The glory of God is emanating from every object of nature if
you have an inward eye only then you can glisten your heart and soul. Travel, in
the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder a part of experience.
My online research and a glorious piece of advice from my great friend, I
selected Interlaken City as the base for a week long Switzerland trip. I would
like to share my experience to those who have the urge to explore the Mother
Nature, which I hope will be useful for the other travelers, especially the
first timers like me. To me, the secret of tourism is mostly based on planning
and exploration. My advice to the young tourists is that they shouldn’t be
afraid of cultural differences to visit any place in the world. All culture
broadens your vision and thoughts.
A tourist who wants to visit Switzerland must have an idea about this dreamy
land. From breathtaking scenery to an amazing public transportation system,
here's why I think everyone should consider traveling to Switzerland.
Switzerland encompasses a great diversity of landscapes. The population is about
8 million. The more mountainous southern half of the country is far more
sparsely populated than the northern half.
The country is split up into three different regions: German, French, and
Italian. For being such a small country, Switzerland offers a surprising amount
of cultural variety. It's divided into three regions, which are determined by
the countries they border, and has four official languages. Among the high
valleys of the Swiss Alps many glaciers are found, totaling an area of 1,063
square kilometers (410 sq mi). Switzerland has more than 1500 lakes, and
contains 6% of Europe's stock of fresh water. Lakes and glaciers cover about 6%
of the national territory. 48 of Switzerland's mountains are 4,000 metres
(13,000 ft) above sea in altitude or higher. The section of the Bernese Alps
above the deep glacial Lauterbrunnen valley, containing 72 waterfalls, is well
known for the Jungfrau (4,158 m or 13,642 ft), and the many picturesque valleys
in the region.
It has greater open and hilly landscapes, partly forested, partly open pastures,
usually with grazing herds, or vegetables and fruit fields. There are large
lakes found here and the biggest Swiss cities are in this area of the country.
Switzerland is incredibly neat and clean. It’s not the kind of place where
tourists fear using public restrooms; in fact it's just the opposite. The
bathroom you find in a train station is probably going to be just as clean as
the bathroom you find in your hotel room. And it's not just the public
restrooms, it's the country's public transit, streets, water fountains — you can
drink from most of them — and much more.
There's really no need to rent a car when traveling to Switzerland. The Swiss
have their public transportation system down to a science. The trains are on
time down to the second — trust me, I've missed enough to know — and you can get
across the whole country with just one ticket that works for multiple kinds of
transportation.
If you're traveling within a city, such as Interlaken, you can take the tram.
Otherwise if you're traveling between regions or cities or to different
countries around Switzerland, the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) is the way to go.
It's clean, quiet, and efficient; economy class is so nice that it feels like
first class. If you're looking for a more fun ride with a view, you can also
take the ferry.
Day-1
11.30pm
It was a jam packed noisy lively airport, Jeddah and I was anxiously waiting for
my flight to Istanbul, Turkey. My actual destination was Paris and I needed to
take my connecting flight from Istanbul. I had a short stay in Paris and would
head to Switzerland after a nights stay in Paris.
All thoughts, all passions and all delight were stirring my tiny soul I was a
little bit nervous about upcoming rush days. There was only one thing which was
consolidating my confidence that I had contacts in Paris and that’s enough to
enjoy in less time. It was like an adventure in Switzerland because I didn’t
know anybody in Swiss and you know luck always favors the brave. This modern age
has made us machines we all are working like robots and lost feelings for
others. It’s a fact that feelings come in aid of feelings and now there is no
emotional attachment. Man has snatched away the sacred gift of love and care
from his fellow beings. We are enjoying every facility of life but this
mechanical era has taken away “golden time”. The “golden time “which we used to
spend on praising the glory of God and seeing His creation.
I had ample time of five hours between my connecting flights at Istanbul
Airport. It was a glorious experience and great time; Istanbul is the second
busiest airport which is a connecting hub for European travelers. The beauty of
multicultural and multidimensional environment if someone wants to see it was
there. I enjoyed the local sweets, traditional delicious food and a distinct
hospitality of Turkish people.
Day-2
Flight was on time and I was feeling relaxed because I knew someone was waiting
for me on Airport. Mr. Adnan, an old friend of mine, is a nice generous person.
He was my host in Paris.
Travelling to Switzerland:
I discussed my plan with Mr. Adnan about Switzerland who gave me a little bit of
guidance about my journey to Swiss. I also got a very good advice from one of my
old friend that if you want to enjoy the vistas of nature then travel to
Interlaken City. Next morning, my friend dropped me at the railway station.
Day-3 08:00am
Everybody must know that three things you cannot recover in life: the word after
it’s said, the moment after it’s missed, and the time after it’s gone. My train
timing was at 8:25 a.m. One of the praiseworthy things about Europeans is that
they are very meticulous and quite punctual. I was shocked when I realized that
I had purchased wrong tickets. My start station should be Gare de Nord but
mistakenly I had selected the station Gare de Lyon which was far away from the
station Where I was standing and it was not possible for me to catch train so I
requested the booking officer to change my tickets. She seemed to be a kind
lady; she glared, smiled and said, “I’m helpless”. She chopped me softly in
pieces and told that she had to change all train tickets and I had to pay 145
Euro more because I purchased earlier online which were in less price. It was a
big loss but I had to pay because there was no other option left.
