So where was I??? Oh yeah…

Swiss trains are legendary for their punctuality. You could set your $15,000 watch by the arrival and departure of an SBB Metroliner. Of course affording that watch would be a bit more difficult after buying a couple of train tickets. As we learned, EVERYTHING in the country of holy cheese is expensive, including using the public bathrooms. The cost is evidently based on the severity of your business. For men, it’s one franc to stand at the urinal, two if you need to sit down. Ladies get a little break, it’s only one franc for whatever it is that ladies do in the ladies room. It bears repeating my new found mantra: Switzerland is a Very Expensive Place. They should put that motto on the flag somewhere.

Dreams Start Here

One of my favorite things to do in any European airport or train station is stand in front of the departure board and stare at the exotic sounding destinations. Yeah, standing there staring at a departure board might make me look like I have some kind of disorder, and that’s OK, because my ogling those departure boards was the main inspiration for this completely plan-free, spontaneous trip.

To get to Interlaken, we had to switch trains in Bern. Somehow we managed to bumble our way to the right train, and soon found ourselves deep in the Swiss countryside, happily on our way to our second destination.

I passed the time by perfecting my technique of taking pictures of poles out the train window.

At one stop, an older lady boarded the train and sat down next to Fiona. In passable English, she happily provided an unbidden geography lesson, telling us the names of the towns we were passing, and the lakes we were heading towards.  Pointing out the window at one large body of water, she exclaimed, “Lake Brienz. This lake is Lake Brienz. B-R-I-E-N-Zed” She insisted on proudly and loudly spelling the name for us as other passengers started to stare. The reason for their stares? We later learned were in fact passing Lake Thun.

Bidding a hearty Auf Wiedersehen to our Lehrerfrau, Sleeping Beauty and I got off the train at Interlaken, and started our search for a suitable home.

Hotel Interlaken, near the train station, had a vacancy at a reasonable price, and, we reasoned, would make a perfect base for exploring the Jungfroujock the next day. With accommodations sorted, we set out on the town to see what the night would bring.

As it usually does, the night brought us first to a pub, for a few cold, refreshing adult beverages. We had a choice of places; Buddy’s Pub, a local establishment, or a global chicken wing conglomerate with an owl for a mascot.

Girls Gesucht!

Simple choice, really. Always support the local guy. It’s a rule. As we sat in the window seat of Buddy’s Pub , we watched a strange drama unfold outside. A police car pulled up on the adjacent sidewalk near an ATM, then the cops let a guy in the back seat out. The guy walked up to the ATM, made a withdrawal, and was placed back in the police car. Not really sure what had happened, we made a note to keep our ATM cards handy in case of arrest.

Leaving Buddy’s, we ate a forgettable yet expensive dinner, then decided to further stimulate the economy of Switzerland by gambling francs in the Kursaal Casino. A strange thing happened in the casino. We started winning. And kept winning. The locals were glaring at us as the one-armed bandit PLINK-PLINK-PLINKed out franc after franc. By the time it stopped, more than three hundred francs had spilled out. We grabbed the money and ran, happy in the knowledge that we probably won almost enough to buy one train ticket to the top of the Jungfraujock.

Author: frenchy