Thursday, Day 6 in Switzerland

Ah, the majesty of the Jungfraujoch... the top of Europe. Glorious views of three countries. An overlook of the largest Glacier in the Alps. So much snowy sunshine. And a zillion Asian tourists.

On Thursday in Switzerland, we woke up early in our Lauterbrunnen hotel room to catch the "Good Morning Train" to the Jungfraujoch. It was dark as we walked across town to the train station. The sun came up while we took the long rail journey up into the mountains from the valley. There was a pack of awful Australian people on our train that were very loud and talked too much. But they didn't ruin the trip. We saw tiny ibex grazing near a pond. When we arrived at our destination, the first thing we did was find coffee. Then we enjoyed the incredible views.

Top of Aletsch Glacier, largest in the Alps.

View from the Sphinx Observatory.

You could walk around in the snow. Notice there's not a cloud in the sky--a perfect day for this.

This was no cheap outing. It cost us 140 francs ($150 USD) each to get to the Jungfraujoch, but it was an experience I knew we needed to have if we were visiting Switzerland. This was a VERY touristy place. This was the only experience we found overly touristy during our vacation. But I'm still glad we did it.

During the train ride back into the valley, the sun was out and we were able to fully enjoy the scenery. Incredible.

The Jungfrau and the Monch I think?

So amazing.

We stopped on the way down in a town called Murren, located on the route to Lauterbrunnen. We wanted to check the place out and get some lunch. Murren is a thoroughly touristy place as well, with lots of condo chalet buildings, ski lifts, and sporting goods stores. We were there off-season, so many restaurants and stores were closed. We did find a nice shop for souvenirs. It was called "The Swiss Made Shop." We stopped by the tourist office to ask for a restaurant recommendation. The person on duty suggested we try picnicking in a churchyard that offered outstanding views of the valley. We stopped by a Migros to pick up sandwiches and walked up to the church for our picnic.

Picnic view of Lauterbrunnen Valley in Murren.

The guy in the tourist office was right. The view from this churchyard was phenomenal. My picture couldn't capture it. But maybe you get the idea. Alps with a green valley full of chalets and waterfalls. Unbelievable. I kept thinking, I'm having a picnic here? Really?

By this time, it had warmed up to 68 degrees after it had been 30 or so in the early morning hours. I had on big snow boots and many layers of clothing. I was anxious to get out of my wintery gear, and so we headed down to Lauterbrunnen where our rental car waited. We had a long drive back to Champoussin, and it was getting to be late. We waved goodbye to the Bernese Oberland and headed east, exhausted but happy. Before we left, I got this shot in Lauterbrunnen which helps provide some perspective when paired with the image above.

View in Lauterbrunnen.

Wednesday, Day 5 in Switzerland

It is convenient that my last post was about Colonial Williamsburg, because this post will be about the Swiss version of an "open air museum." On Wednesday in Switzerland, we drove two hours to Museum Ballenberg and spent the day admiring traditional Swiss architecture, culture, and farm animals. I was really, really hungry after the long drive, and we started our museum tour at one of the restaurants, where we ate outside at a long picnic table. The food was, surprisingly, REALLY delicious. And not too expensive. We shared a salad and had "mountain macaroni," a pasta dish with cream, cheese, potatoes, and dried onions on top, served with apple sauce. You can see that we've moved into the German-speaking part of Switzerland by the food alone.

Each area of the park represents a different canton of Switzerland. Houses and farms from different economic classes are present in each area, but they are all so beautiful. The buildings feel very true. They're wonderfully furnished with period items. Here's a gorgeous example of a sunny dining room--fresh, natural, and healthy looking, like the rest of Switzerland. This is what I strive for my home to feel like.

 Behind each gorgeous building was an incredible mountain backdrop with common Swiss flowers in the garden foreground. There were so many marvelous photo opportunities.

There were animals all over the museum, especially rabbits. There were also many goats and chickens, looking happy in green pastures. Of course there were cows wearing bells as well. Animals at Museum Ballenberg get to live the good life.

This was one of my favorite outings in Switzerland. The museum has a very authentic feel, not too touristy or forceful. It was well worth the drive, and I'm very glad we were able to visit German-speaking Switzerland, even if I felt uncomfortable not knowing the language. 

Two warnings about Museum Ballenberg. First, watch your head. People were short back in the day, I guess. I bonked my head real good on my way out of a farm house, and I was lightheaded somewhat for the rest of the day. Secondly, do not buy meat products in Ballenberg and plan to bring them back to the U.S. Is it common knowledge that they will throw away your perfectly good smoked Swiss meats in customs? I had no idea. $60 worth of high-quality sausage, destroyed by the U.S. government. I am still mad at the FDA.

Things closed down at 5, and I was sad that we didn't have more time to explore Ballenberg. But I was exhausted and I had a bump on my head. So it was really nice to get to our hotel room in Lauterbrunnen. We stayed in Hotel Staubbach, a beautiful little place in an extraordinary setting. We had an incredible valley view:

But we knew we had to rise early on Day 6 to get to the top of the Jungfraujoch, so we hardly were able to enjoy the comfort of the room or the splendor of our balcony view. We had dinner nearby (tasty cheesy rosti!), showered, and conked out. That hotel room was simple and tidy, with a very comfortable bed and a shower that could be used American-style. It was like heaven compared to the dated, dark apartment where we stayed in Champoussin. How we hated going back to the unsupportive murphy bed in our Champoussin chalet.

