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Travelogue
- Switzerland - Heaven on Earth
Browsing through the
travel magazines on exotic European destinations, Switzerland used to be
on the top of the charts. The scenic photographs were so attractive that
we used to scoff at the elaborations thinking it to be a tactic used by
the tourism industry there. But reality dawned on us when we got an
opportunity to stay in one of the un-spoiled yet so perfectly beautiful
places on Earth - Sankt Gallen near Zurich, Switzerland. Thanks to
our company, we had an assignment of 5-6 months and were ordained to stay
in one of the most enchanting places on Earth.
We touched down from Swiss Air at Zurich and caught our train to
our destination - St. Gallen which is small town - almost an agrarian
village yet so well connected and technologically sound. The train, as
expected, reached us at St. Gallen dot on time and we hailed a taxi to our
studio apartment- our home for the next 6 months. The chill in the air was
very refreshing after all that travel and we soon began revelling in the
beauty of the surroundings. I, for one, envied the natives there for
having been born to such a beautiful, quiet and peaceful motherland so
much so that there hadn’t been a war since 1800s. Switzerland was not
party to the World Wars either with its neutrality towards its warring
neighbours and hence the people there are actually happy, blessed and
peace loving.
Staying at one’s apartment, things were so quiet – no wonder that the
place was called Friedhoff Bruggen – the place of the freed (in
fact a cemetery) that the only sound to break the silence was the chirping
of birds or the ding-dong of the nearby church bell. Come weekends ad most
of the people would pick up their ski-equipments and rush to the nearest
ski slopes such as the famous Grindelwald where you can get to see
children as young as 4 to 5 years learning to ski down the Alps.
It was during the Easter vacations that we decided to travel to one of the
most visited places in Switzerland - Jungfraujoch - one of the
highest slopes in the European Alps, in fact, the Jungfraujoch is the
lowest point on the mountain ridge between Mönch and Jungfrau, at 3471 m
in the Swiss Alps.
The Jungfraujoch can only be accessed through a 7.3 km long cog railway
tunnel, served by the Jungfraubahn, the highest in a series of cooperating
railway companies that provide access to the Jungfraujoch from Interlaken.
We took a train to Interlaken (a favourite bollywood shooting location)
where we checked into a small hotel for the night and found it to be
cheap, spic and span and very comfortable (kudos to the hospitality of the
Swiss hoteliers). The only difficult part was to find something to eat,
being vegetarian and preferring something Indian to eat. Yet we did find a
good ‘indische’ restaurant and enjoyed the meal thoroughly too.
Our ‘Nachste halte’ or next halt was Beatenberg. The main
attraction of Beatenberg is its location. The village is one of the best
vantage points set against the Bernese Alps and affords a view of deeply
blue Lake Thun. Just about 10 kilometres by road away from Interlaken,
Beatenberg is furthermore a perfect starting point for excursions to the
Lake Thun and Jungfrau region we boarded a bus which took the
winding route to the hill top covered with snow and home to many
paragliders. We being one of the less
adventurous lots managed to scramble up the top of one of the hills
overlooking the Jungfraujoch and enjoyed the rugged beauty surrounding us.
The best part of being in Switzerland was that everything was so
picture perfect. Nothing could go wrong. Trains were dot on time (to a
tenth of a second), roads and places were so clean, even the web sites
never boasted of anything that they did not provide, quite unlike what we
get to see in the Indian cities and tourist spots. Switzerland is indeed
synonymous with hospitality.
The Train to
Jungfraujoch is an exciting one up
the winding hills right up to the mountain top where you have the Sphinx
observatory and of course, the ice- sculptors at the Ice Palace and a
trekkers’ museum. Once up there, all you could see is a white sheet of
snow which if not careful enough with one’s goggles, could blind you for a
moment. Surprisingly, despite claiming to be -11 degrees Celsius,
it never felt so cold. Perhaps because of all the excitement of being
first timers.
We had a nice sandwich and coke in the restaurant which no doubt was quite
costly and made our way back to the base camp-Interlaken.
Our next destination was Appenzell. The small town of Appenzell and
the canton of Appenzell lie in a picturesque, hilly landscape to the south
of Lake Constance. Appenzell's respect for tradition is displayed when, on
special occasions, you'd see Appenzellers decked out in regional costume,
and Appenzell has long been one of Switzerland's most active centres for
yodelling, alphorn playing, and other expressions of Swiss musical
tradition. The local houses are also distinctive, with their painted
façades and attached
barns (often resembling fairy tale houses like those in Hansel and
Gretel).
The Appenzeller Bahn (bahn is German for rail) was a quaint little
train supposed to chug us up the hills trailing through the dark green
deciduous forests to the enthralling beauty of Appenzell canton. Nowhere
else in Switzerland is the transformation from the hilly landscapes of the
Swiss mittelland to the rock-dominated Alpine world so full of surprise as
in the Alpstein region. Mighty rock formations tower loftily to over 2500
metres in height – seemingly from nowhere. Walking or biking in the
surrounding hills is a pleasant, inexpensive diversion. Appenzell is one
of the greenest and prettiest regions in Switzerland, with 750 miles (1200
km) of well-marked paths that don't require mountain gear or a head for
heights
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Picturesque Beauty
The view was nothing less than breathtaking Green farms with cows lolling
on the fields, small clean road leading to traditional looking wooden
houses There were many paths leading up the hills from where we could hear
the distant roar of nearby waterfalls, however, since it was getting late,
we settled for a meeker walk down the gurgling crystal clear stream near
the overlapping mountains.
Temperatures
& Weather Despite there
being no special provision for tourists yet the pure virgin beauty of the
streams and mountains and the little village itself was enthralling. |
It being April, there was
daylight till 9pm at night- something very strange for us Indians. Yet we
managed to take the last train to St. Gallen and
reached our home for a good and satisfied sleep.
Another major tourist attraction was the city of Lucerne. Due to
its location on the shore of Lake Lucerne within sight of Swiss Alps,
Lucerne is traditionally considered first and foremost as a tourist
destination. One of the city's famous landmarks is Chapel Bridge , a
wooden bridge first built in the 14th century
Chapels
We enjoyed the city walk across
innumerable catholic churches dating back to hundreds of years and also
the partly burnt Chapel bridge. The best part of Lucerne was the boat ride
on the Lake Luzern wherein you could hire a pedal boat and have a glimpse
of the city from the deep green waters of the lake.
Unlike a lot of other places that we visited in India and in Europe, the
simplicity of these excursions leant an extra charm to the visits whereby
it was mostly a simple walk through the city or an innocent boat-ride
unlike huge malls or modern concrete structures that one indulged in.
Our only regret was the few kilos that we gained after our 6 month stay in
St. Gallen thanks to the melting dark chocolates, creamy milk and curd and
other mouth watering cheese dishes. But undoubtedly, hospitality and
warmth of the Swiss people is unmatchable and that is what adds to the
beauty and charm of Switzerland.
Switzerland is without a
doubt, Heaven on Earth.
Contributing Traveller
Jaya Rai
I am a software
professional based in Bangalore who enjoys travelling and writing about my
experiences at the same time.
rai.jaya@yahoo.com
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