Interlaken - Crown Jewel of Switzerland

Interlaken, the crown jewel of Switzerland, is centrally located in the Bernese Oberland. At 568 m (1,863 ft) above sea level, Interlaken lies between two beautiful lakes (Lake Thun and Lake Brienz). This small town boast of gateway to the one of the highest peak in Europe: Jungfrau. The railway track for Jungfrau is highest in whole of the Europe. The town has it all for all the adreline junkies: steamboat trips to waterfalls, hikes, kayaking, swimming, canyoning, paragliding and even skydiving; all in front an awe-inspiring backdrop.

We reached Zurich from Paris Gallieni bus terminal with one change at Strasbourg at around 9:30 in the morning. The change of 1 hour at Strasbourg actually got me going as it was 4:00 am in the morning with chilling wind blowing (in February) and on top of all, it started drizzling. We reached Zurich bus terminal at expected time. We had a cup of Starbucks just outside the terminal and then went to the Zurich HB terminal just across the road.

Quick Tip: If you are planning to see multiple places in Switzerland, I would recommend to for Swiss pass. This will make all your train, bus journeys for free and you also might get discount at several other places.

From Zurich, we took train from Zurich HB terminal to Interlaken Ost via Brunig and Luzern. The train journey to the Interlaken is mesmerizing and heavenly picturesque. At one particular point, the scene outside was breathtaking to say the least with blue azure water lakes sitting beneath the lush green mountain with clouds sitting on top of mountain like its crown; and snow clad mountain on the opposite side of it made this scene look straight out of some one’s dream destination created by the almighty with its finest colour available.

                       All the Colours of Nature at one place. View from my right side of the window

View from Left side of my window

Once we reach the Interlaken Ost station, we walked towards our Airbnb which was around 2.5 kms far Town Center Apartment 1 Hosted by Mathias near the open ground for Paragliding and was quite cozy, spacious apartment. After taking some rest, we went straight to the paragliding spot but as it was little late, we dropped the idea and went towards the side of lake for a walk. This walk was special as we walked (~2-3 km) along the blue water lake till the point where the two lakes meet each other.

The point where the two lakes meet

Quick tips:

Ø  Swiss is traditionally quite expensive. So spend wisely

Ø  The town sleeps quite early. Hence best is to grab some food on time

While coming back, we tried our hand at one of most sought after Swiss delicacy: Fondue. We went to Taverne Restaurant to have it. We ordered cheese mushroom Fondue and Lasagne. Though it was my first experience to have Fondue, but it was amazing and even after eating at multiple joints post this trip, the taste of first experience is still unbeaten. Not to forget, Lasagne was also vey succulent and better than most of the Italian places in Rome itself.

Lasagne

Cheese Fondue

              

After having dinner, we headed straight to our Airbnb and took some rest as next day was full action packed.

Map: Interlaken

Glacier 3000

Next day we started for glacier 3000 from Interlaken West station at 6:32 am SBB train, we changed at Spiez, then at Zweisimmen and then reached Gstaad. Once we reached Gstaad, we took a bus to Col-du-Pillon which is the starting point of Glacier 3000. It took around 3 hr 15 min for the whole journey and cost us ~22 CHF per person.

Once we reached the starting point, we took the gondola ride to reach at the top. Generally the cost of this ride is around 80 CHF but due to some discount, it cost us 56 CHF that day. Once we reach the top, it was freezing cold with wind blowing at full speed making you numb for couple of seconds.

Quick Tip: It will be very cold on top of Glacier. So you need to buy your clothes accordingly. I had 2 layer of woollen socks, good quality leather gloves, scarf, cap and 3 layers to thermal, woollen sweater and double layer leather jacket.

This Glacier boasts of one thing which is not available anywhere in the world, the suspension bridge between two peaks called ‘Peak walk by Tissot’ and free of cost. We climbed ~50 stairs to reach to the start of this bridge but due to freezing cold condition and wind literally blowing us away, the walk was little difficult. The view at the start of the bridge is Heaven by all means. Snow clad mountains everywhere, clouds beneath you, skiing enthusiasts making most of their time, and you can see all the highest peaks from the telescope available here. When we started our walk on the bridge, it was scary at the start but then I started enjoying it as it was once in a lifetime experience; you are in the middle of 2 mountain peaks with snow everywhere and wind was blowing at 10-25 km/hr based on the weather conditions. Once we reached at the other side of the bridge, clicked some photographs and came back. They also have a very good restaurant here which server good food for your lunch and snacks.

View from the top of Glacier 3000

Starting point of Peak walk by Tissot

View of Suspension bridge from restaurant

Once refreshed, we started to explore the Glacier. There are many activities you can do here like Glacier walk, Snow bus, Alpine Coaster, Dogsled rides, sliding adventure and Glacier fight. Being first snow experience for me, I had Glacier fights like crazy and shaked a leg on few bollywood numbers as well J.  For skiing beginners, you can get the skiing kit on rent and there are hangers which you can hang on to your suit and they will guide you how to slide. It must be a unique experience just by looking at it.  It snowed heavily a day before we reached, hence the ice was not settled and we would go knee deep at some parts, so be careful with that while walking on the glacier. After doing quite a handful of activities, we decided to come back to the gondola and get down at the starting point. We waited for the bus to reach the Gstaad for almost an hour.

Panoramic view of Glacier 3000

Fun

Map: Glacier3000

Then we came back to Gstaad and roamed around in this beautiful small town. Surprisingly, this is nothing like a small time as this is the highly exclusive place where celebrities do their shopping and you might end up hanging out with one of them. Now since you might have already guessed the price tags on each and every item you want to lay your hands on, I gave shopping here a miss. But, if you are pocket heavy, you should go ahead and definitely do some shopping here.

Gstaad

We took the same train route to come back at the Interlaken West station. Once reached, we quikly grabbed our dinner at a fast food chain and then looked around for some shopping which sadly ended on just window shopping. I wanted to buy a watch or a handbag for my wife, but it was way out of the budget for me. After having a good look around we headed backi to our Airbnb and took some well deserved rest.

Next day morning, we went to see the famous and ace Indian film director late Sh. Yash Raj Chopra’s bronze statue in Kurssaal Garden near the central Interlaken. The phenomenal director was instrumental in getting Interlaken recognition on global level through his multiple movies. He was first Indian film director to make inroads into this exquisite location and shoot many iconic movies here like DDLJ, Chandni and many more. To recognize his contribution, Interlaken Tourism and Jungfrau Railways created this statue and unveiled it for pubic.

Bronze statue of Late Yash Raj Chopra

Bronze statue of Late Yash Raj ChopraOnce taking a good look at the statue, we said goodbye to this beautiful town and took the train from Interlaken Ost station to Zurich via the same route that we came from. From Zurich terminal, we took SBB train to Zürich Flughafen for 6.8 CHF to reach Zurich Airport where we headed for our next destination, MALTA.

Also Read: Paris- City of Love

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