A couple of weeks ago I received an email thanking me for posting photos of the old buildings in the village of Matten, Switzerland on my blog. The message, which was from a William Diesslin, read in part:

“You didn’t know it at the time, but you photographed my great grandfather’s store front! I’ve attached the photo for your reference.”

Matten was the town I stayed in when visiting Switzerland during the summer of 2007 and I had taken scores of photos of the intriguing architecture in the village. Curious, I downloaded the photo he had attached – an historical black and white image of an old storefront. I figured it would be a simple thing to find the present day photo among those I had published on the blog and began side by side comparisons. It was not as easy as I had assumed it would be, but by comparing things like the gables, roof line, and the horizontal strip that separated the first and second stories, I was eventually able to identify the correct structure.

Today the building is home to a hostel, the Balmer’s Herberge. The building is located on the same street as my hotel and I had even eaten at the Thai restaurant that now occupies the basement. Take a look at the photos below for a glimpse into the past and an idea of how well these old buildings have withstood the test of time.

Today one of the buildings comprising a large hostel, the Diesslin store hides its age well

Historic Diesslin store; the man standing in the doorway is Bill's great grandfather and the child to his right is Bill's grandfather

A closer look at the store from the opposite direction, as it looks today

But that’s not the end of the story. Read the rest of this entry »

The three words I’ve chosen that I feel best describe Switzerland are:

Breathtaking: Every inch of this country is stunning. At one point I really had to laugh at myself because I pored over a map, trying to decide which side of the train to sit on to get the best views between Lucerne and Interlaken. I chose the right side of the train but then spent the entire trip craning my neck between the left and right sides because the scenery was so incredible from every direction. There’s no such thing as getting a seat with a bad view on a Swiss train. Read the rest of this entry »

Nowhere else are the Alps so near, so spectacular, so safe, and so accessible as they are in the Jungfrau Region of the Bernese Oberland. There are literally hundreds of possible destinations and thousands of hiking trails but I only had two days, so I chose the two that I’d heard the most about and that everyone, to a person, said were “must sees.”

On day one I caught the train from the Interlaken Ost station, bound for the Lauterbrunnen Valley. At 796 meters elevation Lauterbrunnen is the departure point for some of the most amazing mountain railways in Europe, but Lauterbrunnen itself is no slouch. Almost immediately upon stepping off the train one comes face to face with the awe-inspiring, 300-meter high Staubbach Waterfall, located literally at the southern end of Main Street.

Staubbach Falls streams off high cliff at the end of Main Street in the village of Lauterbrunnen

Staubbach Falls comes into view at the end of town

At the end of the town, Staubbach Falls stream off the mountain

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I am an avid map reader. I can spend hours poring over a map of a destination I plan to visit. Give me a map and I can find my way to anywhere – I’m like a homing pigeon where directions are concerned. So when I consulted maps of Interlaken and its surrounding Bernese Oberland, I was surprised to discover that they seriously confused me. I finally figured out why – they were all upside down. Unlike in the United States, where all our maps are oriented with north at the top of the sheet, in Switzerland the maps all seem to use the Alps as their orientation. Thus all the maps of the Interlaken area show the Alps at the top with Interlaken at the bottom, even though the Alps are to the south of Interlaken. This is the case even in the train, where the route map is printed on a small table beneath each window – if you are following the station stops as the train travels along the route, you have to follow from the bottom to the top, even though you are traveling north to south. That also means that the two lakes between which Interlaken lies are reversed on the map, with Lake Brienz (which s actually to the east of Interlaken) shown on the left-hand side of the map, and Lake Thun (which is to the west of Interlaken) shown on the right-hand side of the map. It took me a while to get oriented.

Interlaken Ost railroad station

Interlaken Ost railroad station

Of the many activities available to me in and around Lucerne, the one everyone insisted I should not miss was the Golden Round Trip to the top of Mount Pilatus. This appealed to me, not only because I wanted to do some mountain hiking, but also because of the many legends surrounding “The Dragon Mountain.” In the Middle Ages, the bleak crevices of the mountain were believed to be the abode of a well-meaning dragon and spirits. There is also a legend that says the body of Pontius Pilate was ultimately disposed of in a tiny remote lake on Oberalp on Mount Pilatus. Once a year, on Good Friday, Pilate allowed himself to be seen, a figure with flowing grey hair and wearing the purple regalia of a judge seated on a chair in the middle of the lake. People so feared this vision that local priests and government officials made it illegal to climb the mountain or use the lake. Finally, in 1585, Lucerne’s priest, accompanied by a band of townspeople, climbed Mount Pilatus to challenge the ghost. They threw stones into lake, churned up the water and waded in it but the ghost did not react, thus the the spell was believed to be broken.

