"We will have four minutes for the transfer..."

The duck was up early on our fourth day preparing for our trip to the beautiful resort of Interlaken. First, a short briefing on Switzerland today and then we packed our box lunches before loading our luggage on the station shuttle. A short downhill walk and a bus ride married us up with our baggage on the train to the Brunig-Pass on the way to Brienz.

Our train ride was memorable for a number of reasons. First and foremost was the scenery through the ever changing and breathtaking countryside. Around every turn, a new vista opened on a valley or mountainside after changing trains down the line to the cog railway taking us over the mountain. Cameras clicking away at the call of "waterfall on the right," the train seemingly leaned in one direction and then another as we all sought to capture a memory. Of course there are always a few "wiseacres" in every group (David notwithstanding) who would call out "trees on the left" or some such nonsense to keep everyone in stitches laughing so hard.

We were also learning about another aspect of the Swiss character: the value of precision and timeliness. Andrea explained that we would have no more than four minutes to get ourselves AND our luggage off the train in Brienz before the train would pull away from the station. Having stacked our 60 large suitcases in the cargo area between the cars, David (being David) let his military organization kick in and enlisted three others to help, devised a battle plan, and set out to break what Andrea had told us was a Swiss tour record for unloading: a minute and a half. If we didn't beat the record, I'm sure we tied it!


Bags in hand and panting just a little, we boarded the Boat Brienz for a trip to Interlaken Ost, the easternmost train station in the village. Bright sun, a lake breeze and stops along the way (the boat is part of Swiss public transport) gave us photo opportunities and the ship's snack bar provided delicious coffee and pastries as we travelled. Waterfalls cascading into the lake and quaint houses, hotels and churches competed with sailboats and waves from folks along the shore. At the river connecting the two lakes (Lake Brienz and Lake Thun), the boat swung round and slowly backed under the bridge to the dock area.

Aboard the ship Brienz

Can you see the hotel?

A somewhat dangerous bridge to cross

Headed into Interlaken

Luckily, a van was available to take our bags to the hotel. The duck the led the way with commentary, "just a short walk - 10 minutes, mostly level" from the pier and through part of town. We were greeted, almost now as usual, by para gliders sailing off the mountain; an incline train to get to the top; wonderful old churches and neat, well kept homes along clean streets filled with friendly people.

Incline railway up and into the mountain

We also saw, for the first time, the Kleine Scheidegg glacier we would be visiting a few days later.

The glacier

Hotel Interlaken. Not our hotel!

Para Gliders landing in Interlaken

The Grandfather in the Mountain
If you look closely, you can see a face in the rock.

Our accommodations at Zentrum Artos were unique. Literally, the "Artos Center" is a combination retirement village, hotel, and church-related conference center. Sleek and modern, we felt as though we were staying overnight in an IKEA showroom! The center, as is characteristic of much of Switzerland, is committed to "green" technology. Lights are triggered by motion sensors and window blinds close automatically.

After getting our bags and rooms, a brief wine welcome left free time to explore the village, do a little shopping and enjoy a gelato before another exceptional evening meal followed by a presentation on the history of the Alps by Esther Gloor.

Of course, we all thought the Alps were a series of mountains. We were wrong. An "Alp" is a high mountain pasture to which Swiss cattle are taken during the summer months. And as we learned about the culture and traditions of these Alps, we also came to appreciate the threat to this culture from global climate change. Changes to the glaciers and the permafrost may cause catastrophic changes to Switzerland's economy and the Alpine way of life. It's no wonder the Swiss are so committed to green energy.

We would learn more about the country's plans to save energy later in the trip when we visited the site of the Gotthard Base Tunnel.