Interlaken, Switzerland. Friday, 20th May 2016.
The weather forecast says partly sunny but no rain. Woke up at 05:15 and lazed in bed, watching dark clouds through the window. By 06:30 the sky started clearing and the snow-capped peaks with the golden rays of the sun streaming on them, appeared in their full majesty!
Went down to the restaurant for tea at 06:50 - used the stairs instead of the elevator and were instantly rewarded with a most stunning sight of the snow-capped peaks (to the west), through a window on the landing between floors. To the north, verdant hills with thin clouds covering their middle, provided a grand spectacle. As we were sipping tea in the serene ambience, Urmila reminded me to note down two incidents of yesterday. One - at breakfast, the couple sitting behind us was commenting on the wastage of food at the table adjacent to theirs; and the waitress agreed. They were speaking in low tones; probably the food wasters were Indians. Shame! Two - on our stroll from the Interlaken OST station to Interlaken West station, Urmila observed a 70+ granny pick up someone's left over paper cup from the street with her walking stick and disposed it in the dust bin close by. She was accompanied by an equally aged gentleman who appreciated. We appreciated too. A perfect example of how truly concerned they are about their country. Shouting 'Bharat mata ki jai' with clenched fists on 26th January and 15th August is not the answer!
In a short while we will move down for breakfast and then step out for further exploration of this veritable heaven on earth.
It is now 21:54. I look back on the day with mixed feelings - happy because we had achieved what we wanted to by way of visits; and sad because we will be leaving Interlaken tomorrow.
We had set out at 10:00. Under a dazzling blue sky; with a cool breeze blowing. Walked to the West station and caught a train to OST(East). Exited the station from its northern end and walked slowly towards the funicular that would take us to the highest point of Interlaken - Harder Kulm. The day being bright, sunny and cloudless, we were treated to a royal feast by nature - snow capped mountains visible in all directions! The funicular itself is a marvellous engineering feat - the line goes almost vertically upwards; 4200 ft. As the funicular car started its slow ascent towards Harder Kulm, we were fascinated every moment as the magnificent vista of the superb town and the awesome Alps range started unfolding. The ride was scary at times and lasted 10 minutes(part of it through a tunnel).
We alighted and made our way to the view point, some 200 mtrs. away from the funicular station. The path offered spectacular views of the Alps which seemed at eye level; the magnificent town of Interlaken spread between the two lakes Brien and Thun, down below. We were dumbstruck by the 360 degree view of snow capped peaks - simply unforgettable!
After half an hour we were back at Interlaken OST; the return punctuated by a 10-minute rest on a sunny bench in a garden on the banks of the river Aare, watching a train pass by; and a little later the funicular car ascending the mountain towards the spot that we had just come back from, on another routine trip.
We strolled towards COOP supermarket, purchased a Rugen Brau and a Smirnoff tin. Sipping our individual drinks, we strolled in the direction of West, admiring the charming town for the umpteenth time. Lunched on chicken leg and salad, followed by coffee and dessert ( a delicious meal) at Migros. In the second half of the day, we had planned on taking the 'Swiss cultural tour', which would expose us to grass root Switzerland. When we reached our hotel at 15:00, a message which we were dreading, was waiting for us. The note read, "Sorry, your tour is cancelled." The hostess (who had earlier given us an idea that this was likely) was apologetic and said that it was a shame that the tour was cancelled because we were the only ones in the whole of Interlaken who had opted for it!! She further said that she would recommend the operators not to advertise such tours if they were unable to conduct them.
Well, all I can say is that it shows tourists in a poor light. They rush like herds of cattle to Jungfrau, Schilthorn and Mt. Titlis, but are not interested in Swiss culture! Perhaps they (especially Indians) are afraid of the stares and remarks they would receive back home if they mentioned not having visited the world -famous Jungfrau! (At breakfast that morning we had struck up a conversation with tourists from Saudi Arabia who categorically advised us against going to Jungfrau, as it was way too crowded.)
We stepped out again to make the most of our last evening in Interlaken and made our way to the bus stop outside West station. Boarded ST1 line bus no. 21 for Beatenbucht for an enthralling 20-minutes ride that took us along the shores of the lovely lake Thun. At Beatenbucht we sat on a sunny bench, admiring the bluish-green waters of the lake with snow capped peaks in the background, under a clear blue sky. Returned to Interlaken at 18:00 and after a brief rest at the hotel, stepped out again. Strolled leisurely back and forth along the main road of West for half an hour, before returning to the pavilion and calling it a day.
