Europe Part 6 - Switzerland - May 19-20, 2008

Below are just some of the photos from this part. See all of them with high-res versions at Flickr.

62 Bern photos - CLICK HERE.
96 Swiss Alps photos - CLICK HERE.



After the insane pace of the first nine days of the trip, Switzerland offered a much needed break. I took the train to Bern, the country's capital, on Monday morning.



Bern is a fairly small city, so it was a very relaxed day.



It was good to be able to stop and have a nice meal; this was at the Altes Tramdepot brewery on the river.



The city gets its name from bears, so there is a bear pit on the edge of the city.



These pathetic bears sit in this crappy little pit all day while kids and tourists stare at them and throw food (or other things). It's sad on a Santa's Land Cherokee level.



The River Aar runs around the city in a U shape, and helps make Bern perhaps the most picturesque city of the trip.



There aren't a lot of tourist things in Bern (therefore few tourists), but it's a very nice place to spend a laid back day.



The city was founded in 1191, so there is a lot of history to it.



Bern's Munster (cathedral) is one of the few major sights in the city. The tower is not open on Mondays, so I did not get to go to the top.



There are several bridges like this going into the center of the city.



This was a nice little park beside the Munster on the edge of the river.



Like every historic building that I saw on the entire continent, the Munster was under construction and had scaffolding on it.



The excitement was building for Euro 2008, which is being hosted in Switzerland and Austria. It would have been fun to have been there a few weeks later.



I guess the other major sight in Bern is the Zytglogge, an 800 year old tower with a clock and bell.



Even though it is fairly small, the city of course has a great tram system.



Even the police station in this town is photogenic.



This may be the capital building.



The height of the city above the river makes for some great views.



The Hotel Glocke hostel was where I stayed for two nights here. There was a good lounge, and I spent both evenings hanging out with other travelers watching movies. There was also the mid-trip clothes washing night.



I didn't do many museums on this trip, including the many interesting ones in Bern, but I did drop a few Francs to go to Einstein's apartment, which was one street over from the hostel.



Not very exciting, but an interesting place to see I guess.



I did get to sit at Einstein's desk, though. Didn't feel any smarter.



I couldn't figure out why all these people were standing here, but apparently on the hour an animatronic guy rings the bell or something.



Although it drizzled a few times, overall it was another great weather day.



All of these museums closed at 5 PM, so I didn't visit any of them.



Once night fell, I took some time to walk through the city. Here is the casino.



I would hate to live here, because the city seems to just shut down early in the evening. I even had to stoop to eating at a McDonald's because everything was either closed or insanely expensive.



I actually got to bed at a decent hour for once.



The next day, I took the train to Interlaken, a small valley town in the Alps.



I was incredibly worried when I arrived, because I planned to travel to the Jungfraujoch 3,500 meters (2.2 miles) up, and low visibility could make the expensive trip to the top a regretable decision.



The journey to the top was via a series of trains through the fog.



At some point during the climb, the snow begins. 70 degrees at the bottom, 20 degrees at the top.



All of these tracks need anti-rollbacks. Credit?



A cogwheel train travels through a tunnel inside the mountain, and briefly stops at two observation points on the way up.



Remember that bit about it being a total waste of money if the weather is bad? Visibility = 0.



Up at the second stop, it's still impossible to see more than a few inches out the window.



Upon arrival at the 'Top of Europe' and the highest rail station on the continent, there is an ice palace carved out in the mountain.



I certainly didn't expect to see Europa Park advertised up here.



It was time to step outside, and I expected the worst...



Instead, I got the most stunning views of my life. The clouds and fog were far below us at this height.



In clear weather you can supposedly see all the way to the Black Forest in Germany, but I think it was just as cool on a day like this, because the clouds below looked so amazing.



To say that this was unlike anything I had ever seen before would be an understatement (Full-size photo).



The Sphinx is the highest point here you can reach without packing up your gear and going hiking. It's reachable by an elevator through the mountain.



I expected it to be unbearable since I didn't bring winter clothes, but it was actually quite nice outside since the sun was so bright and reflecting off of the snow. Full-size version.



Inside is the tourist center and some restaurants, and the Sphinx observation tower can be seen up at the top.



For a lot of the people who come up here, this will be the first time they've ever seen snow.



This is probably the best picture from the entire trip. Full-size version.



Now here's something I can't even begin to understand. Just outside is one of the most spectacular sights in the world; you can walk out and get your picture taken to remember forever. Or, you can come inside and get your picture taken in front of a green screen, and they will digitally add in the mountain behind you. They don't even put you on the mountain, but just in the valley.



If it had been a month later, I could have ridden behind a sled dog team (for mad $texas I'm sure).



In the visitor's center they were taking full advantage of the Euro 2008 hype. This guy failed every time.



Up at the Sphinx tower, you can prove how rich you are by purchasing an expensive watch at the Top of Europe.



Open it up I say; that's supposed to be part of the excitement.



I was kind of surprised to see this bird up here.



It didn't seem to be too bothered by people.



This is what I mean about the fog kind of adding to the view instead of detracting from it.



Back out in the snow, I decided to do a little walking.



You can do some sledding near the visitor's center.



They've also got a zipline (notice the little guy in the air).



It was time to escape all of the people for a little bit.



This brings a new meaning to on the rocks.



This place seems like it's on another world.



At some point there is supposedly a small inn which serves as a base for true hikers and adventurers climbing in the mountains.



I would have like to make it there, but this hill seemed to go on forever. The air was incredibly thin, and I was getting exhausted.



I decided not to keep attacking the hill, but I did at least make it to a point where there were no other people in sight in any direction all around me. Full-size photo.



Back down I went.



Arriving back at the visitor's center, I decided it was time to leave. The journey up or down the mountain is around two hours.



There were some great views of Interlaken on the ride back down the mountain.



This place is just like what you would ever imagine Switzerland to be.



I took the train back to Bern and had another relaxed evening. This day was no doubt the coolest day of the entire trip; the Alps are just mind blowing. This was the kind of experience that I traveled 4,000 miles for.

Next Up - Italy



Return Home
Content copyright Jonathan Hawkins