Day: October 11, 2010

Swiss Chronicles – Interlaken

This post was selected for Blogadda’s Tangy Tuesday Picks

Interlaken is the hidden treasure in Swissland – 2 lakes, the tallest mountain peak and waterfalls! You get to see it all in this little town and when you visit these sites you know God must’ve spent a lot of time designing this nature’s wonder.

We landed late in the afternoon from Zermatt and just about managed to catch the last boat ride on Lake Thunsee. Interlaken separates Lake Brienz and Lake Thun – it is the joint connecting these two.

The best part of taking a Eurail Pass is you get these extra benefits – free boat rides & discounted fares on routes not part of the Eurail Network – all first class. You get treated royally with food and drinks served at your seat. The mood is set and you land up having the amazing ice-creams this place has to offer and the even more yummy sorbet:-) A few pics from our cruise and don’t miss the yummy Mango Sorbet –sluuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrppp

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The next day we set out on our journey to the Top of Europe – Jhungfraujoch. This place is the highest railway station in Europe – 11000+ ft above sea-level. For 50% of the journey upwards from Klein Scheidegg to Jhungfraujoch is within a tunnel in the Alps. When you view the route from outside you cannot figure out the tunnel path – it has been built without disturbing any of the site! This railway line – the JhungfrauBahn will complete 100 years of operation in 2012, as you step out on the intermediate stations to enjoy the view below- you cannot help but take a bow to the inventors and the engineers of this wonder!

Once you step out you step into snow! It’s only white all over and all around. They have built restaurants and shops at 11000+ ft – how don’t ask me! There is a Bollywood restaurant here too – boy have we arrived;-) They have built ice caves which host ice sculptures of igloos , Eskimos,penguins etc. You keep wondering if you ever want to leave but then the minus 0 temperature hits you and you know you are better off in the warm world below. Don’t miss this place for the world if you ever visit Switzerland.

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You can reach Jhungfraujoch from Interlaken Ost via Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen. We went up via Grindelwald and came down via Lauterbrunnen as we could not have ended our Swiss Nature trip without a visit to the Trummelbach Falls. There are 10 waterfalls located in this World Heritage Site which drain the water from three peaks in the Alps including the Jhungfraujoch.

The falls can be accessed via a tunnel lift and as you traverse through the ten points you begin to feel that you have lost your hearing cause the sound of the water gushing down is deafening. Although safe to walk through, if you are as paranoid about water as I’m, you can’t help but think – what if I slip and fall – how will I be saved! MDH on the other hand was thinking how can I own a house in the midst of these falls! Sigh! The last leg of our nature trip – another nature’s wonder to witness – I think I’m done for now with my share of witnessing God’s creations:-)

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More in the series here:

  1. Zurich
  2. Rhine Falls
  3. Mt. Titlis
  4. Lucerne
  5. Mt. Pilatus
  6. Zermatt -Matterhorn
  7. European Oddities

The True Hero of the CWG Games

The True Hero is the faceless Indian as Anuradha Bakshi points in her blogpost  ‘Salute-them-we-must’

Must Read for every Indian.

We sit in our plush offices, our fancy cars and houses and criticize out loud when the media hypes CWG disasters. We forget the people who worked at a price that you pay for your coffee at Barista and Starbucks and in conditions where you would never step into.

We crib about our government’s shortcomings and forget to pay our respect to the labourers who toiled hard to make these games a success.

In our constant comparison to the western world – we forget, we forget to appreciate the efforts that have gone in this event from people who will never get any recognition forget rewards.

Therefore, take a moment from your busy lives and salute these wonderful people – that’s the least we can do for them.

http://www.tehelka.com/channels/TheHub/2010/Oct/09/images/slideshow/slideshow1.asp

 

 

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