Gstaad - Glacier 3000

I am no less than a celebrity is the feeling I have for a long time now! I am saying this because, I always want to get away from the crowd especially while am vacationing. Not that people around pester me for my autograph or request selfies with me (wah!) 💭😁 , yet I need a lot of space to breathe. Gstaad is one such secluded town chosen during the last few days of my honeymoon period. 

Gstaad is located 1050 metres above sea level in the Canton of Bern in Southwestern Switzerland. Also, it is a part of municipality of Saanen. Thus you get to see Saanen hoardings in most places. The 2 hours of train journey from Interlaken with mesmerising views ended as I reached Gstaad station. Must say, the air conditioned trains in Swiss is a luxury! It is spacious with comfortable leg space, cushioning seats with the utility table to point out a few. Coop store at the station has all the eatables, refreshments, you need. I am specifically saying this because, there were no Indian restaurants in here! 

Living Street image.

Hotel Gstaaderhof was 10 mins walk from the station, but interesting was the living street path we walked in. It is a task to pull your bags. My traveller husby had asked me to travel light so that it gets easy to handle the bags. But you know! I had to carry huge luggage for my own reasons and ended up howling everywhere 😓. Little did I know that my Mr would allow me to shop abroad 😜. On our way was a small church, mouth-watering aroma of the chocolate store and a small coffee shop , few shopping stores. As I crossed a Swiss restaurant , I looked at my husband and planned to dine there to taste authentic Swiss delicacy! As we reached the hotel, my husband was so happy seeing the pretty receptionist. That being said, he had more reasons to spend time at the reception 😏. Whereas I was tired pulling my bag and was happy for the assistance I got further from the hotel staff. I got to eat the complimentary Swiss chocolates as soon as we entered the room 😋. 

My happy husband amidst the greens.
My click! He argues that the wires above could have been avoided😏.

View from our room window!

I loved the accommodation here! The window of our room was such that one can sit on the window slab and enjoy the iced mountains! I immediately made some hot coffee for both of us and sat there for sometime. The very thought of that moment is so refreshing. It was a leisurely day, we both took a long walk while it was drizzling. It was like a private land meant for just the two of us! I started posing for pictures, humming sensual songs this time got louder with a little dance moves. My husband went mad with whatever was happening around him. I clicked a few pictures of him, ignoring his bla bla instructions to click the way he wanted😁. So much do men know about photography?😛 The uphill road walk with a few Swiss cattles grazing in the green fields felt nice. I even took a picture with the Swiss cattle who invited me with its cowbell tunes 😜. To be precise, I was amidst the Swiss scenic beauty which caught my eyes during the train journey. Further, we witnessed a small bridge crossing a stream and besides the narrow stream were the smooth rocks lying all around to add to it's beauty. We walked along the stream for some time splashing the ice cold water at each other. Then we walked back to the coop store only to figure out that the shops here close by around 3-4 PM. There was an umbrella basket left outside the coop store, as if there were no thefts happening. I even planned to take one cute colourful umbrella for which I got bad looks from the man of my life. (Caution : Robbery is a crime, the statement here is only craziness and doesn't intend to support the act) 

Posing with Swiss cow!

The stream!

Fondue!

Remember I had told you my plans to try authentic Swiss delicacy for the evening? Oh yeah! It was time to get ready for a Swiss dinner date but duh! No attire can get pretty in such cold weather when you're all packed. Here we arrived at the restaurant where only one table was occupied while the rest was our choice to comfortably choose. I chose to sit near the glass panes with a good outside view. The waitress handed over the menu and asked us to try Fondue upon asking for an authentic Swiss dish. I was checking out the pictures in the camera as we waited for the food to arrive. The wait was over seeing the waitress coming with the portable gas stove 😧. I even thought if we had to cook and eat ourselves but thankfully 😅 it was to heat the half melted cheese. Then arrived this basket full of wheat bread chunks, not just one but two of them with different shapes. I had a blank look at my husband and asked him to try first😀. He was like "ok, so this is what these people eat!?". The cheese tasted good but how many of us enjoy eating wheat bread with however tasty the cheese is? We had to eat for the Euros spent on it. Both of us wanted one other to eat more so that we finish😆. Jokes apart, we leisurely spent time at the restaurant and I crashed coming back to the hotel. I had to rise a little early for our next day's mountain excursion. My Mr had to check on the bus timings and collected some info from the receptionist which took a little longer with the pretty one.  

At the ground station.

The cliff walk called Peak Walk by Tissot. 

