Riding The Interlaken Express

There is no doubt that Lucerne is a beautiful city. With its unique combination of lakeside location, medieval buildings and modern facilities, it is a place that I would have loved to have spent a little longer in. I only wish that we had not arrived right in the middle of the Lucerne carnival.

Not far from our hotel the town had been taken over by a huge carnival, complete with a long line of fun rides, amusement booths, food stalls and much more. It was obviously the time for serious partying in Lucerne. While this might have been OK for most people, my hotel room unfortunately faced the street. On the first evening I was there, the noise outside did not quieten until almost 5 am. The entire night was spent with riotous shouting from drunken young people wandering up and down the street. I tried shutting the window, but then suffered from a hot and stuffy room.

The next night was even worse. The noise kept up until sunrise the following morning. After two completely unsettled nights, I was really ready to say farewell to Lucerne and move to somewhere much quieter. If I was to ever return to Lucerne, I would make sure I booked a hotel that was in a much quieter location.

After bidding a final farewell to the Waldstatterhof Hotel, Allan and I were soon seated in the first class carriage of the Interlaken Express and happily rolling through the greenest hills I had ever seen in my life. This was the classic Swiss scenery we had come so far to experience.

We had not gone very far before we heard the sound of a distinctive Australian accent. It was coming from two women who were seated across the aisle from us. We have not come across very many fellow Australians on this trip, so it was fun to finally come across people who spoke the same language.

Our two new friends then passed us a note that they had found on their seat. It was from the Swiss Railway company and explained how sorry they were that the train would not be going to Interlaken after all. Due to construction works we were all going to be offloaded to buses at Brienz. In the overall scheme of things we thought that it was only a minor inconvenience, considering how well all our other arrangements had gone.

Our bus pulled into Interlaken shortly after 1 pm and we checked into the very comfortable (and very Swiss) Carlton Europe Hotel. Since it was still relatively early in the day, and since the weather was still fine and mild, we decided to take the opportunity to ride the funicular railway to Harder Kulm. This famous lookout is situated about 800 metres vertically higher than Interlaken and gives an amazing panorama of views out over the Eiger, the Monch and the Jungfrau Mountains.

Although it was not so pleasant being shoehorned into the sloping carriage with about 100 very excited Indian tourists who shouted the whole way to the top, the views from the lookout were sensational. We climbed a little higher on a side path to escape the masses and enjoy some genuine peace and quiet.

As we watched the cloud formations form and disperse over the nearby peaks, we both agreed that it really was a magical day and one that we will never forget. Allan and I have shared some great adventures together in the past and this one will also be added to our fondest memories.

After returning back down to Interlaken we were entertained by a Swiss music group playing in front of our hotel. The combination of the surrounding snow capped mountains and the Swiss yodelling was a perfect way to end a wonderful day. Soon the music was augmented by the prolonged pealing of the nearby church bells. This is a regular feature of life in most parts of Europe, but something that those who have only lived in Australia could not understand.

Tomorrow we take the train to the famous Jungfraujoch - the highest train station in Europe. At 3500 metres above sea level it will be even higher than our visit to Mt Titlis two days earlier. We both hope that the sequence of fine weather can hold out just a little while longer.Read more