This is Switzerland! Here I am for for summer 1997, working at the Silicon Graphics European Manufacturing Centre. We are situated in rural farming areas, near some small towns. Mountains border the west, and to our east is Lake Neuchâtel. The roads are lined with grape vineyards, as the region is famous for its many wines.
Bern sits one hour to the east, while Geneva is an hour south.
The border of France is half an hour to the west. We are in the
heart of the Swiss Jura, and French is the language you will hear.
As I drove on the highway, I was greeted by a most amazing and exciting scene. All of the sudden, huge mountains came out of nowhere, and just grew and grew. I stopped to take a couple of pictures, and snapped a few out the window as I continued into the valley where my destination resides.
Interlaken is a somewhat touristy town in the middle of two lakes, the Brienzersee and Thunersee (in German). It is in the heart of a valley surrounded on all sides by the breathtaking Swiss Alps.
Riding into town, my view was filled with small shops, people walking around, and the sights of the place, somewhat surreal due to the mountainous backdrop framing every glance. The snowy peak of Mt. Jungfrau stands at a dizzying height of 4158m/13,642ft.
I found a lot to park my car, got out, and immediately was engaged by the scene you see to your right: a small fair, and some people singing Christian music (in German mostly). There was an assortment of diverse people peddling random things. I stopped for a moment and grabbed some cake and a drink as a man sang "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M.
Next, I walked around the town for a while, just wandering. I passed by numerous gift shops and cafés, until finally I reached the west end of town. Here was the rail station, as well as a train which climbs up the steep mountain face.
After resting for some minutes, I started back toward the centre of town, but instead of going back on the main road, I wandered through some residential areas. This is where I was inspired to take the photo to the right, of a Catholic and a Protestant church. You may want to click on it to load the actual-size photo for more detail.
I kept ambling through the neighborhood and eventually back into the heart of touristville. After eating, I perused some shoppes and explored the town more to the east, which I found to be less interesting (and picturesque) than the west side of things.
Soon after, I decided to head back home, having gotten plenty of great pictures while enjoying Interlaken. I started out of town, took a couple last clicks of the camera, and got on the road. About 15 minutes into the ride, I was again so overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountains that I got off the highway and headed southwest, toward a peak I saw.
Well that lead toward another highway, so I took a random turn and drove on what ended up being a fascinating secondary route back to Bern. Rolling farmland parted periodically to present small villages and ancient houses.
Every once in a while, I pulled the car to the side of the road, got out, and just absorbed the quietness. Although I saw some village folk, they spoke exclusively Swiss German, so unfortunately, conversation was not possible.
One of the last pictures I took that day was when we were stopped in a village, and a few boys were playing in the truck (being pulled by a farm tractor) in front of me. They were laughing and waving, and generally having a good time. I only caught one photo which came out, and it is right there.
Interlaken was a great experience, as you can probably tell. I
will have to go back there (the Jungfrau region) and climb some of
the mountains later in the summer. I have been told that the
Lauterbrunnen valley, just north of Interlaken, has some wonderful
views and trails.
Actually, I have to admit I had some trouble getting in to the cathedral. As I walked around the building, I saw numerous little crevices and small doors that looked as though they were designed for the passage of 4-foot-tall monks only.
After having made a complete loop around the building, I decided it was time to start looking for the entrance in earnest. I tried a couple of doors and they were locked. I also heard some organ music. Maybe there was a mass going on?
When I finally found the doors, I was a bit embarassed - they were so BIG how could I miss them? So big, in fact, that I hadn't even noticed them, just thought they were part of the wall.
The first picture, on the left, is a stained glass window above the main entrance doors. You can also see the saints above the window.
Although this Cathedral isn't as impressive or huge as some of the others in Europe, such as the one we visited in Sevilla, Spain, or as I've heard the Bern cathedral is, it was still impressive, and it had a really nice feeling inside. The stained glass in particular was beautiful, and the rose window, which is supposed to be the best, was unfortunately under construction until the follwing year. Click on one of the stained glass pictures for a larger view of the impressively intricate work.
After walking through the whole place, I saw a staircase which led up to a door. It was kind of odd; the stairs were huge and the door was just sort of in the middle of nowhere.
I went up to the door and tried it. It was open, so I went on through. I walked up a corridor, and then on my left was the pipe organ and gigantic pipes. There was an old man there, and he was really nice. I think whe was saying that the pipes were made in Italy, but I couldn't be sure. The picture on the left is the view of the main hall from where the organist sits.
After walking through some funky corridors and more 4-foot-monk doorways, I was back down at ground level. It had been an elevated experience.
Kami, Beth and I also came back to Lausanne on the sixteenth of June, and visited the Cathedral once more. Most of the pictures you see here are from my first visit, though, except the ones outside in the late afternoon sun.
The highlight of the day is when we were driving near the Cathedral, and turned onto this little street. It kept getting smaller and smaller, until finally there was a corner where the wall of the building next to us was all scraped up, presumably from cars going through. Beth asked whether we were allowed on the road, and just around the corner was a policeman on a motorcycle, who attempted to answer that question.
He was trying to scold me, and got even more indignant when he
realized that I didn't understand a word of what he was saying. He
pointed to a sign, which said that everyone except residents was
prohibited between 10pm and 7am. I think he said something to the
effect of don't tell me you don't understand what I'm saying.
Finally, he got so frustrated he gave up and rode off. Oh well.
About twenty minutes later, I looked at the map and noticed that.. Pontarlier is in France! Oh well, why not. In another twenty minutes I was at the border, and soon after I was walking the streets of Pontarlier. Of course it was raining and I didn't bring a jacket with me (I thought I was just going to work for 20 minutes, not to France!), but it was warm so it didn't end up being a problem.
I had some crêpes in a little shop called Le P'tit Delice. They were good, and the waiter was fascinated by the fact that I was born in America.
Pontarlier was a fun little side trip. The journey was the best
part, in my opinion. I especially like the mountainous scenery on
the Swiss half of the trip -- it is tree-covered mountains
separated by large rock formations. Didn't take any pictures --
maybe next time.
On Sunday, we jumped onto a boat and took a trip around Lake Lucerne. Then, we got off and took a cog-railway to the top of Mt. Pilatus. It is the steepest railway in the world. It was cool.
Speaking of cool, we were in the middle of a cloud at the top, and so the view wasn't that great. In fact, it was pretty hard to view anything, except all the tourists.
We took the gondola ride down, and emerged from the cloud (Aaaaa..) There were lots of cows with huge bells on them.
I only took video, but maybe I will upload a clip some day.
We had fondue back in town. Mmmmmmm. Then we left.
OK, I am going to stop writing about places unless I have some pictures to show. That's the only interesting part anyway, right? ...Gruyères yummy cheese..Genève...Mont Blanc...The Valais...
Latest update - 28 July .. Have more awesome pictures of Suisse, France and Italy, but don't have time to scan them just now... I am traveling through Europe, going to spain, Italy, Germany, Austria... Will p[ost all the pictures and more travel details in September...