Day 16 (Sunday): Now we were aboard on the SwissAir again. And our trip was not over yet. Next stop - Zurich, one of the most expensive tourist destination in the world (and in one of the richest country in the world).
I must say I was a little bit tired of traveling with my mom in the past two weeks. After the Russian part of the trip, there are only two of us, two of us!!
SwissAir is still so, so nice. The dinner is nice, the service is attentive, and they even gave out free chocolate when we got off. It took very little time to pass the Swiss custom. No forms to fill and no slow moving long lines. I think this country is just much more civilized than either Russia, Taiwan, or even United States.
The airport is with full amenities. We stored our big luggage easily and found our way to the train station to get into Zurich downtown. And the train between Zurich airport and downtown is frequent and fast.
If only Baltimore-Washington International Airport is half as convenient as Zurich . . .
Our hotel locates just in the heart of its old town. There are a lot nice restaurants and pubs around. Now we are in another country.
A country many others in the world hope to be like, including Taiwan.
Of course, Mom bought some cosmetics from France, third round so far in this European trip. "It's cheaper than in the U.S.!" she said . . .
The weather is Switzerland is just much nicer than in Russia. It was in low 20s C (high 60s F) degree and sunny every day. Our train stopped at Berne, went along the shore of Thunersee ("see" is "lake" in German) before reached Interlaken.
Interlaken becomes a famous tourist spot because its proximity to the most beautiful mountain area in Switzerland (or Europe, or the world, depends on how you view it)- the Jungfraus. The three main mountains: Jungfrau, Monch, and Eiger form one of the most beautiful scenery in the world and Interlaken is the start-point for visiting these mountains. Interlaken means "between lakes" because it is nested between Thunersee and Brienzersee. With mountains and lakes around, Interlaken is the most popular Swiss tourist spot by travelers from around the world. There are so many Japanese here, even in signs or brochures, you can read that in Japanese.
If you remember my article about British Columbia earlier this year, do you know there are many "Little Switzerland" around the world? Any place with beautiful mountain scenery tries to dubs itself "Little Switzerland." Now it's time for the REAL THING!
I was in fact in the similar itinerary two years ago when I visited Switzerland (see EuroTrip 1995). I came back just for my mother's request since she never saw this part of Switzerland (all out of filial piety, of course!). I took her onto some things I've done before: taking a lake cruise on Thunersee and strolling around some small villages along the lake. Then we took the train to Switzerland's capital and forth largest city- Berne.
Because my mother's clipped some travel articles from Chinese newspapers and these articles all boast about how beautiful, elegant, and historic Berne is (it is UNESCO World Heritage Site, just like Kizhi Island), my mother was overexcited about visiting Berne. I tried to show her around to let her know it in fact not really that special. It was late and we could only have dinner in Berne. And how disgraced, we settled for Pizza Hut (because we think it is the only place besides MacDonald's we know how to order). It is okay, but cost us 34 Swiss francs (24 dollars or 680 NT dollars)!
I read that everything is Switzerland is all so nice except everything in Switzerland is oh so damn expensive. Thanks to the currency exchange rate this year. It was very, very bad when I visited there 2 years ago when it was 1.12 Swiss francs to 1 dollar, but now it's about 1.5 to 1! By the way, in Swiss restaurants, they don't offer you free tap water or free refill for soft drinks. Something in the U.S. is still better than in Europe, besides the Chinese restaurants.
It was late when we returned to Interlaken. There would be a whole lot to do tomorrow.
I didn't make this part of the trip 2 years ago because of the economic issue. It cost extra 100 francs even you hold a Swiss or Eurorail pass just for the mountain trains!! No wonder the package Taiwanese tour never takes you there. It is just so damn EXPENSIVE! But this time I was traveling with Mom and she's willing to pay for that because this is "the trip of the lifetime," just like the Russian part of this trip . . . Some advantage for traveling with Mom.
We made several stops along the way: went to see glacier waterfalls near Lauterbrunen, changed trains twice when we headed farther up. It is gorgeous to look out at the observatory of Jungfraujoch. Unfortunately, both of us felt it was difficult to breathe because the high altitude. My mom even gave up the walk to the upper observatory. I don't think we are capable to visit Tibet.......
This trip is so exhausting at the end that we ended up spending the rest of the day only in Interlaken. More souvenir shopping. We had a nice meal in an Italian restaurant, two Taiwanese young women sat next to us. This time, my mom didn't identify every young Asian woman as Japanese. We Taiwanese are everywhere too!
Because I want to have the "local food" for the "last supper" in Europe, we head to a Swiss restaurant for Cheese Fondue. My mom cannot eat Cheese, so she had "Swiss Beef with Cream sauce," both were in large portions and very expensive.......
So we didn't do too many things in the morning, just went to the airport, claim our store luggage and checked in. My mom still felt a little disappointed about not visiting Geneva and Lausane in this trip. "So you will come back to Switzerland" I told her, "And that's another fabulous journey to look forward to" Isn't it?
Again, Austrian Air back to Washington Dulles Airport. This was the sixth times I've flew over the Atlantic Ocean. My fourth European trip was over at this time. I just love this continent so much. But, when will it be for the next trip?
"I'm 25 years old but my mother don't recognize so. I just wanna fly......" singing.....
Back to Part II of this itinerary
..or back to Russian 1997 Trip Homepage
Posted October, 25, 1997