Rama Moondra

Think James Bond in “On her Majesty’ Secret Service“pushing down villains in Shillthorn,Rishi Kapoor to SRK singing along love tunes to melt even a stone and you know what Berner oberland in Central Switzerland is made of.  Snow ladden mountains,green lush meadows ,sparkling lakes,red rooftop houses with smoke wilting chimneys..Spellbound is the impact.

Usual tourist attraction Interlaken is most frequented here. Interlaken  has more adventure sports attraction. Most of it closes down with first shower of snow.I chose the road less travelled and went to Wilderswill and then to Murren.. A cable car journey takes you to Shillthorn and then to Jungfrou. The snow was early this year and most of mountains were freezing cold with dripping snow off trees. Very few times that one feels so connected with nature and no one, no where status.

Small villages like Gimmewald has a lonely quiet train route..I loved walking on trail and snow.  Sitting underneath a tree when it was sunny around and  snowy on the mountains with bits of snow falling over me, I could only gasp in beauty of nature god has given this country.

 The lonely track of Gimmewald

Swiss northwest corner has deep dark forests,green hills and wealth of sights. A day trip from Bern,its easy to get on .Honestly, the places have museum,history and 12th century medieval attraction blended with ice creation too but just sitting pretty on any place and soaking in the beauty made more sense to me.

Open air cafes ,glittering lake and laid back french style surrounded by vineyards, Neuchatel is a place dreams are made of.  The sandstone beauty of old town is mesmerizing.

When I boarded the train early morning 7 am from Bern,  first cup of coffee was on train. Swiss trains have good food served in inbuilt restaurant. I ordered veg  breakfast too which was bread,herb spread and butter.

“You must try La Creperie in Neuchatel”,  I looked at the gentleman sitting in front of me. He smiled,” Hi..Indian?” I smiled back nodding .Mouth full of blueberry muffin would not let me speak. ” Wanna share a coffee there?”" He said, I accepted gleefully.. Swiss are pretty friendly and happy to show around, I was  in terms with it by now.

La creperie serves Tome Neuchateloise Chaude ., a cheese starter so filling that I skipped my dinner too. Crepes are a must here and potato mashed savoury  crepe won hands down, anything faintly resembling samosa will win an Indian heart  anytime.  Is not that true?

View from distance..

A scenic lake,mountains of myth and wooden Kapellbrucke (Chappel bridge) ..Lucerne is picture perfect place. I reached on a rainy chilly day morning. The weather was dull by Swiss standard but I find it beautiful. ( cant help..coming from a state which has three weathers only..Hot, Hotter, Hottest) ..

This town has a flavour of medieval bridges and old squares.   Situated on the northern bank of  Reuss river ,Lucerne has 15th century buildings and KapellBrucke built in 1333, are most distinct feature of this mostly pedestrian place. The distinct water tower and the famous fire of 1993 are talked about . A beautiful pictorial panel of Dance of death is under roof line.

Bodu is an Institution in Lucerne. The french brasserie has excellent river view and mind blowing Bordeaux wines. The place dishes out exotic Provencal cuisine and piedmont.

I loved walking along the city and the boat tour.  Just after I finished boat trip, the hot rolled crepes with cream burlee’ and cinnamon flavour felt heaven sent.

And why not, after all the town has a myth of  an angel showed the light to first settlers of town about building chappel and the crepe shop is just next to it.

  The Water Tower and Kapellbrucke

Rosy faced goatherders still yodel a melody and Cheese fondue is to die for. Rich choco truffle nuga is a sinful must do and not to forget that this the country which invented LSD and secret bank accounts. My travel experiences are my opinions and reflections of my tinted glasses(as I see it). Diverse and ultraglam, Natural and friendly, Suiss has all faces.

As easy as cheesecake and heartwarming as dark rum chocolate, Zurich does not overwhelm. It hugs as an old pal and makes you feel home instant..It may sound as boring bankingcapital but that’s not true

. The northern end of Lake Zurichsee hosts this city.Very easy to navigate split by River Limmat, Zurich has everything to offer.Bahnhofstrasse is a place where effluent Zuricher are shopping . what makes it even more interesting is the fact that the street is above the bank vaults said to be cramming with gold and diamonds of  many not known billionaires.

The 13th century Fraumunster cathedral is highest talked about attraction with some of the most distinctive and attrctive stained glass windows in the world. Back on the west bank St Peterkirche has the larget clock face of Europe(8.7 m in diameter)

But apart from official sightseeings it has the lake side walks and river side dance hubs.  A boat trip takes you around the best the city offers. The best vegetarian food I ate in Europe so far is Hilti in Zurich.

 Rainy and sunny days ,  fond memories of new found friends and  melting cheese fondue with thai pumpkin soup , Zurich has a special place in my heart. The autumn  evening glows through the windowsills of afternoon sun and I leave home to catch up on the most favourite swiss snack of season ”Hesse Marroni” ( roasted chestnuts).