September 30 – October 1, 2006
Zurich Kloten Airport - Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok Airport
Once the airport doors closed behind us, we took turns dropping into the washroom before approaching the Swiss International counter. Thankfully, as per the informantion I received via e-mail, Swiss was kind enough to allow a 12.30 PM check-in for a 10.00 PM flight departure! Checked the bags straight through to Manila, and then the ground stewardess (do they still use that term? “Ground attendant” sounds weird, and “ground crew” is a collective noun?) fixed things so that instead of my being placed five rows behind my parents, I ended up only one row ahead of them, on the opposite side of the plane. That's how full the flight was.
I asked how to find the customs booth, directions were given, and then we breezed through passport control, where I *again* asked how to find customs. The immigration official waved towards a booth beside passport control, which was closed at the time. So we decided to have lunch first, then hunt down the dayrooms so we could drop our carry-on bags.
Let me state for the record that I adore the dayroom service of Zurich's Kloten airport. Once I realized just how long a layover we would be having between our Insight drop-off and our take-off (nearly eight hours, yo!) the question of how to keep all of us sane and comfortable niggled at me. I discovered the dayroom service over the internet about six days before we were scheduled to leave, and thanks to the wonders of modern technology, was able to make a reservation for a triple room before we left Manila. Needless to say, I had printed out all the e-mails and the final confirmation in case I needed to show them; but such is the efficiency of the Swiss that it never came up.
The dayrooms are located in the depths of the airport, near Gate 80; this assures their quiet atmosphere. Check-in was perfect (imagine my shock when the concierge immediately realized who I was!); the triple room was just beside the common room (TV, books, tea, coffee, microwave!) and the communal shower/toilet facilities were in the middle of the hall. Lovely! The parents opted to nap, while I prowled through the airport looking for the open customs desk. I found it on the second level of the duty-free and noted it for reference; I wanted Ma to be with me since she was wearing the items in question! I also kicked myself for wasting time waiting for the first floor customs booth to open, when, if I had looked at the airport map more closely, I would have found the open one that much sooner. Ah, well. A taste of what it feels like to be on The Amazing Race, I suppose! :)
Before I went back to the dayrooms, I bought a few more souvenirs. Had myself a cup of tea in the common room and watched some TV with Dad before having myself a little catnap. When I woke, the parents were rested and refreshed, and ready to toodle about the duty-free area, so we started with the customs booth, where the nice man took a look at the forms, then at our faces, and waved us on our way. How simple was that?
Back to the dayrooms for another rest - I would have done anything to have been able to use the showers, but Ma was adamant that it was bad for the health to shower when tired. Blast. So I settled for washing my face instead - which put a definite bounce in my step as we went to find dinner. Back to the dayrooms after that to check out, and then on to catch the tram to the departure terminal, as indicated on the announcement board.
Imagine our eyebrows lifting when we discovered that the flight would be delayed by about 20 minutes! Something about waiting for connecting flights in Hong Kong? Ah, well, nothing for it but to walk through the duty-free , looking for things I could buy with the loose change on hand. Mostly candy, and then I the gave leftover coins to a charity box. We had just arranged our carry-on baggage to accomodate the new purchases, when the flight was finally called to board.
We took off at about 11.30 PM - Auf weidersein, Switzerland!
October 1, 2006
Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok Airport - Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport
Nothing much to say about the flight, which means that it was smooth sailing all the way. Never would have thought that I would make up for more than six months of not going to the movies by watching three of the in-flight features! These were: The Promise (Chinese with English subs), X-Men: The Last Stand, and The Da Vinci Code. Having finally seen The Da Vinci Code, I still cannot understand the brouhaha raised over the film and the book. I can’t see how anyone could take it seriously unless they really wanted to, and if they really wanted to, I doubt if they were listening to the Church teachings anyway!
There was some slight turbulence through dinner, but nothing really inconvenient. The hot towels to freshen up, and the free chocolates before landing at Hong Kong were very nice! We landed in Hong Kong’s Chep Lap Kok airport and then I promptly missed my parents coming out of the exit tube. Did Dad think to wait for me at the washroom area? Oh, no! They went straight through the temperature control point into the main area - I found them again at the transfer desk. Be still my beating heart...
We arranged our transfers to our Philippine Airlines flight, and then Ma said I could change the leftover Swiss francs into Hong Kong dollars, to be used as "mad money" for splurging. ::insert random squeeing and bouncing here:: Went up to the restaurant level in order to have a snack, since our flight was going to be another 11.00 PM affair, and who knew what dinner would be like on the plane! Split a huge bowl of ramen between the three of us, and enjoyed the view.
Afterwards, we set out on a search for the transit lounge. The directional signs made it somewhat easy to navigate, and we popped into various stores along the way. I settled parents in the transit lounge, which was actually at the ultimate end of the building - a very long way away from the duty-free! - and then took off to scour the shops in more detail.
Looking around, I couldn’t settle on anything except the edibles that Ramon asked me to get, especially the butter shortbread. Purists may shudder, but I picked up a box of Mozart chocolates here ::sighs for the beauty of Austria:: but no tech stuff. Everything I saw was too expensive and we have as good/better at home. Besides, all the *really* good stuff is in Central/Tsim Sha Tsui anyway. Was proud to show Ma that in spite of all the loot bags, I still had a good deal of money to spare - after which I dashed off to get myself a cafe latte and two hot chocolates for the parents. Gods, but that terminal is a chiller at night!
The flight was late arriving from Manila, which fact made all the Filipinos trot out that old joke about PAL standing for "Plane Always Late". ::sigh:: We left Hong Kong around 11.30 PM and arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport without incident. Customs and immigration checks were smooth, despite the long queues. I knew we were home from the sudden rise in temperature - I could literally feel myself defrosting while waiting for the baggage to come off the conveyor belt.
In response to my jubilant text message, my husband promptly appeared from where he had been lurking with the SUV at the PAL Medical Center - about a kilometer away from the airport. We don't believe in paying for parking unless we absolutely have to do so; that's one reason we love our mobile phones - it makes it so much easier to coordinate things!
It didn't take long to load baggage and passengers into the SUV, and so on home, to the rousing welcome of the cats. Seemed like I had barely enough time to settle in, than we had to deal with the aftermath of the super-typhoon...but who cared about the rush? We had had a wonderful time and many lovely memories of a great country, and we were *home*!
Sunday, October 29, 2006
[CR Switzerland] Day 14
September 30, 2006
Engelberg – Zurich Kloten Airport
Breakfast Call: 7.30-9.30 * Baggage Call: 9.45
Airport Transfer: 10.00
Despite the fact that my parents and I were scheduled to take the second bus, I woke up early, per force of habit, and had a good vantage point from the room balcony, of the preparations for the departure of the first group. On sudden impulse, and having some excess tension to burn, I dropped down to the lobby to bid the 7.00 AM group a safe trip, and a smooth one; then it was back to the room to settle the final arrangement of the clothes and souvenirs in my suitcase. I peered out the balcony as I heard the bus engine start, and chuckled at the last sight of our coach as it pulled out of the parking lot. It was good two weeks on that vehicle, and its Mercedes engines did right by all of us during the tour.
The rain arrived with the sunrise, but I reassured Ma that it was going to be a temporary thing. As Elizabeth had promised the day before, at 8.00 AM, we could hear the sounds of cowbells ringing merrily on the breeze, as the cows were brought down from the high pastures. With only 15 of us left out of a group of 40, breakfast was a quiet affair. Afterwards, one last look around the room to make sure we didn't leave anything behind, then down in time to meet Sara and Rudi from the first bus. It was rather anti-climactic to be boarding this new bus, with a new set of people, for the long ride to the airport.
It was interesting to get a glimpse of Sara's style, however brief, on the ride to the airport. She breezed through the admin details and then directed our attention to the herd of cows coming down from the hills, making it necessary for vehicular traffic to slow down considerably. The lead cows were decked out with flower crowns and Swiss flags, with the champion milkers wearing the largest bells in the whole bunch. The cowherds were also dressed in festive attire – perhaps there was going to be some sort of festival once they got to town.
Once away from the traffic, it was mostly highway travelling to Zurich. Sara ran a small contest about trivia concerning the tour. She asked questions about how many cantons the tour had traversed, how many kilometers the bus had traveled, name three kinds of Swiss cheese, and so on. Then she put on the “hotel inspectors” episode of Fawlty Towers to make the time go faster – and I'm glad she did, I've heard so much about this series and never gotten anywhere near seeing it! I must say, John Cleese in the title role had me in stitches – it's fun to think of him as playing Q's replacement in the James Bond series now.
We ran into truly heavy traffic going through one of the towns, which was my cue to fall asleep until we reached the edges of Zurich. I was awakened by the sun shining strongly through the window, until it was toasting my cheeks by the time we reached Kloten airport. Sara gently roused the drowsing bus to review such things as which terminals we were supposed to go in order to check-in our baggage, and where to find the customs booth so that we could get our tax rebates.
At last, we pulled up at the entrance of the airport. Time to say our goodbyes to the remainder of our traveling companions; to give and receive well-wishes for a safe journey ahead. For the last time, it was time to retrieve baggage from the coach, and thank our driver Rudi for his help in unloading them. And for the last time, fond farewells to a Tour Director whom I hope we may have on our next visit to Europe! I confirmed with Sara the directions to our check-out counter and how to find the customs booth, and then we were inside the airport for the next stage of our long journey home. I looked back outside as I was guiding Ma and her trolley back down the sloping path, just in time to see the coach pull away. For a moment, a pang of nostalgia tugged at me – but then it was time to square shoulders and set my attention to getting home.
Engelberg – Zurich Kloten Airport
Breakfast Call: 7.30-9.30 * Baggage Call: 9.45
Airport Transfer: 10.00
Despite the fact that my parents and I were scheduled to take the second bus, I woke up early, per force of habit, and had a good vantage point from the room balcony, of the preparations for the departure of the first group. On sudden impulse, and having some excess tension to burn, I dropped down to the lobby to bid the 7.00 AM group a safe trip, and a smooth one; then it was back to the room to settle the final arrangement of the clothes and souvenirs in my suitcase. I peered out the balcony as I heard the bus engine start, and chuckled at the last sight of our coach as it pulled out of the parking lot. It was good two weeks on that vehicle, and its Mercedes engines did right by all of us during the tour.
The rain arrived with the sunrise, but I reassured Ma that it was going to be a temporary thing. As Elizabeth had promised the day before, at 8.00 AM, we could hear the sounds of cowbells ringing merrily on the breeze, as the cows were brought down from the high pastures. With only 15 of us left out of a group of 40, breakfast was a quiet affair. Afterwards, one last look around the room to make sure we didn't leave anything behind, then down in time to meet Sara and Rudi from the first bus. It was rather anti-climactic to be boarding this new bus, with a new set of people, for the long ride to the airport.
It was interesting to get a glimpse of Sara's style, however brief, on the ride to the airport. She breezed through the admin details and then directed our attention to the herd of cows coming down from the hills, making it necessary for vehicular traffic to slow down considerably. The lead cows were decked out with flower crowns and Swiss flags, with the champion milkers wearing the largest bells in the whole bunch. The cowherds were also dressed in festive attire – perhaps there was going to be some sort of festival once they got to town.
Once away from the traffic, it was mostly highway travelling to Zurich. Sara ran a small contest about trivia concerning the tour. She asked questions about how many cantons the tour had traversed, how many kilometers the bus had traveled, name three kinds of Swiss cheese, and so on. Then she put on the “hotel inspectors” episode of Fawlty Towers to make the time go faster – and I'm glad she did, I've heard so much about this series and never gotten anywhere near seeing it! I must say, John Cleese in the title role had me in stitches – it's fun to think of him as playing Q's replacement in the James Bond series now.
We ran into truly heavy traffic going through one of the towns, which was my cue to fall asleep until we reached the edges of Zurich. I was awakened by the sun shining strongly through the window, until it was toasting my cheeks by the time we reached Kloten airport. Sara gently roused the drowsing bus to review such things as which terminals we were supposed to go in order to check-in our baggage, and where to find the customs booth so that we could get our tax rebates.
At last, we pulled up at the entrance of the airport. Time to say our goodbyes to the remainder of our traveling companions; to give and receive well-wishes for a safe journey ahead. For the last time, it was time to retrieve baggage from the coach, and thank our driver Rudi for his help in unloading them. And for the last time, fond farewells to a Tour Director whom I hope we may have on our next visit to Europe! I confirmed with Sara the directions to our check-out counter and how to find the customs booth, and then we were inside the airport for the next stage of our long journey home. I looked back outside as I was guiding Ma and her trolley back down the sloping path, just in time to see the coach pull away. For a moment, a pang of nostalgia tugged at me – but then it was time to square shoulders and set my attention to getting home.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
[CR Switzerland] Day 13-2
September 29, 2006
Engleberg - Lucerne - Engleberg Open Carriage Optional
The ride was perfection, with just the right mix of sun and cooling air. It really gave us a different perspective on things, to see the landscape slide on by as our horses patiently plodded along the road. People had time to wave to us and call out greetings to Elizabeth and her daughter - we even passed two more of Elizabeth's children out biking with friends. One of the more interesting sights on the ride was a garden filled to the brim with gnomes. All sorts of gnomes - one wondered how the flowers fit in, there were so many of them. There was a school of some sort, with artwork depicting Biblical and mythological figures on its walls, created by the students.
And there were cows! We could hear their bells from a fair distance, and Elizabeth said they were being brought down from the high pastures before the winter started. If we were up early enough, we would be able to hear a chorus of cowbells as the herds were brought down tomorrow, at around 8.00 AM. She said we were fortunate with the weather, as today was the last day of fair skies predicted by the meteorology report. On our way back, we passed close by the cows as they were herded into their new pasture - and got a good laugh watching one of current residents come up in greeting to the newcomers, kicking up its heels as if to invite some play time.
The carriage ride came to an end at the Benedictine monastery at the end of the Engleberg main road. There were many profuse thanks to Elizabeth and her family, who would wait till we finished our monastery tour in order to bring a second batch of the group around. Looking at the huge carved doors, I muttered the Benedictine motto, Ora et Labora (Prayer and Work), remembering that Ma and my goddaughter had both spent part of their education in the care of Benedictine educational institutions. In Ma's case, she had actually been taught by the German Benedictine nuns - very strict, but very efficient, whose profession names were taken from obscure saints.
Now I must say that while the tour was fascinating, it didn't quite match the tour description. As stated on the website: "Horse drawn carriages will take us through the stunning scenery of the Engelberg Valley to the magnificent 12th century Benedictine monastery, where we will enjoy a demonstration of local cheese making, followed by wine tasting." The horse-drawn carriage and stunning scenery part were all that could be desired from such a description. The demonstration of local cheese making and the wine-tasting, however, belonged to *another* monastery - but also a Benedictine one. Although I know that there was a dairy plant or something similar on the premises, but it was in another building, separate from the monastery.
So that was a bit of a let-down, but nothing depressing. :) Still. It would have been nice to taste the Benedictine liqueur, I suppose. Another excuse to come back? :D But the tour, as I said, was fascinating. Having been convent-educated myself, it was a familiar thing to see the saints' names over the various doors; to hear about how the friars celebrated the Liturgy of the Hours - the special prayers at set times that govern the way of life at the monastery; the Benedictine Rule, and how St. Benedict and his twin sister St. Scholastica (patron of one of Manila's oldest educational institutions) established one of the most far-reaching religious orders in the world.
You will have your eyes full of magnificent marquetry, wood inlay and wood carvings in this monastery. The design of the assembly room floor is composed of three separate colored woods, shaped into three-dimensional blocks that seem to shift perspective if you stare at them a bit. There are inlaid trays to marvel at, and we were led into a small conference room whose walls were lined with inlaid panels depicting the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Fantastic stuff, and all of it the creation of one friar throughout his entire lifetime!
It was good to get back out into the fresh air after the tour was over; Elmar had kindly arranged for the bus to be available for those who didn't feel up to walking down the main road back to the hotel. So we hopped onto it and got ourselves ready for another wonderful home-cooked dinner at the hotel. I guess some folks changed their minds about eating out, because the lovely proprietress had an "Umm-HM" expression when she came out of the kitchen to look over the room. I must say that the kitchen certainly rose to the occasion, because everyone seemed to be both full and happy with the quality of the service. Our server was a wee bit harassed, but a lot of smiling and a lot of reassurance that we were perfectly fine, helped smooth things out for her, I hope.
The pangs of separation twinged as folks began to say their goodbyes, as some of us would be taking the early bus with Elmar, to catch their flights back home, or to onward destinations. There were the usual hugs and handshakes, exchanging of e-mail addresses, promises to send pictures and best wishes for safe travel ahead. Elmar came round the tables for the last time on tour, to remind those leaving on the second bus that the call times had been moved back by about 15 minutes - it seems Sara had some folks on a tighter schedule than we were, and so wanted to be at the airport in good time. We assured him that we would continue to uphold the reputation we had built up under his management, and wished him happy travels.
To counteract the sentimentality that turns me into mush at such times, I complimented the lovely hotel owner/manager on the excellent dinner that the kitchen had managed to turn out. In fact, I was full of praise for the hotel and its service, swearing that I would tell friends and family to have their meals in the Schweizerhof if ever they found themselves in Engleberg. Seeing her happy smile and blush in the face of my enthusiasm managed to chase away whatever blues were threatening to pop up.
I admit it, though - I *am* feeling the post-tour letdown already. But there will be lots to do back home in the wake of the typhoon for it to last for very long after arriving!
Engleberg - Lucerne - Engleberg Open Carriage Optional
The ride was perfection, with just the right mix of sun and cooling air. It really gave us a different perspective on things, to see the landscape slide on by as our horses patiently plodded along the road. People had time to wave to us and call out greetings to Elizabeth and her daughter - we even passed two more of Elizabeth's children out biking with friends. One of the more interesting sights on the ride was a garden filled to the brim with gnomes. All sorts of gnomes - one wondered how the flowers fit in, there were so many of them. There was a school of some sort, with artwork depicting Biblical and mythological figures on its walls, created by the students.
And there were cows! We could hear their bells from a fair distance, and Elizabeth said they were being brought down from the high pastures before the winter started. If we were up early enough, we would be able to hear a chorus of cowbells as the herds were brought down tomorrow, at around 8.00 AM. She said we were fortunate with the weather, as today was the last day of fair skies predicted by the meteorology report. On our way back, we passed close by the cows as they were herded into their new pasture - and got a good laugh watching one of current residents come up in greeting to the newcomers, kicking up its heels as if to invite some play time.
The carriage ride came to an end at the Benedictine monastery at the end of the Engleberg main road. There were many profuse thanks to Elizabeth and her family, who would wait till we finished our monastery tour in order to bring a second batch of the group around. Looking at the huge carved doors, I muttered the Benedictine motto, Ora et Labora (Prayer and Work), remembering that Ma and my goddaughter had both spent part of their education in the care of Benedictine educational institutions. In Ma's case, she had actually been taught by the German Benedictine nuns - very strict, but very efficient, whose profession names were taken from obscure saints.
Now I must say that while the tour was fascinating, it didn't quite match the tour description. As stated on the website: "Horse drawn carriages will take us through the stunning scenery of the Engelberg Valley to the magnificent 12th century Benedictine monastery, where we will enjoy a demonstration of local cheese making, followed by wine tasting." The horse-drawn carriage and stunning scenery part were all that could be desired from such a description. The demonstration of local cheese making and the wine-tasting, however, belonged to *another* monastery - but also a Benedictine one. Although I know that there was a dairy plant or something similar on the premises, but it was in another building, separate from the monastery.
So that was a bit of a let-down, but nothing depressing. :) Still. It would have been nice to taste the Benedictine liqueur, I suppose. Another excuse to come back? :D But the tour, as I said, was fascinating. Having been convent-educated myself, it was a familiar thing to see the saints' names over the various doors; to hear about how the friars celebrated the Liturgy of the Hours - the special prayers at set times that govern the way of life at the monastery; the Benedictine Rule, and how St. Benedict and his twin sister St. Scholastica (patron of one of Manila's oldest educational institutions) established one of the most far-reaching religious orders in the world.
