Almost every summer from fourth grade to my freshman year of college, my family and I would travel to Colorado Springs for a long weekend to relax with lots of our extended family in a cabin up in the Rocky Mountains. Half the fun is being with family I haven't seen since the previous year, but the other half of what makes that a fun experience is simply being in the beautiful mountain scenery for a few days. Its tree-covered mountains and beautiful weather are just incredible!
This realization began the moment we opened our window shades on the EuroNight train we took from Austria to Switzerland. We'd just had a very long night: our train departed Salzburg at 10:30 pm; we had a three-hour layover in Bischofshofen; and then we managed about five hours of sleep in very cramped beds on our night train. For Hannah, the bed was the perfect length. But I'm 11 inches taller, and those 11 inches translated to a rather uncomfortable night of on-and-off sleeping. Still, the night train was a good experience overall - certainly a convenient way to get from one city to another without wasting much daylight! Anyway, we were pleasantly surprised with a free breakfast on the train, and while we were eating, we worked up the courage to open the shades and let some light into our dark little cave. We were greeted with our first view of the Alps: an impossibly blue lake surrounded by gorgeous, green mountains. And it only got better from there!
One train transfer and a few hours later, we arrived in Interlaken. It's a quaint little town filled with stereotypical Alpine-looking homes, and it sits right at the base of a mountain and in between two lakes. Very picturesque. We walked across town (which only took thirty minutes) to our hostel, The Tent Village. It is exactly what it sounds like: a bunch of tents. Not the camping kind - significantly larger, and more permanent. Each tent is set up on a wooden platform resembling a shipping pallet, and inside are three bunk beds and a power strip to charge electronics. Though it's definitely the strangest place we've stayed so far, we knew what we were getting into, and it actually turned out to be a fine place to stay. We were sufficiently warm at night, and they had decent shower/toilet facilities and free WiFi. What more do you need when you're backpacking?
That afternoon we went back up to the north end of town near the train station, where the nearest mountain lies. As you'd imagine, there are plenty of hiking trails in the area, and this mountain was no exception! The trail we took leads to a great viewing spot near the top of the mountain, but since it was already mid-afternoon, we didn't have time to hike the whole thing. Still, we made it up about half way, and we found several great spots along the way from which to view the town and the lakes it lays between. It was at this point that Hannah pointed out that this geographical feature must give rise to the town's name. We never verified, but we assume Interlaken translates to "between lakes." I know, it seems like a bit of a reach. I really don't know how Hannah came up with that.
After our hike, we walked to a nearby supermarket for a cheap dinner that we ate on a bench at the edge of one of the lakes. It was very windy and cold so close to the lake, so we didn't stay long, but it was still a nice way to enjoy both our dinner and the Swiss scenery!
It is at this point that I would like to digress on the outrageous cost of living in Switzerland. I knew going into it that stuff cost more money there, but I was still shocked. Examples include 11 francs for a burger, fries, and a drink from a little fast food place; 2 francs for a single donut from the grocery store; 6 francs for a simple stuffed bear on a keychain. (One franc is slightly more than a dollar, to give you an idea of the price in American money.) Needless to say we didn't buy any of that stuff. We did our best to stick to the things we thought were priced most reasonably, but that was pretty tough to do. It's like the Swiss think that just because they make fancy knives and watches, they're allowed to stamp the "Swiss-made" label on any of their products, and raise the price accordingly.
Honestly, though, that was the only bad thing I could say about Switzerland. If you think of the ludicrous prices as normal prices that include a tax on viewing the beautiful Alpine scenery, then it's really not so unreasonable. I'd totally pay money to see those gorgeous mountains again in person.
It is with that frame of mind that we embarked on a day trip to Zermatt the following day. It took us three trains and two hours to get there, and we thought that each leg of the journey was covered by our Eurail passes. <Insert buzzer sound> WRONG. Turns out the only way to get to Zermatt is via a private railway company for which a Eurail pass gets you a 25% discount, but not a free ride. So it cost us 54 francs each for a round trip ticket to Zermatt, but it was worth it. Zermatt is home of the Matterhorn, possibly the single best-known Alpine mountain. When we arrived, the Matterhorn was shrouded in clouds, so we decided to go on a little hike and check back later in the afternoon.
Our trek took us to this place called Gorner Gorge, where a wooden pathway takes you over a deep gorge cut out by a small but tumultuous river. We had no idea whether it was actually that beautiful until we entered, so the cost of 4.50 francs per person gave us some pause. After all, we'd just paid an unexpected 54 francs each just to get to this city.
