Our 4th home base was in
INTERLAKEN
This was the longest stop – 4 nights – and I was really not thrilled with the hotel. My fault, I think I was being a little to stingy when we picked the place. I did save a few bucks, but in hindsight I should have perhaps not squeezed the stone as much as I did.
I have nothing against budget hotels, but let’s all agree that there is a scale and this place was on the low end. Paper thin walls so you could hear everything in the hallways and in adjacent rooms. Creaky floors. The bathroom was so narrow that when standing at the sink, your back almost touched the wall. It was hard to wash your face in the sink because the tap was in the way – you could not really lean into the sink. No hair dryer. The TV was not visible from the bed. … … …
But the room was HUGE I will grant them that!
I did think the pillows on the bed were cute! …
Just like Zermatt, this trip made us realize how much we missed the last time we were in Interlaken. Last time, we got out of the train at the West Station, turned right and walked down the street to see a whole lot of nothing!!! We stumbled across the Heimwehfluh, which kept us busy for about an hour or two, and then we went back to our home-base.
This time, we turned LEFT out of the West Station and the full city unfolded before our eyes. Honest to God. Were we on drugs the last time??? To this day, I don’t quite understand why we did that. I find it hard to imagine that we did not have a guide or a map to give us some idea of what to do in Interlaken. It really doesn’t make sense.
Interlaken was beautiful! Most of the city is the main street that connect the two train stations at either end of town. There are some beautiful old buildings / hotels, a huge park, and of course FANTASTIC views of the alps.
It’s a great home-base city, no regrets!
THUN
On the first day in Interlaken (arriving from Zermatt), the plan was to take a cruise to Thun. Last time we had such a great lunch on the boat we wanted to do it again. This time, the boat and the food SUCKED! It was such a huge disappointment.
My aunt also came with us because she was spending her last day with us before she went back home at the end of the day. (she too agreed that the boat and food were a let-down).
The cruise itself was nice, Lake Thun is always picturesque and it was extra interesting because we also had a celebrity on our boat! Well, my husband and I had NO CLUE that this was a famous person, but my aunt knew!
I have been assured that if you are Swiss, you know who this person is. We tried to get a picture of him… I even forget now what his name was. He was also going to Thun, so we got a shot of him in the street. Do you know who he is??
Thun is a beautiful place. We didn’t spend too much time there because we’d seen it before, but it was a nice stroll around town. We lingered about an hour or so.
LUCERNE and excursion to MOUNT PILATUS
If you have been to Switzerland, I would be surprised to learn that you have not been to Lucerne. In fact, if you look up the itinerary of bus tours that hit a bunch of cities in various countries, it always includes Lucerne. It’s such a beautiful place!
We tried recreating a picture we took in 2006, but my husband was a little impatient and didn’t wait until the background was clear. GRRR I was annoyed. He promised me that next time we’d do it right.
On this trip to Lucerne, our plan was to complete the Golden Round Trip up Mount Pilatus.
1- Cruise from Lucerne to Alpnachstadt.
2- World's steepest cogwheel train up to the summit - Pilatus Kulm.
3- Aerial cable car and gondola back down to Kriens.
4- Bus back to Lucerne.
It’s an insanely touristy thing to do!! Check out the line-up at the train station in Alpnachstadt waiting to board the cogwheel train!
But so what – it was fun and that’s why you go on vacation! To do the Touristy Things!
The first leg (cruise from Lucerne to Alpnachstadt) was so relaxing. Nice wicker sofas on the deck in stead of hard benches.. beautiful views, blue skies… all that was missing was a cocktail!
The Cog Wheel train was kinda boring I have to say. Sure it’s the steepest in the world, but big deal. We’ve been on funiculars that were WAY steeper… it was a bit over rated.
The summit, as you might expect, afforded us beautiful views. We didn’t want to have lunch that day (because of our supper plans that you will read later) but when I saw the restaurant at the summit, I wanted to AT LEAST have a drink! So we did… and a cheese plate. MMMM
THE OLD SWISS HOUSE
In April of this year, on our Rhine River Cruise, we met a couple that recommended this restaurant to us knowing we were going to Switzerland in September.
Are we ever glad they did!!! We are in their debt for life! From now on, EVERY trip to Switzerland we make will include dinner at the Old Swiss House in Lucerne.
No question.