Glacier 3000 mountain excursion was just 20 mins away by bus. As the name indicates, it is 3000 metres in height, located in Les Diablerets, western Switzerland. It is known for it's winter adventure sports. The mountain gondola here was named glacier 3000 itself. The blue gondola looked like a mini bus since it was rectangular in shape. The 15 minutes summit excursion was uniquely beautiful. At the top, it was literally raining snow and probably the reason for it to be less crowded. But we had no flexibility to wait for a sunny day during our short visit to this place. Nevertheless, the glacial world was spectacular at the "Peak Walk by Tissot ". This is the suspension bridge connecting two mountain peaks. The alpine mountain on a snowy day has it's own lust, though one has poor visibility! The high cliff walk and the giant mountain peaks are the main attractions at the summit. My Mr reminded me of Baa Nalle Madhuchandrake (It is a Kannada movie, wherein the hero takes his own wife to honeymoon in the iced mountains and pushes her off the cliff 😨) attempt to be made by him😈😈. He might have thought I'll be scared and plead not to. But you know, none of his filthy tactics worked with the fearless me!😀 Yet he made me forcefully pose for some cruel poses. Every husband wants to feel superior and such actions give them so much joy for once. 

Coming to the adventures, there was a large selection of sports activities such as Skiing and Snowboarding, cross-country skiing and ski tours, sledging, hiking. Also includes, Ice Express chairlift, Alpine Coaster, Snow bus, Dogsled rides, Sliding in the Fun park, Helicopter Glacier Flight. Sounds exotic adventures isn't it? Due to poor visibility and heavy snowing, all the sparkling white activities were closed😞. Thus I have nothing much to talk about the fun activities apart from posing and playing in the snow. Restaurant BOTTA served us Indian buffet for our lunch along with Panoramic view around it. Both of us liked the food and hogged like we starved for days together. Happy tummy was more than satisfied , it was like food for the soul and feast for the eyes. 😜 Thus our last mountain excursion in Switzerland ended as we boarded the Glacier 3000 gondola to the ground station. It felt like a private affair since there were none other than us in the gondola. The steep ride was no less than a roller coaster. My husby took a complete video of our entire gondola ride from the top of the mountain till we descended to the bus station. My sensual songs continued until the bus arrived. By then, my Mr had amusingly started liking my craziness I think, as I was stared all the way until we reached the hotel. 💏

Timer click and a pose unexpected from my Husby!

I had to run up to the gift store nearby before the shop closed! Guess what I had to buy, the very famous Swiss Cow Bell. I still have it hanging near our main door. It is pricey but I wanted a big one like I have seen in the movies. My Mr couldn't deny anything for his budding love towards me 😉. After a tiring day, we figured out that there was microwave facility at the hotel we stayed in. So we used our ready-to-eat packets for dinner. My Mr wished to be here again in this weather in our old age. Awww..this vacation was going to end and we had so much to talk about the vacay highlights. In reality, we had come closer to knowing each other's thoughts and to set a strong base to the rest of our lives. 😊  

The next morning was our planned journey to Zurich where we had overnight stay before boarding our Emirates flight back to Dubai and then to Namma Bengaluru. The Flag hotel was spacious enough for our stay in Zurich with the wide continental breakfast spread. Not to forget, there was a Turkish lady who served us yummy pizzas, rolls and fries at a small eat-out nearby. She did not understand English, yet we managed to communicate somehow. She got so friendly that she even gave away some varieties of coins to my numismatist Mr. We skipped our planned visit to the chocolate factory and went roaming in the streets of the capital city. We happened to visit the Shopping Mall to buy some gifts as a takeaway. We spent the day at leisure, thinking of our journey the next morning to our home country INDIA. That's how our memorable 8N9Ds Switzerland honeymoon wrapped up. 😊


In case you have missed my earlier parts of the Swiss tales, 
Lucerne - https://thehappyminds.blogspot.com/2018/01/lucerne-mount-titlis.html
Interlaken - https://thehappyminds.blogspot.com/2018/08/interlaken-jungfraujoch.html

Interlaken - Jungfraujoch

3 days!!! Fell in love with the place and willing to fall in love again with the person I went with😉.

Yay, I made it! I was still alive after 2 days of glacial weather at Lucerne and Mount Titlis! I told myself that I could sustain! Thus continued my journey towards the serene town of Interlaken which was more calm compared to the Lucerne city. By now I had stopped checking on the route maps, directions, train timings, food and everything w.r.t sightseeing. My proficient husband was quick enough to figure out on anything and I could simply rely on him considering past days' experience 😉. 

The journey bliss!