You will have your eyes full of magnificent marquetry, wood inlay and wood carvings in this monastery. The design of the assembly room floor is composed of three separate colored woods, shaped into three-dimensional blocks that seem to shift perspective if you stare at them a bit. There are inlaid trays to marvel at, and we were led into a small conference room whose walls were lined with inlaid panels depicting the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Fantastic stuff, and all of it the creation of one friar throughout his entire lifetime!
It was good to get back out into the fresh air after the tour was over; Elmar had kindly arranged for the bus to be available for those who didn't feel up to walking down the main road back to the hotel. So we hopped onto it and got ourselves ready for another wonderful home-cooked dinner at the hotel. I guess some folks changed their minds about eating out, because the lovely proprietress had an "Umm-HM" expression when she came out of the kitchen to look over the room. I must say that the kitchen certainly rose to the occasion, because everyone seemed to be both full and happy with the quality of the service. Our server was a wee bit harassed, but a lot of smiling and a lot of reassurance that we were perfectly fine, helped smooth things out for her, I hope.
The pangs of separation twinged as folks began to say their goodbyes, as some of us would be taking the early bus with Elmar, to catch their flights back home, or to onward destinations. There were the usual hugs and handshakes, exchanging of e-mail addresses, promises to send pictures and best wishes for safe travel ahead. Elmar came round the tables for the last time on tour, to remind those leaving on the second bus that the call times had been moved back by about 15 minutes - it seems Sara had some folks on a tighter schedule than we were, and so wanted to be at the airport in good time. We assured him that we would continue to uphold the reputation we had built up under his management, and wished him happy travels.
To counteract the sentimentality that turns me into mush at such times, I complimented the lovely hotel owner/manager on the excellent dinner that the kitchen had managed to turn out. In fact, I was full of praise for the hotel and its service, swearing that I would tell friends and family to have their meals in the Schweizerhof if ever they found themselves in Engleberg. Seeing her happy smile and blush in the face of my enthusiasm managed to chase away whatever blues were threatening to pop up.
I admit it, though - I *am* feeling the post-tour letdown already. But there will be lots to do back home in the wake of the typhoon for it to last for very long after arriving!
[CR Switzerland] Day 13-1
September 29, 2006
Engleberg - Lucerne - Engleberg Open Carriage Optional
Morning Call: 6.30 * Breakfast Call: 7.00
Departure for Lucerne: 8.00
Our last official day of the tour dawned bright, with a touch of morning haze. Elmar introduced us to our new driver (whose first name, alas, I have forgot), whom we later discovered was actually Ueli's boss!
The haze followed us into Lucerne, although the sun broke through at intervals to light up parts of the city and lake shore. We drove through past the commercial district, and I smiled to myself at the sight of the Kappelbrucke straddling the lake, its railing a whole riot of colorful blooms. Elmar pointed out the white hotel on top of the hill which is, according to urban legend, referred to as "The Holy Hotel". Apparently, when hotel guests go out onto the terrace and see the loveliness of Lucerne spread out below them, they whisper in awe, "Oh, God!" Then when they are presented with the bill for their stay, they cry, "Oh, Jeeesus!"
Through the chorus of laughter on the bus, Elmar grinned and said, "That's a good one, folks. Write it down!"
We drove past elegant villas and modern condominiums, the prices of which would definitely require a person to have more than a little spare cash for even the smallest of units. Ah, to be so fortunate! Then we were let out for a brief photo stop at the Lion Monument - the parents opted out of going down from the bus, having seen said monument time out of mind. I, on the other hand, never fail to take photos, given that when I'm there, it's with a different (and usually much-improved) camera and the weather conditions are never the same. So out I bounced, and since the pace was far more relaxed than my previous stop-shoot-go visits, I actually had a chance to take a picture of the little chapel that guards the entrance to the Lion Monument mini-park, and the information plaques on the outer wall.
The monument itself never fails to touch my heart with its beauty. Well, I'm like that. Once I've fallen for a place, I retain fond memories about it, no matter how long it's been since the last visit. Snapped my photos, then back on the bus for the drop-off at Schwannplatz, aka the little plaza in front of Bucherer. The parents were so eager to start walking, it was all I could do to listen carefully to Elmar outlining the various pick-up times! :) Easy enough to understand their eagerness - we had decided to skip the optional tours, having done the lake cruise before; and we weren't in the mood to see the Swiss folklore show again, even if we'd never tried cheese fondue before.
This then meant we had hours on our hand before being required to present ourselves at Schwannplatz for our 2.00 PM return to Engleberg. We spent a relaxed time strolling Kappelbrucke, admiring the views from either side of the bridge. Once out at the other end, we tried - and succeeded - in finding the hotel where we had been billeted in 2000; after a short washroom stop, we strolled down past various shops, the Banhof, and over the Kappelbrucke once more.
This time, we popped into Bucherer. The nice salesperson at the door was a Filipina - just like the sweet lady up on Mt. Pilatus (who actually remembered seeing us back in 2000 when she was just a newbie to Switzerland). No surprise, really - quite a few of the senior sales staff in Bucherer are Filipino, and happy we were to see them doing well in their adopted country. Knowing we had time and then some, made browsing through the store that much more enjoyable - it was the first time we didn't feel like we had to go a mile a minute through the three floors of the store! The parents decided to get themselves Victorinox Swiss knives by this time, and I had them engraved with their names so they could be easily identified.
Ma bought herself a pair of earrings, small ones, since we've never been able to walk out of Bucherer without at least *one* piece of jewelry. :) This means that we will need to find the customs booth at the airport, which means a tax rebate on the credit card once it's been submitted. Dad got himself a Bucherer backpack, and I...claimed the free souvenir spoons. :D
By this time, we were feeling a need for lunch. Our Filipina salesperson told us to turn left at the corner, once we'd exited the shop, and just walk down the street, we'd be sure to find something. Then, if we followed the street to the end, and then turned left at the corner, that would be where we could find more shops to look at. With many thanks, and promises of another visit, we left Bucherer and followed her directions, which led us to a Movenpick cafe, the perfect place to have lunch.
Lunch was good! Veal done Zurich style, with roesti and buttered vegetables on the side. The place was quiet, and we caught sight of the group threading their way along the street towards the Stadtkeller for their lunchtime optional. It was then that I got the welcome message from my husband that the maid had arrived safely from the provinces, and they were getting around to setting the house to rights against our return.
Once we were done with lunch, we followed the street to the end, and turned left, as per directions. Our source was correct - the street was loaded with all kinds of shops and department stores! The chocolatier had a nice spot at the very corner, with all kinds of confections. There was a Marionnaud with all the name label cosmetics (and the name label prices to match); and I know we walked into at least two other department stores. Most of the stores were selling off their summer stock and getting ready with their fall/winter clothes. We walked all the way to a plaza where the building facades were beautifully painted with scenes of mountain life.
By the time we retraced our steps, it was to bump into various members of the group as we strolled down towards Schwannplatz. Even with time out at the souvenir shop (last minute gifts for my goddaughter), we were still ahead of the 2.00 PM pick-up time. Naturally, everyone compared purchases, given that various loot bags were in evidence, said purchases were duly admired, and it was a content enough group that boarded the bus for Engleberg.
Elmar announced that the hotel was willing to put up dinner for anyone who decided to have their meal in the dining room, instead of going through the main street. He asked for a show of hands, and I put up both of mine, as the parents were drowsing. We were dropped off at the hotel with just enough time to drop our bags, freshen up, and grab a light jacket if we were going to take the open-air carriage ride optional. I had seen the carriages as we came in, and reverted to age six at the sight of the horses. Just before we set out, we were introduced to the little family that owns the carriage outfit: Elizabeth, the mom, who was our carriage driver; her daughter, who would drive the other carriage, and her son Lucien, who was all of maybe five years old and was along for the ride. No doubt when he grows up, he will be taking over the reins - quite literally - of the business!
Engleberg - Lucerne - Engleberg Open Carriage Optional
Morning Call: 6.30 * Breakfast Call: 7.00
Departure for Lucerne: 8.00
Our last official day of the tour dawned bright, with a touch of morning haze. Elmar introduced us to our new driver (whose first name, alas, I have forgot), whom we later discovered was actually Ueli's boss!
The haze followed us into Lucerne, although the sun broke through at intervals to light up parts of the city and lake shore. We drove through past the commercial district, and I smiled to myself at the sight of the Kappelbrucke straddling the lake, its railing a whole riot of colorful blooms. Elmar pointed out the white hotel on top of the hill which is, according to urban legend, referred to as "The Holy Hotel". Apparently, when hotel guests go out onto the terrace and see the loveliness of Lucerne spread out below them, they whisper in awe, "Oh, God!" Then when they are presented with the bill for their stay, they cry, "Oh, Jeeesus!"
Through the chorus of laughter on the bus, Elmar grinned and said, "That's a good one, folks. Write it down!"
We drove past elegant villas and modern condominiums, the prices of which would definitely require a person to have more than a little spare cash for even the smallest of units. Ah, to be so fortunate! Then we were let out for a brief photo stop at the Lion Monument - the parents opted out of going down from the bus, having seen said monument time out of mind. I, on the other hand, never fail to take photos, given that when I'm there, it's with a different (and usually much-improved) camera and the weather conditions are never the same. So out I bounced, and since the pace was far more relaxed than my previous stop-shoot-go visits, I actually had a chance to take a picture of the little chapel that guards the entrance to the Lion Monument mini-park, and the information plaques on the outer wall.
The monument itself never fails to touch my heart with its beauty. Well, I'm like that. Once I've fallen for a place, I retain fond memories about it, no matter how long it's been since the last visit. Snapped my photos, then back on the bus for the drop-off at Schwannplatz, aka the little plaza in front of Bucherer. The parents were so eager to start walking, it was all I could do to listen carefully to Elmar outlining the various pick-up times! :) Easy enough to understand their eagerness - we had decided to skip the optional tours, having done the lake cruise before; and we weren't in the mood to see the Swiss folklore show again, even if we'd never tried cheese fondue before.
This then meant we had hours on our hand before being required to present ourselves at Schwannplatz for our 2.00 PM return to Engleberg. We spent a relaxed time strolling Kappelbrucke, admiring the views from either side of the bridge. Once out at the other end, we tried - and succeeded - in finding the hotel where we had been billeted in 2000; after a short washroom stop, we strolled down past various shops, the Banhof, and over the Kappelbrucke once more.
This time, we popped into Bucherer. The nice salesperson at the door was a Filipina - just like the sweet lady up on Mt. Pilatus (who actually remembered seeing us back in 2000 when she was just a newbie to Switzerland). No surprise, really - quite a few of the senior sales staff in Bucherer are Filipino, and happy we were to see them doing well in their adopted country. Knowing we had time and then some, made browsing through the store that much more enjoyable - it was the first time we didn't feel like we had to go a mile a minute through the three floors of the store! The parents decided to get themselves Victorinox Swiss knives by this time, and I had them engraved with their names so they could be easily identified.
Ma bought herself a pair of earrings, small ones, since we've never been able to walk out of Bucherer without at least *one* piece of jewelry. :) This means that we will need to find the customs booth at the airport, which means a tax rebate on the credit card once it's been submitted. Dad got himself a Bucherer backpack, and I...claimed the free souvenir spoons. :D
By this time, we were feeling a need for lunch. Our Filipina salesperson told us to turn left at the corner, once we'd exited the shop, and just walk down the street, we'd be sure to find something. Then, if we followed the street to the end, and then turned left at the corner, that would be where we could find more shops to look at. With many thanks, and promises of another visit, we left Bucherer and followed her directions, which led us to a Movenpick cafe, the perfect place to have lunch.
Lunch was good! Veal done Zurich style, with roesti and buttered vegetables on the side. The place was quiet, and we caught sight of the group threading their way along the street towards the Stadtkeller for their lunchtime optional. It was then that I got the welcome message from my husband that the maid had arrived safely from the provinces, and they were getting around to setting the house to rights against our return.
Once we were done with lunch, we followed the street to the end, and turned left, as per directions. Our source was correct - the street was loaded with all kinds of shops and department stores! The chocolatier had a nice spot at the very corner, with all kinds of confections. There was a Marionnaud with all the name label cosmetics (and the name label prices to match); and I know we walked into at least two other department stores. Most of the stores were selling off their summer stock and getting ready with their fall/winter clothes. We walked all the way to a plaza where the building facades were beautifully painted with scenes of mountain life.
By the time we retraced our steps, it was to bump into various members of the group as we strolled down towards Schwannplatz. Even with time out at the souvenir shop (last minute gifts for my goddaughter), we were still ahead of the 2.00 PM pick-up time. Naturally, everyone compared purchases, given that various loot bags were in evidence, said purchases were duly admired, and it was a content enough group that boarded the bus for Engleberg.
Elmar announced that the hotel was willing to put up dinner for anyone who decided to have their meal in the dining room, instead of going through the main street. He asked for a show of hands, and I put up both of mine, as the parents were drowsing. We were dropped off at the hotel with just enough time to drop our bags, freshen up, and grab a light jacket if we were going to take the open-air carriage ride optional. I had seen the carriages as we came in, and reverted to age six at the sight of the horses. Just before we set out, we were introduced to the little family that owns the carriage outfit: Elizabeth, the mom, who was our carriage driver; her daughter, who would drive the other carriage, and her son Lucien, who was all of maybe five years old and was along for the ride. No doubt when he grows up, he will be taking over the reins - quite literally - of the business!
[CR Switzerland] Day 12-2
September 28, 2006
Interlaken - Brienz - Ballenberg - Mt. Pilatus - Engleberg
The trip on "the steepest cogwheel train in the world" provided all the mountain paparazzi with still more opportunities to take shots of the mountains. Those with ultra-high zoom lenses were lucky to get close-ups of the commercial airline jet that whizzed through a gap in the mountains; or of the Swiss Army soldiers doing their required mountain-climbing training. No closed windows on this train ride - either they were half open, or, if the carriage was filled with photographers, open all the way. There was a little plaque set into the window frame that implored all the passengers: "Please do not stick your heads or arms out the windows..." A reminder not to get carried away while in search of the perfect composition for one's photograph, no doubt!
Having done this ascent in 2000, my delight at the lack of people on the peak knew no bounds. To be sure, nursing a cup of hot chocolate on a mountaintop is so much better in sunshine and no crowds, as opposed to being damp, wet, rushed during the height of the tourist season! The latter had been the case in 2000, and the difference could not be more extreme. This time around, I was actually able to climb to the official peak of the mountain! No view of Lucerne but we did see the summer luge run and a tiny church on the very top of one of the lower peaks. This church invited a lot of speculation on how people got up there to begin with. I thought that the church's height would certainly give new meaning to the phrase "falling from grace"!
While sipping at the hot chocolate my parents ordered against my coming down from the peak, I was distracted by the sight of a window-washing man blithely doing his work despite being close to the mountain’s edge. It was amazing to watch him work without so much as a safety harness, which meant that he was nowhere near the danger zone, but still...quite a feat. I also took pictures of the black mountain birds that have learned coffee shop/restaurant leftovers make good eats! We had been cautioned not to feed them, as per warnings from environmentalists, but that didn't stop the birds from perching on the terrace railing and looking as appealing (and conniving) as possible!
Our cable car descent was like that of the Kleine Matterhorn: a huge boxcar-type carriage from the peak to the first station, and then four-seater bubble carriages from the second and third stations. Good news was waiting for me when we disembarked at Kriems - my mobile phone chirruped with an SMS that the typhoon had left Manila, and all was perfectly well at home. That is to say, our roof was still whole and entire, no trees had fallen on the house, the outdoor cats had all had the sense to take shelter in the lanai and laundry area, and were perfectly safe. No electricity, but at least we had a generator, and diesel enough to keep it running through the night.
Blessed relief! I was able to share the good news with Ueli and some other members of the tour, as well as my previous experience with Mt. Pilatus. Relayed the happy news to my parents, whose expressions lightened visibly. So it was in a considerably more cheerful frame of mind that we made our way up to Engleberg and the Schweizerhof hotel for the group's last dinner together. Again, this was an alternate hotel, a business that had been family-run for well over a hundred years. The room we were given was at the end of the first floor hallway - a veritable junior suite, which allowed me to have my own room, and with bunk beds, no less! ::insert random happy bouncing here:: We also had a corner of the roof deck as our terrace, overlooking the main drive, and with a lovely view of the Engleberg (Angel Mountain) and part of Mt. Titlis as well.
On the way to Engleberg, Elmar went into the customary spiel about the Insight customer satisfaction survey. He told us to detach the 5% discount certificate and put it in a safe place, as it would be applicable to our next tour. Then he described how to fill up the form, requesting it to be handed it before we parted ways, since we would be splitting up after tomorrow night.
Knowing that this would be the group's last dinner together as a group, and Ueli's last night with us, cast a nostalgic air over the proceedings. It seemed like only yesterday that we were setting out from the Zurich Movenpick, and now, we were having to set our minds to departure details! On our Glacier Express ride, Elmar had confirmed with everyone their flight departure times, so that he would know which bus to put us on for the transfers. Turns out that he would be leaving with the early bus at 7.00 AM, and Sara would take charge of the second bus at 10.15 AM. Waah, was starting to miss our tour team already. Upon entering the pretty dining room, I gave Elmar the survey forms, sealed in the provided envelope, and slipped him his tip together with the family's usual note of appreciation for all that he had done to make this trip one of the best ever that we've had with Insight.
For all that I was tired from the long day and feeling sentimental, I still had a huge appetite left for dinner! The family kitchen had outdone themselves with the home cooking. It was a splendid meal, and my eyes lit up when I saw that ox tongue was one of the featured items on the menu. Although prepared in a different manner from the style that I know (which is pressure-cooked and served with red wine-mushroom gravy), it tasted wonderful all the same. The ice-cream cake that was presented for dessert! Pure artistry - it looked like a cake with fondant frosting, with three layers beneath: strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. Seemed almost a shame to put a knife into it, it was that beautiful (and of course I did not think to use my phone to take a picture of the thing)!
On the other hand, it *was* ice cream. And it had *chocolate*...
On the way in to the hotel, it seemed that a whole lot of people were waving and blowing their horns as Ueli passed by - and then we discovered that Engleberg is just a short hop away from his hometown of Stans. So those folks were probably friends from school or family. In keeping with company policy, "spending dinner with the group" meant spending it at the same table as Elmar, which was set back in a little alcove so they could get their down time. Elmar brought Ueli ought as we were lingering over after-the-ice-cream coffee, and the dear man was roundly applauded by all when he made his farewells. We sincerely hope that the replacement driver will prove to be as good as he is!
Interlaken - Brienz - Ballenberg - Mt. Pilatus - Engleberg
The trip on "the steepest cogwheel train in the world" provided all the mountain paparazzi with still more opportunities to take shots of the mountains. Those with ultra-high zoom lenses were lucky to get close-ups of the commercial airline jet that whizzed through a gap in the mountains; or of the Swiss Army soldiers doing their required mountain-climbing training. No closed windows on this train ride - either they were half open, or, if the carriage was filled with photographers, open all the way. There was a little plaque set into the window frame that implored all the passengers: "Please do not stick your heads or arms out the windows..." A reminder not to get carried away while in search of the perfect composition for one's photograph, no doubt!
Having done this ascent in 2000, my delight at the lack of people on the peak knew no bounds. To be sure, nursing a cup of hot chocolate on a mountaintop is so much better in sunshine and no crowds, as opposed to being damp, wet, rushed during the height of the tourist season! The latter had been the case in 2000, and the difference could not be more extreme. This time around, I was actually able to climb to the official peak of the mountain! No view of Lucerne but we did see the summer luge run and a tiny church on the very top of one of the lower peaks. This church invited a lot of speculation on how people got up there to begin with. I thought that the church's height would certainly give new meaning to the phrase "falling from grace"!
