Interlaken Switzerland

The drive to Lucerne wasn't anything special; you're just getting into the Alps when you arrive so there really isn't much to see. This was not the case on the drive from Lucerne to Interlaken where you're driving in the center of the country, on winding roads, through 15KM tunnels, with lush valleys, crystal blue lakes and alpine peaks all around you. We could have stopped several times to gawk at the great views, but we wanted to make it into Interlaken. We did stop this one time for a quick look around and the requisite photo op. The small village, lake and mountains were typical of the scenery along the drive. This is pretty much what you think about when you think of Switzerland.











We stopped again to hike through the Aare Gorge. The Aare river (the longest river to begin and end entirely within Switzerland) is formed from the glaciers of the surrounding mountains and carved the 4,500 foot gorge on its way through Switzerland to meet with the Rhine near the German boarder. There is also a large waterfall close to the gorge, but we had been told that the falls are so loud that it isn't good for small children so we took a pass and continued on to Interlaken.









Interlaken is situated between (hence the name) lake Thun and Brienz at the foot of the Jungfrau mountains, and is a major destination for summer and winter sports enthusiasts. There are three peaks that dominate the Interlaken skyline - Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. The north wall of the Eiger is one of the 6 great north faces of the Alps; for movie buffs and Clint Eastwood fans, this is the deadly mountain where Clint carried out his last "sanction" in The Eiger Sanction. The city of Interlaken itself is fairly quaint and not as vibrant as Lucerne, but people don't come here for the city life; they are here for the outdoors. We took a gondola to the small village of Muerren which is basically located on the side of a mountain above the valley formed by the Jungfrau Mountains. I took the picture of Shelly and Madison while we stopped for lunch; on the other side of the railing is the bottom of the valley





































As I said before, a camera doesn't do the scenery justice. I took pictures anyway, though. The top picture is of the Lauterbrunnen Valley below the Jungfrau Mountains. The bottom picture is of the Eiger (left) and Monch.


All in all we had a successful maiden voyage with Madison in tow and learned a few things that will hopefully help us on future trips. For Madison there's no place like home, but she's a trooper and does pretty well for a wee little thing. We are planning a 4 or 5 day trip later in July before Shelly's mom and grandmother arrive and she returns to work. After that, I think we're homebodies until Labor Day - destination TBD.

--Ed