9:17am. Paris to Geneva
Fast Train 3hr 7 min
20 min to catch next train
12:44pm. Geneva to Bern
08 min to catch next train
14:34pm Bern to Interlaken
An interesting experience was to catch the next train specially when you were
there for the first time and you didn't know the platform of your next train.
I reached Interlaken city after about 6hr and 30min though it was a long journey
but I didn’t feel tired because of luxurious and comfortable train system. I was
a solitary traveler, Mr. Kureshi (A humble personality and always ready to help
others) suggested to reside in the hostel instead hotels which are much cheaper
than hotels. www.hostelworld.com solved my problem and I selected highest rated
9.7/10 hostel (Backpacker Villas) which was located in the heart of the
Interlaken city with beautiful surroundings.
On reception, a gorgeous lady in a Swiss look with a fresh rosy smile and an
impact creating personality received me like a distinguished guest of honor. I
showed my booking, she guided me how nature from inside to outside of the
Interlaken city soothes the searching soul. She gave me a map which points out
all the major scenic spots. She gave the keys of my room and personal locker.
When I opened the room and found 08 up and down beds. All Hostels offer shared
room for singles. Being tourist cheap places always had attraction for the
singles. Nobody was in the room. Some beds were already been selected. From free
beds I selected one which was close to the window. I put my luggage and lay down
on my bed. I was looking outside the window. It was an awesome mountain view in
the evening time. All the spectacular scenes and people I met during my journey
were moving in front of me like a movie. I found Europeans specially (Swiss) are
honorable, humble and always ready to help others. Before travelling to Europe I
had some fear in my mind being Muslim but nobody asked me about my religion or
country. They treated me like a tourist. I should praise them for their
remarkable hospitality and this is the main reason that I enjoyed more than my
expectations.
My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have
a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company. It gives luster
to your trip when you have a good company. At that time I really appreciate the
suggestion came from my friend to choose the hostel instead hotel. I was in my
dreams when I heard the sound that someone opened the door and came inside. It
was a pleasant surprise that two beautiful Korean ladies came inside and sat in
front of my bed. I came to know they were my room fellows and both friends were
on Europe trip for a month. During the course of conversation they disclosed
that they were going to explore the city in depth to enjoy every bit of moment
of their. The salient features were Cycling, Skiing, Boating and Para gliding.
It was pleasant experience to meet tourists from different parts of the world. I
could say a different cultural meet like American, South Asians and European
etc. under one roof. A Malaysian lady who reached after me was travelling alone.
She requested to go out for coffee that kind of offer cannot be refused. It was
raining and was a bit little cold outside so I took my jacket and umbrella. One
umbrella was enough for two companions who just met. The Spanish black coffee,
famous in Europe, had a soothing effect, gave warmth and energy in misty cold
weather. We returned back in the room after an hour, I met a young enthusiastic
American boy Mr. Nick who had striking features and friendly nature. He was
there before me and visited all the places a day before, which I was planning to
visit. So I requested him to guide me to enjoy more and glory of God in limited
time. He brought the map and showed me all picturesque places. After a detailed
discussion I made a few changes in my plan
as per his worthy advice.
Day-4
I woke up early in the morning and took breakfast in the hostel and immediately
moved towards Interlaken train station. It took me ten minutes to reach station
on foot. I went to the ticket counter and requested a round trip from Interlaken
- Lauterbrunnen – Kleine Schedidegg - Grindelwald and back to Interlaken. Only
three minutes were left to catch my train.
I started running towards the platform because it was on other side and I had to
cross the underpass to catch the train. In Europe, catching train is always an
interesting experience because they are very punctual with timing and follow the
given time strictly. Passengers have minimum time to interchange. It is minimum
5 minutes to maximum 15 minutes, if platform little bit far from the main city.
LAUTERBRUNNEN 796m – 2612ft
I reached safely and timely caught my train. My journey started and every turn
of train showed the natural beauty and creation of God. Every turn was an eye
opener. I took off the train at Lauterbrunnen (thanks to Mr. Nick).
I took off at Lauterbrunnen and started walking towards city. The walk through
the valley was excellent and breathtaking with snowcapped mountains and
melodious waterfalls on each side, curling water streams along the path,
pastures filled with flowers, colorful huts and houses here and there, gentle
breeze, Para gliders landing on the dazzling meadows, the calm and engrossed
grazing Swiss cows with the musical sound of cow bells, these are a few
spectacular panorama of nature which I had in my life.