While sipping at the hot chocolate my parents ordered against my coming down from the peak, I was distracted by the sight of a window-washing man blithely doing his work despite being close to the mountain’s edge. It was amazing to watch him work without so much as a safety harness, which meant that he was nowhere near the danger zone, but still...quite a feat. I also took pictures of the black mountain birds that have learned coffee shop/restaurant leftovers make good eats! We had been cautioned not to feed them, as per warnings from environmentalists, but that didn't stop the birds from perching on the terrace railing and looking as appealing (and conniving) as possible!
Our cable car descent was like that of the Kleine Matterhorn: a huge boxcar-type carriage from the peak to the first station, and then four-seater bubble carriages from the second and third stations. Good news was waiting for me when we disembarked at Kriems - my mobile phone chirruped with an SMS that the typhoon had left Manila, and all was perfectly well at home. That is to say, our roof was still whole and entire, no trees had fallen on the house, the outdoor cats had all had the sense to take shelter in the lanai and laundry area, and were perfectly safe. No electricity, but at least we had a generator, and diesel enough to keep it running through the night.
Blessed relief! I was able to share the good news with Ueli and some other members of the tour, as well as my previous experience with Mt. Pilatus. Relayed the happy news to my parents, whose expressions lightened visibly. So it was in a considerably more cheerful frame of mind that we made our way up to Engleberg and the Schweizerhof hotel for the group's last dinner together. Again, this was an alternate hotel, a business that had been family-run for well over a hundred years. The room we were given was at the end of the first floor hallway - a veritable junior suite, which allowed me to have my own room, and with bunk beds, no less! ::insert random happy bouncing here:: We also had a corner of the roof deck as our terrace, overlooking the main drive, and with a lovely view of the Engleberg (Angel Mountain) and part of Mt. Titlis as well.
On the way to Engleberg, Elmar went into the customary spiel about the Insight customer satisfaction survey. He told us to detach the 5% discount certificate and put it in a safe place, as it would be applicable to our next tour. Then he described how to fill up the form, requesting it to be handed it before we parted ways, since we would be splitting up after tomorrow night.
Knowing that this would be the group's last dinner together as a group, and Ueli's last night with us, cast a nostalgic air over the proceedings. It seemed like only yesterday that we were setting out from the Zurich Movenpick, and now, we were having to set our minds to departure details! On our Glacier Express ride, Elmar had confirmed with everyone their flight departure times, so that he would know which bus to put us on for the transfers. Turns out that he would be leaving with the early bus at 7.00 AM, and Sara would take charge of the second bus at 10.15 AM. Waah, was starting to miss our tour team already. Upon entering the pretty dining room, I gave Elmar the survey forms, sealed in the provided envelope, and slipped him his tip together with the family's usual note of appreciation for all that he had done to make this trip one of the best ever that we've had with Insight.
For all that I was tired from the long day and feeling sentimental, I still had a huge appetite left for dinner! The family kitchen had outdone themselves with the home cooking. It was a splendid meal, and my eyes lit up when I saw that ox tongue was one of the featured items on the menu. Although prepared in a different manner from the style that I know (which is pressure-cooked and served with red wine-mushroom gravy), it tasted wonderful all the same. The ice-cream cake that was presented for dessert! Pure artistry - it looked like a cake with fondant frosting, with three layers beneath: strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. Seemed almost a shame to put a knife into it, it was that beautiful (and of course I did not think to use my phone to take a picture of the thing)!
On the other hand, it *was* ice cream. And it had *chocolate*...
On the way in to the hotel, it seemed that a whole lot of people were waving and blowing their horns as Ueli passed by - and then we discovered that Engleberg is just a short hop away from his hometown of Stans. So those folks were probably friends from school or family. In keeping with company policy, "spending dinner with the group" meant spending it at the same table as Elmar, which was set back in a little alcove so they could get their down time. Elmar brought Ueli ought as we were lingering over after-the-ice-cream coffee, and the dear man was roundly applauded by all when he made his farewells. We sincerely hope that the replacement driver will prove to be as good as he is!
[CR Switzerland] Day 12-1
September 28, 2006
Interlaken - Brienz - Ballenberg - Mt. Pilatus - Engleberg
Morning call: 6.30 * Bags and Breakfast: 7.00
Departure from Interlaken: 8.00
This is a day that would live, if not in infamy, at least with an underlying thread of anxiety for several hours. The weather matched my mood; we left Interlaken under heavy cloud and the news that the mother of all typhoons was going over Manila. 200 kph center winds, and gusts even stronger - that's not something to sneeze at under any circumstances, let alone when that kind of monster is set to go straight over your home.
I felt bound to apologize to Elmar in advance if I seemed to be in a distracted state throughout the morning, and if he heard my mobile phone chirping all through the admin details and all the times he'd be describing the sights - the dear man gave me a quick hug and assured me that all would be well. I replied that of course I knew all would be well, it was just nicer to know *for sure*.
Ma saw some folks giving Ueli his tip and had me get down from the bus post-haste so that I could do the same. We'd gotten the news that Ueli would be leaving us when we reached Engleberg, for a new six-day assignment in Spain's Costa Brava. The question of whether he'd be able to join us for dinner was still up in the air, and I certainly was hoping he would be able to do so; he's been a marvellous, expert driver!
Unfortunately, the envelope with Ueli's tip did not have the usual little note of appreciation that I stick inside it. It's a custom I started when I was given the chance to travel - and to date, I've been blessed to be in groups handled by excellent Tour Directors and drivers. I apologized for the lack of the note, and even if Ueli said it was all right, it still niggles at me that I didn't get to write even two lines to say how much we enjoyed his company, and how grateful we were for his driving skills.
We traveled along Lake Brienz, where I shot one of the best series of photos I've ever taken to date. The sun was breaking out from the clouds over Brienz as we were driving through cloud and mist, making the town look as though it was some sort of thing out of faerie land. By the time we got to Brienz, the sun was out with the promise of a bright day ahead, and my husband's SMS messages were of someone coping very well with the weather and the imminent loss of power. He sent me one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes quotations: "It is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of the facts." By which he meant, enjoy the day and don't let your writer's imagination get the better of you!
So it was in this reassured frame of mine that I got down from the coach as we stopped at the Brienz woodcarving shop. We were welcomed and given a tour by a very nice man with a decidedly Australian accent who spiced up his stories with good humor, and lots of it. He showed us various examples of the woodcarver's art from the workshop on the ground floor, explaining how the family business had grown over the generations. Then we were taken upstairs to the music box workshop, where we were given a very enlightening talk about the types of music boxes and what it took to create one.
We were also given demonstrations of the various music boxes, using examples from as far back as the 1800s and early 1900s! The only modern piece that I recall was created by one of the sons of the family - one of those things that are made just to show that the artisan can make them. Five seventy-two pin drums, all orchestrated to play in harmony, and with every flip of a switch, a different tune came floating out. You can bet that there were a lot of appreciative sounds for that little beauty.
Another piece that drew many sounds of wonder was a huge box shaped like a house, showing figures of dancers and an oom-pah-pah band in a diorama-like setting. When the music came on, no one cared if any of the notes were on key, because the little dancing figures twirled and moved in time to the tinkling melody. Really, really pretty!
Once the little factory tour was complete, everyone went rummaging through the shop, like the good tourists that we were. :) This is where I got my Swiss (Victorinox) knife, a basic model exactly like the one Elmar was using - scissors, knife, tweezers, toothpick, file/screwdriver. In fact, Elmar had been singing the praises of the myriad uses of his Swiss knife (he's had it for 20 years and then some, fancy that!) that nearly everyone on the bus was drawn into getting the same model - not only for themselves, but for friends and relations as well! Couldn't go wrong for 13 Swiss francs, now could you?
Dad got himself a shirt, and I took a picture of Ma cuddling with the handcarved bear at the entrance to the shop before sitting on one of the benches outside. The group was just finishing as Sarah’s bus came rolling up beside ours; this was the signal for everyone to vacate the premises and get on the bus. As we were pulling out of Brienz, Elmar pointed out the statue of Peter and his goats (from the Heidi story) overlooking a view of the lake.
Our next stop was the Ballenberg open day museum, where people could stroll around a community living the lifestyle of a hundred years ago. There was a bit of confusion before we entered, as we were required to wear sticker badges that were also our entrance tickets - and somehow, despite an accurate head count, Elmar came up short one ticket. The ticket lady was very nice about releasing one more ticket to the group, and then we were led inside through a lane shaded by lovely tall trees, into the main meeting point. This was composed of the washrooms, self-service cafeteria, and sit-down restaurant.
Using the maps that we were given at the entrance, Elmar gave us an orientation on where the paths went before sending us off on our own. Not too far into our own ramble, Dad decided he wanted to strike out on his own. So while he wandered off, I took Ma on a slow stroll down the “short itinerary” path that took us down past some chalets, the sausage smokehouse, and the herbal medical store. The sausage smokehouse was something else - you can't really appreciate it until your eyes adjust to the dim light, and possibly not even then. Thank goodness for flash photography! I managed to get a shot of the hundreds of sausages hanging from the ceiling so that they could be smoked by the cooking fire, and could truly appreciate the sight, even on a 2.5-inch screen.
Elmar showed us the old-fashioned water pump and watering trough when we emerged back into daylight (feeling almost as smoked as the sausages), then pointed us towards the herbal medicine shop. Ma was in heaven over the beauty of the herbal garden, the lush green and fragrance of it all. We bought three kinds of herbal tea and they smell *so* good! Can't wait for them to join the collection of Dragon Well tea, lychee tea, and generic China green tea at home.
From the herbal medicine store, a time check showed that lunch was in order. On our way down the path, we passed by the pig pen of the smoke house, and being country girls, Ma and I marveled at the absolute *pinkness* of one of the pigs - such a healthy, huge creature as it was. I thought the pig was worth a photo or two, since it was the classic example of what a good pig ought to look like!
A quick washroom stop (more of those stairs again, but these were fairly user-friendly), then into the self-service cafeteria, with its lovely open-air dining area. In fact, the weather was so fresh and clear that any number of people were enjoying their sit-down in the open air! Chose bratwurst yet *again* and I have decided that I prefer roesti over frites with my sausages. Dad caught up with us here, and got himself a nice sausage lunch as well. Back to the washrooms after lunch, then we took our time walking through the shady lane back to the exit and the waiting area in front of the parking lot.
There was a souvenir shop that we poked around in before getting back to the bus. I bought hazelnut brownies for snacking in case someone's tummy decided to ask for food before we got to the hotel. While the parents boarded, I, as usual, stood about outside, determined to wring every last breath of fresh, cool Swiss air that I could. Had a short chat with Elmar and Ueli about loving one's work, and how much I would miss Switzerland once I got home - and how I was sure that I *would* return, someday.
On our way out from Ballenberg, Elmar switched itinerary activities and took us up to Mt. Pilatus, an event that's supposed to take place tomorrow. Looking at the map, it makes sense doing it this way - from Ballenberg, it wasn't that far to the cogwheel train station for the ascent; then the cable car descent ends at Kriems, which by the sound of it, is closer to Engleberg and Lucern than if we'd done it the other way. Ma and Dad were a bit confused at first, because they were more familiar with taking the cable car for the ascent and using the cogwheel train for the descent, then taking the lake cruise all the way back to Lucerne.
Interlaken - Brienz - Ballenberg - Mt. Pilatus - Engleberg
Morning call: 6.30 * Bags and Breakfast: 7.00
Departure from Interlaken: 8.00
This is a day that would live, if not in infamy, at least with an underlying thread of anxiety for several hours. The weather matched my mood; we left Interlaken under heavy cloud and the news that the mother of all typhoons was going over Manila. 200 kph center winds, and gusts even stronger - that's not something to sneeze at under any circumstances, let alone when that kind of monster is set to go straight over your home.
I felt bound to apologize to Elmar in advance if I seemed to be in a distracted state throughout the morning, and if he heard my mobile phone chirping all through the admin details and all the times he'd be describing the sights - the dear man gave me a quick hug and assured me that all would be well. I replied that of course I knew all would be well, it was just nicer to know *for sure*.
Ma saw some folks giving Ueli his tip and had me get down from the bus post-haste so that I could do the same. We'd gotten the news that Ueli would be leaving us when we reached Engleberg, for a new six-day assignment in Spain's Costa Brava. The question of whether he'd be able to join us for dinner was still up in the air, and I certainly was hoping he would be able to do so; he's been a marvellous, expert driver!
Unfortunately, the envelope with Ueli's tip did not have the usual little note of appreciation that I stick inside it. It's a custom I started when I was given the chance to travel - and to date, I've been blessed to be in groups handled by excellent Tour Directors and drivers. I apologized for the lack of the note, and even if Ueli said it was all right, it still niggles at me that I didn't get to write even two lines to say how much we enjoyed his company, and how grateful we were for his driving skills.
We traveled along Lake Brienz, where I shot one of the best series of photos I've ever taken to date. The sun was breaking out from the clouds over Brienz as we were driving through cloud and mist, making the town look as though it was some sort of thing out of faerie land. By the time we got to Brienz, the sun was out with the promise of a bright day ahead, and my husband's SMS messages were of someone coping very well with the weather and the imminent loss of power. He sent me one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes quotations: "It is a capital mistake to theorize in advance of the facts." By which he meant, enjoy the day and don't let your writer's imagination get the better of you!
So it was in this reassured frame of mine that I got down from the coach as we stopped at the Brienz woodcarving shop. We were welcomed and given a tour by a very nice man with a decidedly Australian accent who spiced up his stories with good humor, and lots of it. He showed us various examples of the woodcarver's art from the workshop on the ground floor, explaining how the family business had grown over the generations. Then we were taken upstairs to the music box workshop, where we were given a very enlightening talk about the types of music boxes and what it took to create one.
We were also given demonstrations of the various music boxes, using examples from as far back as the 1800s and early 1900s! The only modern piece that I recall was created by one of the sons of the family - one of those things that are made just to show that the artisan can make them. Five seventy-two pin drums, all orchestrated to play in harmony, and with every flip of a switch, a different tune came floating out. You can bet that there were a lot of appreciative sounds for that little beauty.
Another piece that drew many sounds of wonder was a huge box shaped like a house, showing figures of dancers and an oom-pah-pah band in a diorama-like setting. When the music came on, no one cared if any of the notes were on key, because the little dancing figures twirled and moved in time to the tinkling melody. Really, really pretty!
Once the little factory tour was complete, everyone went rummaging through the shop, like the good tourists that we were. :) This is where I got my Swiss (Victorinox) knife, a basic model exactly like the one Elmar was using - scissors, knife, tweezers, toothpick, file/screwdriver. In fact, Elmar had been singing the praises of the myriad uses of his Swiss knife (he's had it for 20 years and then some, fancy that!) that nearly everyone on the bus was drawn into getting the same model - not only for themselves, but for friends and relations as well! Couldn't go wrong for 13 Swiss francs, now could you?
Dad got himself a shirt, and I took a picture of Ma cuddling with the handcarved bear at the entrance to the shop before sitting on one of the benches outside. The group was just finishing as Sarah’s bus came rolling up beside ours; this was the signal for everyone to vacate the premises and get on the bus. As we were pulling out of Brienz, Elmar pointed out the statue of Peter and his goats (from the Heidi story) overlooking a view of the lake.
Our next stop was the Ballenberg open day museum, where people could stroll around a community living the lifestyle of a hundred years ago. There was a bit of confusion before we entered, as we were required to wear sticker badges that were also our entrance tickets - and somehow, despite an accurate head count, Elmar came up short one ticket. The ticket lady was very nice about releasing one more ticket to the group, and then we were led inside through a lane shaded by lovely tall trees, into the main meeting point. This was composed of the washrooms, self-service cafeteria, and sit-down restaurant.
Using the maps that we were given at the entrance, Elmar gave us an orientation on where the paths went before sending us off on our own. Not too far into our own ramble, Dad decided he wanted to strike out on his own. So while he wandered off, I took Ma on a slow stroll down the “short itinerary” path that took us down past some chalets, the sausage smokehouse, and the herbal medical store. The sausage smokehouse was something else - you can't really appreciate it until your eyes adjust to the dim light, and possibly not even then. Thank goodness for flash photography! I managed to get a shot of the hundreds of sausages hanging from the ceiling so that they could be smoked by the cooking fire, and could truly appreciate the sight, even on a 2.5-inch screen.
Elmar showed us the old-fashioned water pump and watering trough when we emerged back into daylight (feeling almost as smoked as the sausages), then pointed us towards the herbal medicine shop. Ma was in heaven over the beauty of the herbal garden, the lush green and fragrance of it all. We bought three kinds of herbal tea and they smell *so* good! Can't wait for them to join the collection of Dragon Well tea, lychee tea, and generic China green tea at home.
From the herbal medicine store, a time check showed that lunch was in order. On our way down the path, we passed by the pig pen of the smoke house, and being country girls, Ma and I marveled at the absolute *pinkness* of one of the pigs - such a healthy, huge creature as it was. I thought the pig was worth a photo or two, since it was the classic example of what a good pig ought to look like!
A quick washroom stop (more of those stairs again, but these were fairly user-friendly), then into the self-service cafeteria, with its lovely open-air dining area. In fact, the weather was so fresh and clear that any number of people were enjoying their sit-down in the open air! Chose bratwurst yet *again* and I have decided that I prefer roesti over frites with my sausages. Dad caught up with us here, and got himself a nice sausage lunch as well. Back to the washrooms after lunch, then we took our time walking through the shady lane back to the exit and the waiting area in front of the parking lot.
There was a souvenir shop that we poked around in before getting back to the bus. I bought hazelnut brownies for snacking in case someone's tummy decided to ask for food before we got to the hotel. While the parents boarded, I, as usual, stood about outside, determined to wring every last breath of fresh, cool Swiss air that I could. Had a short chat with Elmar and Ueli about loving one's work, and how much I would miss Switzerland once I got home - and how I was sure that I *would* return, someday.
On our way out from Ballenberg, Elmar switched itinerary activities and took us up to Mt. Pilatus, an event that's supposed to take place tomorrow. Looking at the map, it makes sense doing it this way - from Ballenberg, it wasn't that far to the cogwheel train station for the ascent; then the cable car descent ends at Kriems, which by the sound of it, is closer to Engleberg and Lucern than if we'd done it the other way. Ma and Dad were a bit confused at first, because they were more familiar with taking the cable car for the ascent and using the cogwheel train for the descent, then taking the lake cruise all the way back to Lucerne.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
[CR Switzerland] Day 11-2
September 27, 2006
Interlaken - Jungfraujoch Optional - Trummelbach Falls - Interlaken
Arrive Lauterbrunnen: 3.00 * Trummelbach Falls Side Trip: 3.30
It was cloudy and slightly drizzling by the time we got to the station. As usual, Ueli was patiently waiting for us, greeting everyone with a smile and a wave as we trickled out from the station and into the bus. Fortunately, the drizzle stopped as we made our way to Lauterbrunnen, until we were greeted with fair skies and the merest touch of cloud when we pulled into the parking lot for a photo opportunity at Staubbach Falls. It's a sheer cliff of about 300 meters, and as the water tumbles off the edge of the cliff, it fans out into a delicate spray that one author likened to "the tail of the white horse ridden by one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse". When we had our fill of taking pictures of the falls, our attention was drawn by a helicopter ferrying construction materials up the opposite mountainside.
From Staubbach Falls, we were taken to the Trummelbach Falls. Elmar had mentioned in the train, on the way down, that he had taken the liberty of securing a bunch of tickets, and was going to distribute them to the first ten or twelve takers. Of course we had to reimburse him the price of 11 Swiss Francs per ticket, but as I thought later, it was worth the little extra expense. Each ticket was the admission fee to see the falls; everyone else could have their afternoon tea at the family-run rest house at the main entrance to the property.
