Dates – May 6th – 9th 2005
This was certainly one of the most whirlwind trips we’ve ever done. In a matter of four days, we traveled from Paris to Switzerland and visited five cities (Geneva, Bern, Zurich, Lucerne and Interlaken). We took a high-speed TGV train (picture) from Paris to Geneva on Friday afternoon and arrived in rainy Geneva in the early evening. It took a little wandering around with our bags to find our hotel (which wasn’t much fun in the rain) but we were fine once we found it. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the sights of Geneva including the Jet d’Eau (picture), the Old Town and the Flower Clock (picture). The Old Town was definitely the most interesting area of Geneva; it is the hilly center of old Geneva with windy cobblestone streets, St. Peters Cathedral and a number of shops and restaurants.
On Saturday, we had breakfast at the hotel, picked up the rental car (VW Touran van) from Europcar and headed off for Bern. Switzerland is a pretty small country so it doesn’t take very long to get from place to place; the drive from Geneva to Bern was only about 2 hours. We arrived in Bern around noon and our first stop was to get some lunch. After lunch, we walked around the outside of the Bundeshaus in the city center. We then took a tour of Einstein’s house where he developed the theory of relativity (picture). After a short walk to a nearby bridge to take some amazing pictures of the valley (picture), we then strolled by the Zeitglockenturm Clock tower (picture) and headed off to Zurich.
The drive from Bern to Zurich had some beautiful views of the Alps and the Swiss countryside. Geneva and Bern are both in the French-speaking portion of Switzerland. As we drove from Bern to Zurich, it is interesting to see all of the road signs switch from French to German as we entered the German-speaking portion of the country.
We arrived in Zurich in the early evening. Our first task was to find a hotel in the old city center of Zurich; after a couple of attempts, we found a nice hotel situated right in the center of the old city. We then headed out to explore the city and find a place for dinner. Zurich is a very pretty town; the old center is made up of quaint cobblestone streets lined with shops, monuments, and restaurants. After wandering around for a little while, we decided to have fondue at a great restaurant well-known for its fondue (picture). Dinner was great and very filling; we had sliced meats to start and then a warm, bubbly fondue for dinner. It was a very rainy evening, so we headed in quite early and got some rest.
Sunday morning, I woke up very early and explored Zurich on my own. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny and crisp morning, so I finally got the opportunity to take some good pictures of the city (picture). After having a nice breakfast at the hotel, we then headed off for Lucerne.
The city of Lucerne surprised me; I had heard how beautiful it is, but wasn’t prepared for the incredible setting along a lake nestled within the Alps. The weather was gorgeous, and the scenery absolutely breathtaking; everything seemed to work out perfectly for our visit to Lucerne. After spending some time along the waterfront to take in the beautiful scenery (picture), we decided to visit some of the sights of the city including the old pedestrian bridge (picture), and the dying lion monument of Lucerne (picture). We would have loved to spend more time in this city, especially to take some of the trips by gondola and train (cogwheel) up into the mountains, but that will have to wait until next time. For lunch, we quickly grabbed a bite at the New York deli (kind of like Subway) and headed out for Interlaken.
The drive from Lucerne to Interlaken featured some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen (and this is coming from someone who has regularly driven the Sea-to-Sky highway from Vancouver to Whistler). The views (picture) were breathtaking and there were cows with bells and little cottages and farms along the entire journey. We arrived in Interlaken in the late afternoon. Again, after spending some time finding a suitable hotel, we decided to head out and explore the town. This time, we wanted to make sure we did at least one excursion up into the mountains so we took the funicular (picture) up the local mountain with an amazing view of Interlaken and Jungfrau (the top of Europe/ highest peak in Europe - picture). After spending an hour up on the mountain (plus about a 15 minute ascent and descent) we then wandered around the town for a bit and found a place for dinner. For dinner, Mom had a pasta and Nadya and I have what is called a “Chinese Fondue” (picture). This is basically a hot pot with frozen meats that you dip into the hot water for cooking. Honestly, being used to real Asian hot pots in Vancouver, this Chinese Fondue wasn’t as enjoyable as I was expecting.
On Monday morning, we had breakfast in our hotel in Interlaken and then headed out towards Geneva to catch our train to Paris. We had an “unfortunate incident” leaving the parking lot in Interlaken; I bashed up the driver side mirror against a concrete column in the narrow parking space. This put a bit of a downer on an otherwise wonderful trip. We arrived in Geneva a few hours before our train’s departure. It was another clear and sunny day so we spent it in Geneva’s downtown core and old city center; we took more pictures and did a little bit of shopping before catching our train back to Paris in the evening.
Some of my thoughts from abroad. You can also have a look at my photos from abroad.