Image from the train glass panes.

The train journey to Interlaken was most definitely serene but an interesting fact was that a Chinese lady was mesmerised with my dimply charm😁. And the lady clicked a few pictures of me & my husband and showed it to us. Also complimenting me for my smile😊. My Mr still considers it to be the most beautiful pictures of us till date😄 but unfortunately the copies did not reach us. Must say, I was awestruck with the views! Even a heedless person like me can take amazing pictures there! Such is the nature from every which way, and is absolutely beautiful all around. The greenery, lakes all along, the distant mountains and the waterfalls! Oh yeah! the lakes are green in color. It is said that it is because of the suspended particles in the water coming from glacial melt and then the suspended solids reflect light making such unique water color. The train journey in Swiss is an experience in itself ☺.

The comfortable stay!

The bridge.

Hotel Rossli was 10 mins walk from the train station but the huge luggage I pulled strained my ice cold arms. In this short stretch I walked, there was a bridge crossing a beautiful green lake with the distant ice capped mountains behind to add to its beauty! The receptionist , a tall guy (John, I think..) welcomed us and was commendable for the information he passed onto us. The room was a basic one compared to Ibis at Lucerne but the wooden stairs and flooring made the difference with the noisy footsteps. Then again the window view was great with the greens, mountains and the paragliding scenes! Continental breakfast here was OK and we used our ready to eat packets for dinner meal as there was microwave facility. There was a food truck near the bus station where we used to eat burgers & sandwiches almost regularly. The joyful owner of the food truck was a kind-hearted lady who gave us some extra garnishing and cheese in the various delicacies we tried😋. I personally found those food trucks more mouth watering than any typical Swiss restaurant.

The cruise!

View as we sail..!

Coming to our next activity, we planned to cruise from Brienz to Thun. It was a round trip, sailing in a mini-ship and return by train from Thun. It was a couple of hours free trip as we had Swiss pass. We waited for the boat to arrive all excited about the open top journey! We were about 8 people sailing together, so the huge boat running at a pleasant pace gave us the much needed privacy. One end of the boat had horns of Swiss cattle and the Swiss flag flying high. There was a bar and restaurant set up inside the motored boat and I think we ordered coffee, some fries. The view on either side was so colourful & soothing to the eyes, with waterfalls from the mountains, few houses here & there, sheep & cattle grazing atop those mountains. We clicked lot of pictures until halfway and then laid back on the sunbathing recliner chairs for the rest of the journey! Men and their camera to capture nature is so annoying when it is overly done. After a few stern looks, the camera took the back seat and our spicy entertainment started😀. Not to forget, this is where we took our first "titanic" photo😍. 

Posing while cruising! 

Another interesting view was the railway track on the mountain edge, amazing isn't it! I thoroughly enjoyed each moment of that evening. Like they say, every memorable journey has to come to an end, we arrived at the Thun station. We waited at the train station for the last train of the day to arrive. It was getting dark and shops closing, thankfully we got to eat some burgers from the station bakery store. Thus the lovey-dovey cruise activity ended as we reached Interlaken by Train😍.

Railway track on the mountain edge!

Paragliding in Interlaken ost!

Hill top pathway.

The next morning, we planned to go Paragliding in the beautiful Interlaken Ost. We were picked up by the paragliding pilots from the hotel and we were taken to a hill top of about 1000 mts. The lush green hill top which felt like an awesome shooting spot. It was windy! I loved being there, posing, clicking pictures, selfies, secluded, humming wonderful rom-com songs, dancing to it, just the way I wanted to spend my vacation! I was all OK until we actually took off but then OMG!!!..the fall!!! I cannot forget that moment in my lifetime. I was shit-scared! It was mad to shout and get off the ground! My heartbeats skipped and I was gone I thought😨! Pilot Jerome made me comfortable while we were just flying straight but the moment he used to glide down a little, I was like wo wo woo..! The fact was that the pilot had to glide and come down to the huge green fields. The pilot made a video of my shouting and clicked few pictures up in the air. The fun shouting video is super hit that my Mr continues to watch it even now and it leaves us in tears of joy😂. The lakes, buildings, junctions, railways, market, monkeys on the mountains...my pilot showed me every distinguishable places as well as my Mr flying ahead of us. Though I enjoyed the beauty around with the mountain rocks at one side and the lake city with the greens on the other side, my acrophobia somehow made it's way through. My Mr was shooting a video of me landing and I was happy seeing us alive 😅. One super scary, yet fun and yet another first time experience to cherish😀. 

Paragliding view!

Trummelbachfalle!!! 