Tour begins with a ride across lake on a paddle wheel steamboat

My Golden Round Trip experience began on Lake Lucerne, where I boarded a nostalgic lake steamer for the trip from Lucerne to the town of Alpnachstad at the foot of Mount Pilatus. We pulled away from the pier into the crystalline lake waters, bound for the Alps to the south. Very soon we were sailing past towering headlands that rose straight out of the water and picturesque hamlets carved into the few lowlands that dotted the shores, each one prettier than the last.

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Every country has its own particular energy. The same goes for every city. There are places in this world with which I resonate and others that disrupt my energy flow. In spite of the fact that it was a lovely city, Zurich was one of those places that sapped me completely and I was anxious to leave. The question was, to where? I ‘d been reading the Swiss tourism brochures and there were a wealth of places that seemed like interesting destinations, so I packed my bags, walked the few blocks to the train station and looked up at the big board that shows where all the trains are going. Eeny, meeny, miney, moe – I chose the train to Lucerne that was leaving in four minutes. Less than an hour later I arrived at the Lucerne Bahnhof – the main train station, and headed for the Hotel Alpha, which I found in the Swiss Backpacker News magazine.

Crossng the Reuss River via Lucerne

Chapel Bridge over the Reuss River

The Hotel Alpha is a really nice budget hotel/backpacker guesthouse – certainly it makes my list of the top three places I have stayed on this trip. Like all backpacker lodges, the room has no private toilet or shower – the toilets and showers are shared facilities on each floor. However, each room has a sink with hot and cold water; a comfortable bed with a good mattress covered by a thick, fluffy duvet; and fresh towels each day. There are guest lounges with share/swap libraries, TV, and Internet and the place is absolutely spotless. Best of all the staff at the Alpha is wonderful, unlike the rude people at Hotel Martahaus in Zurich.

From the moment I stepped off the train I could feel the shift in energy – Lucerne was going to be a good place for me. After settling into my room, I walked the few blocks to the city center and began my exploration by Read the rest of this entry »

I felt a little puny today, which, if you think about it, is pretty funny. I traveled all over Southeast Asia and Africa, eating everything in sight, including raw vegetables washed in the local water, and never got sick. But two days after I arrive in Switzerland I come down with some sort of gastro-intestinal, flu-like ailment that puts me out of commission for all but the most basic of activities. I decided to be kind to myself and just stroll down to Lake Zurich.

Walking along the shores of Lake Zurich

Ferries that carry passengers back and forth across the lake

By the time I reached the lake I was beginning to feel better, so I continued around the lake shore. Several miles later I came upon the China Garden and a nice lakefront park, its nicely manicured lawns dotted with intrepid sunbathers braving the cold lake waters and 70ish degree weather. Here I also found a nice lakefront restaurant where I parked myself at the water’s edge and ordered some much needed food (with my stomach doing somersaults, I hadn’t eaten for a day). Within minutes after sitting down the wind whipped up, the skies turned black, and it began to pour. Fortunately, by the time I’d finished lunch the rain had let up and I was able to catch a water taxi back to the main dock without getting drenched. Since it was now around 3PM and the weather looked iffy, I decided to take a cruise to the other end of Lake Zurich on one of the big ferries. Read the rest of this entry »

From the moment I arrived in Zurich, Switzerland it was evident that this country is a model of efficiency. It runs like the clockwork for which it is so famous. Two immigration officials met the plane and checked passengers’ passports as we deplaned – there were no immigration forms to fill out. There were no lines at immigration and I was passed through with a second perfunctory examination of my passport. A five minute ride on a fast rail carried me to the luggage retrieval area, where I claimed my bag and headed for customs. Here again there was no form to fill out and I wondered whether the spices I had purchased in Zanzibar had to be declared. I finally found a brochure in a rack on the wall of the corridor leading to customs that explained what had to be declared – virtually nothing other than illegal drugs, weapons, or merchandise for sale! The Swiss are not worried about you bringing foreign currency into the country – their super secret banking laws rather encourage the importation of foreign currency. I was waved through customs without a second glance and followed the signs to the train station.

Hauptbanhoff - the main train station in downtown Zurich

This country runs on its trains. And the trains run PRECISELY on time. Indeed, the trains are so reliable and this is such a small country that there is no demand for inter-city flights. For six Swiss Francs (about $5 U.S.) I purchased a ticket for the train from the airport to the center of Zurich, which runs every half hour. I took the escalator down to the platform. Directional and information signs are everywhere – in German, Italian, French, and in some instances, even in Romanisch, an antique language still spoken by Read the rest of this entry »

I have arrived in Zurich, Switzerland, following a nine-hour, overnight flight from Tanzania. Today is a day of walking and resting – but in the meantime I have uploaded all the Tanzania and Zanzibar photos to the photo library. If you’d like to take a look, just click on the above tab labeled ‘Photos’ and follow Read the rest of this entry »