Trummelbach isn't far from Staubbach - about three kilometers or so. Ueli parked the bus across the street, and then we crossed over to the rest house, where I left my parents to stretch their legs at leisure. There was a walk of a few hundred meters to the entrance up to the falls, and the roar of the water could be heard clearly from the gate. Not surprising, when you consider that there's 22,000 liters/sec flowing from the source, through a narrow crevasse inside the mountain.
All in all, there’s a series of ten cascades. One can take the funicular up to the seventh cascade, stroll along a stepped catwalk to the source, then come down either by funicular or by the catwalk past the sixth-tenth cascades. The funicular is this huge carriage, like one of the boxcar-type cable cars on the mountains, large enough to fit all of us with room to spare. We got a good view of the funicular's mechanism as we were drawn up, and then it was out into the afternoon sun and the start of the catwalk ascent to the source.
Whoa, boyo. Talk about your steep climbs! The roaring of the water is tremendous, like a low-flying jet. All of us made our way slowly along the catwalk - in part to admire the way the water twisted and turned through the rock it had eroded, but more to keep our footing on the spray-drenched surfaces. Sometimes the catwalk took us through dark passages with the bare minimum of illumination - I swear, if anyone had so much as touched my shoulder to warn me to be careful, I would have shrieked to kingdom come.
I took pictures at most of the cascades; I also took one of the stairs one had to climb before reaching the source. Just so I could show people what I had to climb to get to the top of the falls. Unfortunately, the camera refused to snap a picture at the source, but otherwise, what pictures I do have are fantastic! Like most everything else about the highlights on this tour, words fail completely to convey the beauty of these falls. You just had to be there, with the spray on your face, listening to the sound of three glaciers' worth of run-off water pouring down through a crevasse just a few meters wide, pure and clear and crystalline green. A once-in-a-lifetime experience, and well worth the climb and the pounding heart while picking my way along the catwalk.
My original plan was to walk down past the other cascades, but a look at my watch had me antsy to get back down as soon as it could be managed. Waiting for the funicular to come back up was fraught with suspense, but it eventually arrived, and soon I was striding down the path back to the rest house. I paused and took at look back in the lowering sun and suddenly realized that there were only three more days left before the tour's end - soon I'd be going home, back to the familiar routine.
And how I would miss all this, the bracing mountain air and the green fields and the long walks every day! :)
I rejoined my parents at the rest house, where there had been a small floor show going on; someone was yodeling beautifully when I came up. Once I found the parents, there were stories to tell about what I'd seen, and I shared as best I could, the photos that I'd taken (though admittedly a 2.5 inch screen hardly does them justice).
In due course, we were boarding the bus, back to Interlaken and the Beau Rivage. With another departure ahead of us, the parents and I opted to eat in the room, so I popped down and crossed the street to that Mr. Burger, where I ordered sandwiches and Coke. The hamburgers, being freshly made, were great - but the weather news we caught on CNN while having dinner had me frantically sending a text to my husband, home alone with only the cats for company.
A typhoon with center winds of 197 kph was scheduled for a direct hit over Manila. Oh, NO. The last time a strong typhoon went directly over the city (and our home), it was *only* 160 kph at the center. I quickly gave a run-down of instructions on how to operate the generator via SMS, and Ramon promised me hourly updates for as long he could manage it.
It's going to be a LONG day tomorrow...
Interlaken - Jungfraujoch Optional - Trummelbach Falls - Interlaken
Arrive Lauterbrunnen: 3.00 * Trummelbach Falls Side Trip: 3.30
It was cloudy and slightly drizzling by the time we got to the station. As usual, Ueli was patiently waiting for us, greeting everyone with a smile and a wave as we trickled out from the station and into the bus. Fortunately, the drizzle stopped as we made our way to Lauterbrunnen, until we were greeted with fair skies and the merest touch of cloud when we pulled into the parking lot for a photo opportunity at Staubbach Falls. It's a sheer cliff of about 300 meters, and as the water tumbles off the edge of the cliff, it fans out into a delicate spray that one author likened to "the tail of the white horse ridden by one of the horsemen of the Apocalypse". When we had our fill of taking pictures of the falls, our attention was drawn by a helicopter ferrying construction materials up the opposite mountainside.
From Staubbach Falls, we were taken to the Trummelbach Falls. Elmar had mentioned in the train, on the way down, that he had taken the liberty of securing a bunch of tickets, and was going to distribute them to the first ten or twelve takers. Of course we had to reimburse him the price of 11 Swiss Francs per ticket, but as I thought later, it was worth the little extra expense. Each ticket was the admission fee to see the falls; everyone else could have their afternoon tea at the family-run rest house at the main entrance to the property.
Trummelbach isn't far from Staubbach - about three kilometers or so. Ueli parked the bus across the street, and then we crossed over to the rest house, where I left my parents to stretch their legs at leisure. There was a walk of a few hundred meters to the entrance up to the falls, and the roar of the water could be heard clearly from the gate. Not surprising, when you consider that there's 22,000 liters/sec flowing from the source, through a narrow crevasse inside the mountain.
All in all, there’s a series of ten cascades. One can take the funicular up to the seventh cascade, stroll along a stepped catwalk to the source, then come down either by funicular or by the catwalk past the sixth-tenth cascades. The funicular is this huge carriage, like one of the boxcar-type cable cars on the mountains, large enough to fit all of us with room to spare. We got a good view of the funicular's mechanism as we were drawn up, and then it was out into the afternoon sun and the start of the catwalk ascent to the source.
Whoa, boyo. Talk about your steep climbs! The roaring of the water is tremendous, like a low-flying jet. All of us made our way slowly along the catwalk - in part to admire the way the water twisted and turned through the rock it had eroded, but more to keep our footing on the spray-drenched surfaces. Sometimes the catwalk took us through dark passages with the bare minimum of illumination - I swear, if anyone had so much as touched my shoulder to warn me to be careful, I would have shrieked to kingdom come.
I took pictures at most of the cascades; I also took one of the stairs one had to climb before reaching the source. Just so I could show people what I had to climb to get to the top of the falls. Unfortunately, the camera refused to snap a picture at the source, but otherwise, what pictures I do have are fantastic! Like most everything else about the highlights on this tour, words fail completely to convey the beauty of these falls. You just had to be there, with the spray on your face, listening to the sound of three glaciers' worth of run-off water pouring down through a crevasse just a few meters wide, pure and clear and crystalline green. A once-in-a-lifetime experience, and well worth the climb and the pounding heart while picking my way along the catwalk.
My original plan was to walk down past the other cascades, but a look at my watch had me antsy to get back down as soon as it could be managed. Waiting for the funicular to come back up was fraught with suspense, but it eventually arrived, and soon I was striding down the path back to the rest house. I paused and took at look back in the lowering sun and suddenly realized that there were only three more days left before the tour's end - soon I'd be going home, back to the familiar routine.
And how I would miss all this, the bracing mountain air and the green fields and the long walks every day! :)
I rejoined my parents at the rest house, where there had been a small floor show going on; someone was yodeling beautifully when I came up. Once I found the parents, there were stories to tell about what I'd seen, and I shared as best I could, the photos that I'd taken (though admittedly a 2.5 inch screen hardly does them justice).
In due course, we were boarding the bus, back to Interlaken and the Beau Rivage. With another departure ahead of us, the parents and I opted to eat in the room, so I popped down and crossed the street to that Mr. Burger, where I ordered sandwiches and Coke. The hamburgers, being freshly made, were great - but the weather news we caught on CNN while having dinner had me frantically sending a text to my husband, home alone with only the cats for company.
A typhoon with center winds of 197 kph was scheduled for a direct hit over Manila. Oh, NO. The last time a strong typhoon went directly over the city (and our home), it was *only* 160 kph at the center. I quickly gave a run-down of instructions on how to operate the generator via SMS, and Ramon promised me hourly updates for as long he could manage it.
It's going to be a LONG day tomorrow...
[CR Switzerland] Day 11-1
September 27, 2006
Interlaken - Jungfraujoch Optional - Trummelbach Falls - Interlaken
Morning call: 6.00 * Breakfast call: 7.00
Departure for Jungfraujoch Optional: 8.00
It was a day at leisure for anyone not taking the Jungfrau optional - otherwise, everyone else had to present themselves at 8.00 AM at the bus, after waking up early yet again. We set off (ten minutes before the time!) under incredible cloud cover, but Elmar assured us that the meteorological report for the peak was sunshine and clear skies, and with a little imagination and a lot of hope, it was possible to believe that the sky was actually clearing as we got to the train station.
At the station, we were bundled into the cogwheel train for the Jungfraujoch. We were scheduled to visit some of the most famous mountains in Europe: aside from the Jungfraujoch (The Virgin/Young Lady), we would see the Eiger (The Ogre) and the Munch (The Monk). Upon discovering the English translations of the names of the mountains, my mind presented me with two plots involving a beautiful princess, an ogre, and a monk. One version was sort of Beauty and the Beast, with the ogre defending the young princess from the lecherous monk (ehem). The alternate version had the virtuous monk defending the princess from the ogre. There was a third version that popped into my head as we were leaving - the ogre, who was adoped by the monk as a baby, kills the princess who's trying to frame the virtuous monk for sexual harassment. All the stories end with the main characters turned into the mountain range, and kept me entertained as we made the ascent into the high country.
At the station, there was a *gorgeous* St. Bernard dog padding obediently by the side of its master. All the mountain paparazzi, yours truly included, promptly proceeded to take the lovely creature's picture as it plunged its feet into the drinking fountain/water trough at the corner of the station - such a beauty!
We changed trains once, at Kleine Scheidigge. It was here that the group finally broke its record for attentive promptness - we nearly missed the train, so caught up were we in the vistas being revealed by the emerging sunlight. We were quick to recover, though, and once piled into our carriage, it was to discover that there were lovely LCD-panel screens displaying a video of our progress, as well as some of the accomplishments associated with the mountains we were visiting. It was beyond interesting to discover that the train would be plunging *into* the heart of the Eiger, climbing through tunnels and emerging into perfect weather.
There were two stops at scenic view points in order to look down at the glacier, and fortunately, there were no near-misses when it came to getting back on the train on time.
Arrive Jungfraujoch: 8.22 AM * Departure from Jungfraujoch: 1.00 PM
Once at the peak, the air was crisp as we walked through the pedestrian tunnel into the main lobby of the Jungfraujoch station. By this time, the sun was out in full splendor, perfect photography and ice exploration weather! Elmar paused beneath the clock to orient us and give us directions for the call time back to the train. Then he brought us through the Ice Plateau so we could walk on the snow outside. At first Ma was wary of getting out on the ice, but with a little coaxing, she managed to stand up with Dad in front of one of the ice-covered peaks.
Afterwards, I left the parents with Helen at the cafeteria and dashed off to catch up with the rest at the Ice Palace. The beauty of the Jungfraujoch is that, since it's got a lot of visitors, the station is more "user-friendly" than that of the Kleine Matterhorn. Most of the mountain is glassed-in terrace levels for those who don't want to venture out into the open. With the weather we were having, though, we were more in danger of getting sunburn than severe chilling.
The Ice Palace here doesn't have rubber matting on the floor, which is a bit spooky. One really needs to think twice about rushing through this section. The ice carvings, however, are lovely. We were very grateful to be practically the first group up on the mountain; while I was trying to catch up with the group, ran into at least three Japanese tour groups in the main lobby!
From the Ice Palace, past the cafeteria and the mini-museum, and then out to the elevator leading up to the Pyramid, the highest point of the mountain. The view deck looked out over the peak of The Munch, and across a sea of clouds. On impulse, I pulled out my mobile phone to try and call my husband, something I promised him I would attempt - just to say that I was calling from the highest point of Switzerland. It took a couple of tries, but eventually I got to hear his voice - and it was all the corny cliches of the telephone ads come to life. The entire platform, I am sure, could hear my voice ringing out in Taglish as I tried to describe the entire tour up to that point and interrogate him about how he was faring. Not that I cared overmuch; it was just too good to hear him again!
Eventually I had to end the call to go back down and through another tunnel onto the glacier. It took a few seconds for my befuddled mind to register that I was actually getting my first feel of fresh snow! It felt like powdered ice, which it actually is. The silence out on the glacier is like a church - all I could hear was the sigh of the wind as it flowed over the mountain peaks. Beautiful!
All in all, the Jungfraujoch is literally a breathtaking mountain, both in terms of beauty and thin air, and that's about as much as I can say about it without actually bringing you there myself!
Lunch was delicious, if somewhat hurried, since I wanted to get my parents up to see the Pyramid and take their pictures before it was time to go. The timings worked perfectly - I had them up and back down again with time to spare for souvenir shopping in the stores just in front of the meeting place. The group was clustered under the clock five minutes before the time, and Elmar declared himself satisfied with the headcount in time for him to shepherd us through the station and onto our train for the descent on the opposite side of the mountain.
The sun smiled on us all the way down to Kleine Scheidigge, where we changed trains for the final stage of the descent. I spotted a water fountain, and cupped my hands for a drink, being thirsty and not having a water bottle. Ye gods, that had to be the sweetest water *ever*! Fresh off the glaciers by the taste of it, cold you could feel reviving your blood cells.
The mountain paparazzi were in full force as the train trundled down the mountainside, the air growing balmier as we reached the lower slopes. Some stations were in pretty towns that made people wish we had all the time in the world to get down and explore them. We passed some trains on their upward climb to the peak; Elmar said those passengers would have barely two hours on the mountain before having to come down again - while we very nearly had the whole morning. So worth the early wakeup call!
Interlaken - Jungfraujoch Optional - Trummelbach Falls - Interlaken
Morning call: 6.00 * Breakfast call: 7.00
Departure for Jungfraujoch Optional: 8.00
It was a day at leisure for anyone not taking the Jungfrau optional - otherwise, everyone else had to present themselves at 8.00 AM at the bus, after waking up early yet again. We set off (ten minutes before the time!) under incredible cloud cover, but Elmar assured us that the meteorological report for the peak was sunshine and clear skies, and with a little imagination and a lot of hope, it was possible to believe that the sky was actually clearing as we got to the train station.
At the station, we were bundled into the cogwheel train for the Jungfraujoch. We were scheduled to visit some of the most famous mountains in Europe: aside from the Jungfraujoch (The Virgin/Young Lady), we would see the Eiger (The Ogre) and the Munch (The Monk). Upon discovering the English translations of the names of the mountains, my mind presented me with two plots involving a beautiful princess, an ogre, and a monk. One version was sort of Beauty and the Beast, with the ogre defending the young princess from the lecherous monk (ehem). The alternate version had the virtuous monk defending the princess from the ogre. There was a third version that popped into my head as we were leaving - the ogre, who was adoped by the monk as a baby, kills the princess who's trying to frame the virtuous monk for sexual harassment. All the stories end with the main characters turned into the mountain range, and kept me entertained as we made the ascent into the high country.
At the station, there was a *gorgeous* St. Bernard dog padding obediently by the side of its master. All the mountain paparazzi, yours truly included, promptly proceeded to take the lovely creature's picture as it plunged its feet into the drinking fountain/water trough at the corner of the station - such a beauty!
We changed trains once, at Kleine Scheidigge. It was here that the group finally broke its record for attentive promptness - we nearly missed the train, so caught up were we in the vistas being revealed by the emerging sunlight. We were quick to recover, though, and once piled into our carriage, it was to discover that there were lovely LCD-panel screens displaying a video of our progress, as well as some of the accomplishments associated with the mountains we were visiting. It was beyond interesting to discover that the train would be plunging *into* the heart of the Eiger, climbing through tunnels and emerging into perfect weather.
There were two stops at scenic view points in order to look down at the glacier, and fortunately, there were no near-misses when it came to getting back on the train on time.
Arrive Jungfraujoch: 8.22 AM * Departure from Jungfraujoch: 1.00 PM
Once at the peak, the air was crisp as we walked through the pedestrian tunnel into the main lobby of the Jungfraujoch station. By this time, the sun was out in full splendor, perfect photography and ice exploration weather! Elmar paused beneath the clock to orient us and give us directions for the call time back to the train. Then he brought us through the Ice Plateau so we could walk on the snow outside. At first Ma was wary of getting out on the ice, but with a little coaxing, she managed to stand up with Dad in front of one of the ice-covered peaks.
Afterwards, I left the parents with Helen at the cafeteria and dashed off to catch up with the rest at the Ice Palace. The beauty of the Jungfraujoch is that, since it's got a lot of visitors, the station is more "user-friendly" than that of the Kleine Matterhorn. Most of the mountain is glassed-in terrace levels for those who don't want to venture out into the open. With the weather we were having, though, we were more in danger of getting sunburn than severe chilling.
The Ice Palace here doesn't have rubber matting on the floor, which is a bit spooky. One really needs to think twice about rushing through this section. The ice carvings, however, are lovely. We were very grateful to be practically the first group up on the mountain; while I was trying to catch up with the group, ran into at least three Japanese tour groups in the main lobby!
From the Ice Palace, past the cafeteria and the mini-museum, and then out to the elevator leading up to the Pyramid, the highest point of the mountain. The view deck looked out over the peak of The Munch, and across a sea of clouds. On impulse, I pulled out my mobile phone to try and call my husband, something I promised him I would attempt - just to say that I was calling from the highest point of Switzerland. It took a couple of tries, but eventually I got to hear his voice - and it was all the corny cliches of the telephone ads come to life. The entire platform, I am sure, could hear my voice ringing out in Taglish as I tried to describe the entire tour up to that point and interrogate him about how he was faring. Not that I cared overmuch; it was just too good to hear him again!
Eventually I had to end the call to go back down and through another tunnel onto the glacier. It took a few seconds for my befuddled mind to register that I was actually getting my first feel of fresh snow! It felt like powdered ice, which it actually is. The silence out on the glacier is like a church - all I could hear was the sigh of the wind as it flowed over the mountain peaks. Beautiful!
All in all, the Jungfraujoch is literally a breathtaking mountain, both in terms of beauty and thin air, and that's about as much as I can say about it without actually bringing you there myself!
Lunch was delicious, if somewhat hurried, since I wanted to get my parents up to see the Pyramid and take their pictures before it was time to go. The timings worked perfectly - I had them up and back down again with time to spare for souvenir shopping in the stores just in front of the meeting place. The group was clustered under the clock five minutes before the time, and Elmar declared himself satisfied with the headcount in time for him to shepherd us through the station and onto our train for the descent on the opposite side of the mountain.
The sun smiled on us all the way down to Kleine Scheidigge, where we changed trains for the final stage of the descent. I spotted a water fountain, and cupped my hands for a drink, being thirsty and not having a water bottle. Ye gods, that had to be the sweetest water *ever*! Fresh off the glaciers by the taste of it, cold you could feel reviving your blood cells.
The mountain paparazzi were in full force as the train trundled down the mountainside, the air growing balmier as we reached the lower slopes. Some stations were in pretty towns that made people wish we had all the time in the world to get down and explore them. We passed some trains on their upward climb to the peak; Elmar said those passengers would have barely two hours on the mountain before having to come down again - while we very nearly had the whole morning. So worth the early wakeup call!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
[CR Switzerland] Day 10-2
September 26, 2006
St. Moritz - Glacier Express - Interlaken
As promised, the drive to Interlaken through Susten Pass was smooth as silk, despite the inevitable switchbacks. All that exposure to the mountain air had made me sleepy, and once we had passed the Steingletcher (Stein Glacier), I decided to stop fighting the way my eyes were falling shut and slipped into a short nap. It was *that* comfortable a drive, indeed! Woke up just before reaching the outskirts of Interlaken, and perked visibly as we pulled into the city. Saw familiar names - Migros, COOP, Apotheke - as we came down past the West Banhof Station, down the main "hotel strip" and around the East Banhof Station before pulling into the drive of our hotel.
Interlaken, even under cloud cover, is *pretty*! Some of the more modern buildings were renovating, but the hotels retain their air of stately gentility. The Hotel Victoria, like its namesake, is rather queenly in aspect, commanding the best view over the main street. A view that included, to my delight, an open field with cows; their bells were tinkling as they moved about. We spotted Sara's bus in one of the hotels near the Victoria as we found our way to the Belle Rivage - and if the Victoria was a queen, then this hotel was a princess, dominating the end of the road just before the East Banhof Station. The river Aare runs behind it, and it would take a strong person indeed to resist the lure of exploring the grounds (assuming you didn't want to drop into town first).