My next destination was the Murren valley which was on top of the mountain and
we could reach there by cable car but I didn’t know how to reach the cable car
station so I decided just to explore the Lauterbrunnen city on foot. After half
an hour I saw a bus coming towards me on the same street I was walking. I
boarded on the bus without knowing which direction it’s going and I was in
conflict like Hamlet but thanks God I took the right decision the bus was going
towards the same direction where I had to catch the cable car. That station
wasn't so far so our bus reached there within ten minutes. My hostel gave me one
pass which could be used to travel free on any of the bus. I didn't took ticket
for this bus but later I came to know that pass could be used for intercity
buses only and I was outside the city and if I was caught then I could be
panelize for 100 franks (Euro) but nobody asked for ticket so I was safe. On
return I especially went to the ticket counter and purchased ticket for bus for
safe and hassle free journey. It was just 3.5 Euro.
Nature affects our heart and soul. Nature has a way of impact upon our moods and
it can force us to change our plans. Nature is responsible for the shining sun,
thundering clouds, ringing rain and soft snowing. When there is scorching heat
and suddenly it becomes cloudy and light drizzle brings a spiritual calmness to
your soul. When there is a beautiful and starry night, the moonlight makes you
feel romantic. When we see the leaves budding on a tree or when a timid glowing
flower pushes through the frozen ground, or when we smell the freshness of
spring, new hope will always come to us. Nature is truly an intrinsic part of
our lives but what man has made for man.
The journey to Murren is a journey to the solace and tranquility. I asked the
guy for ticket at the station to Murren and he replied,” which location? Sir”. “Ohhh!””
what to answer because I have no idea.” (Here I need to mention one important
thing that you need not to panic if you ask anybody for the sake of guidance.
Everybody is all the time ready to help you and they always try to give you
accurate information). So I requested him to suggest me which location was
better to visit. He told me there were three locations and till second location
ticket was 22.5 Euro but for third location it was 108 Euro. So it was better
for you to visit till second location. It had cheaper ticket and had lovely
views for sight-seeing. You could take off to the location one as well. So I
took ticket for location two and moved to the cable car as it was going to leave
in three minutes. As I have mentioned earlier, you need to run quickly to catch
the train if you missed then you need to wait for next train. So I quickly moved
to the cable car. Once I got in the officer stopped me with other guys that car
was full so you needed to wait for the next.
In 15 minutes we are on location two. I’m short of words to describe the
glorious sights. I took a long walk to take a round and returned back to cable
station and took off to the location one to spend some time. This location is
more impressive and with eye opening beauty. I spent half an hour and was back
to the Lauterbrunnen to take the next train to Kleine Schediegg.
KLEINE SCHEIDEGG (Basecamp of Jungfrau/Top of Europe)
Kleine Scheidegg (2061m – 6762ft)
Schediegg is at the top of the mountain and is the base camp for Jungfrau.
Jungfrau is recognized as the highest place of Europe. There were almost twenty
minutes left for the next train so I took some snaps with the snow covered area
because Schedidegg is on the top so still white bed covered the gigantic
mountain.
GRINDELWALD 1034M – 3393FT (A Fairy Land)
Now it’s time to move towards Grindelwald. Simply it has miraculous sceneries
which reminded me of Hunza valley, Pakistan which is always my favorite place to
visit. Same like Grindelwald valley have the breath taking views and you cannot
control yourself to take off the train and explore the valley. I had short time
to take next train that was leaving after 30 minutes but I strongly recommend if
you have plan to visit Interlaken city during Switzerland trip then you must
have to stay in this valley for one or two nights and also visit Grund village
which is the part of Grindelwald valley. That is really mesmerizing and gives
you extreme comfort and joy.
HARDER KULM (Top of Interlaken) 1322m -4337ft
I returned back Interlaken at 3 p.m. I was feeling tired after a long tiring
trip so I took a little rest and at about 4.30 pm. I decided to move towards
Harder Kulm. One thing which is good for the tourist is that in Switzerland
evening starts after 9 pm. so I had still 4 hours to stroll.
Harder Kulm is called the top of the Interlaken almost 4337 feet above the sea
level. I took information from Hostel desk that how to get in there. It was a
ten minutes walk to the cable tram. I reached there and purchased a ticket. The
ticket counter lady requested me to show the hostel pass. I took special
discounted price Euro20 due to this pass otherwise I had to pay 30 Euro.
The tram took me to the destination in 10 minutes and then I was at the top.
Interlaken city is located on the edge of the lake so with a combination of lake
and natural beauty makes the city beautiful. You can see the city from left to
right where on left a big lake and it ends to the right with beauty of
Grindelwald. You can sit here for hours to enjoy the soft, silent and
scintillating scenes. You can take tram back to Interlaken city after every 30
minutes.
The time was 20:30 and I was back to Interlaken. I was feeling hungry and was
trying to find out Asian food. In Europe Asian food seems to be little high in
price and difficult to find out. Finally, after tireless efforts I got an Asian
restaurant which cost 20 Euros for boiled rice and chick peas. I finished my
dinner, I as a solitary traveller strolled through the streets of Interlaken
city on foot. My fairy tale ended here. I was feeling just like a playful child
whose soul is enlightened with the heavenly Swiss beauty. I entered in my room
with heavy heart and hefty feet because I was going back from heaven to the
world.
Next morning, I took my train to Paris, from where I was flying back to Jeddah.
I landed Jeddah in the evening. I had the mesmerizing experience of the dreamy
world which still harkens me.