Thunder storms

This week we've had a few thunderstorms. The first time (yesterday), we were on the roof of the Castel Sant'Angelo when it started pouring. You could see the entire city. Today, there was the loudest thunder that I've heard in a long time... There was also some hail, which was a little strange, but whatever... Anyway, when it started raining today, I grabbed the camera and ran to the Pantheon. There was so much water running through all the streets. I was completely soaked when I got there. But I managed to get this really cool video:

http://www.facebook.com/v/769177170728

Drizzles and Drops

After dinner, Ben wanted to find the open air theater that we had heard about a few times. Ben insisted that it was close to the 'forest'... so we started walking in that direction towards the base of the mountains. We had been walking for awhile, when I saw something on the hillside that looked like it could be an outdoor theater. We decided to investigate. When we got there, we discovered that it was not a theater but instead a cemetery. It wasn't even a cool cemetery. Also, this cemetery was in the neighboring town of Wilderswil... about 30 minutes away from home base in Interlaken.

Right about at that time, I felt a few small raindrops fall on me. I looked up at the sky and saw that the clear blue skies from earlier had been replaced with large, heavy, gray rain clouds. There was a storm a'coming. Ben and I quickly looked around and took cover under a bike shed. Just a few seconds later, the sky opened up and it began to pour. We stood under the bike shed for about 15 minutes as the huge raindrops fell and the streets quickly were filled with newly formed streams. Rivers. Tidal waves launched onto the sidewalk as cars passed by. Then just as suddenly as the rain came, it faded out into a light sprinkle. We used this opportunity to start making our way back to our hostel, looking for potential 'safe spots' if the rain picked up again. We were able to make it to a bus stop before flood #2 came and we had to wait another 5 minutes. However, we made it back to the hostel fairly dry given the circumstances. After we were safely inside, the rain picked up again and continued throughout the night.

Made It to Montreux

Today's journey brought many new challenges. The next stop on our trip is Montreux, home of the Chateau du Chillon. In order to get from Interlaken to Montreux, we had to make several train connections. The first train ride was short... about 20 minutes from Interlaken to Spietz. From Spietz, we boarded a train to Zwimmersman where we made our final connection to Montreux on the scenic Golden Pass line (which we found out later was highly recommended by Rick Steves). The views from the rail were less than stellar because it was raining for most of the trip, but we did manage to get some footage.

When we arrived in Montreux, we were surprised to discover that there was no information booth... This meant no maps. We were able to find a large poster map of the city and located the general area where we believed our hostel was. We set off in that direction with high hopes. We navigated down along the railroad tracks with no sign of our hostel. At this point, we started to get a little worried, but we kept pushing forward. And it's a good thing we did because shortly later we found our hostel. There were a few zig-zags here and there (but no circles) before we made it to our hostel. I was surprised at how close to the water the hostel was... about 30 meters. And it's only about a 15 minute walk to the Chateau.

After we set down our bags we started walking along a lakeside path that leds to Chateau du Chillion. Soon, the Chateau was in sight and we were able to get some amazing pictures from across the water.

We continued our approach and before long we were at the gate. The Chateau looks small and compact, but you don't realize just how large it is until you go inside. Room after room was filled with interesting stories and facts. The Chateau has existed for a long, long time and has undergone a series of expansions and renevations to get it to its modern day state.

Prison

Lord Byron went here to do some research for his book "The Prisoner of Chillon." On the way out,, he did a little graffiti.

Dining Hall

We also found Charlie the Unicorn!

They even had toilets back then.

Fortifications

Armory

We set off an alarm trying to get this photo

The keep at the top of the central tower gave great views of the area

And what kind of castle would be complete without a secret passage way?

Afterwards, we continued walking to get some pictures of the other side of the castle.

Interlaken 2: From Lake to Lake

Today we took the term Interlaken (between lakes) literally and walked from Lake Brienz to Lake Thune (about 8 km) along the connecting River Aare. It was quite the adventure, guessing that we probably walked 12 km (about 7.5 miles) and so we are now relaxing in some fantastic hammocks at Balmer's. Here is a detailed account of our journey:

Leg 1: Balmers to Lake Brienz

Nothing too exciting here, except that on the way we found a restroom for dogs (Swiss and their animal activism) and an interesting bird that we called Black-duck, Sea-partridge, or White-face at different points in the day.

We arrived at the lake to a stunning view.

Leg 2: Along Lake Brienz

We then decided to walk along the lakeside path. Alex was fascinated with the greenish color of the water and mentioned how he would really like to row on it. About 5 minutes later, out of seemingly nowhere, a beautiful shellhouse appeared.

A couple minutes later, we saw some rowers on the lake itself.

Alex was stunned that it was a triple (apparently in America only even numbers are allowed in a boat). Ben, who at this point had become a little nostalgic for a sailing adventure, also found a few sailboats on the lake.

