The Castaways Had it Right

Where to begin...

I think this was the first time I've ever ridden first-class. It didn't match the fantasy that I had constructed. If anything, I was bored— bored and lonely. But since it was a first, I decided to vlog.

First night in Interlaken

When we first made it into Interlaken, we were excited to be in Switzerland, understandably. One of the first things we did was buy us some chocolate... then we decided to walk around and take in the city.
Interlaken was a small town that almost looked deserted. The reason was that it was at the base of the most famous tourist attractions that the Swiss Alps could claim, and why would you stay in the village when you're at the base of the Alps?

We planned on meeting two of Dan and Elise's friends. Unfortunately, there was a slight communication problem and we wandered around for the better part of an hour, lost. Because who really needs road signs? Oh, that's right, tourists who don't know where the heck they are or where they're going! Sure we eventually found them, but that's beside the point.

Climbing the Swiss Alps

The next morning we got a late start. It could be because we were exhausted, but I'd like to think it was because Elise forgot to turn off the alarm on her phone. Instead of sleeping in to a nice eight in the morning, her buzzer woke us at five-thirty. Yeah, that could be it. Our sleep was disturbed and it made it more difficult to climb out of our beds when we needed to.

What were our plans? We took the train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and then took the gondola up to Mürren which is 5,000 ft. above sea level. (I'll share a secret with you. That last bit I got from Wikipedia. I really don't pay much attention to sea level and altitude unless it interferes with my baking.) Still, we were pretty high.
  

Never thought I would do it, but I did. I "climbed" the Swiss Alps, and it was beautiful. Awe-inspiring. Humbling. Breathtaking. Pick a positive adjective and that could be applied to what I was fortunate enough to experience. Of course I have video of the adventure!

Elise and I in the Swiss Alps

So many beautiful waterfalls.

She actually has a bell around her neck. Don't want to lose your cows in the Alps, I guess.

Journey to Montruex

That night we had to make our way to Montruex. The chocolate train was calling us, and we were not resistant. As we climbed onto one of the connections that was running late, I turned around, looked at Dan, and noticed something was different.

"Dan, where's your bag?"

His eyes widened and he ran off the train to pick up his bag where he'd left it on the platform. Just as he made it back to the doors, the train started pulling away from the station. Elise could only wave good-bye to him while I stood there dumbfounded at what had happened.

We didn't find out until later that night that Dan would have made it onto the train, but the stewardess actually pushed him out. Not only did she do that, but she had the audacity to shake her finger at him with a smirk. Dan had to file a report and was subjected to profuse apologizing from the train station. They gave him a voucher for free beer, got him on the next train, and held the connection just so he could get back to us. He still wasn't too happy.

Later, after the weariness of travel, we decided to freshen up. Here at the hostel we're staying at, they're very keen on conserving energy. So, after ten seconds of water in the shower, it just shuts off. The same for the lights after five minutes. It was frustrating and hilarious. I heard Dan in the next shower room, swearing every time either the lights went out or the water turned off. Although I can't decide if it was funnier than seeing what the small pizzeria we went to had on the menu— "Ass. Chicken Nuggets." I should have taken a picture of it.


Today we went to the chocolate factory. Never thought I would say that I appreciate German efficiency, but their transportation was far superior. In the French section of Switzerland we were handed our tickets and sent on our way... they didn't wish us luck let alone warned us that there would be several connections. Pfft. It took us five different trains to get us to the Cailler Chocolate Factory in Broc. So worth it though. Our original plans were to take the Chocolate Train, but after going online to look at ticket prices, we discovered that it didn't run on Tuesdays. Mondays—sure. Wednesdays—no problem. But Tuesdays are a no-go. It would have been so much easier but the important part is that we made it.

I even indulged in their hot chocolate.

Nibbling on some samples.

[I wrote this last night, but connection at the hostel was so slow that I couldn't load any of the videos. Today I arrived in Venice, so more to come on that!]