Travel Diaries 2k15 - Part 1

Have you ever felt the urge to explore? To get way? To travel too far to return back home? I feel it all the time. And that's exactly what I decided to do. This year, I travelled to Switzerland, Austria & Germany with my family. And to say that it was an unforgettable trip would be an understatement. These twenty days were some of the best and most memorable days of my life!

I'll begin with Switzerland. I landed in Geneva and from there it all began! I visited Geneva, Montreux, Vevey, Lausanne, Bern, Lucerne, Thun, Visp, Zermatt, Interlaken, Wilderswil, Grindelwald & Jungfrau!

In Geneva, we visited the Lakeside, the Cathedral and took a bus through the historic part of the city. There is this 12m high fountain at the lakeside, which an be spotted from a kilometre away! Then there's the old city, which is lovely. You can either take the Hop On-Hop Off bus which gives an entire tour of the city, or you can explore the city at your own pace by making full use of a bike fr the free bike rental service available in the city. This would be a good option given that cyclists have their own little share of the road, making it safe to ride in the city.As for lodging, if you like staying amidst the busy part of the city, renting an apartment near the lakeside would be an ideal option, or you could stay at any hotel near the lakeside. But if you're a reserved person and prefer a quieter environment, then staying at any hotel near the Airport would be ideal as it is more peaceful there and the public transport is just a five-minute walk away.

In Montreux, Chateau Chillon is a must to visit as it is famous for its location (near the lake), free WiFi(well...) and interesting stories about the happenings in the castle. There is this beautiful picnic spot where you can have a snack or go for a swim in the lake. Also, a walk along the lake with a camera and a cone of ice cream would be perfect. For all the shopaholics, there is a mall with famous brands as well as reasonable items for purchasing. All in all, this place is too good to be left out.

Vevey. This place was busier than Montreux, but not as busy as Geneva. This city's lakeside was beautiful because you could see the lakes as well as the hills behind it. The view was picture perfect, as if it has just come out of a painting. During the walk from the station to the lakeside, we saw the University Of Vevey, a garden and the residential apartments which were painted in vibrant colours. The garden besides the lake was filled with people of all age groups, having a gala time with their friends and family. It's an ideal place to visit with your family.

Lausanne is one place I remember the best. As soon as we left the station, we took a metro to the lakeside and sat there, enjoying the view and taking in the beauty of the surrounding. There is this small play area for kids, and there are flags of many countries hoisted beside the lake. This place has the famous Olympic museum which showcases the Olympic medals and the success stories of the athletes.in my opinion, Lausanne is one of the hidden beauties of Switzerland, waiting to be discovered.

Bern, the capital of Switzerland, is actually a very busy place. But since We went there on a Sunday, there wasn't much that we could actually do. We visited this bridge on top of the lake, from  where you can see much of the city.

Next, we went to Lucerne. We followed the red line in this city, which took us to all the main attractions. At the lakeside, you get a variety of yummy food items such as ice cream, pretzels, sandwiches among the rest. We did paddle boating on the lake, and it was amazing! While paddle boating, you can see the entire lakeside of the city and it looks so colourful and enchanting. We went on the flower bridge which has flowers in all colours and we even visited the church, which is one of the most beautiful chucked I have ever seen. The station does have some good and cheap shopping, so make sure to visit the shops if you can!

Lake Thunersee. Thun is a really really nice place, the weather is superb, and it isn't very crowded. A walk along this lake,even a swim is super fun. There are bridges over this lake which are so small and cute that I couldn't stop clicking pictures of them! Another fun factor is that you can cycle along the lake. Which is too much fun because you can go at great speeds and feel the cool wind on your face, which is refreshing. There are some nice museums to visit in Thun and the city centre has good bike rental options, for all the cycle lovers.

Visp was one of the stations where we had to get off to change trains. Since we had time to kill before our next train arrived, we decided to explore this city. Visp is this really cute and sweet little place, not too big, and is not so modernly styled. There's this long lane, which has cute cafés where you can pamper your sweeth tooth while chatting with your family. In the exact same lane, there is this long line of decently priced shops , where you can pamper the inner shopaholic. The end of this lane looks a little like Italy, with stone walls and ancient infrastructure. We walked along a few residential apartments, and in my opinion, this city looked very similar to Rotorua, New Zealand.

Zermatt is the highest natural glacier in the world. In some ways,the chalets in  Zermatt looked very similar to the ones in Aamby Valley. Zermatt is mainly famous for the Glacier Express and the MatterHorn Express. The old city part in Zermatt has partially broken houses which gives a haunted look to the place. This city is a tad bit congested, but beautiful nonetheless. A walk around this city in the rain is one of the many things that could be done here.

Interlaken is this small town which you can finish in 40-50 minutes on cycle. There's not much to do here, except have a walk in the main garden and for the tennis lovers, there are a few courts which permit guests to use them. Also, there is paragliding and hand gliding, which can be done to get the aerial view of this town. There are good eateries in this town, and make sure to eat a lot of ice cream here!

Wilderswil is one of the towns that comes on the way from Interlaken to Grindelwald. This town mostly has residential houses and a small supermarket. It is flat, so you can keep walking into the city, exploring it as you go. The houses are done very well here, and their backyards are filled with fruits and vegetables!

Grindelwald is my Favorite place in Switzerland. We stayed here for 6 nights, these nights too being less for us. Right opposite our hotel, there were these Gondolas that took us right to the top the mountains. From there, we Ziplined to the middle level of the mountain. From here, we went further down, right from where we began, on a trottibike, which led us through the greenery of the mountain. It was a mind blowing experience. And as if Lady Luck was showering is with her blessings, it SNOWED during our stay in Grindelwald! It snowed for 6 hours at a stretch! I was too excited as I had experienced snowfall for the first time in my life! We played for 2 hours in the snow, in the garden of our hotel. We made a snowman, threw snowballs at each other and laughed away as we did so.We even walked to the graveyard and the church, it was a lot of fun walking in this town as every part was different and beautiful in its own way. It has many beautiful chalets which are available for rent, and the fondue near the station is probably the best fondue I have ever eaten.It was truly a memorable experience!

Last but definitely not the least, we visited Jungfrau, the highest point of Europe. We were literally amidst the clouds and all that was visible to us was snow. There were people skiing which was a great sight to see. We even visited an ice cave here, which is beautifully made. They even showed a part of how Lindt chocolate is made and we bought lots of chocolates from here.

Though it was summer in Switzerland , the weather was cool and it would rain occasionally. Such a weather does tend to make one feel lethargic, but in my opinion I don't think it matters, as long as you're in one of the most beautiful countries in the world! Given a chance, I would definitely visit Switzerland again! :D