The train ride from Salzburg to Bern was gorgeous. In Munich and Vienna, we couldn't see any of the Alps. From Salzburg, we could see some of the mountains. On the train, we went THROUGH the mountains, spanning rivers and gorges, threading between the peaks. As we travelled, we went from an Austrian fall, with the changing leaves of trees, to a snowy winter, with snowflakes whirling in the sky. Then, a mere five minutes later, we were in what seemed to be a beautiful spring day! It was remarkable how much it changed as we proceeded.
This is the best pic I was able to get from the train.
Welcome to the Alps.
About five hours after we boarded the train, we were getting off in Zurich to switch trains for Bern. Molly and I, feeling a little bit more adventurous, chose to explore the city for a few hours before we went on. Zurich was a nice town; we didn't see a ton of it, and I really don't know much about the history. Surprisingly enough, they had lots of Swiss army knives and watches for sale. Who would've thunk?
We pulled into the Bern train station just after 7, and after wandering for about half an hour, we stumbled across our hostel in the heart of the old town. There were already two guests in the room; an older man and a young Canadian girl. We started talking with the girl, and then she joined us when we went out to see the night-life of Bern. SO MUCH FUN. We were in one of the bars when six younger men came in. Apparently they had all just finished their medical school final tests, so they were out celebrating. Made for a great evening!
The Old Clock
Thursday found us exploring the city of Bern (named for the bear). It's an old city, and as the capital of Switzerland, it had some pretty cool things going on there. We walked to the Einstein museum (would've cost 18 francs to get in, so we passed), wandered towards the bear pits, and up to the rose garden overlooking the city. After a fantastic dinner (Swiss sausage and potatoes), I had no complaints about the city.
Seriously, the city has BEARS for pets...
On Friday, we went to the city of Interlaken (literally meaning "Between the Lakes"). A very tourist-oriented town (I'd say it's similar to Estes Park in Colorado), there wasn't a ton to do just looking around in the city, so we took a train to either end of the lakes. We went to Spritz and Brienz, where we had some beautiful weather and spectacular views of the mountains. Seriously, it felt like a Minnesota summer.
By the end of the day, we arrived in Lucerne and immediately went to bed. We spent the whole next day wandering the streets, but I never really got a good feeling about Lucerne. It was a nice city, but there didn't seem to be anything special about it. I think Molly would probably disagree with that, but I wasn't entirely impressed. What WAS cool, though, was the bicycling we did. We rented bikes from our hostel and just rode along the lakeshore. Now I can officially say I went biking in the Alps!
But soon enough, the time came to head back home (to Ireland). We woke up early on Sunday morning and caught a 6:30 train to Frankfurt. Arriving at noon, we found out that the airport we were supposed to fly out from was APPARENTLY not the international airport that is so convenient to get to. No, we were supposed to take a two hour bus ride to the airport, and the next bus (which would cost us 24 euros apiece) was leaving at 1:30. Perfect. With a 3:20 flight, that just didn't work out too well, eh? In the end, we rented a taxi (costly, to say the least) and made it to the airport in time for our flight. Two hours later, we were touching down at the Dublin International Airport, catching a bus to Galway, and enjoying the (illegal) firework displays and bonfires celebrating Halloween. Time of arrival at the Park Lodge Hotel: 9:00 PM.
What a vacation.
Oh, Switzerland...
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