If
you like scenery then you'll love Switzerland! It is, without a doubt,
my favourite country. Where else in Europe can you look out of a train
window and see a scene like this? (This was on the little train that
climbs the steep track to Kleine Scheldegg, from which you
can view three splendid moutain peaks: Eiger Mönch, Jungfraujoch
and Klein Scheidegg.)
 If
you like scenery then you'll love Switzerland! It is, without
a doubt, my favourite country. |
The
picture on the right shows cloud banking up against the unyielding
face of the Jungfraujoch. Believe it or not, from the point this photograph
was taken, you can get another train to take you up to the top of
this mountain (3544m/11,333ft) where you will find an observatory
with a panaorama terrace. You get there via Europe's highest railway
station inside the ice! (No civil engineering challenge is too great
for the Swiss. The more difficult, the better they like it!)
Where
else can you ascend mountains with such ease: seated in a train? These
pictures are all taken in the inspiring Bernese Oberland,
and show it to be a place where it's just great to relax and soak
up the beauty! (If only it wasn't so expensive to live in
Switzerland!)
Yes, this is Switzerland, where even the cows are musical! There
they are, up mountains, milking the scenery and playing jingle-bells.
When theyr'e not enjoying the fresh mountain air, they are cosily
tucked away in barns - sometimes on mountain-tops!
Hazel
and I stayed in Kandersteg, and from here it is possible
to ride a cable car up a small mountain to visit an authentic Swiss
Cheese farm. We saw the cows were tucked away in a barn while we were
there, and we saw how the cheese was made, and enjoyed a serenade
from the farmer and his family while we sampled a refreshing wine.
The boss finished off by blowing his own horn. Can you really blame
him? What a life!
Bern
The
Swiss capital, Bern, is a place with great character - although
I was a little surprised to see statue-still, downcast beggars in
the city. Here you can enjoy great views across the river, explore
the market, lighten your wallet or purse in expensive shops, discover
the famous animated clock, view the eye-catching statues, and enjoy
the usual city bustle at an outside café table: in a nice,
clean city. They have a great scheme here to battle against
pollution, whereby drivers have to switch off their engines if they
are stationery for more than a very short time - even at traffic lights.
(More cities should take up this one!)
The Bear Pit is famous in the centre of Bern. You can look at the
(poor) bears here, should you so wish. Nearby I purchased a Swiss
picture book where I encountered a sales-lady whose manners seemed
closely related to the bears. She seemed to dislike my English accent
and was brutally rude when I asked her if there was an English version
as she stabbed her finger at the English sentences lurking in the
multi-lingual book. 'Are the English all stupid?' was the unasked
question! (Unfair, since I believe she was more familiar with her
wares than I: also, rather too familiar with her customers!)
You'd think they would be pleased to take tourist money since their
business depended upon it, wouldn't you? Still, I guess there are
always more tourists around the corner. It does, however, leave a
bad taste, and one that I experienced in a gift shop elsewhere in
this area. So while the country is beautiful, not all the people are;
still, the same goes in most cities, if we're honest. To redress the
balance, I found the staff in our Kandersteg hotel extremely pleasant,
and so were many of the other shop-keepers.