As we were standing there debating whether to go, a middle-aged man sitting nearby asked us where we were from. We told him, and he reciprocated an answer; turns out he was from Sacramento, California, not far from where Hannah lived for a short while about ten years ago! He told us that his wife and daughter had gone through the gorge because it was supposed to be beautiful, but that he stayed behind because he wasn't in great condition for the hike. Then he goes, "Hey! Know what? I'll pay for you two to go!" We politely declined, but he insisted, "Yeah! You guys aren't sure whether to go, so I'll make the decision easy for you!" He handed the worker the money and told us to have a good time. We were stupefied by his spontaneous generosity, and thanked him profusely! I made a fool of myself by offering him a cookie in return, which he graciously accepted, and then we were on our way!
Even if we had paid the money ourselves, Gorner Gorge would have been totally worth it. We got some awesome views of the river beneath us, and after following the trail into the mountains some more, we found a clear spot that gave us a view of the Matterhorn less covered by clouds. We sat down and munched on some chocolate we'd bought from a local chocolatier in Interlaken that morning, and waited patiently for the clouds to move away. And they did! Finally we got a clear look at the most stunning mountain I've ever seen! Though I'm sure people back in town had a clear view of it as well, it was neat to think that Hannah and I had found our own view of it, one that nobody else shared, at least not at that particular time. It sounds silly, but that added a lot of meaning to our hike through Gorner Gorge, and to the afternoon in general.
That evening we treated ourselves to a fondue dinner at a small restaurant in Zermatt. Actually, it was technically the treat of Hannah's parents, who had generously given us money to use specifically for a nicer dinner amidst all the cheaper, often thrown-together meals on our trip. So thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Warren! It was a delicious meal! We started with a bowl of bouillon soup, made extra delicious because of the Swiss way of eating it: you toss in chunks of cheese, so that once you take a spoonful of the rich, savory soup, you bite into the delicious, soup-softened cheese. It's revolutionary! And the fondue - man, the fondue. That is some sinfully delicious stuff. It comes with potatoes and bread, neither of which was anything special, but that's okay, because really they're nothing more than a medium to transport the cheese to your mouth in a socially acceptable manner.
Possibly the most memorable aspect of the dinner, though, was that this old man who didn't speak any English (seemingly the owner of the restaurant, or at least we hope so!) came over several times to show us Neanderthals how to properly eat our dinner. For example, we weren't sure what to do with the solid cheese that came with the soup, but he showed us that we needed to break it up and toss it in the soup. And when the fondue arrived, he taught us to twist our skewer precisely ten times over the pot before putting the cheese-covered bread in our mouths. You don't skewer and dip the potatoes, though. You mash them on your plate and then use a separate spoon to ladle the cheese on top of the potatoes. At first I was like, "Who does this guy think he is, helping us eat our food?" But then I realized he's just showing the ignorant Americans how to eat food the Swiss way. And we were quite grateful to him for that! It'll be fun to feel more "in the know" next time we go to an American fondue place, like The Melting Pot.
Despite how long this blog post is, I feel like we hardly spent any time in Switzerland. It's probably best that we're already leaving since we're on a tight budget, but if money wasn't a concern, I would've liked to have stayed there all week! Apart from hikes, which are nice because they're free, there's a whole lot of cool outdoorsy stuff to do, from kayaking to river rafting to bungee jumping. Maybe some day, when I revisit Munich, I'll make a longer stop in Switzerland as well and try some of those more expensive excursions we didn't have the time or money for this weekend.
That being said, it was a fantastic two days in Switzerland. Today begins the final week of our journey, which we'll spend mostly in Paris!
Oh, and the food Austria is famous for? Turns out there's a couple things. First, "Mozart balls" are these truffles that have a pistachio marzipan center, a nougat middle layer, and a dark chocolate shell. They're delicious! But really, somebody needs to upbraid the Austrian Naming Committee, or whoever has authority to the same effect, because they're completely unoriginal in naming every other street, square, and dessert after Mozart. Second - and this one surprised me, because I thought it was a German dish - is Wiener schnitzel. It's actually the national dish of Austria. I know, right? Unfortunately we didn't get to try that because it's made with veal, so it's quite expensive and generally only served at sit-down restaurants, which we haven't been to very often on our trip. But that's okay - just one more thing to add to the itinerary for our future Europe trip that now includes Munich, Switzerland, and Austria. Good thing Hannah and I are planning on becoming independently wealthy.
Loving your blog and all the beautiful pictures. Brings back so many memories of when dad and I were there. Love, Mom
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