Switzerland - Interlaken

My favourite of the 3 countries we visited during these 3 weeks of vacation is Switzerland. The land of the Swiss is 41,285sq km and mountains make up 70%. Switzerland is very nice & clean and extremely scenic.

16 Oct (Thur) Arrived in Interlaken within 30mins after changing train in Spiez.
On the way, we're welcomed by stunning views of Lakes Thun & Brienz. Interlaken at 567m is the starting point to the Jungfrau region.

We check-in to Hotel Blume on Jungfraustrasse, about 5 mins walk from Interlaken West Station.The hotel staff was friendly, the room was very clean & comfortable. At Eur 88/night, it was far nicer than any of our accommodation in the 4 Italian cities. Tap water in lnterlaken is also portable. We got a tourist card from the hotel which would entitle us to free bus & rail rides within Interlaken.

The Swiss are very friendly & helpful. Many of them speaks very good English. The few German greetings I learnt also came in handy.

We decided to explore the main shopping street, Hoheweg, to Interlaken Ost station. Though it was drizzling, it didn't dampen our spirit or good impression of Switzerland.There's many Chinese, Koreans & Indian tourists in Interlaken. Evidential from the loud speaking in the tourist shops that lined Hoheweg, selling from branded watches to bags, chocolates, Swiss army knives & cuckoo clocks.

We had a break at Coop cafe, an Ikea style self-service restaurant popular in Switzerland for affordable meals. I was deciding on what to drink & which cup to use when a nice Swiss lady came by & told me which button label was for hot & cold milk for the chocolate mix which I was holding on my hand, all without me asking! We also checked out the Coop supermarket and was impressed by their good selection of everything.


We decided to have a sumptuous Swiss meal tonight. Went to Buren, a bar cum restaurant recommended by the hotel staff for Kase (cheese) fondue. Food was yummy, a good change from the usual pasta & pizza in Italy.
17 Oct (Fri)
First breakfast in Switzerland is a simple but delicious one comprising of cereals & homemade bread with cheese & strawberry jam at the hotel. Simply loved the bread!
Thereafter we're headed to Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe which is 3,454m a.s.l. Lonely Planet describe the Jungfraujoch to be a must-try one-in-a-lifetime experience which I fully agree. Lucerne & Interlaken forms part of Berner Oberland, where mountains, lakes & alpine villages creates a breathtaking view. The Jungfraujoch journey starts from Interlaken Ost, with stops to change train at Lauterbrunnen (796m) and Kleine Scheidegg (2,061m) before finally arriving at Jungfraujoch. Lauterbrunnen was replaced with Grindelwald (1,034m) on the journey down. The 3.5 hours journey is extremely scenic.
While waiting for our train at Interlaken Ost, was impressed by their systematic & tourist friendliness. They've notice boards with maps cum hotels & adventure sports dirctory. One can dial directly to those in the directory to check their availability for free. You can also check their location on the map by entering their directory code & their location on the map would light up immediately. Tourist info station is also friendly & efficient with many counters & an electronic queue system, a vast difference from the long snaking queue in the Italian cities.
The journey up Jungfraujoch...
Views of the glacier world on Jumgfraujoch. 3 glorious peaks of Eiger (3,970m), Monch (4,107m) and Jungfrau (4,158m).
Amazing views from the Sphinx. we were totally frozen at -7 degrees.
After the Sphinx, we were totally frozen. To defreeze, we got a hot chocolate & piping hot Korean cup noodles at exzorbitant price of CHF 7! The boss of the cafe had a truly good biz case.
Views from the Plateau where one can experience the icy ground, play with snow & take pics with the breathtaking sights. Saw a few Ah Mos who run to the edge, took off their clothes to only summer shorts & slippers for a glorious camera shot before scurrying in. Amazing!
Ice palace where ice cravings were featured.
Two thumbs up for Jungfraujoch!

Switzerland is extremely elderly-friendly, a perfect place to retire with your loved ones. I think it's a good honeymoon destination too.
Relaxing in a cafe enjoying a black forest cake.

Second dinner in Switzerland was at Migros, another popular self-service restuarant near Interlaken West Station. Customers pick & choose their food and pay by the weight. They laterally weigh your plates at the cashier. Much cheaper than last night's dinner but I must say, the Swiss standard of living is really sky high!