An Atlas in My Purse: Europe Report #5 - If It's Sunday, It Must Be Switzerland

Driving into Switzerland

We left Schwindratzheim in the Alsace on a rainy morning, sad to leave our lovely coo barn. The rain followed us down the Rhine Valley and into the beautiful country of Switzerland. Our specific destination was the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Berner Oberland -- a region Heidi could have lived in. Mom, Dad and I had been here on our previous trip to Switzerland, but wanted the Kid to see it as we had. Unfortunately, the rain just kept coming down.

Switzerland has an interesting system for funding their highways. In France (like many other countries), there are elaborate tollways along the major highways. We paid many small tolls as we travelled across that country, most amounting to less than 2 euros (about $2.60). However, Switzerland levies a single toll of 40 Swiss Francs (about $40) when you enter the country. That's it. It struck us as far more efficient and easier on the visitor. And, given the extreme nature of Swiss highways (in beautiful condition, faced with winter snows, major tunnels through the mountains, etc.), we thought it was very reasonable.

A typical Swiss home.

After entering the country at Basel, we drove through the beautiful rolling hills of the area known as Emmenthal, presumably where they make Emmental cheese. Even in the rain it was gorgeous. Green hills, narrow winding roads, cute-as-a-button chalets, happy cows and goats, trains that are always on time and stacks and stacks of firewood for winter heating. Why this area? Some time ago, I'd come across some online research that suggested Mom's family originially (before Alsace) came from this region. Although I am deeply sceptical of any genealogical research I can't document myself, I was eager to drive through this area while we were here.

We returned to the highway and continued toward Interlaken. I'd love to take time to explore this region more one day. Interlaken - between the lakes -- is on a narrow strip of land that divides two long, narrow lakes. The highway follows the south edge of the lakes and, between tunnels, offers tantalizing glimpses of villas, marinas, ferries, and farmhouses, all squeezed into the narrow strip of land between the lakes and the Alps -- which have suddenly appeared through the clouds. This is the start of the extreme mountain region for which Switzerland is so famous.

The Lauterbrunnen Valley & the Schilthorn

What makes the Lauterbrunnen Valley so special? It is stunningly beautiful -- alpen views in excess. It is very accessible -- only a few kilometers away from Interlaken on a good road and with excellent public transit (trains) available. A real bonus in my opinion is that it is a dead-end valley, resulting in no through traffic. It isn't somewhere you just look at as you drive by. It is a singular destination. It has all kinds of accommodation -- hotels and inns, campgrounds, bed and breakfasts, vacation rentals. Also, you can find accommodation on the floor of the valley (as we did) or take ski lifts up to the villages on the mountainsides and stay there (as we did last time). It has a million things to do -- from sitting at your window admiring the view to jumping off the cliffs and para-gliding to the valley floor.

One of our main goals here was to take the Kid up the lift cars to the the Piz Gloria restaurant perilously topping the Schilthorn. What would this be like in the rain? Not very good, we thought. We prayed earnestly for some sunshine when we went to bed the first night. How delighted we were when we woke the next morning to a fairly clear break in the weather. Mom, Dad and the Kid put on their warmest clothes and headed to the lift station at 7:00 am in order to make it to the top in time for the breakfast buffet. I didn't go because I'd come down with a terrible cold; I stayed home and admired the view from our chalet windows. I can still hear Mom frantically asking as they drove off in the early morning mist: "Rick, do you know where we're going? Janice, does he know how to find the lift?"

The good weather lasted until early afternoon. After that the clouds began to close in again, dragging themselves through the valley in straggles. Rain came and went. We were so grateful the Lord allowed that morning of sunshine for the Kid.

Much of our three days in Switzerland we used as rest time. We've been going non-stop since we arrived in Europe last week. And I've come down with a horrible head cold -- thus staying in the valley while the others had breakfast on the mountaintop. We've just rested, read, watched a little BBC and CNN. Then, Mom came down with the same cold a day after me.

On our second day, we went into town to do laundry. Mom was thrilled when she saw one of the hummingbird moths in the potted plants along the road as we strolled down Lauterbrunnen's main street. This was really pleasing -- not just to see the moth, but because of Mom's failing eyesight.

The Kid also spent time today getting to know the chickens and geese kept by the owners of our chalet. There was one funny moment when she was taking pictures of them, but was called away by one of us at the chalet. As she walked back to the chalet, the geese just kept talking to her, telling her off for leaving them.

Chocolates and Cheese

Our third day in Switzerland, we ventured out again, driving through the valleys further southwest toward Lake Geneva. After driving up and over the Jaun Pass (a beautiful winding road), we stopped at a famous chocolate factory where we watched them making the most amazing candies. Our favourite part was the tasting room They set out an extensive selection of their chocolates (milk, dark, chocolates with caramel, truffles -- is your mouth watering?) on trays and we had the freedom to taste as many as we liked. I had a few of the dark chocolates, but Dad claims he enjoyed at least 15 chocolates. "A conservative number," he said. This amazed us because he has the "bread gene" as I do. We don't generally suffer from the chronic condition known as a sweet tooth. After this over indulgence, we absolutely had to sit down and have a cup of coffee.

Only a few miles away was another factory we wanted to visit -- a cheese factory. This is more my style! We didn't have the exact address, so I entered the town, Gruyeres, on the GPS and choose the first street that came up. Hazel, our GPS unit, took us on a beautiful, beautiful winding, one-lane road through fields and wood lots, right into the barnyard of a farm! Nope, this is not the place. We turned around and headed out again, eventually finding the Gruyères Fromagerie. We walked slowly through the factory tour, learning all about making cheese. We were fascinated by the robot machines that turn the 7000 huge 35 kg rounds of cheese that are aging in the storage room. Afterward we stopped in their restaurant for a wonderful lunch of soup and a sandwich -- both featuring cheese, of course.

After lunch we drove on to the nearby city of Vevey on the shores of Lake Geneva. We were hoping to visit a family friend who lives there, but weren't able to connect with her.

Although we were very disappointed with the almost constant rain, our three days in Switzerland were a good break, giving us a much needed rest. Our next destination, Malta, will see us in full touring mode again.

Thanks for reading.