Another Weekend Comes and Goes

That was a nice weekend I just had. I spent time organizing, downloading, and syncing music to my mp3 player. I had a sandwich with my friend at the too-hip local coffee shop called Lamplighter. I got a haircut in Carytown (from long to short!) and then bought some chunky pink yarn from the Yarn Lounge to start knitting an infinity scarf. Boyfriend and I went to Black Sheep on Saturday night (I don't know why we ever want to eat anywhere else), and we had a delicious and beautiful dinner there.

On Sunday, Boyfriend wanted to go on an adventure, and we decided to drive to Williamsburg so that he could see Colonial Williamsburg for the very first time. We had a nice time and even learned a few things. The weather was gorgeous. We were hesitant to pay the $40 (each) for a day of touring, but I guess all that upkeep of old buildings isn't cheap. I can see that Colonial Williamsburg would be a very special place for people who aren't from around here. Every upscale subdivision in Virginia attempts to mimic the architecture and feel of a Colonial town, so sometimes I felt like I was just walking through a fancy West End neighborhood. Even the fanciest neighborhoods don't have horse-drawn carriages in them, though. We had a delicious lunch at one of the taverns. We drank Old Stitch beer, brewed there in Williamsburg, and I had Brunswick Stew and cornbread. Boyfriend had a BBQ sandwich with potato chips. I'm not sure how authentic the fare was, but the menu did inform us that a Colonial tavern "dyet" would include only one cheap option for most people unless you were rich. Our waitress in the tavern spoke with a phony British accent, which I found most irritating.

 
So now I better get ready to go to work. My new short hair has left me feeling so fancy free! I can actually brush it now! I'm going to go to work and show it off.

Tuesday, Day 4 in Switzerland

Will I ever finish blogging about Switzerland? I'm forgetting all the details I wanted to record. But things have been pretty busy these past few weeks. I've also been in a most uninterested mood, not good for writing. Right now, I've got a chicken roasting in the oven, a glass of Shiraz, I'm on my third load of laundry, the dishes are done, and I realized... I have time to blog.

Every day in Switzerland is beautiful. I'm not lying. Writing this makes me miss it. Tuesday was one of the more beautiful and also more stressful days of the vacation. We drove a couple hours to the Grande Dixence Dam, an out-of-the-way place that is more likely to attract local hikers than international tourists. This is a beautiful spot for lovely views set on a man-made lake against a glorious Alpine background. We rode a cable car to the top of the dam and decided to walk back down. Walking back down turned out to be a lot more work than we were expecting, and it didn't leave much time to explore the city of Sion, which was something I was excited to do. So we felt kind of rushed and exhausted, but it was still an incredible experience.

Grande Dixence Dam--bigger than it looks.

A view of Lake des Dix

The trail ran through tunnels in the rocks. The glacial
runoff makes for water of a most beautiful color.

When we finally got to Sion at 5 pm, we made our way straight to Valere castle, an ancient fortified church, which I read in Fodor's was open until 6. Fodors is full of lies! When we got to the castle, after climbing up a big hill through a lot of confusing alleys, the doors were locked up and the site was closed. But the views on the way up were beautiful, and we got to see the ruins of Tourbillon Castle.

Tourbillon Castle ruins

A little chapel next to Valere

A typical view of Sion from a spot near the top of the hill Valere sits upon.

Sion is a really lovely city that doesn't seem to get enough attention in the region. It feels almost Mediterranean, settled on the Rhone River with vineyards all around. We drank coffee and tea on a patio of a nice little cafe where our waitress complimented my "pretty accent" (I'm certain she was just being kind). People watching in Switzerland was so marvelous. We watched people go about their usual after-work weekday routines while we drank our coffee, people riding bicycles with their groceries and kids playing soccer in alleyways. I very much wish we could have spent more time Sion.

Monday, Day 3 in Switzerland

I had a pretty specific agenda for the Swiss adventure. We were sidetracked by Martigny and the Combat des Reines, but on Monday we got back on track with a trip to Chillon Castle, as planned. We got up, had our morning croissants with espresso, and headed toward Montreux in our Nissan Micra.

Morning cafe and croissants in the Swiss sunshine--a real pleasure.

We ate at a touristy cafe directly across from the Castle, called Cafe de Chillon or something similar. The food was surprisingly good, but yes, expensive. Boyfriend, not usually the one to worry about money, didn't want to order one of the specialites de la maison. I said, come on, we're on vacation. Get the steak if you want. I don't remember what he got, actually, but I had duck breast with fig sauce, sauteed seasonal vegetables, and spatzle (I am inspired to make spatzle now). We also drank a Swiss soda called Rivella which is actually made from dairy whey, though you'd never guess so. 

Chillon Castle is really something else. You can imagine what the hubbub of the place must have been like. It's bigger on the inside than you think it will be. There were actually dungeons, and you can just imagine how miserable they were. There were a lot of descriptive signs and smaller exhibits, as in every museum. I mean, I never felt like I was anywhere other than in a museum. But it was pretty damn neat. There were about a dozen beautiful little courtyards. They were my favorite thing.

Chillon from outside.

A dungeon/storage space.

Beautiful views of the shores of Lake Geneva from inside the castle.

More beautiful views.

The Judgement Room.

One of the many courtyards.

We were still very tired on Monday. We went home and ate prepared refrigerated meals that we bought at a grocery store called Coop. I had delicious gnochi. Boyfriend had some kind of chicken and spatzle meal. They were delicious. All food, even the food that isn't supposed to be that good, the stuff you find in grocery store fridges and on gas station shelves, is delicious in Switzerland. I don't know how they're all so fit. Lots of outdoorsy stuff, I guess. So after our microwaved meals were eaten, we fells asleep while watching international television. And that was Monday.