Meadowy entrance.

Cave like passage.

Post lunch, it was time to witness the most amazing glacier waterfall hidden inside a mountain! This waterfall is approximately 20 minutes by bus from Interlaken. The place is near a small town of Lauterbrunnen and the bus stop is right in front of the meadowy entrance. It will cost about 10 Swiss Francs per person. It is said that the glacier water comes with such force that it has carved it's way through a huge mountain! It has been a tourist spot, well maintained with a lift till halfway, stairs and passageways to the view points. It has about 10 floors which we have to climb in and around the mountain to get the falle view! We did not take the lift as we wanted to enjoy our climb up the stairs viewing the valleys. There's a lift at the centre and stairs at both ends. Whichever end you choose to take, it could be different in terms of views. The beauty is that we can see the next floors from the passageways and it gets misty when the water sprinkles. Also, it gets scary😨 as we enter cave like passage as you climb up the stairs with few artificial lights. Then there are small openings from where we can see the milky waterfall already. As we reached the top floor, the noisy waterfall gets so near that one can enjoy the water splashes and is insane to look down the falls! It is certainly a unique experience. One can never even imagine the existence of such a waterfall, having seen the regular ones all through their life😊. Overall, it took us about 2-3 leisurely hours to get back to the entrance along with the photo-shoots we did. 

 Mid-way falls view!

Before we signed off for the day, we did hop few shops in the Interlaken market the same evening. Owing to the cravings of our Indian taste-buds, we then dined in an Indian restaurant before we signed-off for the day😋. We crashed hoping for the skies to clear up for our next day's mountain excursion. 

The Jungfraujoch alps!

Jungfrau alps!

Jungfraujoch is an absolutely amazing alpine attraction, at an altitude of 3454 metres. It is located in between the Monch and the Jungfrau mountains. The Cogwheel train journey to the Europe's highest train station is like travelling in a fairy-snowy land with super exotic ice clad views! The tunnels to climb up the alps gets pitch dark, yet there's an amazing view point mid-way wherein the train stops for few minutes. My Mr jumped out of the train at the view point which worried me until he was back abode. Seasonal crowd was expected and most of them are Indians or Chinese. Having said that, we did not feel out of place at all and got accompanied by our own people. We did not get seats and thus we were standing all the way up. The steep ride journey added up to our romantic memories😉. Do not forget your shades!!! One cannot handle the light reflection while it is sunny. It takes about 2 hours to reach the Jungfrau station via Lauterbrunnen or via Grindelwald. The altitude leaves you a little dizzy as you reach the top station. Thankfully, I got some coffee refreshment to energise myself. 

After relaxing for a while, it was time to take the lift/stairs to the 360° panoramic view point at the terrace of the station building. I was so excited to be at the top of Europe! The view takes your breath away! The misty alps and the moving clouds look so near to you. There was something called Snow fun park area for the snow activities which was very much visible from there. Sledging, skiing, snow boarding are some of the fun activities to name a few! To continue this big time experience is the walkaway from this building to the Ice Palace wherein we get to see some huge ice sculptures to admire. Also the walkways leads us to the multimedia shows and to the informative exhibition. Multimedia show had a big screen wherein they show us the mountain peak ranges, storm experience and much more. Exhibition was intended to learn few facts about the place and it's history. There are many restaurants as well as chocolate stores with the history briefing of the chocolate making. Of course you can buy chocolates here but it's pricey! 

Skiing!

Oh yaas! I played in the snow very much like a child, throwing ice balls at each other, buried my legs in the snow, mostly posed for pictures with such majestic backdrop of ice which was so much fun and I still rejoice recollecting those memories. Coming to the snowy activity, we did sledging together. Sliding over the ice on a sledge was superb😍! The fun part was that if we don't hold the sledge in proper position, it used to slide us to the corners of the sledging runway. Obviously, as beginners we did experience the fun with lots of laughter😂. 

Sledging!

Having such wonderful memories to carry, we boarded the last train of the day to get back to Interlaken. Must say, Titlis and Jungfrau is unique in it's own way. In Titlis, we enjoined the ROTAIR panoramic view as well as the cable car. In Jungfrau, it was the Cogwheel train experience. Thankfully, the weather at Jungfraujoch did not disappoint us as we were skeptical about the visibility and it's operation. With such discussions in an Indian restaurant that evening, our Interlaken days was ceased😊.  


Yet another secluded town of Gstaad stories coming soon😉! 

Lucerne - Mount Titlis !!!

Swiss tales!!! Summer!! May 2015! 

