Day 18 Drive to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland
A moment to linger at the beach side.
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 Ausfahrt is German for Exit. Most importantly it is pretty funny!
At the train station we ran into another tour group who was setting out on their next adventure. Some conversation led us to start a discussion with this group. We quickly learned that it was another Rick Steves group, the Best of Italy group. They were on their way to Rome. We offered some safety tips (aka watch your pockets and belongings on the buses! Also go on the night tour with your guide if you have that option). From them we also learned that the bus that they are riding, one of the white confetti buses, has wifi! I heard one of our group members say, "Well, Little Ricky has some 'splanin' to do!" We wished each other well and boarded the train. It was not too much longer before we were walking down the ramp to the parked bus. Richard was asked why we did not have Wifi and he responded that our bus did not have wifi due to all of the borders that we cross. If it were a bus, such as the bus touring Italy where they do not leave the country, then there is a better chance for wifi. That made sense. Plus, I get the impression that Little Ricky's bus is a little more spacious than the white confetti bus.
Mom and Emily hopped in the front seat and I took the seat behind them. It was a lovely drive leaving the Cinque Terre. Today's bus drive will be approximately 7 hours, through both Italian countryside, over mountains, and through literally a hundred or so tunnels! Along the way we were stopped in bumper to bumper traffic. While we were stopped we watched as a little helicopter went up to these downed trees on the hill, lifted them up, and transported them to another area of the forest. It was about the most amusing thing. It was also around this time where Emily and I switched seats. She had started feeling a little motion sick. I was excited to go and get in the front seat. For lunch we stopped by a mini mall with a McDonalds, a food court upstairs and a grocery store downstairs. I really enjoyed looking at the souvenirs they had at the grocery store. There was lots of chocolate, lots of cows, there were some piggy banks too! For lunch we still had a lot of our cheese we purchased in Holland that had busted open, so for lunch we got some bread and had sandwiches. We ate this outside while watching some cute little birds hopping around us. We shared little bits of our bread with them. They were overjoyed! It was a nice meal. Another restroom stop was at this little gas station with a outstandingly beautiful view of the Swiss Alps! Wow, so beautiful! The sun was gleaming, the sky blue, grass as green as could be! It was lovely! As we were climbing the Brünig Pass an absolutely splendid view opened up below us. Richard, to our surprise, pulled over so that we could clamber out of the bus and get some photos. Emily stayed in the bus, but I was super eager to get out and enjoy the view. We looked down upon a town called Lungern as well as Lungern Lake. Lungern is located halfway between Lucerne and Interlaken (Interlaken being within an hour of our final destination for the day). It was just breathtaking! One of the best memories here was when Dimitri, who was playing with his new selfie stick, had everyone who had come out of the bus crowd in to get a groupie. Haha, so much fun! Finally we arrived at Interlaken. One of the first things we noticed as we drove into the town were the paragliders up in the sky. There must have been around 14 of them. We watched them as we wound through streets and into the town. Finally we stopped in a shopping district. Dimitri directed us to some nearby ATMs where we could withdraw Swiss Franks. During this time we also got to do some shopping. We had half an hour which was not near enough time! However during that time I did get a really cute cow plush. I think that nearly everyone would have liked some more time there in the town to do some shopping and look around. However once half an hour was up we were being rounded up. An hour or so later we were arriving at the peaceful, small town of Stechelberg in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. We pulled up in front of the restaurant which is also half of the hotel. The other half of the hotel was located across the street in another adorable building which reminded me of the cuckoo clocks. It was absolutely remarkable, too, how cool it was compared to the Italian coast. We went into the restaurant to get our keys and then wandered across the street to find our room. |
Our first and last view of the Cinque Terre.
Ciao, Italia and the Cinque Terre!
Interlaken, a very cute town. We would have loved to have spent a little more time there!
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This is the hotel where we were told we might be sharing a restroom with others on the floor. While that did not inspire much excitement Dimitri said that he too would be sharing a floor restroom. However, we were the lucky ones! Not only did we have an extraordinary view out of our windows, but we also had a very spacious room and our own restroom! The room was strikingly pink, but it was beautiful. There were three beds in the room. The bathroom was also very nice. Mom and I rushed to the balcony to admire the view. From there we could see the mountains as well as one of the lovely waterfalls pouring into the valley. It was breathtaking. Each balcony had several window boxes full of flowers as well as Swiss flags. It was so quaint. The temperature was so cool too and so comfortable. For the first time on the trip since Holland I dug out my hoodie. We were eager to go and explore our surroundings, find some cows (hopefully with cow bells!), so we did not stay in the room for very long.
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The view from our room. Wow, isn't that something?
Green, as far as the eye can see! The fields were also strewn with wildflowers making it all so much more exotic. I was the first one out of the room and outside looking around. I kept close until Emily and Mom were able to join me. While walking around the building I spotted some of our fellow group mates peeking out of their windows. I got a couple standing at their windows. Meanwhile a couple others popped out. Finally I got five of them looking out their windows. Snap! Moment captured! Haha!
Finally Emily and Mom came out of the hotel to join me outside. We decided rather quickly that we were going to walk down the nearest street which led to the river. It was a wide, rushing, and likely very chilly river. We did not linger as a little farther down the road we could see beautiful Swiss cows! These cows did not have bells, but we were still very excited to see them! They did have collars, so perhaps depending on where they are feeding they might be given bells. In the far distance we could hear the gentle ringing of bells as the sound melodiously bounced off the surrounding mountains. All too soon we were having to head back toward the hotel. It was nearly dinner time and we were being summoned. Hesitantly we left the beautiful cows who seemed as interested in us as we were in them, until they realized they were walking upon dinner again (grazing on luscious green grass).
Finally Emily and Mom came out of the hotel to join me outside. We decided rather quickly that we were going to walk down the nearest street which led to the river. It was a wide, rushing, and likely very chilly river. We did not linger as a little farther down the road we could see beautiful Swiss cows! These cows did not have bells, but we were still very excited to see them! They did have collars, so perhaps depending on where they are feeding they might be given bells. In the far distance we could hear the gentle ringing of bells as the sound melodiously bounced off the surrounding mountains. All too soon we were having to head back toward the hotel. It was nearly dinner time and we were being summoned. Hesitantly we left the beautiful cows who seemed as interested in us as we were in them, until they realized they were walking upon dinner again (grazing on luscious green grass).
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Before dinner we were given a demonstration on how our local chef, and owner of the hotel, makes his fondue. It was interesting to watch, for sure. However, while watching him make the fondue I was distracted by the kids across the street feeding the goats. So cute! The goats had bells on their necks too!
After the chef finished his demonstration the pots of fondue were passed out to every 4 people along with baskets of bread pieces. This was my first time having fondue. It was good, although it tasted heavily of wine. I think that is the point though. |
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I was expecting more of a cheesy flavor and a little less wine! It was an adventure! They also told us that if you drop the bread in the fondue then you have to kiss the person sitting to your left. Hahaha, nope! For dinner we had green beans, potatoes, carrots and veal. Dessert was flan. I actually really enjoyed the flan! The veal was also very tasty, although it was sad to think that we were eating young cows.
After dinner Dimitri gave us the information we would need for tomorrow. If we wanted to ride to the top of the mountain we could get up early. If we wanted to go to the Corkscrew Falls and ride the gondola up we had to meet Richard a little later. Once the game plan was laid out before us we were finally excused to return to our rooms. I would have loved to go and explore some more but it was getting dark. So instead we headed to our room and settled in for the night. Heres to hoping that we DON'T get snow tonight! Gute nacht! |