Leg 3: To Lake Thune

After walking about 1 km down the lake, we turned around and went into downtown Interlaken for lunch, once again stopping at the Co-op. After a hearty meal of bread, Swiss cheese, yogurt, nectarines, and chocolate cake, we headed for Lake Thune. What we didn't realize was that we had to brave a 3 km canal in order to get to the lake outlet. When we finally arrived, we took some more photos:

Leg 4: To the Ruins

Along our canal walk, Ben had pulled out the map and noticed that there was a region marked "Ruins" nearby. Not knowing what to expect, we arrived to find an old fortress turned monastery turned conservation monument.

Ben took refuge in a window

and then we climbed to the top and took some more pictures:

Leg 5: To Balmer's

We walked back to the hostel and collapsed into the hammocks in the relaxation room, planning out the next few days out and taking advantage of the free-WiFi.

In the Alps

Our first day in Interlaken we checked into Balmer's (a very hoppin' hostel) and then explored the main street and cathedral. In the cathedral, there was an amazing stained-glass window of a lion:

After having lunch at Co-op (a.k.a the best grocery store ever) we decided to head for the Alps. After taking a scenic train to Lautenbrunner (which, we discovered the hard way, was NOT covered by our rail pass), we took a bus to Schechtenberg, and cable car to Gimmelwald. It was a lot of traveling, but it was well worth it. Gimmelwald is an isolated community of about 120 people and there are only two last names in the entire town. As you can imagine, this led to a lot of character. We found some fantastic gnomes and a large collection of cowbells.

Perhaps the best part of Gimmelwald was its peaceful quiet and fresh air. It was amazing just to sit on a bench and look at the Alps uninterrupted.

Luzern

We woke up in the morning and checked out of our hotel. Then we headed to the train station to catch a train to Luzern. It was about a one hour train and I was surprised how much of it was underground. When we were just outside of Luzern, we passed a buoyed lake (for crew races). It made me wonder if the Swiss National Team practices here...

When we got off the train, we were in the heart of downtown, right next to the water.

We began our search for our hostel. It wasn't too difficult to find... However, once we got there, we discoered that check-in time is between 4pm-10pm. We ended up talking to one of the attendants, and he pointed out that they had storage lockers on the second floor (which was a relief because all the lockers on the first floor were full).

After putting all our stuff into lockers, we did a quick tour around town. Here are a few interesting points:

The mill bridge. A portion of this bridge burnt down not too long ago and was rebuilt. I was surprised at how quickly the river was moving. There is a stake dam that can be adjusted through the year to control the water flow, insuring that smaller villages down the river do not flood.

The Jesuit Church.

From here, we hiked up to the old city wall. You can see the entire city from the wall.

There is also a bell tower on the wall (several, actually). We climbed up to the top and were able to see the actual bell. On the way back down, right after we had exited the bell tower, the bell rang. Shortly after, you could hear the bells in the other towers across the city. The bell in this tower rings one minute before all the other towers.

Another stop we made was the lion. This is a massive carving into the side of a hillside. There's a reflecting pool in front, as well.

The last major stop for the day was the KKL museum. I really liked the design of this building. It's located right next to the lake. Apparently, the architect wanted to build the museum in the middle of the lake. But, he was unable to do so... So, instead, he brought the lake into the building. There are several small pools of water that run through the first floor. They start outside the building and then move into it.

That's all I have for now. Interlaken tomorrow!

Zurich, Part 2

While we were going through all the guides we had, we discovered that most museums were closed on Monday. This was disappointing because there were several places that sounded pretty interesting.

After looking over everything, we decided to head back to the train station to figure out everything from the trip to Luzern tomorrow.

Right across the street from the train station is the Swiss National Museum (but it was closed...). There's also a park that runs along the river attached to the museum.

We took a boat ride down the river. There are probably 5 or 6 bridges on the river, and all of them are pretty low to the water. The boat was long and flat, and when it went under the bridges, sometimes there was only about one foot of clearance.

After the boat ride, we rode the tram to Zurich-West and walked through technopark. This is the new, modern part of Zurich. There was one building that stood out to me in particular:

The building is really cool on the inside. I wanted to take pictures, but there was a sign that said not to... Basically, on the inside you see what looks like an industrial warehouse that has been retrofitted with a shopping level on the ground, and offices on the upper floors.

After technopark, we rode the tram back to the central stop and walked up a huge hill to the University of Zurich. The view was amazing!

We went inside the ETH, which houses the library and seveal lecture halls. I thought that the main entrance to this building was somewhat strange. You walk through the doors on the outside into a glass prism that has another set of doors.

At this point, I was getting really tired and the jet lag was starting to set in. Ben insisted that I had to stay awake for a few more hours. We headed back to our hotel and started looking at places for dinner. We walked around the area and found a couple different options, but finally decided on kebobs. They were amazing!