Feb 2015, my then fiancee was on phone! He was very keen to know about my dream destination. I wondered a little, but very soon realised that it was about our honeymoon. I reluctantly replied "oh, like you're going to take me to Greece or Switzerland😉 !". Then came a huge hearted response "most definitely, if we can plan now!". I ignored at first thinking about the budget, but this conversation got into reality very soon! NZ was in his mind considering Queenstown adventure sports. Merely, the glaciers had their share of luck to get us land in Swiss😀. Honeymoon to Switzerland fulfilled my childhood fantasy😍 !!! We planned 8N 9Ds vacation to the beautiful city of Lucerne and the serene towns of Interlaken and Gstaad.

It was Emirates flight from Bangalore to Dubai and then to Zurich. Hey, I boarded my first flight only then. I was anxious about my flight, the distance away from my parents, with a partner I've known only for some months! I felt some kind of a jolt in my stomach while the flight took off. I held my Mr's arms very tight to overcome my anxiety while he laughed at it. But he also made sure that I was comfortable like a good husband😊. After a few hours of talk came this huge flashy Dubai airport! Our transit to catch the Zurich flight was through a metro, one can imagine how huge the airport could be! My cautious husband did not sleep throughout our journey. He was watching out for the bags we carried having known my excitement about the honeymoon😝, though I asked him to sleep while I was awake. Duh!! once we boarded the flight to Zurich, probably the only time I was awake was when the non-veg meal was served in the flight. But the meal quantity in the flight was disappointing😞 given that I had a lot of expectations about my first meal in my first flight.

Lucerne city!

A freaking cold evening in Lucerne! 
We arrived in this beautiful city from Zurich by train. The train journey already got me the scenic views that I had dreamt of all my life! The huge landscape with the lush green grasslands all around will definitely catch your eye at first. From the time I landed at the airport at Zurich, I got goosebumps again and again due to the chilly breeze. All I could feel was the ice cold weather and the huge travel bag I carried! I was all packed from head to toe. The very first thing I remember telling my better half was that I was going to die in this weather😟 ! Day temperature was around 10 to 15 degrees on an average and it got colder as the day ended. During night, it would be 3 to 8 degrees. My thick skinned husband enjoyed every bit of this weather from day1 in style😜. But it took me a couple of days to get adjusted to this icy chilled weather. 

Ibis Styles along the Friedenstrass was 5 minutes away by bus from the main train station. As we checked in, the most useful thing we found for the given weather was the coffee maker placed in the reception area. After we check-in and got ourselves comfortable, we planned to take an evening walk in the city. The accommodation was good with a nice cozy cushion bed😉, a digital locker for safe keeping, a table with the reading lamp, mini fridge in which we kept the juice bottles we carried from the airport coop store and the bathrobes-wardrobes😀. Highlight of the accommodation was the huge window opening to the city's snowy weather and the distant icebergs! Also, there were few complementary ladybug chocolates lying on the bed which tickled our tastebuds with Swiss flavours! The complementary breakfast here was a thing to remember with its widespread continental varieties😋. 

The walk..

Kapellbrucke (Chapel bridge)

Wow😳 !!! The Lake!!! One can feel the calmness around having a lake amidst the city, the quacky ducks, the roving boats, the white ships, the long bridges across the lake, distant ice covered mountain views, the huge trees and benches along the lake, the tall stone buildings, ufff..I could see my breath as if am smoking! Btw, most people around will be smoking and hence cigarette butts are the only waste you can find in Swiss streets. The Kapellbrucke (Chapel bridge), a covered wooden footbridge walk across the lake felt pleasant with our very first few snaps in the city! Just like a Bollywood movie, we did find a guitar guy playing some romantic tunes in the european city, who earned a coin from my huge hearted Mr😉. As we took a long walk in the city, we found Indian restaurants nearby for our meal and food was something we need not worry about in Lucerne. Day light would be there until it's 9-10pm and post that it would be dark. The strasses (Streets in German) in the city used to be empty and all stores closed by 4pm. We had to walk back to the hotel at around 10pm while it was dark in the silent streets. The gang of 3-4 tall men smoking cigarettes stared at us which scared me a little, but we reached safe to the hotel. 

