It was an early start today and we have accomplished a great deal in that time! We caught an 8:30 train from Geneva to Montreux, on the other side of the lake. There, we transferred to the Golden Pass Panoramic train for a trip through the mountains to Interlaken. It had rained during the night and was overcast when we started out but even that is dramatic in the mountains!
Pictures truly are worth a thousand words but still don't completely capture the breathtaking scenery that was all around us! There were schlosses and vineyards...
Crystal clear mountain lakes with hillsides in every shade of green dotted with rustic chalets...
Meadows and mountains straight out of Heidi!
There were very distinctive Swiss churches with cone shaped spires and clocks...the same in every village.
We passed through Gstaad. No wonder the rich and famous congregate here to ski and relax!
And then we were approaching Interlaken...
Interlaken reminded me a lot of Jasper or Banff - the little village/town with glorious views and spectacular gardens!
Dad would have been quite happy to stay in Interlaken to personally inspect, wind and listen to each of the hundreds of cuckoo clocks lining the shop walls! They were quite amazing with their different scenes and actions.
Some of Dad's ancestors came from Thun which is just north of Interlaken so we got a train for there. Another quaint little town with the Aarne River roaring through it under a covered bridge on its way to the Rhine.
At the station in Thun, we picked up "drei bretsels raclette" (3 cheese pretzels) - what a treat! Warm and soft - right out of the oven!
Another train to Bern and a short walk to our hotel which is on a lovely old street right in the heart of the old city. Sidewalk cafes, fountains and squares are all around and I can't wait to get out and explore some more tomorrow!
We have attempted to use some German but have found the Swiss to be wonderfully friendly and fluent in many languages so we may survive with "danke" and "bitte" and any other words we happen to pick up along the way! It really does come quickly when one is thrown right into the middle of a language!