We ordered the House Specialty which is Wienerschnitzel prepared table side. What a treat! It was really the restaurant highlight of our entire vacation.
I was a little hesitant because it was a fancy place and we were in what we consider “Clean Vacation Attire”. We didn’t want to pack extra clothes for just one occasion, and even if we did get dressed up, we were based in Interlaken and planned a whole day in Lucerne and Mount Pilatus… we can’t do all that in dinner clothes!
It was such a beautiful place. We were one of the first to arrive and it was packed by the time we left.
I admit that we were underdressed. Most people were more dressed up then us, but we did spot some people in jeans. AH well. That’s Life!
It was such a nice place and the meal was simply outstanding. No matter how we were dressed, they treated us like gold.
Here is a picture of me before I remembered my glasses were on my head! I did take them off!! I think I should have brought a scarf. It would have been easy to carry and would have dressed me up a bit more.
Look at all the ingredients beautifully laid out … especially the butter!!!! Amazingly, the final dish didn’t taste like butter at all.
Prepared Table Side… so nice!!
Best meal of the entire trip.
GSTAAD
Don’t really have much to say about Gstaad. I had seen it before in 2000 or 2001 (I forget now) with my aunt, but I remembered it SO differently!!
I remembered it better then it actually was… it was really nothing special. We walked around a little, had a drink, ate a delicious raclette-lunch which made the trip worth while, and then headed back to Interlaken.
JUNGFRAU REGION
This day in the Jungfrau region really peaked my interest in hiking. I really think it’s something I would like to do next time … Man the Swiss are lucky to have SO MANY options! Trails of all kinds, for all levels, with views to die for as you hike along.
A great pair of hiking boots, some walking sticks, a decent back pack, a pic-nic lunch and see you later!
This will be a goal for the next time we are in Switzerland, and Lonely Planet even makes a guide for it!!!!
Lauterbrunnen
We started our day in Lauterbrunnen and walked to the famous Staubbach Falls. I like these pictures because you don’t quite realize just how high it is until you look at the trees lining the top of the cliff-face.
We could have walked behind the falls, but we didn’t have our wet weather jackets with us and we didn’t want to get soaked!
My husband was happy because we finally got some good cow-shots!
This one is funny because from this angle you only see the head with no body!! haha
And look at this goat! He looks HOLLOW!!! compare him to his buddies… gives me shivers!
Wengen
From Lauterbrunnen, we took the train up to Wengen.
What was nice about it, is that since it was higher up the mountain we got beautiful views of the Lauterbrunnen Valley below us.
We didn’t spend that much time there, we wandered around the village a little and then stopped for a drink. I tried Appenzeller Alpenbitter for the first time. Oh God it’s gross!
Männlichen
From Wengen, we took a cable car up to Männlichen which is a lookout point on a ridge between the Lauterbrunnen Valley and the Grindelwald Valley. It’s a little over 2300m up.
There is not much to do there other than taking pictures and hiking. It really was gorgeous (and I KNOW I sound like a broken record!!) Next time I am there, I am going hiking for sure.
You also get fantastic shots of “The Big Three” from up there: The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains – icons of the Swiss Alps.
The sun was not in the best spot for sharp pictures, but we didn’t suffer. It was breath taking! (broken record – I know, I know)
Grund
From Männlichen, we took the world’s longest gondola cable car ride down to Grund. Well, my guidebook says the longest, but Wikipedia says third longest. I can tell you however, it was boring.
After 5 minutes, the novelty wears off and this ride was about 40 minutes long. OH and it was HOT!!! like riding in a little green-house. Really not fun!
Once in Grund, we were hungry so we had lunch at the train station restaurant. It was about a 10 minute walk from the cable car, and could it be any more touristy??
English and Japanese signs…
We had raclette and it was not good. Too salty. Very disappointing! I think in all the times I have had raclette in my life (and trust me… it’s a lot) this was the worst. I can’t really say I am surprised when you consider the place itself! Ah well. Win some lose some. But we were too hungry to wait … it was already around 2:30PM so we wanted to eat ASAP.
Grindelwald
Grindelwald was about 5 minutes from Grund by train.
I can’t really tell you I loved it. It was nice, but mostly all shopping. We were full after the lousy raclette we had for lunch… and there was not enough to do to keep us occupied until supper time, so we just had a little stroll and then took the train back to Interlaken.
Overall: a fantastic day!
End of Part 3 