Elmar highly recommended the dining room of the Hotel Schu for dinner the next night, prompting the Comment of the Day from our Irish Joe: "All things considered, I'd rather have the boot than The Schu..." Which of course had me crying out, "Ah, Joe, don't ever be telling me I just heard that!" along with various other groans at the play on words. Good times!
A word about the Beau Rivage. No, make that several words, because if you've been reading me this far, you know very well I can't stop at just one word. :) It is elegant. It's like somebody's stately home that's been converted into a hotel. There are chocolates on the pillow, a thick fluffy bathrobe and bedroom slippers at the foot of the bed. A bathroom that's lit up like a diamond center. Here's the fun part - the Beau Rivage was the ALTERNATE HOTEL. Sweet! And we were here for two nights! ::insert random squeeing here:: I mean...oh, my goodness. Of all the alternate hotels we got on this trip, this had to be one of the best, if not *the* best *ever*.
So if anyone finds themselves on the second bus for an Insight tour, just keep an open mind and hope for the best. You might end up with surprises like this one! :D
Once we'd settled down, Ma discovered that she'd run out of her multiple vitamins. I volunteered to run down to the Apotheke to buy some, and the walk was just the thing I needed before dinner. Felt good to stretch my legs after all that time sitting in the Glacier Epxress and in the bus; with just about 45 minutes to spare, I made it to the Apotheke in good time. Asked for the pharmacist's recommendation about vitamins for senior citizens, and in the end chose the one with ginseng. With that out of the way, my walk back to the hotel was more leisurely. I had time to hang over the fence of the cow field, and even spend time admiring the koi pond in the miniature Japanese garden not far from the hotel.
With the hotel in sight, I broke into a huge grin at the sight of a Smart car that was a rolling advertisement for Lacoste. It was white, and had the Lacoste alligator on each door, and all sorts of other stuff stenciled onto it. I also spotted a "Mr. Grill" at the very gates of the Beau Rivage - it tickled my sense of humor to see this home-run hamburger joint right in front of a luxury hotel.
Dinner call was at 7.00 PM, but of course our group was down about ten minutes before that. While chatting with the folks, I had half an ear cocked towards the piano bar, playing "Name That Tune" with the melodies I could hear floating through the doors. I have an affinity for music, and even if I haven't touched my piano for a long time, I will sing at the slightest suggestion of a tune in the air. Fortunately, the pianist was playing songs that I recognized - mostly golden oldies, so I entered the dining room in a very good humor indeed.
Dinner itself was delicious. Another convivial evening to cap the day. Tomorrow, according to the call times poster, is the Jungfrau Optional tour. Here's crossing our fingers to clear weather above the timberline!
St. Moritz - Glacier Express - Interlaken
As promised, the drive to Interlaken through Susten Pass was smooth as silk, despite the inevitable switchbacks. All that exposure to the mountain air had made me sleepy, and once we had passed the Steingletcher (Stein Glacier), I decided to stop fighting the way my eyes were falling shut and slipped into a short nap. It was *that* comfortable a drive, indeed! Woke up just before reaching the outskirts of Interlaken, and perked visibly as we pulled into the city. Saw familiar names - Migros, COOP, Apotheke - as we came down past the West Banhof Station, down the main "hotel strip" and around the East Banhof Station before pulling into the drive of our hotel.
Interlaken, even under cloud cover, is *pretty*! Some of the more modern buildings were renovating, but the hotels retain their air of stately gentility. The Hotel Victoria, like its namesake, is rather queenly in aspect, commanding the best view over the main street. A view that included, to my delight, an open field with cows; their bells were tinkling as they moved about. We spotted Sara's bus in one of the hotels near the Victoria as we found our way to the Belle Rivage - and if the Victoria was a queen, then this hotel was a princess, dominating the end of the road just before the East Banhof Station. The river Aare runs behind it, and it would take a strong person indeed to resist the lure of exploring the grounds (assuming you didn't want to drop into town first).
Elmar highly recommended the dining room of the Hotel Schu for dinner the next night, prompting the Comment of the Day from our Irish Joe: "All things considered, I'd rather have the boot than The Schu..." Which of course had me crying out, "Ah, Joe, don't ever be telling me I just heard that!" along with various other groans at the play on words. Good times!
A word about the Beau Rivage. No, make that several words, because if you've been reading me this far, you know very well I can't stop at just one word. :) It is elegant. It's like somebody's stately home that's been converted into a hotel. There are chocolates on the pillow, a thick fluffy bathrobe and bedroom slippers at the foot of the bed. A bathroom that's lit up like a diamond center. Here's the fun part - the Beau Rivage was the ALTERNATE HOTEL. Sweet! And we were here for two nights! ::insert random squeeing here:: I mean...oh, my goodness. Of all the alternate hotels we got on this trip, this had to be one of the best, if not *the* best *ever*.
So if anyone finds themselves on the second bus for an Insight tour, just keep an open mind and hope for the best. You might end up with surprises like this one! :D
Once we'd settled down, Ma discovered that she'd run out of her multiple vitamins. I volunteered to run down to the Apotheke to buy some, and the walk was just the thing I needed before dinner. Felt good to stretch my legs after all that time sitting in the Glacier Epxress and in the bus; with just about 45 minutes to spare, I made it to the Apotheke in good time. Asked for the pharmacist's recommendation about vitamins for senior citizens, and in the end chose the one with ginseng. With that out of the way, my walk back to the hotel was more leisurely. I had time to hang over the fence of the cow field, and even spend time admiring the koi pond in the miniature Japanese garden not far from the hotel.
With the hotel in sight, I broke into a huge grin at the sight of a Smart car that was a rolling advertisement for Lacoste. It was white, and had the Lacoste alligator on each door, and all sorts of other stuff stenciled onto it. I also spotted a "Mr. Grill" at the very gates of the Beau Rivage - it tickled my sense of humor to see this home-run hamburger joint right in front of a luxury hotel.
Dinner call was at 7.00 PM, but of course our group was down about ten minutes before that. While chatting with the folks, I had half an ear cocked towards the piano bar, playing "Name That Tune" with the melodies I could hear floating through the doors. I have an affinity for music, and even if I haven't touched my piano for a long time, I will sing at the slightest suggestion of a tune in the air. Fortunately, the pianist was playing songs that I recognized - mostly golden oldies, so I entered the dining room in a very good humor indeed.
Dinner itself was delicious. Another convivial evening to cap the day. Tomorrow, according to the call times poster, is the Jungfrau Optional tour. Here's crossing our fingers to clear weather above the timberline!
[CR Switzerland] Day 10-1
September 26, 2006
St. Moritz - Glacier Express - Interlaken
Morning Call/Breakfast: 8.00 * Baggage Call: 8.30
Departure from St. Moritz: 9.30
The weather showed a lot of improvement when I glanced out the window while waiting for breakfast. When I opened the hotel window, I could see the sun shining through a break in the clouds, and even a little bit of blue skies. I hung out of the window breathing as much of the cool air as my lungs could manage, and felt like I was nested in a luxurious attic room. Glancing down, I discovered that I was looking out over the bus. Familiar voices floated up, and I finally gave in to my paparazzi instincts and snapped a picture of Elamr and Ueli on the street, having a chat. No doubt discussing the prospects for the day's driving.
We'd been advised to get ourselves sandwiches and drinks of choice for the train ride, since the trip would be about four hours long. The dining car was some way from our assigned carriage - and prices were bound to be a little steep. As the family quartermaster, it was my job to go down and get the provisions. I ran into Doug and Joan as they were on their way out the door, and joined them on the short walk to the COOP store. We met Jack near the top of the square, and for the fifteen minutes before the 8.00 AM store opening, we hung out and shared observations about the tour thus far.
The COOP doors opened promptly at eight, and I plunged straight into the fragrance of freshly-baked bread being pulled out of the oven. Heavenly stuff! Quickly picked out cold cuts, small croissants and bottled water for lunch, then threw in a tube of hand cream into the basket as well - my hands were drying out from the cold air and being plunged into warm water at every washroom stop. Was back up in the room by 8.15, collected the parents, made sure nothing was left behind in the drawers and closets, put out the bags, and then down to breakfast we went.
Made a good breakfast of it, given that lunch was going to be a picnic-style affair on the train. By now I was starting to think wistfully of the rice-based breakfasts we had at home, which could carry me all the way to 2.00 PM easily. Made do with the breakfast rolls and still more cold cuts instead - I was determined to keep away from fried food for a while. And while I love cereals, loading up on them, would have meant too many trips to the washrooms for comfort - and when you don't know when the next set of facilities will turn up, that definitely limits this woman's breakfast choices!
Back up to the hotel room to fetch down the carry-on bags, and then back to the lobby to turn in the key. Ueli offered to take my bulging carry-on and stow it in the lower baggage compartment, but I declined, and laughingly told him to wait till after I'd gotten myself a proper backpack in Interlaken. As usual, we were off on schedule, and Elmar loaded us on the train by 9.30 AM, well in time for the scheduled departure of 10.00 AM.
This train, unlike the delightfully vintage-type Bernina Express, was a modern thing with those panoramic windows that make you feel like you're traveling from inside a glass bubble. While the seats were comfortable, and there was even an on-board audio system, I missed the option of being able to open the windows. Panoramic views are all very fine and fantastic, but in my humble opinion, a great deal of the fun of visiting the mountains is breathing in the mountain air. I hasten to add that my less than enthusiastic opinion of the carriage was colored by the fact that the airconditioning needed tweaking, as the watery sunlight gradually warmed the train as we climbed to higher altitudes. No doubt the next batch of Insight passengers will have proper airconditioning - but I must warn the photographers among you that there will be reflections all over the place, making shooting glare-free pictures quite a challenge. (But you had best shoot what you can, never mind the reflections - you'll never know when you can go back to take them again!)
The weather cleared considerably once we were above the timber line. Lovely views! As I said earlier, any attempt at taking photos of the landscape resulted in glass reflections blurring at least one part of the image. This time, the parents had the jump seat area, and Elmar happily bonded with Dad over shared pilot experiences. Turns out that our TD used to be a glider pilot, while Dad once served with the Philippine Air Force and was a corporate pilot for 23 years.
At one of the longer stops, Gary gave everyone a huge scare by staying on the platform a touch too long. We inside the train knew that it was going to be leaving, but he was still taking pictures! Word got down to Elmar, who, with Gary's wife, hopped out of the train to call out to him, and then back on again. There were a few moments of exquisite suspense until the other end of the coach called out that our stray sheep was safely on board, and a collective sigh of relief swept over us all.
I took one look at Elmar's face and teased him, "It's OK, Elmar. You can breathe normally now!" I could totally relate to the feeling - Dad is a wandering gypsy when we're on tour sometimes, and there is nothing like turning around to discover that the person you thought was tagging along behind you, has been left around the corner admiring a shop window! The incident reminded me of various other times I'd been on a tour group when people were lost, and I shared some of the highlights of those experiences with Jenny and her husband, who had come down to the jump seat area.
Passed around the cold cuts and croissants and water as lunch time came around; and in the interests of reducing what I had to carry, made sure we ate everything. The entire trip took 4.5 hours, ending exactly at 2.oo PM. Again, Ueli was waiting patiently at the Andermatt station for us, and never was the blast of brisk air as we got down from the coach more welcome!
As most of the group elected to make this their washroom stop, there was a bit of a wait. Unable to bring myself to get back into an enclosed space after being cooped up for 4.5 hours, I had a chat with Ueli, who asked whether the air was as fresh on the train as it was out in the open. I pulled a face at him and said it would have been *much* better with open windows, which made him laugh. He smiled in understanding as I sighed that I would miss the natural air-conditioning so very much once I was back home in the tropics. In the course of our conversation, I discovered that he averages about 75,000 km/year as a tour bus driver - and was duly impressed. Ueli pointed out the general direction of the Susten Pass, which we had to go through before reaching Interlaken, assuring me that it was going to be a fine drive. I didn't doubt him for a minute, not even with clouds lowering over the mountain peaks.
St. Moritz - Glacier Express - Interlaken
Morning Call/Breakfast: 8.00 * Baggage Call: 8.30
Departure from St. Moritz: 9.30
The weather showed a lot of improvement when I glanced out the window while waiting for breakfast. When I opened the hotel window, I could see the sun shining through a break in the clouds, and even a little bit of blue skies. I hung out of the window breathing as much of the cool air as my lungs could manage, and felt like I was nested in a luxurious attic room. Glancing down, I discovered that I was looking out over the bus. Familiar voices floated up, and I finally gave in to my paparazzi instincts and snapped a picture of Elamr and Ueli on the street, having a chat. No doubt discussing the prospects for the day's driving.
We'd been advised to get ourselves sandwiches and drinks of choice for the train ride, since the trip would be about four hours long. The dining car was some way from our assigned carriage - and prices were bound to be a little steep. As the family quartermaster, it was my job to go down and get the provisions. I ran into Doug and Joan as they were on their way out the door, and joined them on the short walk to the COOP store. We met Jack near the top of the square, and for the fifteen minutes before the 8.00 AM store opening, we hung out and shared observations about the tour thus far.
The COOP doors opened promptly at eight, and I plunged straight into the fragrance of freshly-baked bread being pulled out of the oven. Heavenly stuff! Quickly picked out cold cuts, small croissants and bottled water for lunch, then threw in a tube of hand cream into the basket as well - my hands were drying out from the cold air and being plunged into warm water at every washroom stop. Was back up in the room by 8.15, collected the parents, made sure nothing was left behind in the drawers and closets, put out the bags, and then down to breakfast we went.
Made a good breakfast of it, given that lunch was going to be a picnic-style affair on the train. By now I was starting to think wistfully of the rice-based breakfasts we had at home, which could carry me all the way to 2.00 PM easily. Made do with the breakfast rolls and still more cold cuts instead - I was determined to keep away from fried food for a while. And while I love cereals, loading up on them, would have meant too many trips to the washrooms for comfort - and when you don't know when the next set of facilities will turn up, that definitely limits this woman's breakfast choices!
Back up to the hotel room to fetch down the carry-on bags, and then back to the lobby to turn in the key. Ueli offered to take my bulging carry-on and stow it in the lower baggage compartment, but I declined, and laughingly told him to wait till after I'd gotten myself a proper backpack in Interlaken. As usual, we were off on schedule, and Elmar loaded us on the train by 9.30 AM, well in time for the scheduled departure of 10.00 AM.
This train, unlike the delightfully vintage-type Bernina Express, was a modern thing with those panoramic windows that make you feel like you're traveling from inside a glass bubble. While the seats were comfortable, and there was even an on-board audio system, I missed the option of being able to open the windows. Panoramic views are all very fine and fantastic, but in my humble opinion, a great deal of the fun of visiting the mountains is breathing in the mountain air. I hasten to add that my less than enthusiastic opinion of the carriage was colored by the fact that the airconditioning needed tweaking, as the watery sunlight gradually warmed the train as we climbed to higher altitudes. No doubt the next batch of Insight passengers will have proper airconditioning - but I must warn the photographers among you that there will be reflections all over the place, making shooting glare-free pictures quite a challenge. (But you had best shoot what you can, never mind the reflections - you'll never know when you can go back to take them again!)
The weather cleared considerably once we were above the timber line. Lovely views! As I said earlier, any attempt at taking photos of the landscape resulted in glass reflections blurring at least one part of the image. This time, the parents had the jump seat area, and Elmar happily bonded with Dad over shared pilot experiences. Turns out that our TD used to be a glider pilot, while Dad once served with the Philippine Air Force and was a corporate pilot for 23 years.
At one of the longer stops, Gary gave everyone a huge scare by staying on the platform a touch too long. We inside the train knew that it was going to be leaving, but he was still taking pictures! Word got down to Elmar, who, with Gary's wife, hopped out of the train to call out to him, and then back on again. There were a few moments of exquisite suspense until the other end of the coach called out that our stray sheep was safely on board, and a collective sigh of relief swept over us all.
I took one look at Elmar's face and teased him, "It's OK, Elmar. You can breathe normally now!" I could totally relate to the feeling - Dad is a wandering gypsy when we're on tour sometimes, and there is nothing like turning around to discover that the person you thought was tagging along behind you, has been left around the corner admiring a shop window! The incident reminded me of various other times I'd been on a tour group when people were lost, and I shared some of the highlights of those experiences with Jenny and her husband, who had come down to the jump seat area.
Passed around the cold cuts and croissants and water as lunch time came around; and in the interests of reducing what I had to carry, made sure we ate everything. The entire trip took 4.5 hours, ending exactly at 2.oo PM. Again, Ueli was waiting patiently at the Andermatt station for us, and never was the blast of brisk air as we got down from the coach more welcome!
As most of the group elected to make this their washroom stop, there was a bit of a wait. Unable to bring myself to get back into an enclosed space after being cooped up for 4.5 hours, I had a chat with Ueli, who asked whether the air was as fresh on the train as it was out in the open. I pulled a face at him and said it would have been *much* better with open windows, which made him laugh. He smiled in understanding as I sighed that I would miss the natural air-conditioning so very much once I was back home in the tropics. In the course of our conversation, I discovered that he averages about 75,000 km/year as a tour bus driver - and was duly impressed. Ueli pointed out the general direction of the Susten Pass, which we had to go through before reaching Interlaken, assuring me that it was going to be a fine drive. I didn't doubt him for a minute, not even with clouds lowering over the mountain peaks.
Monday, October 23, 2006
[CR Switzerland] Day 09
September 25, 2006
Lugano - San Bernardino Pass - St. Moritz - Bernina Express Optional - St. Moritz
Morning Call: 6.45 * Breakfast call: 7.00 * Baggage Call: 7.15
Departure from Lugano: 8.15
We left Lugano in the rain and wet, weather straight out of a Gothic novel. Everyone marvelled at how incredibly fortunate it had been that the weather had been clear and bright yesterday. The parents and I were not late for the bus this time, and joined the cheerful crowd in the lobby at around 8.00 AM. Am glad to report that absolutely nothing could dampen the spirits of our group - even if one or two couples reported some "unfortunate events" to the Tour Director. Looking at the sky, I spared a thought for those loading our suitcases; the Bellevue did not have a porte cochere over the front drive, and therefore our poor coach driver and the porters had to load our bags in the rain. I thought about the extra weight in my bag (starting weight was about 15kgs, add 2.5kgs chocolate, multiply by 40 pcs of baggage for the group) and winced.
We pulled out to a now familiar rhythm: headcount, good mornings, confirmation that all valuables and significant others were on board, keys returned, admin details for the day. We also left with the hope that sunshine would greet us in St. Moritz - or at least, a cessation of the rain! The road trip was uneventful until we got to the San Bernardino Pass, where we got stuck in the first real traffic jam of the tour. We stopped at a little hotel just after the tunnel, and the promise of hot chocolate and washrooms was worth a little walk in the rain.
Now, as was typical with many a washroom on this tour, one had to descend steep, winding stairs to get to the facilities. For easier access, the doors were left standing open, which, given the long line into the ladies' room, afforded a view to unnerve the modesty-challenged. ::grin:: The soap in this particular washroom was mounted on a steel rod protruding from the wall. It was yellow, and shaped rather like a banana after constant usage. When it came to my turn to wash up, using this soap had the unfortunate effect of dropping my mind straight into the gutter - which in turn led to the suppression of giggles for the duration of the stop each time I remembered it. (I ought to have taken a picture of that soap with my mobile phone and sent it to my husband, that's what I should have done.)
