The Swiss Experience

Here, if you look in the top left corner, you'll see what looks like a small rise in the valley between mountains. See it? It's just a spec right before the picture ends on the left side. The very top of the valley there... That is a train station: the highest in Europe... and I think maybe the world. It's called the Jungfraujoch, and the mountain you see, is the world-famous Jungfrau.

-We finished our school the 21st of December with a short lecture. Rather unexpected, really, as we usually finish a class with a party of some sort... or at least a cookie for everyone... But, to no avail. We had class.

The next morning, Anna, Corrina and myself went to the train station at 6 am to catch the 6:30 train to Koblenz. I stayed up too late, and found myself awake at 5 am, unpacked. So I quickly packed some clothes and by the time I was finished, it was time to leave. From Koblenz, we took a train to Nuernburg, Germany. The train was not a fun one, as it was a bit of a nicer one, so reservations took reign, and we had none. My two companions took seats in the smoking car, and I, left with no options, took refuge in the refuse. :) Yeah, I sat on the trash bins in the back of the train next to the toilet. It was brilliant. I thought, maybe when the conductor comes by to take tickets, he'd find me a seat... no. "Ticket please." I couldn't believe it! So I basically had to pay full price for the ticket for no seat! Oh well, the rest of the trip was great.

We found Nuernburg a bit cold, but nice enough overall. We toured the Christmas market there, which wasn't a whole lot different than the one here in Trier. We eventually found refuge in the shops and Starbucks Coffee House nearby. I did spoil myself with a coffee, though I was trying to travel on a budget.

We continued on our journey towards Switzerland on a couple of the high-speed ICE trains Germany offers for a higher price. Luckily for us, we had the pass for foreigners, allowing us travel on almost any train in Europe. We made reservations for ourselves, as well, so the trip ended up being quite luxurious. Big seats and a dining car.. It was really something.

We arrived in Interlaken, Switzerland around 2 am. It was quite cold, as the town was under an inversion. We found our ways to the hostel with the help of a drunk girl at a cash machine in the town center. The hostel was a little bare, at least in the room, but we found that it grows on a person, and by the end, we thought we might want to own it.

The hostel itself is the oldest independent hostel in all of Switzerland. It's made entirely of wood and the room I was in was more or less the attic. However, there were some big windows and a small heater. I grabbed an extra blanket, and it became a fairly decent place to sleep. Unfortunately, where the hostel had charm, it lacked in technology. We were under the influence that it was equipped with wireless internet. Now normally, that wouldn't be so much of a problem, but the fact that it was our Christmas, calling home became significantly more difficult without that vital connection. Eventually, I turned to the comfort of international cell phone rates, and although they could never be described as cheap, they did forge a connection between myself and the people I love.

The next day we woke up early for the free breakfast, which consisted of Muesli (oats of sorts with milk), an orange, glass of water, and coffee. Not too bad, being free. We toured the town a bit, and found dinner at... Hooters Interlaken. :D It's a huge tourist town, and the first language spoken is English. At least it was everywhere we were.

Next day, Christmas Eve, we met a couple military guys who were stationed in Germany. I found out later that they were officers, one of whom had graduated from West Point. Nice guys, too. The girls and the other two Americans went skiing, and I stayed behind, and caught up on some sleep, as I had been lacking it. I tooled around the hostel, watched some CNN and played pool with some other American tourists and the front desk clerk. That night we found a Swiss restaurant in a hotel, the only place open in the city. They celebrate the night of the 24th here, and in Switzerland, so everyone was in for the night. The hotel restaurant ended up being really cool, with a manager who we decided must have been crazy, because he danced around singing the entire time. He also showed some tourists how the Swiss properly eat fondue. :) It was quite the spectacle.

Christmas day was actually pretty strange, namely for the fact that I met a guy with whom I went to high school in the line for breakfast. I met his friends, and we decided to go sledding together that afternoon.

I expected something a little different from sledding. I expected to walk up a hill, sled down it, walk back up, repeat. NO. This was a half hour's drive in a van up into the Alps. Then it was another ride further up via cable car. The views were spectacular. The sledding was more like extreme ice sledding, as the snow conditions weren't ideal for "frolic-sledding" but suited my slightly-idiotic, adrenaline and speed fixations just fine. I had a great time. We ended the sledding with free dinner at a Swiss restaurant high in the Alps. I had real fondue and white wine. It was really good, and I met quite a few nice people.

The next day we had to head home, but rather than just take the express back to Trier, we found some scenic routes through Switzerland. They were stunning. From Interlaken to Montreaux, there to Basel, Basel to Lucerne, there to Bern, Bern to Trier. Two of them were specifically scenic routes, and so the cars were luxurious and had lots of big windows. It was just cool.

We finally made it back to Trier around 2 am, and went to sleep immediately.

A glimpse of the Alps. Also visible are the inversion and a car antennae. :D

Swiss houses are just so pretty. They can be new and still retain that "Old Swiss" style. They are nicer to look at than German houses, because they aren't pink on one half and blue on the other...

An example of a Swiss house (though I think this one has been converted into a restaurant).

One last shot of the Alps. They really are something, aren't they?

One with me in it! This is our sledding group minus the leader. On the far right, red coat, is the guy with whom I went to high school. We actually took German together.

From Dylon With Love