February 6, 2016

Annette’s Excellent European Adventure, Switzerland: – Finally!

I am star stuck, as I “chat” with 007/James Bond,
George Lazenby, star of Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Piz Gloria; Schilthorn, Mürren, Switzerland
September 2014

The time has finally arrived for my final installment of the Annette and Dale’s Excellent European Adventure series,
this one on Switzerland.  I am behind, very behind, with this, my fourth country’s installment.  My third installment having been back in June 2015! This post is the final blog post of my Switzerland visits;
one taking place in September 2014, and the other in March 2015.

Breathtaking Switzerland in September 2014

The difference was staggering. The tans and beiges of the desert sands of
Saudi Arabia, where we were living and had left just hours before, had been replaced by the brilliant green landscape of Switzerland, below, as seen through our aircraft window.

The brilliant green landscape of Switzerland greeted us as we landed in Zurich.

My hubster, Dale, had business meetings in Zug, and I was happily tagging along. Anticipating an entire weekend ahead of us, we had made reservations in Interlaken.
With our luggage secure in our rental car, we were on our way. The Swiss scenery is always a treat for the eyes, interspursed with the occasional mountain tunnel.

Dale, navigates the Swiss roads and tunnels with ease.
Each time we now encounter a tunnel, I think of Switzerland!

One of my favorite “just off the road” spots in Switzerland,  is this picturesque lake in Lungren.

 

Yes, the water in Lungren really is this color!

Interlaken, at Last!

Happy to arrive at the Goldey Hotel, we were enchanted by the lovely view from our balcony. After quickly unpacking, we were off for a walk, exploring the area.

The Goldey Hotel, the brick building behind me, sits on the bank of the
River Aare.

We were delighted by the scenic view from our balcony. 

Dale and I had stopped briefly in Interlaken in 2013. We had enjoyed the breakfast buffet at The Victoria-Jungfrau’s La Terrasse, or I should say we enjoyed the bacon from the breakfast buffet. Dale and I had been more than excited, at that time in 2013,
to find American-style bacon on the beautiful buffet, and in plentiful supply.
Living in Saudi Arabia at the time, it had been months since we had tasted that
distinct bacon flavor. :o)
We  vowed that if we were lucky enough to find ourselves in the area again,
that we would explore Interlaken’s other treasures.

Immensely enjoying my bacon-based buffet (This photo was taken mid-bite.)
at The Victoria-Jungfrau’s La Terrasse in Interlaken.
August 2013

To read my Switzerland post from August 2013, click here.

Many of the “neat as a pin” Swiss houses, complete with flowers, reminded me of a cuckoo clock that my grandmother used have hanging on her wall.

 

This street in Interlake is busting with tourists.
The stately Victoria-Jungfrau is the tall building with the spire on the left.

Hang gliding seems to be a popular past time here, with the Jungfrau (the name of the mountain) in the background, and Victoria-Junfrau Hotel across the street.

Dale and I enjoy dinner, with a view of the Jungfrau.  I do not remember exactly what I was eating, but I do remember that it was a delicious sandwich and had bacon in it. :o)

 

A model of the Piz Gloria in a store window, gives us a glance of what we will see the
next day.

 

The night time view from our room was magical.

Piz Gloria, but first, Breakfast

I love classic movies, with the James Bond films of 1960’s falling into this category.
One of the most intriguing locations for a Bond film is the Piz Gloria, featured in
Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Situated on Mount Schilthorn are the observation deck and revolving restaurant seen in the film.  Only about 10 miles from our hotel to the base of Mount Schithorn, Piz Gloria would be our destination for the day.
To read more about this Bond location, check out this Bond blog here.

Starting the day with a hearty breakfast at our hotel.

 

Hazelnuts (also known as a Filbert) were always an option at our hotel breakfast buffet.
I love them!

I enjoyed the unique decorative touches in the hotel’s common areas. 

In this blurry photo (sorry), I stand near a map which charts our course up the mountain to the Piz Gloria via the longest aerial cable system of the Alps.

If the cute red coat that I am wearing seems a bit small, it is because, not knowing about this trip earlier, I had not brought anything warm to wear with us to Saudi.
My friend, living in our compound, lent me this coat for our Swiss trip.
Thanks, Emma!

