Switzerland - Bern, Bienne

At Zermatt train station in the morning.



On the way from Zermatt to Bern.



Today we will visit Bern which is the capital of Switzerland. Bern is also the capital of the Canton of Bern, the second most populous of Switzerland's cantons. The city was named after a bear that Duke Berchtold V of Zahringen had killed.

Enjoy the Saturday market.



Zytglogge (Bernese German for “Time Bell”), an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets. From 1191 to 1250 the clock tower was the city's western gate, and it was later used as a prison. Its elaborate chimes begin at four minutes before the hour.



The Rathaus, Bern's town hall, dating from the 15th century and with later alterations.



The city's medieval covered shopping promenades



Statue of Samson subduing a lion Fountain



A bare pit. Brown bears have been kept in pits in the far side of the Nydeggbrucke, across the river from the old town's eastern extremity, since the early 16th century.



We plan to go back to the old town center to have lunch, but walking pass this restaurant we all agree to try and see whether the food is delicious as all the rewards it received or not.
Our dish are all delicious and beautifully decorated. Highly recommend if you happen to be in that area.
Restaurant name: Barengraben



The Cathedral is a splendid example of the German-influenced Late Gothic style.




We then walk back to the train station. Passing the Federal Assembly building or Bundeshaus. The building was built in the Neo - Renaissance-style, stands on the the edge of the high ground above the Aare river.



Aare river in Bern



Fine views of the river Aare below and to the Alps beyond.



Local people come to picnic, play chess games or just sit and enjoy the fine view . On clear days the mountains of Berner Oberland with eiger, Monch and Jungfrau are visible on the horizon.

On the way back to Bienne.



Again tonight Khun Kohl hosts the dinner at Ramus, the lakeside restaurant.

Switzerland - Zermatt, Furi

Lucky doesn't come too often which describes our today weather. The grey cloudy sky greets us since morning. So we start the day enjoy window shopping at small shops before taking a cable car to Furi, a small village.






As always we practice our jumping technic again before starting the trekking.





With a beautiful view and classified as the easy and shortest trail, we walk from Furi to Zermatt. However...........






Moral from this trail :
1. don't rely on your shoes eventhough it is the new one and it is designed for trekking. Since if the ground is covered with snow, there is useless.
2. classifed as "easy trekking" when the ground is not covered with snow.



Zermatt is a car free town (using gasoline), only electric cars are allowed. Furthermore, horses and buggies are another alternative; although I don't see much of them.



There are a lot of beautiful hotels in Zermatt to choose from.



Some are located along the river.



Spend sometime in the museum.



Beautiful old house in the town.



Various kinds of souvenirs to choose from.



Our dinner cooked by Oh and Nok. Mine is the Spagel with the Hollandaise sauce.


Note: I am able to buy the cream for the herpes, but not the tablet since it is required the prescribtion.

Switzerland - Andermatt, Zermatt

Today we will try our luck at Zermatt which is the highlight of the trip for me. So we take the Matterhorn – Gotthard railway, of which its route is part of the Glacier Express Scenic Line.



Waiting for a transferred train at Andermatt train station, we again enjoy taking the “jumping jack” pictures.



Arriving in Zermatt in the afternoon, we check-in at Hotel Bahnhof which is near the train station and then buy the Gornergrat ticket - funicular railway.




On the way up to the Gornergrat.

Gornergrat - at an altitude of 3,089 m above sea level, has been the top tourist destination in Switzerland for the last 111 years. The panorama is considered to be one of the most beautiful.


After 5 days of non-stop raining in Switzerland, we are so glad that we can see the Matterhorn, even with a little cloud around.







Zermatt :

The town is in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It was discovered mid-nineteenth century by British mountaineers, most notably Edward Whymper, whose conquest of the Matterhorn made the village famous. The Matterhorn was one of the last alpine mountains to be conquered (in 1865), and the first expedition that reached the top ended dramatically with only 3 of the 7 climbers surviving the descent.

We then end the day with a dinner at the Cafe Du Pont.

Note: the top left picture - Raclette, roughly translated as "scraped cheese", is prepared by holding a soft cheese over heat and scraping it into a bowl as it melts. It is served with jacket potatoes, pickled onions and gherkins. (from Eyewitness)

Switzerland - Andermatt, Erstfeld

Our plan for this cloudy and rainy day, we decide to take a day off and leisurely visit Andermatt in the early noon. Take a train from Erstfeld to Goschenen and then transfer to the small track cog-train of the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Railway.




Andermatt is now covered with snow.



Don't know why there are a lot of bear sculptures in Andermatt. Maybe there USED to be a lot of them.
Andermatt is located in the heart of the Gotthard holiday region. It offers a variety of sports, excursions and recreational opportunities for both winter and summer.



Start our Jumping Jacks Series for this trip.



The Devil's bridge picture taken from the train.



As we are back at Sao's house, Laulu, Sao's mother in-law, takes us out to have some tea.



Beautiful pictures on the walkway tunnel wall where we cross the street to the hi-way cafe.



End the day with a delicious dinner cooked by Sao and all these wine.

Switzerland - Lugano, Mendisrio, Erstfeld

Our plan has started to collapse since yesterday due to the raining. And from the weather forecast, it seems to continue for at least a few days so our plan to visit Jungfrau region in this couple days has been postponed. We decide to visit the Ticino area, especially Lugano or to be more specific “Fox town outlet” in Mendisrio instead. So we start to cancel the hotel (luckily without any penalty fee) and call Oh's friend, Sao, in Erstfeld whether it would be o.k to visit her during the week instead of the weekend as plan earlier.


Therefore, we take a train pass through Luzern, stop at Erstfeld to drop our luggage at the train station before heading further to Lugano.



This route is one of the scenic routes in Switzerland going through the steep ravines of the valley and passing through many railway tunnel. Although we didn't take the Whilhelm Tell Express line which also has the same route, our train is also the panoramic one.



However, due to the heavy rain, we again decide to bypass the exploration of Lugano, having only lunch at the nearest train station restaurant.



View of Lugano across the train station.

After that we take a train to to Mendisrio to Shop at Fox Town Outlet which I once visited 8 years before. At that time the mall was small and not many attractive shops were opened. However, unlike the past, now there are many new brand name shops available: Gucci, Bally, Armani, etc. so the 2 hour flies so fast that we almost want to be there until
it closes. Nevertheless, I am not so in the mood to shop since there has been some red spot on my arm for the past few days and it is getting worse with itchy. So I have to call my brother, send the picture to find out what it is. He said it is either the herpes simplex (เริม) or herpes zoster (งูสวัด), but I need a prescription to buy the medicine. Yakky!!!

To top that day we take a wrong train back to Erstfeld. It passes Erstfeld but not stop at it. So we have to get off at the next train station and take a train back to Erstfeld. Lesson learns that 1. though the line passes through the town, not all trains stop at it. And 2. even that you are at the right track, but make sure to board at exactly the stated time, not 5-8 minutes earlier. 555 Anyway, we finally arrive at Sao's house, though a bit late.