The journey to Engelberg which is 40 mins away from Lucerne gives you some huge grassland views with a few houses here & there that are placed at an elevation, along with some Swiss cattle & sheeps. The misty weather kept the roads wet! It was snowing when we reached Engelberg! My very first snow experience was no less than a fairytale😊 I stretched my arms as I looked up the sky and rounded with joy! I rushed to my husband and took our first snowy snap! I thought I'd freeze but nothing of such sort happened. The thermal wear along with my denim and a waterproof jacket with the hood, trek shoes, hand gloves worked all fine! Just to have a nostaIgic feel, I had carried a monkey cap as well😉 . Frankly, no fancy caps can better the warmth of a monkey cap😀 ! Umbrella is one thing we missed to carry which is important to take snaps while it is snowing. We exchanged our excursion vouchers with the actual tickets at the valley station. In case you need few necessaries like rain coats, umbrellas, jackets, goggles etc., they are very much available at the station. 


Snowy summit to TITLIS!

Mountain gondola ride!

Excursion to Titlis is a real treat😍 ! It was snowing throughout our journey up the hill. As we walked towards the TITLIS Xpress stands, it got noisy as the huge solid chains moved to pull the gondola. It was a queque system on first-come first-served basis. As we boarded while it was snowing, our view from the cablecar was murky due to the water droplets running all over the cablecar. So we had to wipe the misty glass planes to get some views. The snowy trees along the ride added to the alps beauty. It was frightening when the cablecar used to swing a little while moving through the connecting bridges or while stopping. After reaching a certain altitude in the cablecar, our journey to the summit continued in the TITLIS ROTAIR which happens to be the world's first revolving cablecar! It revolves 360° during the 5 mins journey from the middle station. The rotair gave us a stupendous panoramic view of the Swiss alps while taking us to an altitude of over 3000m. At the top, it's just magical and pure bliss! 

View from gondola!

TITLIS Cliff Walk!!!

TITLIS Cliff Walk!

The tower at the top station was linked to the Europe's highest cliff leading towards the adjacent alps. The view from the highest suspension bridge, the Titlis Cliff Walk was stunning! It was scary when I took a look down the cliff, made me feel like I was having a big fall down the alps and getting lost in the snowy mountains, finding no help😟 . Otherwise it felt filmy to me with all the romcom songs that I was humming😍 .  Snow, snow, snow..all you can see is the extravagant snowy alps around, snowy xmas trees and the cablecars on the solid ropes. Most people were awestruck looking at the glorious glaciers, I think 💭! You can turn around and see all different kinds of posers (including us), be it couples with crazy enthusiasm or the bunch taking selfies. I thought my boring-poser husband came up with a lot more innovative poses than SRK😀 . Me being just a few days into married life, discovered a whole lot of my happy husband. While we played in the snow throwing snow balls at each other, some were busy making snow men.


The station at the summit had a few floors with each having chocolate stores, gifts stores and instant photo studios with remarkable costumes, while the top floor was for the Panorama restaurant. Another interesting place is the Ice cave with music and neon lights all around. One can pose for pictures with the ice carved creations like a giant Toblerone! Titlis Ice Flyer was closed due to snowy weather conditions. This ride will cost you a few extra Swiss Francs or Euros, but I believe it will be one nerve-wracking experience considering it's an open flyer ride down the alps. After having some hot beverages at the Panorama restaurant, our journey back to the ground station started with a hell lot of memories about our many first-time experiences! 

Ice cave!

The Lion Monument!

After relaxing for an hour in Ibis Styles, it was time for our evening walk to the famous dying lion in Lucerne. The Lion Monument signifies the loyalty and bravery of the swiss guards during the french revolution. One can see that the lion is injured after being speared around his shoulders, keeping his head bowed. There's a pond beneath which reflects the lion, amongst the water lillies. We sat here for some time chitchatting and snacking. It's good if you can learn about the history behind this monument, otherwise there's not much to do at this place. But I must say, evening walks in Swiss are like wandering in wonderland😊 . 

This is all I've got to share about Lucerne. Our next destination by train was the beautiful town of Interlaken where we had some more of first-time experiences! 😊

To be continued...



Added information,

>> Swiss Travel Pass is the best choice for worry free travelling. 
It includes, 

• unlimited travelling throughout the country by buses, trains and boats. 
• discounts on trips to mountain excursions.

We opted for weekly pass since we planned for 8-9 days vacation. Thus, it depends on your plan and days of travel. 

>> We got our customised package booked by Thomas Cook. Below is the list of documents provided by Thomas Cook along with some guideline for our travel.

• Hotel and excursion vouchers
• Swiss travel pass for 7 days
• Travel insurance
• Flight booking and visa copies .

>> Local maps makes our life easier with necessary directions for our travel. As I recall, we used to get the city maps from the hotel reception. Most importantly, we always talked to the hotel staff/receptionist for the necessary information on our planned activities. Also to check on bus/train timings. 