Once we were back on the bus, Elmar thanked us for being so prompt - apparently Ueli wanted to take advantage of the light traffic, and was eager to get the coach on the move. We pulled out just as Sara's bus pulled in, and again there was much waving of hands between both buses. Ueli really showed us what he was made of during this drive, because you could hardly see beyond 200 feet in front of the bus. It tells you a lot about how safe I felt when I say that I was actually trying to look beyond the cloud cover for any breaks, and actually peeping out the window at the sheer drop beside the coach! I have never been the best of travelers on mountain drives; normally I get dizzy, close my eyes, and mutter prayers to Raphael Archangel to just let the drive end safely. But not this time...the silence in the bus was either people (a) catching up on sleep or (b) respectful awe at the way Ueli got our bus around the hairpin curves.
We pulled into St. Moritz around 12.30 PM, still in the rain and wet. A bit of a let-down after all the good weather we'd been having till then, if only because of the views we were missing in section of the mountain country. Elmar recommended lunch before attempting to check-in, which was scheduled at around 1.45 PM, giving those on the Bernina Express optional tour a chance to drop their carry-on bags and freshen up before setting out. Unfortunately, the Hauser Hotel coffee shop was deluged with lunchtime regulars and the early members of our group - packed to the gills, it was!
I led my parents back up to our hotel and sat them down in the lobby while trying to figure out what to do. It was then I spotted a young Japanese couple walking into a restaurant across the street, and had a brainwave. I double-timed it outside, did a quick check to see if the restaurant was open and full, and then waved across the street at my parents, who were watching from the lobby windows.
The Engadiner Restaurant is a place I most heartily recommend to the next batch of people taking this tour. It is small and cosy; I think the proprietors live on top of the restaurant. Furnished in warm woods, and the prices were quite reasonable. Even more important, lunch (barley soup, pork steak and frites) was hot, and served generously, and perfect to take off the chill. Another thing - don't order the cheese fondue unless you're at least a party four people - the pot of bubbling cheese mixture that the proprietor/head server put on the table was *huge*. I know this, because the American couple at the table beside us who ordered it, suddenly had this deer-in-the-headlights expression. :D
Once we were done with lunch, we checked with the front desk at 1.45 and were greeted with the news that the rooms were ready. Picked up the hand-carry bags from behind the front desk, claimed the key, and we found ourselves in a cosy room with a walk-in closet and more wood-based furniture. The overall effect was like being in a ski cabin. Tested the third bed and was greatly relieved to find that the mattress was nice and firm, unlike the previous night's, which had a tendency to sag just beneath my lower back.
But there wasn't any time for a nap - just enough time to settle the suitcases, freshen up, and be down at the lobby by 2.00 sot that we could leave the hotel by 2.20 in order to catch the Bernina Express. By virtue of being one of the last into the carriage, I managed to snag my favorite seat in any form of transport - the jump seat, which meant I had a little corner all to myself.
All in all, it was a wonderful ride through the mountain country - so maybe the cloud and mist hazed up the view, I thought it was a bit like riding through certain parts of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Even with less than bright sunshine, we were still lucky - the clouds would part at just the right times, giving us glimpses of the valleys and peaks and glaciers. One of the best things about this train is that you could pull down the windows and let in the bracing mountain air - and also have clearer pictures when the glaciers were finally sighted through breaks in the haze. There was a part when the train passed by a gorgeous glacier and the framing against my window was just too perfect not to share with all the rest of folks with cameras. This inspired suggestions that I ought to be charging a token fee for the use of the window, since I had to step away from my seat for them to get their shots. All the cameras clicking...we were mountain paparazzi, that's the word for it. Stalking all the best shots of the poor unsuspecting natural wonders!
Elmar regaled folks in the jumpseat area with stories of his life as a TD; a difficult life, and challenging, but it’s obvious he enjoys the job or he wouldn’t have stuck with it for 30 years! Between his stories and jumping up and down to take photos of all the best sights, the trip went very quickly; and at the tour’s end, it was back to Ueli, patiently waiting with the coach at the station. On the way back to the hotel, Elmar reminded us that pre-dinner drinks were going to be served on behalf of the return customers, and everyone was else was invited to join as our guests. Having accompanied my parents on at least three of their six Insight tours, this announcement was a fine thing, though Ma's shyness took over as our names were read out from the list of "veteran travelers". Quite a few of us in this batch - at least eight or ten have traveled with Insight more than three times.
It turned out to be a very social evening. The waiter at the bar, upon discovering that my parents and I were from the Philippines, was happy to announce that he had seen Manila and Cebu, back in 2003. I told him to take the time to come and visit the country again, so much has changed, he'd hardly recognize the old tourist areas! Sue gave everyone heart palpitations by nearly missing a step on the circular stairs on the way up, which made me bundle my parents into the elevator quicktime - I wasn't about to risk anything with Dad's unpredictable vertigo spells, and Ma's tired eyes; it had been quite a long day already!
The dining room was a tight fit, but it only seems to have added to the conviviality. The food was good, and although we called it an early night, I managed to share a few travel yarns with some of the group members after going down to check on the call times for the next day.
Here's hoping that we wake up to better weather tomorrow - or at least, no rain!
Lugano - San Bernardino Pass - St. Moritz - Bernina Express Optional - St. Moritz
Morning Call: 6.45 * Breakfast call: 7.00 * Baggage Call: 7.15
Departure from Lugano: 8.15
We left Lugano in the rain and wet, weather straight out of a Gothic novel. Everyone marvelled at how incredibly fortunate it had been that the weather had been clear and bright yesterday. The parents and I were not late for the bus this time, and joined the cheerful crowd in the lobby at around 8.00 AM. Am glad to report that absolutely nothing could dampen the spirits of our group - even if one or two couples reported some "unfortunate events" to the Tour Director. Looking at the sky, I spared a thought for those loading our suitcases; the Bellevue did not have a porte cochere over the front drive, and therefore our poor coach driver and the porters had to load our bags in the rain. I thought about the extra weight in my bag (starting weight was about 15kgs, add 2.5kgs chocolate, multiply by 40 pcs of baggage for the group) and winced.
We pulled out to a now familiar rhythm: headcount, good mornings, confirmation that all valuables and significant others were on board, keys returned, admin details for the day. We also left with the hope that sunshine would greet us in St. Moritz - or at least, a cessation of the rain! The road trip was uneventful until we got to the San Bernardino Pass, where we got stuck in the first real traffic jam of the tour. We stopped at a little hotel just after the tunnel, and the promise of hot chocolate and washrooms was worth a little walk in the rain.
Now, as was typical with many a washroom on this tour, one had to descend steep, winding stairs to get to the facilities. For easier access, the doors were left standing open, which, given the long line into the ladies' room, afforded a view to unnerve the modesty-challenged. ::grin:: The soap in this particular washroom was mounted on a steel rod protruding from the wall. It was yellow, and shaped rather like a banana after constant usage. When it came to my turn to wash up, using this soap had the unfortunate effect of dropping my mind straight into the gutter - which in turn led to the suppression of giggles for the duration of the stop each time I remembered it. (I ought to have taken a picture of that soap with my mobile phone and sent it to my husband, that's what I should have done.)
Once we were back on the bus, Elmar thanked us for being so prompt - apparently Ueli wanted to take advantage of the light traffic, and was eager to get the coach on the move. We pulled out just as Sara's bus pulled in, and again there was much waving of hands between both buses. Ueli really showed us what he was made of during this drive, because you could hardly see beyond 200 feet in front of the bus. It tells you a lot about how safe I felt when I say that I was actually trying to look beyond the cloud cover for any breaks, and actually peeping out the window at the sheer drop beside the coach! I have never been the best of travelers on mountain drives; normally I get dizzy, close my eyes, and mutter prayers to Raphael Archangel to just let the drive end safely. But not this time...the silence in the bus was either people (a) catching up on sleep or (b) respectful awe at the way Ueli got our bus around the hairpin curves.
We pulled into St. Moritz around 12.30 PM, still in the rain and wet. A bit of a let-down after all the good weather we'd been having till then, if only because of the views we were missing in section of the mountain country. Elmar recommended lunch before attempting to check-in, which was scheduled at around 1.45 PM, giving those on the Bernina Express optional tour a chance to drop their carry-on bags and freshen up before setting out. Unfortunately, the Hauser Hotel coffee shop was deluged with lunchtime regulars and the early members of our group - packed to the gills, it was!
I led my parents back up to our hotel and sat them down in the lobby while trying to figure out what to do. It was then I spotted a young Japanese couple walking into a restaurant across the street, and had a brainwave. I double-timed it outside, did a quick check to see if the restaurant was open and full, and then waved across the street at my parents, who were watching from the lobby windows.
The Engadiner Restaurant is a place I most heartily recommend to the next batch of people taking this tour. It is small and cosy; I think the proprietors live on top of the restaurant. Furnished in warm woods, and the prices were quite reasonable. Even more important, lunch (barley soup, pork steak and frites) was hot, and served generously, and perfect to take off the chill. Another thing - don't order the cheese fondue unless you're at least a party four people - the pot of bubbling cheese mixture that the proprietor/head server put on the table was *huge*. I know this, because the American couple at the table beside us who ordered it, suddenly had this deer-in-the-headlights expression. :D
Once we were done with lunch, we checked with the front desk at 1.45 and were greeted with the news that the rooms were ready. Picked up the hand-carry bags from behind the front desk, claimed the key, and we found ourselves in a cosy room with a walk-in closet and more wood-based furniture. The overall effect was like being in a ski cabin. Tested the third bed and was greatly relieved to find that the mattress was nice and firm, unlike the previous night's, which had a tendency to sag just beneath my lower back.
But there wasn't any time for a nap - just enough time to settle the suitcases, freshen up, and be down at the lobby by 2.00 sot that we could leave the hotel by 2.20 in order to catch the Bernina Express. By virtue of being one of the last into the carriage, I managed to snag my favorite seat in any form of transport - the jump seat, which meant I had a little corner all to myself.
All in all, it was a wonderful ride through the mountain country - so maybe the cloud and mist hazed up the view, I thought it was a bit like riding through certain parts of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Even with less than bright sunshine, we were still lucky - the clouds would part at just the right times, giving us glimpses of the valleys and peaks and glaciers. One of the best things about this train is that you could pull down the windows and let in the bracing mountain air - and also have clearer pictures when the glaciers were finally sighted through breaks in the haze. There was a part when the train passed by a gorgeous glacier and the framing against my window was just too perfect not to share with all the rest of folks with cameras. This inspired suggestions that I ought to be charging a token fee for the use of the window, since I had to step away from my seat for them to get their shots. All the cameras clicking...we were mountain paparazzi, that's the word for it. Stalking all the best shots of the poor unsuspecting natural wonders!
Elmar regaled folks in the jumpseat area with stories of his life as a TD; a difficult life, and challenging, but it’s obvious he enjoys the job or he wouldn’t have stuck with it for 30 years! Between his stories and jumping up and down to take photos of all the best sights, the trip went very quickly; and at the tour’s end, it was back to Ueli, patiently waiting with the coach at the station. On the way back to the hotel, Elmar reminded us that pre-dinner drinks were going to be served on behalf of the return customers, and everyone was else was invited to join as our guests. Having accompanied my parents on at least three of their six Insight tours, this announcement was a fine thing, though Ma's shyness took over as our names were read out from the list of "veteran travelers". Quite a few of us in this batch - at least eight or ten have traveled with Insight more than three times.
It turned out to be a very social evening. The waiter at the bar, upon discovering that my parents and I were from the Philippines, was happy to announce that he had seen Manila and Cebu, back in 2003. I told him to take the time to come and visit the country again, so much has changed, he'd hardly recognize the old tourist areas! Sue gave everyone heart palpitations by nearly missing a step on the circular stairs on the way up, which made me bundle my parents into the elevator quicktime - I wasn't about to risk anything with Dad's unpredictable vertigo spells, and Ma's tired eyes; it had been quite a long day already!
The dining room was a tight fit, but it only seems to have added to the conviviality. The food was good, and although we called it an early night, I managed to share a few travel yarns with some of the group members after going down to check on the call times for the next day.
Here's hoping that we wake up to better weather tomorrow - or at least, no rain!
Sunday, October 22, 2006
[CR Switzerland] Day 08
September 24, 2006
Lugano - Cabellano Italian Market and Villa Taranto Optional - Lugano
Morning call: 6.30 * Breakfast call: 7.00
Departure for Optional Tour: 8.00
Today my parents and I were the last on the bus, almost missing the departure call. I was totally under the impression that the coach was going to leave the hotel at 8.15! Definitely I left some of my brains behind in Isola Bella, if not back in Zermatt altogether. Thank heavens for Jack, who, when Elmar realized he was missing people from the head count, noted that we were the ones not yet on board.
The group still managed to get out at 8.05, no thanks to me - I came flying down the lobby with my parents hurrying along behind, just in time to meet Elmar coming in through the door. Breathless explanations and some heart palpitations later, I managed to render myself rational as we pulled away for another border crossing. (Come to think of it, I think this segment of the tour had the most number of border crossings - at least twice yesterday and and twice today.)
There was a small delay at the border, as customs/immigration explained about a local Alpini (Alpine police) celebration, and how the road to Villa Taranto was blocked till one in the afternoon. This meant that instead of pulling out of Cabellona before lunch, we'd have to stay there till at least noon. We were dropped off in front of the town church, and then led down a cobblestone path down towards the waterfront, where the market stalls were set up. Wear sensible, comfortable walking shoes, even though there are smooth sidewalk sections to help in the descent and return ascent. On the way down, we were given a chance to stop at an ATM and take out some Euros. I'd forgotten about this little detail when we changed money in Zermatt the other night - we should have bought some Euros for this optional.
At the bottom of the hill, Elmar paused us at a point just overlooking the market, gave us our call times and admin details, then set us free to wander at will. This was the fun part, as we had arrived before the real Sunday crowds, around 9.00 AM. Before we set out on our ramble, I slipped Elmar a little note. It's a custom I began with my first tour of Europe; I write a little note saying how much we appreciate all the "behind the scenes" efforts taken by the Tour Director to make our trip a smooth one, and how much we are enjoying ourselves.
Our lack of Euros kept us from spending on items like leather jackets; however, Dad managed to get himself a nice leather belt. He was also on the lookout for golf gloves, but nothing seemed to suit him.
I had my eye on a very nice leather bag ostensibly from Florence - soft leather, nice color; but then I thought of the bulk it would create in my suitcase and decided to pass on it. The place was very reminiscent of the flea markets we have at home - lucky thing I didn’t get any pangs of homesickness this time! Nearing the end of a tour, I've been known to get all misty-eyed if I see something that vividly reminds me of home.
At one stall, Ma bought table linens for the formal dining table, and it turned out that the Italian vendor’s “darling” is a Filipina from Nueva Ecija! For this reason, Ma turned on all the charm of her bargaining tactics and managed to bring down the price a wee bit. Contrast this with Dad, who couldn't get the nice Italian seller to budge, not even with my broken Italian to soft-soap the transaction. Bargaining comes second nature to Ma - she'll even try it in the department stores!
Lunch (more of a late brunch), for us, was a very minimal affair. Croissants stuffed with marmalade, hot chocolate and mineral water at a gelateria that accepted VISA. (Yay for credit card-enabled establishments!) Once we’d done lunch, we had a chat with Elmar at the meeting point, and he gave us a headstart for the bus, which was nice of him, given the steepness of the ascent and Ma's tendency to peep at all the stalls on the way up.
Departure call was for 12.25 PM, and we left without incident. Sara's bus collected her group about five minutes before Ueli rolled in with our bus. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the roadblock for the local Alpini (Alpine Corps) celebration had been taken down early, so we got into Villa Taranto in good time, pretty much almost on the original schedule.
Ye gods, but Villa Taranto was a spectacular place - the dahlia gardens, as I thought, caught Ma’s eye instantly, and she was in ecstasy over the colors and sizes of the blooms. The place was started as a botanical garden by a Scotsman, of all people, and if one thought the Isola Bella gardens were lovely, these were more than impressive enough, in terms of plant variety. There was even a greenhouse with those gigantic Amazon waterlilies!
At the mausoleum of the Villa's founder, I opted out of the uphill climb segment in order to keep parents company - though it would have been fun to try and see if I could make it without hyperventilating at the top. Staying down had its fun, though - I saw a pair of squirrels frolicking about, while exploring some of the side paths from where I had left my parents to sit and take in the view. The cute things were teasing the photographer in me with their antics; I have now made plans to get myself a slightly larger zoom than the 76mm I have now. That, or a digital video camera. :D
Elmar caught up with us as we were walking towards the exit and I was all but prone on the grass trying to catch one more shot of the squirrels (sue me, but small animals bring out the squee factor in me)! He walked with us to the exit, where the parents decided to visit the washrooms before settling down on a bench with a vantage point over the parking courtyard. I chose to stand, and as the others returned from their hillside ramble, managed to bond a little more with different members of the tour group as we waited on the departure call time.
Another excellent opportunity for a candid "Kodak moment" shot of Elmar and Ueli relaxing over coffee presented itself - however, taking it would have meant making like a paparazzi, as a very inconvenient (but very lush) bush was in the way! Besides, there’s something about driver/TD quiet time that gives one pause before intruding - still, that hasn’t stopped me from making mental notes on “the pic that got away”.
We left Villa Taranto around 2.45 PM. I suppose I was more tired than I thought, because despite my best intentions, I fell into a solid nap on the way back, waking up just before the border crossing. Once we were back at the hotel, there was a little down time while waiting for the 7.00 PM dinner hour at the hotel restaurant. Coming down early to cross-check the poster for the next day's call times, I had a chance to chat with Jack. Perhaps it was because I was chaperoning my parents about, but I notice that I bonded most easily with the older tour members. Which was actually a lot of fun, because they were full of good humor and had an endless fund of reminisces!
For dinner this time, the parents and I had ossobusco; I started with consomme alla sherry, which really hit the spot after the long day. Once more, I was all about a good, substantial meal, and the ossobusco filled that requirement nicely, served with risotto on the side. Ma found the veal soft and delicious, and enjoyed the risotto, which held the taste of butter and cheese in it.
As we got up to leave, the maitre d' asked if we had found the meal to our liking. I told him that for that meal alone I’d be willing to revisit Lugano - which lit up his face considerably. It also brought a smile to our server's face, and gave me a pleasant buzz. It's true - the hotel serves good, if pricey food. If I were to do this tour over again, I'd much rather skip the market in favor of the morning in Villa Taranto and then an early afternoon return to explore Lugano. I didn't see a smidgen of the place, and we were there for two nights! But then, you see, I wasn't in shopping mode for most of this tour, so that may have something to do with it.
Lugano - Cabellano Italian Market and Villa Taranto Optional - Lugano
Morning call: 6.30 * Breakfast call: 7.00
Departure for Optional Tour: 8.00
Today my parents and I were the last on the bus, almost missing the departure call. I was totally under the impression that the coach was going to leave the hotel at 8.15! Definitely I left some of my brains behind in Isola Bella, if not back in Zermatt altogether. Thank heavens for Jack, who, when Elmar realized he was missing people from the head count, noted that we were the ones not yet on board.
The group still managed to get out at 8.05, no thanks to me - I came flying down the lobby with my parents hurrying along behind, just in time to meet Elmar coming in through the door. Breathless explanations and some heart palpitations later, I managed to render myself rational as we pulled away for another border crossing. (Come to think of it, I think this segment of the tour had the most number of border crossings - at least twice yesterday and and twice today.)
There was a small delay at the border, as customs/immigration explained about a local Alpini (Alpine police) celebration, and how the road to Villa Taranto was blocked till one in the afternoon. This meant that instead of pulling out of Cabellona before lunch, we'd have to stay there till at least noon. We were dropped off in front of the town church, and then led down a cobblestone path down towards the waterfront, where the market stalls were set up. Wear sensible, comfortable walking shoes, even though there are smooth sidewalk sections to help in the descent and return ascent. On the way down, we were given a chance to stop at an ATM and take out some Euros. I'd forgotten about this little detail when we changed money in Zermatt the other night - we should have bought some Euros for this optional.
