Interlaken and Around: Switzerland

Phew, finally I found sometime to pick up my pen to write to you! Its VW Werksurlaub here - Factory is shutdown every year for three weeks as vacation. Haa, that means less work at office, and time to take holidays myself, yay!

As Summer is perking its heat, I am back from this year's Swiss escape! Yeah, someway or other it happens that S and I get to go to Switzerland - its now been four consecutive years. <lol I can see me bragging, but hey its worth it, right?> 

This Summer, was our Audi's first long drive. First car is always close to your heart na? Damn, I so will miss it when I go back to India. We had..
prepped our car extremely well (car washing, shampooing, waxing, air-checking, cockpit-spray-cleaning, and new perfume-installing..yay!) awaiting its maiden long journey. S was super happy end of the trip, the drive went on feather-smooth, even in 200! Audi. Vorsprung durch Technik.

To all the people who want to visit Switzerland, please know this: Switzerland isn't always full of Snow and Ice! Oh yes, I was surprised too the first time we visited Swiss in a Summer. Coming from India, this shouldn't be new, you say?! Well, not really. The heat back home is less intense, we fan/ sweat out most of the heat - so it is okay. But here, jeez - the scorching heat and the blazing Sun literally burns your head and .. the non-stop thirst. Who would expect driving down those Alps roads in 39 degrees! Anyway, I ain't scaring you or anything, just don't be surprised when we tell you not to bring in those heavy jackets and thick jeans all the time to Swiss :D And yes the gloves too!

But then... Summer in Swiss has its own beauty. The pastures and meadows look extremely saturated in green. The sunlight glows on your face, making the best ever DSLR pics possible for you. (Most of my favorite DSLR pics are either from Swiss or, Norway: Norway is definitely a tough competitor to Switzerland: Fjords are simply the best!).

Every Summer has its story. And to me and S, there's Interlaken in it, everytime. Psst..A small tip: Google up Interlaken Images and have a look before you read on! So, this "Interlaken" name, in itself is derived from "Between two lakes"- so, uhmm its a small Swiss town between two lakes. Here's its Wikipedia link, just in case you want to read the official info and not mine :D: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlaken (how mean of you to click on it!). So yeah, as you start nearing Alps, you start seeing more and more of greenness, distant hut-like houses (what was that? - hut like houses? o.O) and small villages on a rise together with the huge mountains as the backdrop. 

And just as you enter Interlaken, sky-high mountains rise on both sides, in the middle of which is the teal-blue scintillating waters: the view still remains in my eyes. The waters - are from the Swiss glaciers of the Alps. So pure, so beautiful, so glittering in the Sun! When Nature can be so beautiful, I just cant seem to find the right words. I clicked this from the car just as we entered Interlaken - this is just a teeny-tiny portion of the total area! Know what, last time S and I took a dip in one of the lakes here- it was one of my best memory so far! There was waist-deep wavy waters until a very long distance : crystal waters, pebbled-waterbeds, sea-gulls hawking over you, swans and ducks swimming alongside you, and most importantly no creepy-crawlies! With the slow rhythm of the waves, never-ending waters, blue skies and tall mountains as you lay down, it sure was a mesmerizing view.

After a refreshing bath, we start to walk pass the Höheweg: a street that links the towns two railway stations and from where you get to see the views of the mountains. Jungfrau (Top of Europe), Monk and Eiger. Haha, thanks to Indian movies making the street so famous! And you turn around, only to find vintage style horse carriages, a barometer in one of the road pillars, fresh waters over taps, flower-capped benches and shady fountains. Oh oh I forgot to tell you of the Victoria hotel. It looks so royal from the outside itself : dashing lobbies, Rolls-Royce/ Jaguars hanging around the corners, chauffeurs running up to open the doors for you, suits and ties. Elite. Han, looks like it's been there since the Britishers, or even older. Hehe, anything relatively old, according to me is when Britishers were in India: well yeah, they stayed in India pretty loooonnngg time. So, opposite to this super grand Victoria hotel, is a huge flat meadow. It is so very normal here to see large groups of Chinese and Indian tourists, thumping on the ground shabbily: crash-landing from their paragliding / skydiving. Such a contrasting sight across the street.

Brr.. That was freezing to death!

Welcome to the World of Waterfalls: Everywhere you turn around Interlaken, water masses thunder down hundreds of meters across numerous rocky stages. Waters in any form. From ice to glaciers to waterfalls to running streams to lakes. Even waterfalls inside the mountains. Yeah, really. I was so thrilled the first time S and I went with his parents. Trümmelbach falls it was! Nowhere else in Europe aside from the Trümmelbach is it possible to access glacier waterfalls inside the mountain. A must-go experience! The waters were thundering downwards, so loud, that it was terrifying to peep under the rails from up above. My God, the water was flowing so fast that the safety rails were wobbling, splashing waters and tearing the ears. 

At that exact moment when we began to walk out, started the drizzles. It instantly created magic with the whole Switzerland effect. Well, you should be thinking I'm being all dramatic here, but I'm not at all. Just take a visit once and you would totally agree with me. Really! .... Waterfalls around you every nook and corner, glacier waters running as streams parallely and flower-decorated Chalets. Look to the left na? You simply cant take your eyes off it right? I know!! And hey, can you see the small stable to the right of the pic? You hear the bells from the cows almost always there, the reverberation through the hills is so nice. So peaceful. Infact, order yourself a hot cheese-fondue, pick up a bench at the porch and finish up with those Swiss chocolates as dessert: All with waters and Alps folding in as a Sunset.  I could stay here the whole time! But then I wonder what these natives do for a living, do they have a school? Do they have grades? What about shopping? Hmm o.O Deep in weird thoughts and with.. you know, romance in the air holding hands in such beautiful scenery, it was already saddening to think that S and I had to return the next morning home. I just dint want to leave! ..Its always like this .. Travel and us!
 
But yeah, as we drove back, in the rear view, I could see the humongous mountains waving at us, distancing themselves far and far away, giving us the last peek for the year.  " "Definitely until next year, my Swiss love!" I thought.