things, so we hopped aboard.

The City Train and below, Heidi’s grandpa on the right.

According to Sue, our “engineer” bore a striking resemblance to Heidi’s grandfather. She was delighted; I was wondering why he left Heidi home alone. Must be a Swiss thing.

He took us around town, regaling us with interesting facts and folklore – including the man whose face is in the mountain after the death of a girl from a fall.

Can you see his eyes and mustache?

After our ride, we hopped across the street to sample some delicious gelato, before crossing back over to watch the paragliders landing in the park. I’m not sure if there is really a weight limit, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Otherwise I would have been gliding like a bird.

By the way, still no rain.

We took a nice walk back to the hotel to relax for a while before dinner. Tonight we are going to the restaurant in the Hotel Interlaken. We saw the menu when we walked by and it looked good, so I can’t wait.

When dinner time arrived, we grabbed our umbrellas and head to the restaurant. Our meals were delicious. Sue had a salmon dish and I had roasted pork belly. Yum!

Tom’s Smoked duck appetizer

Sue’s goat cheese appetizer

Tom’s pork belly dinner

Sue’s salmon and white asparagus

When we finished, we walked back to the hotel with our umbrellas still closed up – so much for the thunderstorms.

We enjoyed looking at the pictures from the day and then made our plans for Bern tomorrow morning.

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