22 February 2009

Eurotrip : Day 8 to 11 - 4 Days in the Valley

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Yes, I am guilty of leaving half-written travel stories on my blog. To assuage the guilt, I will at least try to complete the one on my honeymoon. Note that this took place at the end of September last year.

Okay, where was I... yes we were just about to leave Rome for Switzerland. The overnight train from Rome arrived in Bern on time. We were impressed with the Swiss punctuality. We did not linger long in the capital city, instead we took the next train to Interlaken. We spent the morning exploring this small town and I took time off to nurse my camera which had tripped dirt and a loose mirror (a trip to Coop helped me find a temporary solution).

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Morning greets Interlaken

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Where we had our daily roast

After lunch, we headed for Lauterbrunnen, which was to be our base for the next few days. Lauterbrunnen is a charming little town located in a valley surrounded by mountains and icy peaks. After days of city life, this sure was a welcoming sight. We stayed at Hotel Oberland that reserved us a room facing the Staubbach falls. Even from our bed, we had a clear sight of the falls.

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Lauterbrunnen. That's Staubach falls in the back.

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Hotel Oberland... wonderful rooms (with excellent view) and service


The next two days was spent exploring the wonderful alpine sights, and the weather was great on both days too. On the first day, we headed up to Jungfraujoch, 3,454 metres is the highest railway station in Europe. Up in the icy peak, we got to walk on the snow while enjoying the proximity to the three peaks, Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.

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At the Jungfraujoch

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From the viewing platform

The next day was spent hiking around the mountains. We took the easy trail from Allmendhubel to Murren to Grimmelwald. Before gong back to Lauterbrunnen, we stopped to visit the Trummelbach falls. No trip to Switzerland is complete wihtout trying the Cheese Fondue, so we tried that at the Hotel Oberland restaurant.

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At Allmendhubel ... many trails to choose from

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Walk down to Murren

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Green peaks and white ones too

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Hiking back to Lauterbrunnen

After enjoying fresh mountain air for the past days, it was time to depart. We had a train to Paris to catch at 5.23pm, so we spent out last day in Switzerland exploring the medievel city of Bern.

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The famous Clock Tower of Bern but don't expect fireworks on the hour mark

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The river Aar that surrounds the city

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The famous bear pit with the only star.

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