While waiting for the cable car, we were fascinated by this huge backpack, and I asked if I could take a photo.  We later surmised that these fellows were headed up the mountain to hang glide with this mega-backpack carrying all of their glide gear.

Dale and I board the gondola, complete with the James Bond musical score piped-in from overhead.

The views going up the mountain were spectacular…
and the views at the top,gorgeous.In my very best 007 pose, at Piz Gloria. James Bond once walked here.
In fact, part of the completion money for the revolving restaurant and the helicopter pad here came from the making of Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Dale and I were overwhelmed by the beauty of Switzerland’s Alps.

You would not know it to look at me, but I am a little fearful of high places…

…but I eventually got used to the heights and took in the majesty of the landscape below.

Evidence of the James Bond legacy was everywhere, from the museum exhibit here, complete with vintage movie posters, to the the 007 emblem decorating the restaurant windows,
to the Wi-fi internet code of 007.  :o)

The revolving restaurant was such a treat

Mürren

Piz Gloria had lived up to its reputation as amazing! After our lunch, it was time for us to take the trip back down mountain.  Dale and I decided to explore the second stop from the top; the small village of Mürren. There are no cars allowed here, except for essential personnel, making it is a great place to walk around.

On our way back down the mountain was this quaint little village of Mürren.

I was feeling the need for outerwear that would actually fit me. I struck out at the overpriced gift shop at the Piz Gloria.   Mürren was a happy contrast, with a cute and reasonably priced shop. I  bought this warm and furry Swiss jacket.

Dale and I relaxed as we sat on park benches, enjoying Mürren’s tranquil view.

The tranquility did not last long.  We soon came to the uneasy realization that this “park” also served as Mürren’s heliport! We, along with others sitting and relaxing in the area, soon found ourselves overwhelmed by hurricane-like winds, thanks to this helicopter landing just feet away from us!  We all held on to our hats (literally) while clinging to our packages in utter dismay!

We stop for tea, where we chatted with some fellow Americans, at one Mürren’s hotel cafes, before heading back down to the bottom.

To read another blogger’s Mürren experience, click here.

Trummelbach-Falle

A side trip on our way home, took us to Trummelbach-Falle, a maze of ten waterfalls.

My fear of heights reared its ugly head once again this day.

To read more about Trummelbach-Falle click here and here.

Cows

On our trip back to Interlaken, we were surprised to see colorfully decorated cows.  The cows had been part of a cow parade earlier that day. Having spent the warmer summer months in the Alps,the cows were brought down to the mountain to spend the winter months.

To read more about this tradition, click here and here.

Bossy does not look all too happy about her new headpiece!

A fun cow fact for ya-Did you know that the some Swiss have cow washes for their cows?

See and read about cow washes here.

Our Final Look Around Interlaken

This cute chef sign caught my eye.

I snapped this photo of a granny on her moped, as we waited for the train to pass by.
The bicycle rider uses this time for a little snack.

A few sights on our final walk around town.

 

Zug

Zug was our ultimate destination in Switzerland.  Zug is a beautiful small town on
Lake Zug. Dale had business in Zug for a few days. My friend, Lyn, who was currently living in Zug, offered to show me around Zug one day, and Lucerne the another.

Lyn brought me to this cute restaurant with a view Lake Zug.

The view was beautiful and the food delicious.

This photo was taken just outside of the restaurant.

The Clocktower is an iconic symbol of Zug.

I stand on a cobblestone street of Zug.

To read another blogger’s perspective of Zug, click here.

 Lucerne

I adore the Swiss city of Lucerne.  Lyn kindly offered to take me the 20 miles from Zug to Lucerne for an informal rooftop lunch, and a little sightseeing.  It was a fun day.

 

Lyn and I enjoyed the sunshine and views of Lucerne during our lunch.

An interior view of the Jesuit Church.

Click here for more information on the church.

A view of the Jesuit Church (left) from the Chapel Bridge.

To read more about the Chapel Bridge, click here.

Lyn looks out from Chapel Bridge onto the River Reuss.

 

 

Lyn showed me The Lion Monument of Lucerne before our trip back to Zug.

To read more about The Lion Monument, click here.

Thanks for reading!

Annette

I attempt to post my blog bi-monthly. Stay tuned for part 4b of Annette and Dale’s Excellent European Adventures. My next post will be on, or around, February 28.

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