At the bottom of the hill, Elmar paused us at a point just overlooking the market, gave us our call times and admin details, then set us free to wander at will. This was the fun part, as we had arrived before the real Sunday crowds, around 9.00 AM. Before we set out on our ramble, I slipped Elmar a little note. It's a custom I began with my first tour of Europe; I write a little note saying how much we appreciate all the "behind the scenes" efforts taken by the Tour Director to make our trip a smooth one, and how much we are enjoying ourselves.
Our lack of Euros kept us from spending on items like leather jackets; however, Dad managed to get himself a nice leather belt. He was also on the lookout for golf gloves, but nothing seemed to suit him.
I had my eye on a very nice leather bag ostensibly from Florence - soft leather, nice color; but then I thought of the bulk it would create in my suitcase and decided to pass on it. The place was very reminiscent of the flea markets we have at home - lucky thing I didn’t get any pangs of homesickness this time! Nearing the end of a tour, I've been known to get all misty-eyed if I see something that vividly reminds me of home.
At one stall, Ma bought table linens for the formal dining table, and it turned out that the Italian vendor’s “darling” is a Filipina from Nueva Ecija! For this reason, Ma turned on all the charm of her bargaining tactics and managed to bring down the price a wee bit. Contrast this with Dad, who couldn't get the nice Italian seller to budge, not even with my broken Italian to soft-soap the transaction. Bargaining comes second nature to Ma - she'll even try it in the department stores!
Lunch (more of a late brunch), for us, was a very minimal affair. Croissants stuffed with marmalade, hot chocolate and mineral water at a gelateria that accepted VISA. (Yay for credit card-enabled establishments!) Once we’d done lunch, we had a chat with Elmar at the meeting point, and he gave us a headstart for the bus, which was nice of him, given the steepness of the ascent and Ma's tendency to peep at all the stalls on the way up.
Departure call was for 12.25 PM, and we left without incident. Sara's bus collected her group about five minutes before Ueli rolled in with our bus. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the roadblock for the local Alpini (Alpine Corps) celebration had been taken down early, so we got into Villa Taranto in good time, pretty much almost on the original schedule.
Ye gods, but Villa Taranto was a spectacular place - the dahlia gardens, as I thought, caught Ma’s eye instantly, and she was in ecstasy over the colors and sizes of the blooms. The place was started as a botanical garden by a Scotsman, of all people, and if one thought the Isola Bella gardens were lovely, these were more than impressive enough, in terms of plant variety. There was even a greenhouse with those gigantic Amazon waterlilies!
At the mausoleum of the Villa's founder, I opted out of the uphill climb segment in order to keep parents company - though it would have been fun to try and see if I could make it without hyperventilating at the top. Staying down had its fun, though - I saw a pair of squirrels frolicking about, while exploring some of the side paths from where I had left my parents to sit and take in the view. The cute things were teasing the photographer in me with their antics; I have now made plans to get myself a slightly larger zoom than the 76mm I have now. That, or a digital video camera. :D
Elmar caught up with us as we were walking towards the exit and I was all but prone on the grass trying to catch one more shot of the squirrels (sue me, but small animals bring out the squee factor in me)! He walked with us to the exit, where the parents decided to visit the washrooms before settling down on a bench with a vantage point over the parking courtyard. I chose to stand, and as the others returned from their hillside ramble, managed to bond a little more with different members of the tour group as we waited on the departure call time.
Another excellent opportunity for a candid "Kodak moment" shot of Elmar and Ueli relaxing over coffee presented itself - however, taking it would have meant making like a paparazzi, as a very inconvenient (but very lush) bush was in the way! Besides, there’s something about driver/TD quiet time that gives one pause before intruding - still, that hasn’t stopped me from making mental notes on “the pic that got away”.
We left Villa Taranto around 2.45 PM. I suppose I was more tired than I thought, because despite my best intentions, I fell into a solid nap on the way back, waking up just before the border crossing. Once we were back at the hotel, there was a little down time while waiting for the 7.00 PM dinner hour at the hotel restaurant. Coming down early to cross-check the poster for the next day's call times, I had a chance to chat with Jack. Perhaps it was because I was chaperoning my parents about, but I notice that I bonded most easily with the older tour members. Which was actually a lot of fun, because they were full of good humor and had an endless fund of reminisces!
For dinner this time, the parents and I had ossobusco; I started with consomme alla sherry, which really hit the spot after the long day. Once more, I was all about a good, substantial meal, and the ossobusco filled that requirement nicely, served with risotto on the side. Ma found the veal soft and delicious, and enjoyed the risotto, which held the taste of butter and cheese in it.
As we got up to leave, the maitre d' asked if we had found the meal to our liking. I told him that for that meal alone I’d be willing to revisit Lugano - which lit up his face considerably. It also brought a smile to our server's face, and gave me a pleasant buzz. It's true - the hotel serves good, if pricey food. If I were to do this tour over again, I'd much rather skip the market in favor of the morning in Villa Taranto and then an early afternoon return to explore Lugano. I didn't see a smidgen of the place, and we were there for two nights! But then, you see, I wasn't in shopping mode for most of this tour, so that may have something to do with it.
[CR Switzerland] Day 07-2
September 23, 2006
Zermatt - Isola Bella Optional - Lugano
In due course, Elmar brought us back around to the foyer of the palace, and there was a dash for the washrooms while waiting for Arno, the house guide. It was a great pity that photography inside the manor/castle wasn’t allowed…more’s the pity I couldn’t get an official photobook, but those are the breaks. I managed to collect enough notes from the spiel, which Arno delivered with authority and good humor.
The Borromeo family produced San Carlos Borromeo, the patron of our San Carlos Seminary in Guadalupe, Makati City (home to those with late vocations). The house was full of art masterpieces, and the vista from the foot of Napoleon’s bed is quite impressive. Interesting to note that the family still keeps a set of apartments in the manor/castle, and often comes down to stay. About halfway through the tour, Arno said we were going to have lots of stairs to negotiate, to reach The Grotto Suite of rooms; but he offered an option for people to sit down on the couches in the reception room we were standing in. Not a bad place to rest, it looked like a micro version of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
The Grotto Suite was on the lower levels of the island, closer to the waterline, and every wall and ceiling was encrusted with coral, shells, undersea rocks, in an effort to simulate a series of underwater caves, I suppose. Then we were led through one of the oldest parts of the house, a tower with a spiral staircase cast out of (or was it carved out of?) blocks of granite and set into the wall.
Back up, through the reception room where we'd left some of the tour members, then through the art gallery with its magnificent tapestries from Gobelins. Of note was the one nearest the exit. It depicted a stream of running water, and if you kept your eyes fixed on it as you walked down in front of the tapestry, you could actually see the perspective shifting to follow you. Many oohs and aaahs, and applause for Arno as he handed us back to Elmar and the Sara's group were directed back to her. We'd had to merge for this optional in order to be accommodated, but that wasn't so bad.
Got back down to the docks without too much trouble, and we were back on our coach at 2.30 PM sharp. Checked with the parents that they had had a nice time at Stresa, and then as we made our way through traffic, Elmar started to whet our appetites by describing the delights to be found at the Alprose chocolate factory. This was a bonus side trip, and he hadn't wanted to guarantee that it would happen, just in case circumstances went against us. However, even with the traffic, it appeared that we would get to the factory on time, so Elmar felt justified in telling us how Alprose was among the best chocolatiers in Switzerland, along with Lindt, Suchard, and Nestle.
By the time we pulled into the chocolate factory, it was exactly 4.30 PM, just 30 minutes shy of closing time! There was a bit of a dash for the washrooms, then into the factory we went. First thing that hits you is the smell of chocolate from the chocolate fountain where you get your first taste of the Alprose product. Two of the staff dip small wafer rolls (we call them barquillos at home) into the flowing chocolate and hand them out. Ma and I saw a little of the informational video before we were reminded that we had barely 15 minutes left before closing time.
So...off into the little shop we crowded. Free samples, yum! Browsing through the shelves, trying to choose what to grab, was a difficult thing. We must have bought at least four kilograms worth of chocolate bars and candy. I know this, because the first package of assorted chocolates I seized upon was clearly marked at two kilograms - and Ma added a few more things after that! So funny - we managed to lose Dad in the crowd, and imagine the hilarity when we met at the bus to see him carrying a sensibly sized bag of chocolates, and Ma and I with what amounted to a miniature sack of the sweetness. :)
By the time we pulled into Lugano, I was feeling in need of a hot shower and a change of clothes. The sky was still somewhat overcast, and there was a general air of hopeful expectation as we drove down past the main shopping area towards our hotel. I saw a fountain in the lake as Monte Bre was pointed out to us; and then finally, we were let out at our hotel.
Discovered early the technique of opening the elevator door quickly the moment it arrived, or risk losing our chance of riding it! We were given a nice room at the end of the hall, where the sofa converted into a huge full bed, which was perfect after the long day. Room to stretch! The bathroom could have used a light in the bathtub area, though - when the shower curtain was closed, you were shut out of all the available light in the room. Otherwise, that was one *big* bathroom, with a bidet and a heated towel rack.
We had dinner at the hotel, as Ma was wary of walking to the commercial area at night. By this time, I was starving - the lunch from Isola Bella was less than a memory, and it was with great interest that I perused the menu. Ma and Dad, having had a glorious lunch of spaghetti con vongole in Stresa, wanted nothing more than the vegetable soup. I went for something more substantial, and had consomme with egg to warm myself up, and a steak. Both were excellent - especially the steak, which came out just the way I liked it, seared on the outside, tender on the inside. I won a smile from the maitre d' by asking him to tell the kitchen that the meal was very much to my liking.
Tomorrow is the outing to the Italian Market. Wonder if I'll be able to get anything. Certainly hope it doesn't rain!
Zermatt - Isola Bella Optional - Lugano
In due course, Elmar brought us back around to the foyer of the palace, and there was a dash for the washrooms while waiting for Arno, the house guide. It was a great pity that photography inside the manor/castle wasn’t allowed…more’s the pity I couldn’t get an official photobook, but those are the breaks. I managed to collect enough notes from the spiel, which Arno delivered with authority and good humor.
The Borromeo family produced San Carlos Borromeo, the patron of our San Carlos Seminary in Guadalupe, Makati City (home to those with late vocations). The house was full of art masterpieces, and the vista from the foot of Napoleon’s bed is quite impressive. Interesting to note that the family still keeps a set of apartments in the manor/castle, and often comes down to stay. About halfway through the tour, Arno said we were going to have lots of stairs to negotiate, to reach The Grotto Suite of rooms; but he offered an option for people to sit down on the couches in the reception room we were standing in. Not a bad place to rest, it looked like a micro version of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
The Grotto Suite was on the lower levels of the island, closer to the waterline, and every wall and ceiling was encrusted with coral, shells, undersea rocks, in an effort to simulate a series of underwater caves, I suppose. Then we were led through one of the oldest parts of the house, a tower with a spiral staircase cast out of (or was it carved out of?) blocks of granite and set into the wall.
Back up, through the reception room where we'd left some of the tour members, then through the art gallery with its magnificent tapestries from Gobelins. Of note was the one nearest the exit. It depicted a stream of running water, and if you kept your eyes fixed on it as you walked down in front of the tapestry, you could actually see the perspective shifting to follow you. Many oohs and aaahs, and applause for Arno as he handed us back to Elmar and the Sara's group were directed back to her. We'd had to merge for this optional in order to be accommodated, but that wasn't so bad.
Got back down to the docks without too much trouble, and we were back on our coach at 2.30 PM sharp. Checked with the parents that they had had a nice time at Stresa, and then as we made our way through traffic, Elmar started to whet our appetites by describing the delights to be found at the Alprose chocolate factory. This was a bonus side trip, and he hadn't wanted to guarantee that it would happen, just in case circumstances went against us. However, even with the traffic, it appeared that we would get to the factory on time, so Elmar felt justified in telling us how Alprose was among the best chocolatiers in Switzerland, along with Lindt, Suchard, and Nestle.
By the time we pulled into the chocolate factory, it was exactly 4.30 PM, just 30 minutes shy of closing time! There was a bit of a dash for the washrooms, then into the factory we went. First thing that hits you is the smell of chocolate from the chocolate fountain where you get your first taste of the Alprose product. Two of the staff dip small wafer rolls (we call them barquillos at home) into the flowing chocolate and hand them out. Ma and I saw a little of the informational video before we were reminded that we had barely 15 minutes left before closing time.
So...off into the little shop we crowded. Free samples, yum! Browsing through the shelves, trying to choose what to grab, was a difficult thing. We must have bought at least four kilograms worth of chocolate bars and candy. I know this, because the first package of assorted chocolates I seized upon was clearly marked at two kilograms - and Ma added a few more things after that! So funny - we managed to lose Dad in the crowd, and imagine the hilarity when we met at the bus to see him carrying a sensibly sized bag of chocolates, and Ma and I with what amounted to a miniature sack of the sweetness. :)
By the time we pulled into Lugano, I was feeling in need of a hot shower and a change of clothes. The sky was still somewhat overcast, and there was a general air of hopeful expectation as we drove down past the main shopping area towards our hotel. I saw a fountain in the lake as Monte Bre was pointed out to us; and then finally, we were let out at our hotel.
Discovered early the technique of opening the elevator door quickly the moment it arrived, or risk losing our chance of riding it! We were given a nice room at the end of the hall, where the sofa converted into a huge full bed, which was perfect after the long day. Room to stretch! The bathroom could have used a light in the bathtub area, though - when the shower curtain was closed, you were shut out of all the available light in the room. Otherwise, that was one *big* bathroom, with a bidet and a heated towel rack.
We had dinner at the hotel, as Ma was wary of walking to the commercial area at night. By this time, I was starving - the lunch from Isola Bella was less than a memory, and it was with great interest that I perused the menu. Ma and Dad, having had a glorious lunch of spaghetti con vongole in Stresa, wanted nothing more than the vegetable soup. I went for something more substantial, and had consomme with egg to warm myself up, and a steak. Both were excellent - especially the steak, which came out just the way I liked it, seared on the outside, tender on the inside. I won a smile from the maitre d' by asking him to tell the kitchen that the meal was very much to my liking.
Tomorrow is the outing to the Italian Market. Wonder if I'll be able to get anything. Certainly hope it doesn't rain!
[CR Switzerland] Day 07-1
September 23, 2006
Zermatt - Isola Bella Optional - Lugano
Morning call: 6.30 AM * Bags and Breakfast: 6.45 AM
Leave Zermatt: 7.45 AM * Leave Tasch: 8.00 AM
Another crack of dawn morning call, and the bags were out in short order. We took the lift down to the breakfast room, to find the hallway dark and the room itself still closed. So up again to the lobby, where we said hello to Elmar and Ueli as we settled down to wait. The rest of the group trickled in, and we were about 80% assembled before the breakfast room opened at 7.00 AM. The parents and I managed to make a good breakfast of it, and were among the first seven people to take the minibus down to the waiting coach in Tasch.
We left Tasch just a few minutes off the projected time of 8.00 AM, pretty good time for moving 40 people down a mountain road. The weather was turning overcast, and as the sun climbed over the horizon, it was noted that it was getting hazy on the mountains as we moved towards our next stop. I managed to barely stay awake during the recital of the admin details and the day's itinerary - half of me was still snuggled under the duvet back in the hotel - and by the time Ueli had the bus descending onto the highway, I gave up trying to stay awake.
Woke up feeling refreshed well before the rest stop, though. No inspections at the Swiss-Italian border crossings. I thought of the money Ma and I spent for our visa fees and had to agree with Elmar's comment that if you had all your documentation handy, the officials seldom asked to see them. But if you took a chance and didn't have even *one* piece of paper...that would be the time you would be stuck explaining things to the border patrols.
Once we were over the Italian border, there was a subtle shift in the personalities of our driver and TD. Ueli actually got to use the horn on the bus a few times! The best part was watching Elmar switching on “Italian mode” while coordinating with his contact for the Isola Bella tour; gone was his normal cool and efficient conversation, instead came rapid-fire Italian that could be clearly heard towards the back of the bus. :) Even his body language changed - he was actually standing in the jump seat and all but gesturing with his hands as he assured his contact that we were definitely on our way and would arrive at the designated meeting point in a matter of minutes, si, bene, ciao! :D
By 11.30 AM, we'd pulled into the destination town for the Isola Bella tour, and all those going were dropped off at the boat landing for the trip. It was good to know that those heading to lunch in Stresa (read: my parents) would be under Ueli's care, that he'd be pointing out places to go once they were there.
Getting on the boat was fun. It didn't tie up to the dock! Basically, it sounded as though it grounded itself on something underwater to hold itself steady. The sky continued slightly hazy and overcast, which was fine by me, since the weather was much warmer now. We passed by the Fisherman's Island, and Isola Madre (sort of like a Dower House island) before landing at Isola Bella. Watching the traffic of small ferry boats surrounding the docks was fascinating - and once again, we didn't tie up to the dock. Our landing was cushioned by used rubber tires tied to either side of the dock, and the Captain and Elmar gave everyone a hand out of the boat.
Crowds galore at Isola Bella, which did not take away from the interesting view. We were brought around the corner of the palace into a small courtyard, where we were given our call times and directions along the main street, where there was a little street market in progress. Elmar steered us into a little cafe that (thank heavens!) took Swiss francs, and would give us free use of the washrooms in the restaurant across the street - all we had to do was say we were cafe customers.
We were waited on by someone who I think was the proprietor of the establishment. Quite a bit of good-natured banter while he took our orders, and in my case, lunch consisted of white sausages with sweet mustard. Good stuff, and filled me up nicely.
I had a small adventure in the washrooms - the ladies were allowed to use the gents' washroom if no one else was there, which is pretty standard practice. Thing is, when it came time to unlock the door, I got a little rattled and forgot which way and how many times to turn the lock to get the door open! So I was stuck for about three very *long* minutes in there before I got out. Am pretty sure that had there been any, heat sensors would have registered the fire in my face from at least twenty feet. You can bet I got out of there very, very fast.
Decided to follow the street market all the way to its end. Lots of pretty products - pashminas, souvenirs, jewelry and leather goods. I ended up with a pair of mosaic earrings. Then I decided to pay my respects to the church whose bells I had heard tolling noontime - which is also the afternoon Angelus hour back home. I was promptly impressed by the busts of the four archsbishops atop the main altar, and the glass-encased figure beneath it. Turns out that the figure was not the real body of the patron saint, who is interred in Rome, but a replica.
It was a little like meeting old friends, looking around the place and recognizing the images of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Therese of Lisieux, and a lovely image of Our Lady of the Brown Scapular - naturally, many photos were taken, from ceiling to floor. Prayers were said, as well, and a candle lit, as is my usual custom when visiting churches.
By 1.30 PM we were all assembled for our tour of Isola Bella. Elmar had explained that he would be taking us on a tour of the gardens, and then would hand us over to the resident palace guide for a tour of the interior. Those gardens were fantastic - what a pity we didn’t have all the time in the world to linger and take those stairs at more leisure! Some of the plants were over a thousand years old - like the cork tree and the olive tree that were singled out for special notice. Oh, and I mustn't forget to mention the white peacock family that was strolling through the garden!
There's also a huge structure dominating the formal garden - like a movie set backdrop, with fountains and classical statues. Awesome stuff. Thanks to the slight humidity, I was a bit sweaty after climbing the stairs of that structure, but the view from the rear is worth the climb - it stretches out over the expanse of Lake Maggiore on all sides. Perfect as a lookout point, where you can see the all the towns along the shoreline.
Zermatt - Isola Bella Optional - Lugano
Morning call: 6.30 AM * Bags and Breakfast: 6.45 AM
Leave Zermatt: 7.45 AM * Leave Tasch: 8.00 AM
Another crack of dawn morning call, and the bags were out in short order. We took the lift down to the breakfast room, to find the hallway dark and the room itself still closed. So up again to the lobby, where we said hello to Elmar and Ueli as we settled down to wait. The rest of the group trickled in, and we were about 80% assembled before the breakfast room opened at 7.00 AM. The parents and I managed to make a good breakfast of it, and were among the first seven people to take the minibus down to the waiting coach in Tasch.
