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winter in switzerland |
surya charles (w/o charles joseph '93 civil) |
Today, we leave for Switzerland, land of lakes, 1,484, never more than 20 km away from one, from where you are in Switzerland; it is not by chance the land is sometimes referred to as Europe's biggest reservoir. Indeed it is hard to imagine any picture of Switzerland without the shimmering blue of its countless lakes both large and small, a small mountainous country which too give the country its unique identity. Pine & Cyprus trees, lush green country side, chocolates, cheese, watch making, financial institutes , excellent network of public transportation …we decided to cover as much as possible in seven days, the first European trip for all three of us. So we planned our trip with Ethihad Airways package - inclusive, ticket, hotel booking and breakfast - we bought the Swiss pass from Dubai itself. We started our journey to this beautiful land from Geneva (Genève). Reason behind selecting this airport from my source airport (Abu dhabhi, UAE) was cheap fair comparing to Zurich. We reached there by 26th September evening, in six hours, chauffer driven to hotel from airport, it took only 10 minutes - inclusive in the package - We checked in at Hotel Rotary, which is close to main rail station, also called as Cornavin Central station. The roads were neat and clean, one thing that takes getting used to is that one does not drive everywhere in Switzerland. The autobahn is nice, and the speed limits generous, but, you walk or take the train wherever you're going in many places that we visited. Stores are also closed in the evenings for the most part. It doesn't appear they even have conceived of a 24 hour store. The impact of all of this is that you tend to slow down a bit and take in the sights, and enjoy life. For all of the mad rush we find ourselves in here in Dubai, it is difficult to identify what is accomplished, except to create a booming market for stress remedies. We decided to have a short walk - near the rail station - had dinner at McDonalds. Of course, there is a bit of a difference between McDonald's in Switzerland and McDonald's in U.A.E. |
Sightseeing in Geneva. Next morning we had our American breakfast, decided to have a walk, the famous Geneva Lake is just 5 minutes walk away, biggest in Switzerland, after seeing the beauty of the lake and town, we decided just to walk around and enjoy the day. It didn't hurt that it was a magnificent day all around…sunny, light breeze; our view walking down to the lake was awe inspiring…the ALPS! Lake Geneva was very peaceful and quiet. Not too many boats, There were many swans and also the ugly duckling (who is of course a cygnet or baby swan) The Jet d'Eau is one of Geneva's most visible symbols. With its spout of water shooting up into the air as high as 150 meters at times, it is hard not to notice it. From what we have read about it each second there are 500 liters of water spouted into the air. It has two electric pumps which revolve at 1,500 revolutions per minute sucking water from the Lake and then forces it through a nozzle at the speed of 200 kilometers per hour. The fountain operates from the beginning of March through mid-October. It is also shut down occasionally due to severe weather conditions. Luckily on our visit it was running nonstop. At any given moment there are roughly 2000litres of water in the air. In the summer evening the Jet is illuminated by 13.5kW of lighting. Then we went to the Cathedral located near the Cornavin Train Station, Notre Dame (the Church of Our Lady) and attended the service. This is one of the first buildings that will catch your attention when you arrive in Geneva. This cathedral is beautiful in all of the traditional Catholic ways. This church was just across from our hotel and became a landmark for us when walking through the city. |
Base of United Nations in Europe. We took the bus from the bus station, number 15 to nations reaching there we saw a big chair, at first glance we thought this large chair has been vandalized. One of the legs appears to have been ripped off. In actuality this chair is a monument built to represent the campaign against land mines. It is located near the Palais du Nations. The chair is ten meters high. Once we realized what the chair meant, it left an impression we will never forget. This gate at the Palais des Nations looks like the entrance to the United Nations. It is actually a locked gate. Even though we cannot enter the compound without authorization, we can stand at the gate and look in. Here we spend an eternity trying to find our flag in the some 200 poles outside the UN headquarters, and have located our (Indian) flag. We have to walk to our right (500 metres) up a small hill past the Ariana Museum to reach the main entrance to the United Nations. This is the actual entrance to the United Nations in Geneva. It is considered the largest and most active center for conferences in the world. Many historic negotiations have taken place here. It was built in 1936 as headquarters for the League of Nations and was taken over by the United Nations after World War II. It is open daily and tours are available from 2 pm until 4 pm. All tours are guided. There is very strict security. We had to provide identification before entering. "The Armillary Sphere", the gold-plated bronze sphere is the symbol of the UN Office at Geneva. It illustrates the different constellations of the universe: its 65 constellations are gold-plated and its 840 stars are silvered, reflecting the world's cultures existing in harmony. |
Sightseeing in Luzern/Lucerne Same day evening (27th) caught a train from Geneva to Luzern, the charming city. A journey of two hours, reached there at night. After an early night, we got up next morning, had breakfast, and took off to discover the surroundings, any tour of Luzern must begin with the fourteenth-century covered, the oldest road bridge, in Europe Chapel Bridge the land mark of Luzern. This bridge is the most popular sight that almost all of the tourists think of, when thinking about Luzern / Lucerne. It is 203 meters long and it dates back to the year 1333. The bridge is covered by a wooden roof under which 111 paintings were added in the 17th century. Unfortunately a fire destroyed 86 of these paintings in 1993, and they had to be replaced by replicas. We may walk across the bridge day and night freely and without restrictions, it is still the most popular way to cross the river for pedestrians. "The Lion monument", is one of the world's most famous monuments. It is cut out of natural rock in memory of the heroic death of Swiss Soldiers in 1792. |
