Where: Switzerland
When: September 28 - October 1, 2014
With: Dave, Rahul and Ralf
I have come to find in my traveling that there are very few places in this world that seem otherworldly, even after you've seen them. These places are a rarity, and usually feel more like CGI, or Middle Earth, or a Disney cartoon. Well, as it turned out, after few days in the highlands of the Alps, I still can't believe that I actually saw what I saw.
The area of the Alps we explored in particular is called the Bernese Oberland. Sitting in the middle of the country, this area is a combo of steep mountain passes, quaint Swiss villages villages and stunning hikes. Just when I thought it couldn't get any prettier, I would be blown away by another view.
My first jaunt through this area of Switzerland was a road trip with Ralf and Rahul to drive through some of the mountain passes. Right off the bat, it was amazing to see how the mountains seem to jut right out of the ground from the side of the road, hovering over our drive.
The lakes at the base of these mountains were a bright, blue color that was so striking. This was an added beauty to this scenery I did not expect.
This drive was literally all that I had pictured Switzerland to be. The way the roads curved through and around the mountains was hypnotizing. This is the stuff road trips are made of.
Those cows don't even realize how high they are. And the bikers are crazy, but don't seem to know it either.
I would come to learn that the Swiss have a very special "bond" with this guy.
Each turn just got prettier than the last.
We stopped at a little roadside chalet for some coffee and plum tart. I felt so small sitting among the mountains, they were so massive around us!
And this was the view from where we sat. Not like a rest stop off the NJ turnpike...
A waterfall cascading from a melting glacier by our rest stop.
Soon after our stop, we soon reached the highest point of the Furka Pass, nearly 8,000 feet above sea level. Here's a look back on our little roadside chalet. And we thought we were high then!
This was where the peaks became sharper and the snow more abundant.
No place like this for some photos.
It's so hard to put these pictures into perspective, but perhaps this will help: seeing a close up of the cars on the switchbacks through the valley.
This next portion of the drive continued to be surreal.
Yes, we're going up that. All of that.
At the summit of the Grimsel Pass and stopping for another snack of goulash and currywurst.
I swear, not to repeat myself, but this is nothing like a roadside stop off the turnpike.
After our rest, we drove around Grimelsee, an artifcial lake that serves as a hydroelectric reservoir.
Not getting old, still beautiful at every turn.
Our final stop on the drive was at the Aare Gorge, where the river Aare has carved through the limestone mountains to make a gorge that reaches 1,400 meters into the sky.
We walked the trail that has been placed along the bottom of the gorge.
And Ralf couldn't help that his German blood wanted to climb through the Alps.
The color of the river was so unique and pretty.
At some points, the cliffs above were so narrow, we could barely see the sky.
The river also carved some tunnels and caverns that we got to walk through.
Some waterfalls along the way.
The end of the road, or gorge.
And then it was time to drive back to Zug. We took a shorter route back through the surrounding valleys, and it was like those massive monsters of mountains just disappeared back into the story book from whence they came.
However, we did get to end the road trip with a rest stop that felt a bit more like America. Not sure what the candy is but it comes in a big package!
A couple of days later, Dave and I took a train back out to this area of Swizterland to spend some more time in the mountains. We rode from Zug to Interlaken and then changed over to Lauterbrunnen. The views out the train window couldn't have been prettier, even on a cloudy day.
The cloud cover took over by the time we reached Lauterbrunnen. This village sits in the base of a valley, surrounded on either side by steep peaks. While we could catch glimpses of the tops of the mountains around us, we really had no idea what was up there.
For now, we enjoyed what felt like a ski town with no snow and remembered that this is the stuff other American ski resorts are based off.
We left our bags at the base of the village and set off for a hike through the valley. The air was so clean and crisp, and there wasn't a sound to be heard except the rush of waterfalls and rivers and the ringing of cowbells echoing off the steep cliff faces.
It was so cool to see the clouds fall over the mountain tops like a waterfall, but then slowly dissipate. We have no idea how high these guys go.
We came upon Trümmelbach Falls, a series of waterfalls formed by melting glaciers that have carved their way through the inside of a mountain. An elevator takes visitors up to a series of bridges that wind through the tunnels, illuminating the cascading water inside. From the outside here, we weren't sure what we were getting into.
The tight curves of the rocks, low lighting and fast moving water were hard to capture in photo. It felt man-made it was so perfectly formed, like the waiting area of a Disney World ride.
The water created almost a honeycomb of caves and tunnels in the rocks.
There were very slippery steps and platforms throughout the tunnels from the constant mist off the water. All throughout, the sound of rushing water was deafening.
The view back down on the valley below.
Time to hike back in the rain, but the views are no less beautiful.
Found the culprits making all that clanging racket!
Found some drinking water!
Ahhhh, so pretty!!
From Lauterbrunnen, there are two tall peaks that vie for the best views in the area: Jungfrau and Schilthorn. The only problem is that a cloudy day will obstruct all views. Since Dave and I can't leave any stone unturned, and we only had today and tomorrow, we decided to venture up to one despite the clouds. Jungfrau was more of a journey for this late in the day, so we decided on Schilthorn and found ourselves as the only two idiots heading up to a mountain top in total cloud coverage. The views from our gondola were not very encouraging.
