Switzerland: A Country With Majestic Mountain Scenery And Clockwork Efficiency
Travel article to take your mind off the world's woes.
A must-see country in Europe is Switzerland. We spent five days there and thought it was a wonderful country! The scenery over such small distances just takes your breath away. It is a highly advanced technological country––yes, the trains do run on time––, very automated and organized, with tunnels everywhere.
For those who love the outdoors, it is a delight with hiking, skiing, paragliding, mountain climbing, cycling and more. It is a country of fit and friendly people. We really loved our time here. The only downside, however, is that Switzerland is a costly country.
Something not to be missed is the Jungfraujoch or “Top of Europe”. What is the Jungraujoch? It is simply one of the most stunning sights in Europe!
We drove by car to the town of Lauterbrunnen, which was as far as we could go and parked it in a multi-car park adjacent to the train station.
The first train took us to Klein Scheidegg, where we changed to a cogwheel train. After 5 minutes, the train entered a tunnel in the Eiger, one of the most famous mountains in the world due to the challenging climb of its north face. The trip through the tunnel takes 50 minutes with two stops––still in the tunnel.
After seven kilometres, we finally arrived at the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe. What awaited us was an incredible sight. We had a 360-degree panoramic view of the Eiger, the Monck and the Jungfrau mountains at an altitude of 11,333 feet, with the Aletsch Glacier before us, which is 23 kilometres long. In front of us also lay Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy.
One really has to marvel at this engineering feat. It took 16 years for the train tunnel to be built, which opened in 1912, so we were there for the centenary. There was an observation deck 400 feet above the station with an elevator taking you to the top, along with extensive walkways, lighting, a 360-degree cinema screen and two restaurants.
We walked along a snow trail on the edge of the Eiger, admiring the sights and hearing the sound of mini avalanches coming down the mountain occasionally.
Interlaken is a quaint and trendy Swiss town. Many of the surrounding towns and villages in the area have that very Swiss look that one envisages about this country.
We drove about 16 kilometres from Wilderswill to a town called Stechelberg. That was basically the end of the road for going to other villages by car. Beyond Stechelberg, you had to take a cable car, ride a bike or walk to the nearest village. We decided to hike to the hamlet of Trachsellauenen––pronounce that one if you dare. The day was beautiful, with 27 degrees Celsius and deep blue skies.
Our hike took us along a beautiful river valley with rapids and waterfalls off the mountains flowing into the river, little bridges along the way, and wildflowers by the path, all in the shadow of the Jungfrau mountain. You couldn't get more Swiss than this. In fact, It felt like we should have been singing "The hills are alive" from the Sound Of Music or yodelling.
One of the cities we visited in Switzerland was Lucerne which sits along Lake Lucerne.
Our room had spectacular views of the lake and Mt. Pilatus across the other side. Later in the afternoon, we took the local bus into the city and visited the Chapel bridge, the oldest covered bridge in Europe, built in the 1300s. We also spent some time walking around the historic old town before heading back by bus.
While we think of Switzerland as a land with gorgeous mountain scenery, there is also history here. We found the Einstein Museum, part of the Bern Historical Museum, fascinating in Berne. The museum, with photos, videos, artefacts, and written text, chronicles Einstein's life and the times he lived.
The museum took us chronologically from his early childhood, schooling and ultimately, professorships in Switzerland, Germany, Prague and Princeton in America. There were also several graphic videos explaining his theories of relativity.
Contrary to popular belief, he was a good student in school, although he spoke his first word at age 3. In university, he had some difficulty but was happier and could use his genius more to solve problems independently. Can you spot the young Einstein below?
There are just too many highlights for such a short platform to view all that Switzerland has to offer. However, I’ll finish with this image.
There are just too many highlights for such a short platform to view all Switzerland offers. However, I'll finish with this image.
Beautiful photos! I love the depth of field on the train picture!
Ahhhh. Lucerne; by the high speed train and we spent two days there and probably stayed at the same hotel! View of the lake was just across the street and the hotel was next to and above the Maserati dealer! Across the side street was the McLaren dealer - we took the boat ride across the lake - and walked the covered bridge - we took a bus to Mt Titless in the Swiss alps - the gondola spun 360 while we traversed to the mountain top and walked the sky and ice cave walks.
I wish we could have stayed longer- it was so hot while we were there everyone was swimming in the lake. They wanted 25.00 to swim in the lake. 😒. Thank you for the walk down memory lane. I needed that. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️