Mount Pilatus - 2132m Then we hop on to a bus, to Kreinz, from where the first section of our trip begins, 30 minutes glide up in panorama gondolas with a height difference of 899 m to reach Frakmutegg - the foot of mighty Mount Pilatus, then to Pilatus 2132 metres above sea level, in aerial cable way which occupies 40 persons. The weather was fine on top and the unique view of Alps and the landscape were simply stunning. We had our lunch there, saw paragliding. Our trip back was a memorable one, took the world steepest Cogwheel railway (48 % gradient) - through lush meadows carpeted with lots of flowers, sparkling mountain streams, and fascinating rock faces. Sightseeing in Interlaken Ost.(East) After another good breakfast, we did some shopping on souvenirs like cowbells, leather wallets, Switzerland T shirt, lots of magnets and post cards. By afternoon we boarded the train bound to Interlaken Ost. (East) - two hours journey - What we observed in Switzerland was, when we travel through trains between places is that we come across so beautiful Switzerland countryside. No need to take panoramic trains. We reached Interlaken Ost. What a beautiful, mind-blowing, fantastic and fabulous place. We don't have words to explain it. I felt like settling down there as an illegal immigrant. The Aare River flows through the town. Interlaken is located between Lake Brienz to the east and Lake Thun to the west .The town takes its name from its geographical position between the lakes (in Latin inter lacus). |
The Top of Europe - Junfraujoch - 3454m The next morning, we are going to the Top of Europe. We had all prepared for this. We had all the medicines required to prevent and treat possible High Altitude sickness and we had our winter clothes. The temperature at Jungfraujoch was hovering around -4C all week. Boarded the train from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen and took the Jungfraubahn rail from there. The train, a cogwheel train was one of a kind. Slowly climbing from 600m to over 3500m is no mean task. The ingenuity of this railway network and the glaciers of this region have been well rewarded with the acceptance to the famed UNESCO World Heritage site list. We had to switch trains at Kleine Scheidegg, and this took us through the mountains, in caves dug deep into the core. Every now and then we stopped to arrive at a small view point (Eigerwand and Eismeer) and see the splendor that awaited us outside. This last leg took us 50 minutes. Once at the top, we exited at the highest railway station in Europe at 3454m and immediately saw what the fuss was all about. We were right in the middle of one of the most breathtaking glacier ranges ever. The complex itself is very tourist friendly with plenty of restaurants and facilities. But once you step out into the open, the chill wind hits your face and the bright sunlight reflecting off the pure white snow blinds you. It takes a minute for you to adjust, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The temperature was also never less than -2C. We played in the snow; we saw the peaks, took a lot of photos and then rushed to the Ice Palace. One drawback of this excursion was the lack of time at this remote, yet easily reachable of places. We had only 2 hours. We didn't get to ride the huskies, or slide around the ice. The Ice Palace had detailed sculptures of penguins and eagles and even the World Cup mascot. We ran and reached our train on time, and didn't realize how tired we were until everyone slept on the way down. We reached Lauterbrunnen and headed to Grindelwald, from there to Interlaken Ost. Back at the hotel, we managed to do more window shopping and while away time till dinner. Truly a tiring day. Next morning we headed for Bern, from Interlaken Ost its 1:30 hrs journey. We had a walk after getting down at station to see House of Parliament but were a holiday and were a scene we missed. Berne is the capital of Switzerland, a diverse and beautiful city! , medieval city founded in 1191, on and around the River Aare. It is here that Albert Einstein worked, the Toblerone chocolate bar is made, and Emmental cheese, known as Swiss cheese, reached out to the world. |
In 1983 the UNESCO inscribed Berne as a World Heritage Site. We strolled down at a street shop where we could bargain few souvenirs, the other places of interest were, Prison Tower, Square of parliament, Bern's landmark, the bear pit, is being transformed into a large Bear Park. All will be ready by the autumn of 2009. We went back to Interlaken after spending 3 hours in Bern. The next morning, we had arranged a horse ride with the Hotel, check out from the hotel very reluctantly…, we started our trip on horse carriage for an hour, at 12 in the noon…no words can explain the fun we had. We left Interlaken to Geneva to board our flight back to Abudhabhi. Once again we reluctantly bid goodbye to this enchanting place with hope visiting again. But sure a journey we all would cherish forever. The country boasts of tourist heaven and also is said, it is the main stray of income for the government/exchequer. There could be no denial to this; it is also to the credit of the canton councils and government that a tourist is able to see various sites at ease/free of any hassles. We were amazed to see that in one single ticket (Swiss Mobility Ticket) we traveled not only to the farthest destination but availed almost all means of transport less of course Air. The most sincere, affectionate, cheerful, affluent, hard working and above all helpful citizens of that country contribute in making the country to be the most liked places of tourist destinations in the world. It will not be an exaggeration to say that such facilities in those gods own heavenly created country is no match in the world. God bless Swiss people/Countrymen/Swiss travel System and Government for taking such pains to ensure hassle free travel, Good luck the Swiss people. Quick, arrange a trip for yourself and enjoy!! |
travelogue |
ninavu 1.3 |