Gimmelwald

This morning we said goodbye to Lucerne and the first leg of our mini tour of Switzerland came to a close. Our home for the next 4 days will be Interlaken, a traditional resort town in the mountainous Bernese Oberland region of central Switzerland, built on a narrow stretch of valley, between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz (hence the imaginative name).

The journey from Lucerne to Interlaken was just stunning, as the train threaded its way through narrow valleys, hemmed in by steep sided mountains (or tall hills - I didn't check). We crossed green valley floors, watched by herds of cows ringing their bells in greeting, and climbed gradients I didn't think possible for a train. At times the track bed was blasted into the side of the mountain, such that we seemed to cling precariously close to the edge. Our route took us past several lakes, which as result of the mineral content of the glacier melt water that feeds them are beautiful shades of bluish green (my description) or depending on the light are emerald, turquoise or azure (Jackie's description).

As I gazed out of the panoramic window from our seats in First Class, my eye caught the Co-op bag with the 2 croissants we had bought for the journey. Two pastries and a bottle of water for £4.30 - definitely got to be cheaper than the food on board. You can take the boy out of Lanarkshire but you can't take Lanarkshire out of the boy.

The Swiss Railways seem to be run on trust, at least on a local level. We dutifully purchased our tickets for each journey made, however with no barrier checks at platforms or inspection on the train, I did wonder if fare dodging was a thing. There was a notice posted on the wall warning of a 100 CHF fine for travelling without a valid ticket, so I suppose it must be. We did have our tickets and half-fare entitlement checked on both intercity trains for our journeys to Lucerne and Interlaken.

Remaining on the theme of public transport, the bus was waiting at the train station for our arrival and brought us swiftly to the Neuhaus Golf and Strand Hotel. Transportation hubs certainly make tourist travel simple and stress free. Our hotel is quite different from the one we have just left, and is directly on the shore of Lake Thun, with nothing much else around. Our room is a good size and comfortable, with a balcony overlooking the lake. At the time of writing Jackie is sitting on said balcony, with a glass of wine in her hand and a big grin on her face. In between talking about Heidi, she keeps saying "I love it I love it". When Mrs Y is happy, I am happy.....Read more