Dudhsagar - My very first encounter with the leeches!!!

Mid Sept 2016!! 

The very first time I heard of this place is during Chennai Express movie release, being an avid Bollywood enthusiast. The picturisation at this spot induced a desire in me to watch and experience this wonderful creation of nature! Also, Dudhsagar trekking was in Mr Husband's Go-To list ever since he had seen the pics of his close friend's drive to this milky waterfall. Having had a history of booking and cancelling the trek to this place a couple of times, he didn't want to miss it this time around!

I sensed a chance to visit this fall, but the narration of the plan sounded like a horror movie! I was filled with questions like how to trek in the rain amidst jungle? how harmful are the leeches? will there be any wild animals? will I be able to complete 8kms one-way? how slippery can it get? where do we stay? how about the bathrooms and the (obvious 😊) food? So with lot of skepticism, I decided to go ahead be it whatsoever! My Mr doubted my decision as he asked 10 times if am cent percent sure, but I was all excited to experience this new adventure! Frankly, my Mr was horrified to take me along and warned me of the most adverse scenarios. Yet the fearless me did not care😀 !

The trek was quite well organised by Gulliver Adventures And Travels. The plan was to,

• Reach Whistling Thrush Homestay at Castle Rock by Saturday morning in a mini bus. 
• Get ready and head to the starting point of the trek in a gypsy. 
• Trek 8 kms one-way amidst the jungle and reach the view point to witness the waterfall. 
• Have packed lunch provided and get back to the accommodation. 
• Bonfire in the evening and halt. 
• Sunday morning start back to Bengaluru having lunch in some Khanawali at Hubli.

All set with the backpack for the Weekend adventure! We were asked to join at the nearest pickup point on a Friday Evening. The night journey started in a not so comfy mini bus. The organizer Abhay was kind enough to leave us the front row seats with the drive view! It had already started drizzling by the time we left Bengaluru. The driver took a break for his dinner and to fuel up at Tumkur road highway petrol bunk, where we got to exchange few words with the other fellow mates. There were only 3 ladies including me out of 20 in the group. The mini seaters were not so comfortable for healthy people like me😀. Yet it was fun with the comforting shoulder beside. I was asked to shut up and get some sleep so that I prepare myself for the big trek.

Whistling Thrush Homestay!

Watta morning it was, with the cool breeze touching my face, the huge trees and the greenery all around!!! The road looked as if it is given a shower and welcoming us. However, I wanted to forcefully sleep to avoid my morning emergencies until we reach homestay. Finally after a lot of confusion about the route, we reached the homestay. The very first thing I was introduced to, was the leech there so that I shout if any of them sticks to me and people would help to get rid of it😀. The Whistling Thrush Homestay was surrounded by lush greenery. It had only 4 rooms with each accommodating 4 people. The rooms were decent with the beds, a mirror, a table and chairs, a bathroom with good water supply. However hot water was supplied to the rooms in buckets as there were no water heaters. There was a stream right behind the back doors of the rooms and there was a huge ground covered with grass in front of the rooms. Coming to the roomies, we ladies were put in a room. One lady had come with her son (mostly just passed out of his schooling) who stayed with us. Me and my Mr had got just one backpack and thus he used to shuttle between the rooms. 

Homestay food hut!

Everyone freshened up and were all assembled in the breakfast area within an hour. Idly-chutney and upma was OK. Few leeches started climbing onto our shoes as we ate breakfast. The gentlemen were prepared with the tobacco powder. I was told that leeches hate the tobacco smell and was asked to put some on my shoes. Also on my socks so that the leeches don't intrude. Quite frankly, I was the most scared one in the group, before starting the trek. 

The water bottles we carried were almost empty after breakfast and there was no bottled water available😟!! My Mr asked me to fill the drinking water kept in the homestay jugs and I had no choice but to fill. A co-trekker there suggested me to fill hot water which convinced me a little. By the time we started in the jeeps, I was deeply horrified with the thoughts of leeches and getting sick by drinking the water I had filled😟 😟.

Trek starting point -
Green fields and misty weather!

There were only 2 jeeps and it's capacity was an adjusting one. However, I comfortably sat on my Mr's lap. Beside was an uncle who had given me the tobacco powder at the breakfast area. He started interrogating my husband about the trekking places visited and their grades. The bumpy drive for about 10-15 mins took us to the starting point of our trek. Since it was drizzling, the muddy road was slippery. We were asked to walk on the tiny streamlets where the probability of the leeches getting to our legs would be less. I decided not to get behind and that I would trek with the guide without getting lost in the jungle.