Just us and a lone worker in the gondola ride.
As we reached the top, we passed through some cloud cover and felt slightly vindicated that there was a clearing. Sadly, it was only for the mountain itself, not any of the views around it.
The revolving restaurant Piz Gloria at the top normally provides amazing views. Not only were the views blocked out, but the restaurant decided to close early due to the weather, so we couldn't even get any food! We could not catch a break!
Outside on the viewing platform, trying to make the most of this.
Just look at it. Alps for days...
About the only thing we could see: the mountain stretching out underneath us.
However, not all was lost. Schilthorn has another famous purpose: it was a shooting locale of the 1969 James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. As such, they have capitalized on the movie by creating an entire Bond exhibit. As the only visitors to the mountain top on this cloudy afternoon, Dave and I got full reign of the Bond exhibits, and took full advantage.
Flying helicopters over glaciers.
And shooting guns from a bobsled.
After honing these necessary life skills, and seeing that the weather hadn't budged, we decided to head back down the mountain in our private gondola.
The "views" on the way back down.
It was time to now explore our home base for the evening, the village of Mürren. Mürren sits up in the Alps 5,374 feet above sea level, and as such, is only reachable by tram. This leaves the village relatively quiet and walkable, with pathways resembling switchbacks to navigate the steep incline the houses are built into.
The village was so darn cute, all adorable chalets, picket fences, and flower boxes filled with bright red and pink geraniums. And draping behind all the homes and inns was the backdrop of mountains.
Across the gaping hole that is the Lauterbrunnen Valley sit the cliff faces of more Alps, shooting straight up from the ground. It was almost surreal that these sit almost a mile away on the other side. While it was still cloudy, we could make out the tiny waterfalls cascading down the face.
We ate a hearty meal to warm ourselves in the restaurant of our inn, and before calling it a night, we took one last glance outside towards the mountains. I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing. As the clouds had thinned out, I could start making out the multitude of snowy peaks across the valley from us. It was surreal. I couldn't believe these massive things had been hidden by clouds all day. I had no idea!
The next morning, we very luckily woke up to a sunny day and were rewarded for the clouds of the day before. The views from our inn were stunning.
Behind us, the valley had turned a bright green, and I, once again, felt like I was in a movie.
The town looked like it was sitting on top of the world.
We wanted to get to Jungfrau as quickly as possible, because at these heights, the weather could turn at a moments notice. So we boarded the tram to start the long journey to the other side of the valley and to Jungfrau. This time, the gondola and tram rides to the bottom were much more scenic.
We're coming for you, Jungrau. Stay clear, my friend!
The views of the valley were even prettier with sunshine. I didn't think it was possible!
The bright sun and shadowy cliff faces made the scene so hard to capture in photos.
I tried my best as we started up in the tram from Lauterbrunnen.
Finally nailed one!
And another one. Middle Earth, is that you?
Jungfrau. Still clear. Just hold on to that sunshine for a couple more hours!
As we ascended, we passed ski villages and peaks.
The farmland was so cool, on tiers up the mountain side.
Back on the valley and starting to become eye level with the clouds.
Just about to hit the last stop on the tram before switching into one that goes through the actual mountain.
So close to the peak and blue skies still abound! Yes!
Goodbye, sunshine. See you at the top!
Just another 6,000 feet to go!
After entering the tunnel, there's a couple of stops from the inside to give visitors some views onto the mountain. We were allowed off the tram for a few minutes to take a look and hop back on.
And then, out we popped on top, and all our fortitude from the day before was rewarded with some unbelievably epic views! This is a glacier highway between mountains on the other side of Jungfrau.
Epic. Felt like being on top of the world.
The top of Jungfrau!
The helicopter is actually flying well below us.
Not that we were without an occasional cloud. But they blew through super fast and wispy.
We grabbed lunch at 13,642 feet and enjoyed the views.
For how high up we were, it was not as cold as we expected (especially as I had accidentally left my winter coat in Zug). The sun was warm and there was no wind, so it was actually pretty comfortable outside. Even nice enough to enjoy the lounge chairs set up.
A little hiking in the snow.
Now this is where I'm not totally opposed to a touch of touristy commercialism in a beautiful spot such as this. They had set up a tubing course up here with a satisfying ride down and a conveyer belt back up.
We had so much fun riding up and down, and the views as we went were epic.
While Jungfrau doesn't have the James Bond fame, it has its own exhibits to entertain inside the mountain.
One entire section of the indoors is made of ice, including the floors, ceilings and walls, complete with ice sculptures.
I loved this touch.
What'll you have?
Penguins, my favorite.
Loving it.
We headed back outside one more time to the highest point of this observation post only to find that some clouds had rolled in and taken all the views away. Amazing how fast this happens!
Now we look like Antarctic explorers rather than at the top of the Alps.
Thankful for these signs in these conditions.
While the sun started to break through a touch, we figured we wouldn't press our luck and just take the next tram down.
This couldn't have been a better cap off to our time in Swtizerland. The Alps were easily one of the best places I've ever been in my life. They were so pretty and the experience was so fresh and clean and clear. I would go back any time of the year, for skiing, hiking, driving, any activity with these beauties in sight.
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