We left Tasch just a few minutes off the projected time of 8.00 AM, pretty good time for moving 40 people down a mountain road. The weather was turning overcast, and as the sun climbed over the horizon, it was noted that it was getting hazy on the mountains as we moved towards our next stop. I managed to barely stay awake during the recital of the admin details and the day's itinerary - half of me was still snuggled under the duvet back in the hotel - and by the time Ueli had the bus descending onto the highway, I gave up trying to stay awake.
Woke up feeling refreshed well before the rest stop, though. No inspections at the Swiss-Italian border crossings. I thought of the money Ma and I spent for our visa fees and had to agree with Elmar's comment that if you had all your documentation handy, the officials seldom asked to see them. But if you took a chance and didn't have even *one* piece of paper...that would be the time you would be stuck explaining things to the border patrols.
Once we were over the Italian border, there was a subtle shift in the personalities of our driver and TD. Ueli actually got to use the horn on the bus a few times! The best part was watching Elmar switching on “Italian mode” while coordinating with his contact for the Isola Bella tour; gone was his normal cool and efficient conversation, instead came rapid-fire Italian that could be clearly heard towards the back of the bus. :) Even his body language changed - he was actually standing in the jump seat and all but gesturing with his hands as he assured his contact that we were definitely on our way and would arrive at the designated meeting point in a matter of minutes, si, bene, ciao! :D
By 11.30 AM, we'd pulled into the destination town for the Isola Bella tour, and all those going were dropped off at the boat landing for the trip. It was good to know that those heading to lunch in Stresa (read: my parents) would be under Ueli's care, that he'd be pointing out places to go once they were there.
Getting on the boat was fun. It didn't tie up to the dock! Basically, it sounded as though it grounded itself on something underwater to hold itself steady. The sky continued slightly hazy and overcast, which was fine by me, since the weather was much warmer now. We passed by the Fisherman's Island, and Isola Madre (sort of like a Dower House island) before landing at Isola Bella. Watching the traffic of small ferry boats surrounding the docks was fascinating - and once again, we didn't tie up to the dock. Our landing was cushioned by used rubber tires tied to either side of the dock, and the Captain and Elmar gave everyone a hand out of the boat.
Crowds galore at Isola Bella, which did not take away from the interesting view. We were brought around the corner of the palace into a small courtyard, where we were given our call times and directions along the main street, where there was a little street market in progress. Elmar steered us into a little cafe that (thank heavens!) took Swiss francs, and would give us free use of the washrooms in the restaurant across the street - all we had to do was say we were cafe customers.
We were waited on by someone who I think was the proprietor of the establishment. Quite a bit of good-natured banter while he took our orders, and in my case, lunch consisted of white sausages with sweet mustard. Good stuff, and filled me up nicely.
I had a small adventure in the washrooms - the ladies were allowed to use the gents' washroom if no one else was there, which is pretty standard practice. Thing is, when it came time to unlock the door, I got a little rattled and forgot which way and how many times to turn the lock to get the door open! So I was stuck for about three very *long* minutes in there before I got out. Am pretty sure that had there been any, heat sensors would have registered the fire in my face from at least twenty feet. You can bet I got out of there very, very fast.
Decided to follow the street market all the way to its end. Lots of pretty products - pashminas, souvenirs, jewelry and leather goods. I ended up with a pair of mosaic earrings. Then I decided to pay my respects to the church whose bells I had heard tolling noontime - which is also the afternoon Angelus hour back home. I was promptly impressed by the busts of the four archsbishops atop the main altar, and the glass-encased figure beneath it. Turns out that the figure was not the real body of the patron saint, who is interred in Rome, but a replica.
It was a little like meeting old friends, looking around the place and recognizing the images of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Therese of Lisieux, and a lovely image of Our Lady of the Brown Scapular - naturally, many photos were taken, from ceiling to floor. Prayers were said, as well, and a candle lit, as is my usual custom when visiting churches.
By 1.30 PM we were all assembled for our tour of Isola Bella. Elmar had explained that he would be taking us on a tour of the gardens, and then would hand us over to the resident palace guide for a tour of the interior. Those gardens were fantastic - what a pity we didn’t have all the time in the world to linger and take those stairs at more leisure! Some of the plants were over a thousand years old - like the cork tree and the olive tree that were singled out for special notice. Oh, and I mustn't forget to mention the white peacock family that was strolling through the garden!
There's also a huge structure dominating the formal garden - like a movie set backdrop, with fountains and classical statues. Awesome stuff. Thanks to the slight humidity, I was a bit sweaty after climbing the stairs of that structure, but the view from the rear is worth the climb - it stretches out over the expanse of Lake Maggiore on all sides. Perfect as a lookout point, where you can see the all the towns along the shoreline.
Friday, October 20, 2006
[CR Switzerland] Day 06
September 22, 2006
ZERMATT - KLEINE MATTERHORN
Breakfast Call: 7.00 * Departure: 8.00
It was a day of leisure for everyone not on the optional; for the rest, an early breakfast to catch the early cable cars up to the Kleine Matterhorn. We piled into the little electric taxis and were buzzed up to the cable car station. As we were waiting, the rising sun was putting a golden sheen over the Matterhorn - and until that moment, I had never imagined that I would want to take so many pictures of any one mountain! The woolly cap, gloves, and Baguio scarf that I had packed finally saw the light of day, and very grateful I was for them.
Once the group was gathered together, we crossed a short bridge to the waiting area for the first stage of our ride up to the peak. Elmar had explained how the cable car trip would take three stages, using small 4-seater bubble cars for the first stage and boxcar type cars for the 2nd and 3rd stages. Needless to say, the views on the way up were worthy of every superlative ever used to describe them.
During the third stage, while we were packed like sardines in the huge cable car, we were the captive audience to the commentary of the Tour Director of a totally different group. After she finished with her admin details, Elmar asked her to make it clear that those instructions were for her group only, and not all of us in the car - since we already did our washroom stop on the second stage.
At the top, the view was literally breath-taking. After all, we were about 4400-plus meters above sea level - walking through the tunnel from the cable car station to the viewpoint over the glacier, I could feel how much thinner the air was here than at Zermatt. Thanks to the blessing of clear weather, we could see all the way to Mont Blanc, just over the French border. Much oooh-ing and aah-ing from the group. Come to think of it, that was the signature sound of the group from the moment we laid eyes on the mountain country. :)
Elmar then pointed out the way to the Ice Palace, which my parents promptly knew they would *not* negotiate. One had to make one's way from the relatively flat area past the little cafeteria, over a short slope of snow-covered rock, bare in some places, to get to the door of the Ice Palace. The spooky part about it all was that there was no rope railing to hang on to, and no rubber mats to guide you down. I made my way down by the expedient of literally following in other folks' footsteps; placing my feet in the footprints of those who had made it down safely.
So I stowed the parents in the cafe, and carefully picked my way through to the Ice Palace. It was exactly like entering a freezer. Not a surprise, since the place is hewn out of solid rock and ice. At least here in the tunnel, rubber mats were laid down and guide cables were attached to the walls to help people keep their footing. One could really feel the thin nature of the air with every breath. Plus, if you have the claustrophia, or don't like feeling closed in? This is definitely not what you want to do; that said, if you can conquer the feeling, it is worth it to see the ice sculptures when the tunnel opens up into a fairly large ice cave.
Despite all precautions, however, one of the tour members, Gary, managed to scare us all by slipping on the ice, but he didn’t sustain any serious or lasting damage, thank God! There was a nice man behind a wine counter (some promotional thing) who dashed up to see if he could help, then slipped on the ice *himself* going back to the counter - but he too, recovered quickly, without serious or lasting damage either. In fact, he was able to joke about it!
Wandering about the Ice Palace took about 30-45 minutes. Once we emerged, we were directed up to the elevator to the peak. The view...the view defies description; all those mountain peaks glittering in the morning sunshine, clothed in snow, and a 270-degree view of the entire range. I was huffing somewhat, not used to the air - and then I spotted yet *another* set of stairs up to the real top of the mountain!
Of course I climbed those stairs. Never mind that the thin air set my heart pounding, there were landings where I could stop and catch my breath, and I knew there was time to spare. At the second landing, I literally came face-to-face with what I knew later to be the Breithorn peak, and had to pinch myself to make it real, that I was actually looking at snow-capped mountains for the first time ever..
It was SO WORTH IT once at the top landing…it was feeling like the world was literally at one’s feet! We were incredibly blessed with the weather, which held steady throughout the entire time that we were on the mountain.
All too soon, we were all rounded up and packed into one of the boxcar cable cars for the ride down to the second station, where we were to have lunch and our “class picture”. Now, I’m not sure why or how it was that an optional tour was chosen as the best venue for the group picture - it seemed such a shame not to have everyone on board - but the Matterhorn was definitely *the* mother of all backdrops. We were all entitled to one 8x10 picture of the entire tour group and a free 5x7 picture of individuals, as the nice young photographer with the British accent explained, once we were set up on the benches.
The definite star of the show was Heidi the St. Bernard, such a love of a dog! Ma and I turned into puddles of fangirl goo yet again, and Heidi let herself be petted before settling into her role as professional model for the shoot. I now see how perfect such a dog is in such a setting, and how comforting it would be to see such a sweet face looming above one's half-frozen body in case of an accident on the slopes.
While the others were having their individual pictures taken, I repaid Elmar the small change he lent Dad at the third stage coffee shop - Dad not having changed money at the hotel, oye. I claim dereliction of duty, having been in charge of the Swiss francs, but forgetting in my excitement to ask if the parents needed money. Ah, well. All's well that ends, and we were able to go to lunch with a clear conscience.
Lunch. Mmmm, lunch! Piping hot barley soup and thick bread. It certainly filled the hollow parts inside me. By the time Elmar called out for those who needed cab rides back to the hotel (others would be walking through Zermatt on their way back), we'd seen the washrooms at least twice and were among the first in line. I now recall that this was where I turned into the lift operator, which was fun.
Housekeeping had just gotten to our room when we arrived, but they were quick about getting the beds and and bath settled - not more than ten minutes for fresh sheets and a quick vacuuming, while we waited in the living room area and watched CNN. With the sun high up, I proposed that while the parents rested (waking up early nearly every day was starting to get to them), I could pop down into the town to wander about until it was time to fetch the pictures.
First stop was at the hotel reception with the intent to change money; I frowned at the exchange rate and decided to take my chances in finding a bank, which usually improved on the exchange by a few cents at least. So off I walked, to the end of Zermatt’s main street and converted dollars at the Kantonalbank when it opened at 2.00 PM.
(How is it that the Swiss can have 2-hour lunch breaks and be so efficient with the day, while in Spain they have 4-hour lunch breaks and still seem…um…”laid-back”?)
Popped into the photo store and picked up the group shot and the additional 5R photo, both of which were beautiful. As the photo store was in the main square, there was lots to see when I came out - including the lovely barouche sent down by the Palace Hotel to pick up guests from the rail station. One of those missed "Kodak moments", to be sure! As in Villars, I bumped into fellow tour members coming and going; at one point, heard Elmar’s voice ringing across the square in animated German conversation, looked over my shoulder and smiled at another "Kodak moment".
Naturally I browsed through nearly all the souvenir shops that I was brave enough to step into. But previous shopping experience reminded me to stick to my resolution to do the bulk of the souvenir shopping in Lucerne, where the main Bucherer store is located. For the moment, I just bought a number of small items: a blusher brush, change purse, keychain, and a mini-whisk to stir soup with (next time must really remember to pack metal utensils).
One of the best things about Zermatt was finding a reflexology clinic run by a German doctor and his wife. It was in this little mini-mall in the COOP building. I went down, and inquired about the sign I had seen in the window about the clinic's services, and ended up having a restorative 30-minute foot massage. It was the. best. thing. ever.
By now, it was getting on for dinner, so back to Wally’s Grill for those sausages, and soft drinks to go with them from the COOP. Got back to the hotel just as Ma was getting ready to go into an anxiety attack over my lengthy absence, and all was well. Laid out the food, made up arroz caldo from our packets, and we made another good dinner out of it all.
After washing things up and checking on the state of the laundry, I settled down to update the journal while all the observations were still fresh in my head. I really ought to have brought the PocketPC, like I did in 2000 for the European Grandeur tour. With an early wake-up call tomorrow, I've got to finalize the arrangement of my suitcase and carry-on bag, so that it will be just a matter of grab-and-go when the time comes.
ZERMATT - KLEINE MATTERHORN
Breakfast Call: 7.00 * Departure: 8.00
It was a day of leisure for everyone not on the optional; for the rest, an early breakfast to catch the early cable cars up to the Kleine Matterhorn. We piled into the little electric taxis and were buzzed up to the cable car station. As we were waiting, the rising sun was putting a golden sheen over the Matterhorn - and until that moment, I had never imagined that I would want to take so many pictures of any one mountain! The woolly cap, gloves, and Baguio scarf that I had packed finally saw the light of day, and very grateful I was for them.
Once the group was gathered together, we crossed a short bridge to the waiting area for the first stage of our ride up to the peak. Elmar had explained how the cable car trip would take three stages, using small 4-seater bubble cars for the first stage and boxcar type cars for the 2nd and 3rd stages. Needless to say, the views on the way up were worthy of every superlative ever used to describe them.
During the third stage, while we were packed like sardines in the huge cable car, we were the captive audience to the commentary of the Tour Director of a totally different group. After she finished with her admin details, Elmar asked her to make it clear that those instructions were for her group only, and not all of us in the car - since we already did our washroom stop on the second stage.
At the top, the view was literally breath-taking. After all, we were about 4400-plus meters above sea level - walking through the tunnel from the cable car station to the viewpoint over the glacier, I could feel how much thinner the air was here than at Zermatt. Thanks to the blessing of clear weather, we could see all the way to Mont Blanc, just over the French border. Much oooh-ing and aah-ing from the group. Come to think of it, that was the signature sound of the group from the moment we laid eyes on the mountain country. :)
Elmar then pointed out the way to the Ice Palace, which my parents promptly knew they would *not* negotiate. One had to make one's way from the relatively flat area past the little cafeteria, over a short slope of snow-covered rock, bare in some places, to get to the door of the Ice Palace. The spooky part about it all was that there was no rope railing to hang on to, and no rubber mats to guide you down. I made my way down by the expedient of literally following in other folks' footsteps; placing my feet in the footprints of those who had made it down safely.
So I stowed the parents in the cafe, and carefully picked my way through to the Ice Palace. It was exactly like entering a freezer. Not a surprise, since the place is hewn out of solid rock and ice. At least here in the tunnel, rubber mats were laid down and guide cables were attached to the walls to help people keep their footing. One could really feel the thin nature of the air with every breath. Plus, if you have the claustrophia, or don't like feeling closed in? This is definitely not what you want to do; that said, if you can conquer the feeling, it is worth it to see the ice sculptures when the tunnel opens up into a fairly large ice cave.
Despite all precautions, however, one of the tour members, Gary, managed to scare us all by slipping on the ice, but he didn’t sustain any serious or lasting damage, thank God! There was a nice man behind a wine counter (some promotional thing) who dashed up to see if he could help, then slipped on the ice *himself* going back to the counter - but he too, recovered quickly, without serious or lasting damage either. In fact, he was able to joke about it!
Wandering about the Ice Palace took about 30-45 minutes. Once we emerged, we were directed up to the elevator to the peak. The view...the view defies description; all those mountain peaks glittering in the morning sunshine, clothed in snow, and a 270-degree view of the entire range. I was huffing somewhat, not used to the air - and then I spotted yet *another* set of stairs up to the real top of the mountain!
Of course I climbed those stairs. Never mind that the thin air set my heart pounding, there were landings where I could stop and catch my breath, and I knew there was time to spare. At the second landing, I literally came face-to-face with what I knew later to be the Breithorn peak, and had to pinch myself to make it real, that I was actually looking at snow-capped mountains for the first time ever..
It was SO WORTH IT once at the top landing…it was feeling like the world was literally at one’s feet! We were incredibly blessed with the weather, which held steady throughout the entire time that we were on the mountain.
All too soon, we were all rounded up and packed into one of the boxcar cable cars for the ride down to the second station, where we were to have lunch and our “class picture”. Now, I’m not sure why or how it was that an optional tour was chosen as the best venue for the group picture - it seemed such a shame not to have everyone on board - but the Matterhorn was definitely *the* mother of all backdrops. We were all entitled to one 8x10 picture of the entire tour group and a free 5x7 picture of individuals, as the nice young photographer with the British accent explained, once we were set up on the benches.
The definite star of the show was Heidi the St. Bernard, such a love of a dog! Ma and I turned into puddles of fangirl goo yet again, and Heidi let herself be petted before settling into her role as professional model for the shoot. I now see how perfect such a dog is in such a setting, and how comforting it would be to see such a sweet face looming above one's half-frozen body in case of an accident on the slopes.
While the others were having their individual pictures taken, I repaid Elmar the small change he lent Dad at the third stage coffee shop - Dad not having changed money at the hotel, oye. I claim dereliction of duty, having been in charge of the Swiss francs, but forgetting in my excitement to ask if the parents needed money. Ah, well. All's well that ends, and we were able to go to lunch with a clear conscience.
Lunch. Mmmm, lunch! Piping hot barley soup and thick bread. It certainly filled the hollow parts inside me. By the time Elmar called out for those who needed cab rides back to the hotel (others would be walking through Zermatt on their way back), we'd seen the washrooms at least twice and were among the first in line. I now recall that this was where I turned into the lift operator, which was fun.
Housekeeping had just gotten to our room when we arrived, but they were quick about getting the beds and and bath settled - not more than ten minutes for fresh sheets and a quick vacuuming, while we waited in the living room area and watched CNN. With the sun high up, I proposed that while the parents rested (waking up early nearly every day was starting to get to them), I could pop down into the town to wander about until it was time to fetch the pictures.
First stop was at the hotel reception with the intent to change money; I frowned at the exchange rate and decided to take my chances in finding a bank, which usually improved on the exchange by a few cents at least. So off I walked, to the end of Zermatt’s main street and converted dollars at the Kantonalbank when it opened at 2.00 PM.
(How is it that the Swiss can have 2-hour lunch breaks and be so efficient with the day, while in Spain they have 4-hour lunch breaks and still seem…um…”laid-back”?)
Popped into the photo store and picked up the group shot and the additional 5R photo, both of which were beautiful. As the photo store was in the main square, there was lots to see when I came out - including the lovely barouche sent down by the Palace Hotel to pick up guests from the rail station. One of those missed "Kodak moments", to be sure! As in Villars, I bumped into fellow tour members coming and going; at one point, heard Elmar’s voice ringing across the square in animated German conversation, looked over my shoulder and smiled at another "Kodak moment".
Naturally I browsed through nearly all the souvenir shops that I was brave enough to step into. But previous shopping experience reminded me to stick to my resolution to do the bulk of the souvenir shopping in Lucerne, where the main Bucherer store is located. For the moment, I just bought a number of small items: a blusher brush, change purse, keychain, and a mini-whisk to stir soup with (next time must really remember to pack metal utensils).
One of the best things about Zermatt was finding a reflexology clinic run by a German doctor and his wife. It was in this little mini-mall in the COOP building. I went down, and inquired about the sign I had seen in the window about the clinic's services, and ended up having a restorative 30-minute foot massage. It was the. best. thing. ever.
By now, it was getting on for dinner, so back to Wally’s Grill for those sausages, and soft drinks to go with them from the COOP. Got back to the hotel just as Ma was getting ready to go into an anxiety attack over my lengthy absence, and all was well. Laid out the food, made up arroz caldo from our packets, and we made another good dinner out of it all.
After washing things up and checking on the state of the laundry, I settled down to update the journal while all the observations were still fresh in my head. I really ought to have brought the PocketPC, like I did in 2000 for the European Grandeur tour. With an early wake-up call tomorrow, I've got to finalize the arrangement of my suitcase and carry-on bag, so that it will be just a matter of grab-and-go when the time comes.
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