In snow-kissed Switzerland

Travel tales

Switzerland is synonymous with some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes on earth. 
During our Europe tour, we spent three days in Switzerland. And there was hardly a place which we could ignore or pooh-pooh. 

We were first taken to Engelberg, which clusters at the foot of Brunni peak. Engelberg is one of central Switzerland’s main mountain resorts and its name translates as ‘Angel Mountain’. This is the highest lift-equipped peak.

Of the three rotating cable cars in the world, one is in Engelberg. The Rotair has the distinction of being the very first rotating cable car. The Mount Titlis cable car whisks visitors up to the Titlis peak in three stages: a gondola, a cable car, and finally, the Titlis Rotair.

The entire trip takes about 45 minutes one way. The revolving gondola transported us from the middle station at Stand Up to the mountain station located at 3,020 meters above sea level.

The gondola revolves 360 degree every five minutes treating us to idyllic panoramic views of steep rock faces, deep crevasses and distant snow-covered mountain peaks. It was a fascinating experience.             

On reaching the top, we wandered through an ice cave bored 150 m/490 feet through the glacier and from the viewing platform, we could see the Alps. On the dim horizon, half seen through a silvery haze, the mountains crowd one on another like a whole procession of pilgrims kneeling before the white marble shrine of snow.

One the same day, we were taken to Lucerne. Lake Lucerne, where the Reuss river resumes its swift quest for the Rhine and the lakefront, rimmed by the mighty Alps, is an unforgettable sight.

The Kapellbrucke is a covered wooden footbridge spanning diagonally across the Reuss in the city of Lucerne. The Kapellbrucke (‘Chapel Bridge’) over River Reuss is named after St Peter’s Chapel. It was destroyed by a fire in 1993; the bridge and the artwork were re-created.

Besides, there is the famous monument hewn from natural rock -- the ‘Lion of Lucerne’ -- in commemoration of the heroic, fatal defence by Swiss guards of Louis XVI at the Tuileries in Paris at the beginning of the French Revolution in 1792.

Next day, it was ‘Jungfrau’ on our list. The glacier is saddled between the mountains Monch and Jungfrau in Swiss Alps.

To board the train, we went to Wengen, a Swiss Alpine village in the Bernese Oberland region, where the Jungfraubahn railway junction is situated. The rail car pulled up the steep canyon wall on a cogged rail system designed to prevent back slippage and disaster.

The train made a gradual ascent after leaving Wengen as it passed through Alpine meadows rich with wild flowers and grazing cattle scattered here and there. The train reached Scheidigg, a tiny hamlet much smaller than Wengen and shortly thereafter it drove directly into the massive rock face of a mountain.

It appears, the Swiss workmen took 16 years to blast and bore the 4.4 mile tunnel through solid rock to reach the Jungfrau summit at 11,782 feet.

During the journey, we passed by the foot of the notorious Eiger North Wall, through tunnels, finally arriving at the heart of the glaciers. The train slowed to a crawl and soon stopped at the station, remaining inside the mountain.

We disembarked and stepped onto a huge concrete landing dock. As we entered the lobby, we were stunned by the sight before us. An entire wall of the lobby was glass and just beyond it was Jungfrau glacier. They had blasted the space for the hotel inside the mountain.

A restaurant in Jungfraujoch is named Bollywood and many movies have been shot here. Visiting the Jungfraujoch’s eternal ice and snow is once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The longest glacier in Europe, the Great Aletsch Glacier – 14 miles – begins at Jungfraujoch, and can be seen as far as France and Germany. 

Jungfraujoch is known as the ‘Top of Europe’. It is the highest mountain in Europe. There is a huge building called ‘Top of Europe’ located on the mountain. An elevator takes you to the top of the building. The building is warm inside though the temperature outside is bitterly cold. There are many caves made of snow. The craftsmanship is in fact beyond imagination.

With stunning and refreshing memories, we travelled on our way back to Interlaken. It was a brief visit.

We were taken to the town’s main thoroughfare, Hoheweg, which is lined with great hotels, shops and even a grand casino.

For Interlaken, the Hoheweg plays the same part as does the Champs-Elysees for Paris or the Via Veneto for Rome – it is the boulevard with a great ambience that the Swiss are famous.

Just as in its larger counterparts, you’ll find people on foot or aboard horse-drawn carriages taking in the sights along with those relaxing over coffee and pastries at the sidewalk cafes.

It is a resort town, situated between two lakes, the Brienzersee and the Thune see.  Many Bollywood personalities visit the city frequently either for film shooting or for rest and recuperation.  A statue of Yash Chopra has been erected right in front of the casino as a mark of respect.

We were struck by the magnificent natural beauty of Interlaken. The town is on the hillside and in the backdrop, the magnificent Swiss Alps rose in cascading order up to the clear sky. We were able to see people paragliding like a bird.

Interlaken unfolds a panorama of towering peaks along the shore of the Lake of Thun, where we had the opportunity for a cruise thus concluding a memorable day.

Habeeb Ahamed
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