The 6 hour flight from Dubai to Zurich was fantastic. This was our first time flying with Emirates. The set up of the Emirates A380 was far superior to any other airline I have flown with and I actually managed to sleep the entire flight after our lunch was served. The Flight Attendants were extremely helpful, friendly and attentive to any requests.
We arrived in Zurich around 8.30pm, as such stayed the night at the Novotel Zurich City West Hotel. This was advertised as a budget hotel, but the rooms were superb and breakfast scrumptious.
Our first stop was Wengen. We had decided to hire a car for the 10 days travelling around Switzerland - we love our road trips. On picking up the car, we opted not to have a SatNav. First biggest mistake, and then I found I had booked a manual, which is fine, but when you are lost in Zurich, driving on the wrong side of the road in a manual car and the blinkers are also on the opposite side - what can I say!!!!
We managed to find our way out of Zurich and headed to Wengen, with many stops on the way. The 2 hour drive to Wengen ended up taking 10 hours, with lots of sites to be seen, food to be tasted and tracks to explore. Our next stop after Wengen will be Zermatt.
On the road towards Bonigen. Such beautiful scenery and old buildings.
The lake in Bonigen where we had lunch, lazed around the lake and then drove up through the mountains to look down on the lake.
The views from the top of Bonigen.
Found this lovely clear, blue water on the way to Interlaken. Couldn't resist stopping and wandering around and talking to the local fishermen.
A stop in Interlaken - a very popular spot for tourists and locals. Lots of people on the water and relaxing in the lakeside cafes.
The view from our room at the Hotel Jungfraublick. Absolutely loved this hotel, the service, the room, the location and the view - fantastic. You can pay 10chf and the staff will pick you up from the train station on arrival - recommended if you have luggage as the hotel is straight through town and uphill. On returning to the station, it's an easy walk downhill with luggage. Wengen is car free, so we left our car at the Lauterbrunnen station and caught the local cog wheel train up. Don't buy a return ticket unless you are travelling back the same day.
I had to play with my neutral density filters and long exposures to capture this picture. This was the view of the mountain from our room. Notice the position of the moon - we don't get to see the moon at this shape in Australia.
Looking out of our window and over to the Staubbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen.
Our trip up to the Jungfraujoch. A remarkable train ride with such gorgeous scenery. We are always, that person, rushing for the plane or train and this was no exception. As we were late, we jumped on the train hoping to purchase tickets on board or at the other end. Big mistake - after a lengthy discussion and some loud advice, the conductor on the train, sold us tickets and allowed us to continue our journey. The train stops 3 times on the way up for passengers to take in the magnificent views.
The long trek down the Glacier.
I'm told 007 was in the helicopter.....
One of several walks for the "not so faint hearted". We both experienced some symptoms caused by exercising at altitude. Living on the Gold Coast, Australia does not prepare you for any altitude.
A walk through the ice tunnels at the Junfraujoch, with some interesting sculptures.
Don't forget your jumper.....it was freezing in the ice tunnels.
And we made it......the summit of the Jungfraujoch....may have struggled a little, but worth it :)
The bike ride up from Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg. A 800m uphill climb.
On our last day in Wengen, we decided to hire bikes and make the long climb up to Klein Scheidegg and then down into Grindelwald. The ride was a lot harder and longer then we thought, so upon reaching Klein Scheidegg, we reluctantly had to turn around and head back to Wengen. After a long 2 ½ hour ride up, it took us ½ hour to get back down – fast, furious and all downhill.
The view of the Jungfraujoch on the way up to Kleine Scheidegg. A hikers paradise. In summer a difficult climb up the hill.
The cogwheel train taking passengers up to the Jungfraujoch. You can see the magnitude of the mountain hovering in the background.