Misty jungle!

Bamboo bridge!

There was a bamboo bridge to cross during the first stretch of our trek. There were few houses and acres of lush green fields on the way which then led us to the narrow pathways into the misty jungle. The weather was awesome with the cool breeze and slight showers, but most of my concentration was on my legs to see if the leeches had made their way!!! The fear of leeches actually kept me in pace with the other people. My Mr was impressed with my pace, yet annoyed with me cribbing about the leeches. I could not keep myself calm seeing any sized leech on me. Having got to know that the leech senses heat and the first person walking in the path is much safer than the rest following his footprints, I decided to get ahead 😉. There were leeches falling from the low hanging branches of the trees as well. 

Jungle stream crossing!

The trek became a little scary as the forest got thicker & thicker. The steep pathways were slippery. Heavy rains had created small streams which we had to cross by holding each others hands making a chain so that nobody is drowned. The mud caked pathways got our foot immersed in it. At some point, I had to give up checking on the leeches. 

Stream which we could not cross😟

Then came the bolt from the blue! Due to heavy rains the bridge halfway through the view point was flooded. The water current was so much that we could not even think of crossing it. The guide reluctantly declared that we cannot go any further as the bridge seemed like broken😞. We waited for about 30 mins to see if there's any hope of the water levels subsiding, but there was no luck. Everyone was very disappointed for having to discontinue the trek😞😞 .

I got used to the environment by the time we started walking back to the starting point of our trek. The rain had stopped, so we got a chance to click few pics on our way back. We got some kind villagers offering us the much needed tea. The hot tea was a treat in the chill cold weather. We got back to the homestay in the same gypsy at around 3:30 PM.


Guess wot! the steaming hot lunch was ready by the time we arrived. The hungry us hogged the delicious veg meal with papad, pickle, fluffy puris, palya, rice, sambar and the happy tummy was satisfied😋. We had to freshen up and crash for a nice nap. I had 2 leech bites with the utmost care while my Mr was bleeding with 6 leech bites😨 .

After a nice nap, we woke up by 6 in the evening wanting some tea-coffee and snacks. By the time it was dark, bonfire party was on! People danced crazy!!! We enjoyed watching them as we waited near the kitchen for the chicken meal. The food here felt homely and it was always served hot. There were 3 wonderful ladies preparing dinner for us and the men served. The chicken curry, chapatis, rice, sambar, rasam were too good and tasty😋 ! After some chatting with the fellow mates and discussing the next day's plan, we came back to the rooms.

The falls!

The jungle path to the falls.

The next morning breakfast had the very popular Avalakki (Poha) with the grated coconut on top😋 !!! After the breakfast, we headed towards a small waterfall nearby that was suggested by the homestay guys. The mini bus took us to the spot in about 5 mins and we had to walk 4 kms till the falls. As the leech scare started again, we almost ran upto the waterfall so that leeches do not get any time to get onto us. WOW!!! The view, the water splashes and the rocks were mesmerizing amidst the jungle!!! It felt like we are in "The Jungle Book" location😀! It was pure nature with the chilled weather. I call it the scariest walk of my life😨 , but it was all worth it the moment we saw the waterfall! We spent good 30 mins sitting on the rocks with our legs dipped in the cold water. It is a must go place if you ever get to Castle Rock😊 . This was like a wonderful consolation prize as we failed to witness the actual Dudhsagar falls.

As the waterfall was close to the homestay, we thought of walking back on the wet roads along the huge trees. So, me and my Mr left the place a little earlier than the others, but we had asked the driver to stop when he finds us on his way back. The walk here turned out to be memorable for both of us and we relish it whenever we recall the nicest walky-talkies of our lives😊 .

The memorable walk!

It was time to pack our bags from the homestay and take group photos. We thanked the homestay guys for their warmth and the homely food and waved goodbye to them. We were hungry by the time our journey started towards Bengaluru at around 12 PM. The apples we got from home and the fried groundnut near a railway crossing saved us. Antakshari competition till the lunch time was the time pass! The driver missed our Khanawali at Hubli with his own confusion about the route😞. We did stopover at a small shop to buy some more snacks and water bottles. At around 4 PM, we got one eat-out on the highway which was OK for the sake of it. As we continued our journey crossing a place by name Bankapura close to Haveri, my dear husband recalled Bahaddur Gandu (a Kannada movie) as the story of the movie happens to be in that place! After another stopover for refreshments and my Mr's story telling, we reached Namma Bengaluru late in the night😊.

The troupe!

Dudhsagar..so near yet so far!!!