Into the van this morning heading for Switzerland. Andrew's turn to drive. 20 minutes later we were over the border into Switzerland. We bought a driving pass for 40 euros to allow us to drive in the country.
Brienze is our destination before going on to Lucerne. Climbing mountains that were breathtaking in both height and scale to the point I doubt photos will adequatly capture. Colder and cooler the weather became as we climbed up these giant mountains even though the sun was out. Mountains, streams, cows and eventually snowpassed us by.
Pulled into Brienze after about 3 hours travel and went to the Railway Station and bought a 3 day pass for the lifts and trains to see the mountains by train, bus or ferry. It cost 600 Aus dollars for the both of us but should be worth it.
The Brienze Rothorn cog wheel was out first trip. Downright fantastic!! This little steam train pushed us up this mighty mountain stopping only half way up for water. For 1 hour we ascended the mountain travelling forever upward through the clouds and all the while marvelling at the mountains, mountainside and views back to the lake far far below. Cold and excited at the same time we all agreed the view is breathtaking. Up the top you felt like being on top of the world. So high, blue blue sky with birds flying lower than you were standing. One hour back down and we said goodbye to this mighty train and headed for Lucerne. Our hotel is small and the town looks quite pretty. We went out to get some dinner and its pretty hard to find somewhere to eat at 8pm that isn't closed. Ended up in an English Pub. Noisy, not great, but managed to get something to eat. It seems quite expensive here. We were expecting it to be but perhaps not quite as much. It will be interesting once we settle in. I may lose some weight over the next few days!!
