The Roof of Europe

We'd been checking the weather reports for the last 36 hours. Would it be clear enough to make the trip to the Jungfraujoch worth the extra price of the ticket? It would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a special train up to the "Roof of Europe," but would be pointless if the weather were overcast.

We were in luck: it's a bright, sunny day as the duck leads the way to the train at Interlaken Ost for our trip to the village of Grindelwald and the Jungfraujoch mountain via the Kleine Scheidegg. Passing the airport at Interlaken, we see the remains of a weekend festival being cleaned up to make the airport useable again. Apparently, everyone attending had a great time listening to the bands and other entertainment.

The cog railway winds its way through the Black Forest countryside, moving ever upward. Grindelwald sits at 3400 feet in the Bernese Alps and has about 3800 inhabitants. From most anywhere in town you can see the glacier, Kleine Scheidegg, looming above you on the mountainside.

We take a walk "slightly uphill, about 10 minutes" to the quaint little Grindelwald Museum. The museum sits next to a lovely church where we can hear the service going on, as it's Sunday morning. 

The museum gives us a view of early life from Alpine living to rescue teams and equipment. This area was very popular with the English and others who vacationed and often took up the challenges of the various peaks. Peggy zeroed in on the fabrics, dresses and weaving artifacts while David took an interest in the bicycle-like ski vehicle. A modern version made from wood is available but would have been difficult to stuff in a backpack or suitcase for the trip home.

After a tour of the museum, we enjoyed another great luncheon at the restaurant "Hirschen" in Grindelwald with local dishes at tables next to open windows looking out over the town and surrounding mountains. It was a perfect day - - almost.

We will now take a short intermission before the film on Jungfraujoch for a brief look at the Swiss Medical System and how it operates. For those of you who don't know, Peggy tripped and fell on the way downhill to get our tickets for Jungfraujoch tour. (As of this writing, Peggy is doing fine and the last scan has shown the epidural hematoma on her brain re-absorbed by 85%.) I was getting bottled water in a local market for our trip when Rauati came running up to tell me what happened. I was greeted by a very badly bruised and bleeding Peggy with EMT's caring for her.

A local doctor was called to her office and arrived as we did by ambulance. Holding Peggy's hand and telling her for the umpteenth time that everything's going to be okay and I was there to take care of her, the doctor looked for approval that I wasn't going to be fazed by blood and stitches. Eight of them later (two in her upper lip outside and six inside) I had learned a new surgeon's knot tying for my fly fishing hobby. After a tetanus shot, some prescriptions, and taking care of the expenses, the ambulance crew gave us a ride to the train to Interlaken and we walked the mile back to our hotel to rest and begin to recover.

The problem in Europe is that they seemingly don't believe in ice. We got some cold packs at the pharmacy, but can you believe a hotel with no ice?

The next morning we would leave Interlaken and travel to Brig. A little battered and sore, Peggy would make a quick trip to a gift shop near the Interlaken train station for some oversized "movie star" sunglasses to try and disguise the bruised cheek and swollen lip. 

Now for the movie. They say that adversity brings people closer together. I'll never forget Peggy saying I should "go ahead" and my reply - "I'm your husband; this is where I belong. I love you and would never leave without you."

Ours was a great honeymoon.

First, a quick overview of Grindelwald:

And the Jungfraujoch (and now you've seen as much of it as we have!)

Bern, Bears and Tubing

Following a breakfast including croissants, cheese and coffee, the morning lecture introduced us to the capital city of Bern resplendent in history, heraldry and hills surrounding a peninsula that is home to 130,000 people. Once voted as Europe's most floral city, its ranks swell with the influx of tourists and parliamentarians who visit and work in this World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO.

Old Town Bern

Once again, we followed the duck to the train station at Interlaken West, this time, for the Intercity train trip at mid-morning. Large windows and comfortable seating allowed relaxed viewing of the countryside along Lake Thun. Bern is a shopping paradise. Alighting from the train and just across the way, the ambience of Old Town, where traffic is not permitted, greets you with a medieval street plan filled with shops of every kind.

Open Air Market

A pedestrian city 

First, however, is the guided tour of Bern's highlights. Not to be missed is the animated Clock Tower (Zytglogge) with its clockwork figures which have marked the hour since 1527--another testament to the Swiss love of precision and time. We joined the crowd around the tower at noon when the "show" is the longest.

The old part of Bern is filled with fantastic fountains, the most interesting of which (or creepy, depending on your viewpoint) is the "Child Eater" fountain. No one knows exactly what it represents, although the legend is that it marked the edge of the city and the Ogre at the top was to keep children from straying too far from home.

The Child Eater Fountain

We passed by the house Einstein lived in while he was (as we've all learned) a Swiss patent clerk.

Einstein Haus

the Bern Munster, a cathedral with the tallest spires in Switzerland,

And, because Bern is Switzerland's capital, the Parliament building or Bundeshaus, with its 26 fountains representing each of the Swiss cantons.

We grabbed lunch on our own at the Migros cafeteria with its free wifi, 

and then made the choice to skip the museums and go "Tubing." No swimsuit is required. Tubing is the Swiss term in Bern for shopping under the porticos lining the two main shopping streets in the western half of the city; Marktgasse and Spitalgasse. The porticos covering the walkways resemble long tubes as they stretch down the street and are filled with shoppers, vendors and outdoor cafes. There is no Walmart here, but if you can't find it, you probably don't need it anyway.

Bern is in the Swiss German part of the country, so brush up on your "Guten Morgan" and your "Danke" as we'll as English, French and even some sign language. There are bargains to be had; there are very expensive, haute couture brand name stores; there are very friendly people; and there are good times to be had tubing in Old Town, Bern. Attempting to speak the language brings you laughter, bargains and new found friendships on the spot. We had a delightful time covering lots of shops and lots of sights before returning to the Bahnhofplatz for our trip back to Interlaken.

Take a moment for the video tour and you'll see what we mean. A short rest and another wonderful dinner at the hotel left time to walk around Interlaken and do some holiday shopping for family and friends.

"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.