This part of our adventure started by taking the Eurostar to
Paris and another train to Dijon. Whilst we were waiting for the Dijon train, I
attempted to buy tickets for the train from Dijon to Bern, but the machine kept
having a problem when it went to the screen for prices – I could get as far as
the times and seats, but that was it.... I went to the ticket office to buy
them and discovered why.....the ticket officer shook his head and said
“something wrong – the fare is two thousand and fifty euro – I speak to
manager” Little wonder the machine couldn’t cope – it probably couldn’t display
$2000 !
Dijon was a typical French provincial city – some people
spoke English, but not a lot. We had enormous difficulties with the menu at the
hotel restaurant and virtually no help at all from the restaurant staff. We
were disappointed to hear the one lady we were dealing with speak some English
to another couple who did possess some French language skills – we think we
were subjected to the usual “you are an Englishman and I don’t like the
English” syndrome that seems to be prevalent in provincial France. We were not
wearing our Australian breast pins at the time, a mistake we will not make
again.
The train to Bern was a very scenic one, particularly after
we changed trains at Frasne and entered Switzerland proper. We soon caught sight of one of the many lakes
in Switzerland and the very picturesque towns dotted along the shores.
Arrived in Bern at lunchtime, found an ATM and discovered
that a Swiss Franc and the Australian dollar were almost par. As we did not
have a lot of time until our connecting train to Interlaken was leave, we
thought that a quick visit to McDonalds was an appropriate solution to our time
problem. We did not stay long at Maccas – a Big Mac was CHF11.90 or about $12.
Both Melanie and Murray had said that Switzerland was
expensive, but that was a real shock.
Opposite McDonalds was a little shop selling baguettes
filled with salad and cold meats for CHF6.80 which was a cheaper and healthier
option.
The prices through Switzerland were varied, dependent upon
what it was that you were buying. Fruit and vegetables were very cheap (cheaper
than Australia) and so were shoes and clothes. Some dining was cheaper than
others, but you find that anywhere – pizzas for CHF14 and baguettes for CHF6 to
CHF8 were the norm. You will pay those prices in Australia. Train travel is
very expensive and so are hotels – a very basic 2 star hotel will set you back
CHF130 per night.
Interlaken – what can you say? The scenery is breathtaking;
this has to be the most beautiful town we have been in. It’s not the buildings
that make it, although those Swiss houses are quite cute, but the green of the
grass is the greenest I have ever seen..... and those mountains!! They tower
over the town and the snow capped alps provide a panorama for a town that is
the stuff of postcards. The problem is that the camera cannot do it justice.
We took a little cogwheel train to Schynige Platte where we
did the tourist thing and hiked around a trail for around 2 hours that had two
of the most sensational lookouts that gave a panoramic view of the two lakes
and Interlaken some 1500 meters below us. The Schynige Platte station sits at
1967 meters and takes about 50 minutes to travel up the mountain on a very
steep track – hence the cogwheel train. As well, the view of Jungfrau, the
highest mountain in Europe I think, and the other nearby mountains was
incredible. Words can do it no justice.....
Unfortunately it started to rain mid afternoon which cut our
little expedition short by an hour. I can tell you that when it rains up there,
it really rains.....and it rained for a day and a half, so we could not do
anything that resembled tourist activities for the next day. That was spent
sleeping, doing our laundry (sadly, no pub next to the Laundromat) and
shopping...
As one would expect, we tried the Swiss chocolate (very
nice) but were quite surprised to see that it is cheaper to buy it in Australia.
Didn’t find any cafes or restaurants that
served Swiss food – it seemed that the town catered for tourist palates – Chinese
and Italian food could be found, along with anything American or more broadly,
western food. We did find a “bakery” where we were able to sample a number if
Swiss pastries – Gaylia would love this place, as they were very sweet and
extremely edible.
