Switzerland
Our first stop in Switzerland was in Brienz in the Bernese Oberland. We had a lovely room overlooking Lake Brienz. We parked the car, not using it again until we moved to the next resort. Our idea was to use the Swiss railways, (railways, especially steam, are a passion with my husband). We bought a Swiss Pass entitling us to a 50% discount on local trains. The first day we woke up to sunshine, so decided to go on the Brienzer Rothorn steam train. The countryside was awesome. We had lunch at the top, the sun shone and a cool wind blew.
The weather wasn’t so bright the next day. We went by train to Lucerne, wondered around the city, had lunch at a little café. I had the most delicious raspberries. We took loads of photographs of the famous covered wooden bridge. There are beautiful red and yellow flowers all along the bridge. We went on a paddle boat trip around part of Lake Lucerne. There was a running commentary which was very interesting. This boat had a tall mast which could be lowered until it was almost flat. At one point we went under a very low bridge. I am sure they do this every time they go out on the lake, but the lowered mast was only just below the bridge. You feel everyone is holding their breath in case it doesn’t make it!
Another time we went to Interlaken, walked along the main street, where there are some very nice hotels, wandered in and out of mainly touristy shops. We watched people paragliding in a local park. I decided this wasn't for me!
We also visited Thun, very picturesque place. Thun has a wooden covered bridge, smaller than the one in Lucerne, it looked very old. This bridge is over a rapidly flowing river with people surfing from the bottom of this bridge. It looked cold in the water and not a little dangerous, as they were swept rapidly by the current down the river on their boards. There were flowers everywhere on railings and on balconies. Thun also has an impressive castle, dating back to 12th century, which hasn't ever been lived in. It seems it was built just for show.
Drove the following day to Grindelwald. The hotel has its main entrance on the railway station. To reach the hotel’s small car park we had to drive along the platform, a strange experience! We had a fantastic room, we could see the Eiger, ‘see’ the Eiger is a little misleading. There were clouds covering it which move constantly, revealing bits of the top of the mountain. Other mountains could be viewed and were snow covered.
We went for a walk around Grindelwald. There were a lot of road improvements being carried out causing traffic jams. It was August, but being so high up it was quite cold in the evening.
The main reason for going to Grindelwald was the Junkfraujoch, known as the 'Top of Europe', at 3,454 metres. We took a train from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg where we changed for the cogwheel railway (it was great just to walk out of the hotel and climb on the train). This journey is mostly through tunnels hewn from the rocks of the Eiger and the Mönch (Monk in English) as seven of the nine kilometres are in a tunnels. The train stops for five minutes at each of two intermediate stations, the Eigerwand (Eiger Wall) and Eismeer (Sea of Ice). We viewed the scenery through panoramic windows. The Jungfrau Railway climbs a height of 1400 metres in around 50 minutes.
When we arrived we made our way walking, through more tunnels to the Sphinx, and looked out over the Aletsch Glacier. It was a beautiful bright sunny day, the wind was very strong and it was so cold. It was definitely worth making an early start to see such a fantastic view. There was an ice palace with ice sculptures, carved ice penguins and bears and many more. Back down to Kleine Scheidegg for lunch and a chance to get warm!
One day we went to Mürren by train, which is a place not possible to reach by road. The weather had changed. There were heavy clouds, some hanging in the valley below and even in August there were pockets of snow. It seemed a little deserted, although there were some people running a marathon. We also went to Berne, the capital, on a Sunday. We had never been there before. Most of the shops were closed but it was lovely just to wander around, seeing the famous clock tower and the typical architecture of the area.
Towards the end of our holiday we went to Geneva. It has the feel of a bustling international city. We sat on a bench in a park by the lake and ‘people watched’. Mostly people walked by but there people on bicycles and some on skate boards, people with dogs and families with children on scooters. We also saw the tourist boats going out on the lake, past the Jet d'Eau de Genève, the water fountain.
But I think the nicest day was the one when we used the car and went up into the mountains to Arolla in the Valais or Wallis. In this canton the names of places change depending where they are, as both French and German are spoken. Arolla is a sleepy summer village, near a mountain called Mont Collon, which is snow covered at the top and looks like someone has put icing on a cake.
There was a hotel with a café which was closed on several days during the summer but there were flowers everywhere, in hanging baskets, on the balconies, all over a well and in pots on the ground. Our last few nights were spent in a small town called Culley on Lake Geneva, not far from the French border.
We did the journey back to the Calais in one day. This was on a Saturday. The French motorways are not as congested as the British ones. Saying this, when we thought it was time we stop at a Service Station to buy something for lunch we found it impossible to park. We regretted not having thought to buy some snacks to have in the car. So I wouldn’t recommend driving along the French motorways on a Saturday at the end of August, if you would like to stop for a break.
We took an evening ferry and had a meal on board, arriving home in time to go to bed, after a very interesting and varied holiday.