The Berner Oberland, Switzerland

I've been in Europe for almost a month, and the time is flying by!

I spent the first week in Switzerland with Jen. We stayed in Interlaken, which is a small but beautiful town at the base of the "Berner Oberland,"--the Alps. It's between Lake Thunersee and Lake Brienzersee (hence the name, Interlaken). Our six days there were unforgettable! We took a train to the town of Thun, on lake Thunersee, which has historic castles and churches. Another day we hiked to the falls at Geissbach, and saw--but did not ride--the oldest funiculaire in Europe. The following day we took a train up through the valley, high into the Alps and straight through Mount Eiger to Jungfraujoch--at 11,000 feet--where you can literally see all the way to France. We got lucky and were there on the clearest day imaginable. This is a view from Jungfraujoch, the "Top of Europe." (It has the world's highest post office and train station. It's remarkable to think they built the train station 100 years ago...!)

The next day in Switzerland was my favorite. Jen and I took a combination of trains and gondolas to a tiny town in the Alps called Mürren (at the advice of Rick Steves, who has yet to lead me astray). From Mürren we hiked for hours through partially-snow covered trails, past lots of skipisten (ski slopes--my favorite word in German), cows, and breathtaking views. I had songs fro The Sound of Music stuck in my head basically the whole time :) At one point we came upon Sonnenberg, a tiny town with only a few houses and one restaurant. Next to t

he restaurant flew two flags: one Swiss, the other, just below: the California Republic!

After a great last dinner (recommended, of course, by Rick Steves), where we tried Rugenbräu, the Berner Oberland's very own local beer, we dragged ourselves away from the breathtaking panoramas and cheese fondue to head back to Paris for orientation.