When: 28/12/10

Where: Interlaken, Switzerland

Stayed: Sunny Days Bed & Breakfast

The most challenging part of our trip to Interlaken involved navigating the languages. Yes, plural. Believing that German was the dominant language we were equipped with our basic German phrases. Sitting next to a large table of locals at Cita Vecchia on the first night we heard the waitress speak in 4 different languages – and we became paralysed with fear. As the waitress approach our table we  froze with indecision over which language to attempt. So we did what every other ignorant tourist does – resorted to English. It turns out that even the locals get a bit confused by the language as not only is German, Italian, French and English spoken but different Swiss – German dialects are spoken in the villages. Language minefield for us unsuspecting tourists!

We stayed in a bed and breakfast called ‘Sunny Days’. A simple but friendly place where Tanja and Dave our hosts made us feel welcome. It was conveniently located for the train station which turned out to be a blessing given everyone just walked the streets to the station in their ski boots. Apparently lockers don’t really exist in the area (or on the mountain) and the standard play is to just wear your boots all day. We felt a bit like robots marching along staccato style with skis and stocks in hand on the way to the station. It was quite comical to see the locals descend on the station from all directions doing the same thing. At least we know the locals weren’t having a lend of us!

Nestled between two lakes ‘Thurnersee’ and ‘Brienzersee’, Interlaken is a transport hub for access to multiple mountain ranges. The train ride in from Luczern to Interlaken taking in a portion of the Golden pass, is simply beautiful. The town itself is a bit of a mixed bag with the ‘old town’ quaint and full of character but other sections quite touristy and a little tacky. Nevertheless, Interlaken had a good range of restaurants and provided relatively easy access to the Jungfrau region which suited us to a tee.

Skiing in the Jungfrau region proved to be both a battle and a dream. On arrival in Wengen, we promptly stood in line for the gondola for 45mins. Ever wondered what it’s like to have snow boards and stocks wedged in your back? Pay the line in Wengen a visit around 10am.
The good news for us was that the region catered for a much larger range of skiing abilities. All of a sudden we weren’t the worst skiers on the mountain – hurrah!! The blue runs were also significantly easier (than in Engelberg) which meant we upgraded ourselves to red fairly quickly. Justin battled with his skis on day 1 but it was pretty hard to feel bad about yourself when you were surrounded by casualties left, right and centre on the blue runs. Is it wrong that we took great delight in watching people stacking on the easy runs from our ivory tower in the chair lifts?!

The weather was sensational on the mountain with a balmy 5 degrees on day 1 and clear blue skies. Sitting outside in Mannlichen drinking a coffee in the sun and gazing out over the mountains we wondered if life got any better! Day 2 turned up much the same weather and we took great advantage of it by exploring the mountain. A spectacular run down to Grindelwald which took around an hour was breathtaking. There was a temperature difference of 10 degrees between Mannlichen and Grindelwald and 1000m drop in altitude to give you an idea of how long it was. Even the wind burn we received from a 5 year old roaring head first down the mountain couldn’t dampen our spirits. (We could hear his Italian dad behind us muttering to himself hoy hoy hoy hoy as he watched his son embark on a death defying plummet down an icy section. Fearless!) With very few people on the run we took our time and lapped up the surreal surroundings. Absolute peace aside from the swooshing of the skis, the sun peaking through the dense Fir trees and hitting the mountain tops, ivory white snow as far as the eye can see and tiny log houses dotting the plains – just magical.

We pronounced day 2 of skiing our best ever and headed down the mountain to welcome in the new year. After a fantastic Italian meal at Teppe and a bottle of red wine we made it to 10.30pm before the body packed in and we tucked ourselves into bed. Couple of happy old women you might say.

Top 10 for Interlaken:
1. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself switching languages mid sentence
2. The Swiss have set an unrealistic benchmark in public transport timing precision for the rest of the world
3. Repeating yourself louder in another language doesn’t help with comprehension
4. It’s possible to wear ski boots for 10hrs straight – on and off the snow
5. Chivalry doesn’t exist on the ski slopes
6. Contrary to most other things, you never get used to falling on ice
7. If in doubt ‘Sprechen sie Englisch’ (as per Engelberg)
8. Regardless of the marketing spiel, your thermals will start to smell after 3 days…
9. Your balcony can double as a fridge (as per Engelberg)
10. Benacus restaurant in the old town will provide you with the best food in Switzerland!

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