Swiss Time -- Day 3

I awoke again to rain, but I had no problem with that. That’s because I planned another day of climbing to higher altitudes in a train, where of course rain would turn to snow. My original plan was to go to Piz Gloria at Schilthorn, where Sean Connery’s James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was filmed. Unfortunately, the winds were too strong to open the funicular which takes visitors to this location. So instead I took a train to Lauterbrunnen, where I then boarded a cable car to take me to Mürren, a charming village not accessible by car or bus. The only way to get here is on foot or horse or by cable car or funicular. From Mürren I took the Allmendhubel-Bahn, another cable car, to the Allmendhubel ski resort. My original intention was to take the cable car back down to Mürren, that is, until I learned that it was possible to hike down on a mixed-use trail, the Bob Run. This definitely seemed the way to go!

I set off on the trail, which is also used by skiers and sledders, for the estimated one-and-a-half hour hike down to town. I hadn’t been on the train long when it started snowing heavily, even forcing me to put up my hood. What a treat this was! I can’t remember the last time I saw snow, and I took pleasure in every moment of it. I passed a small compound on the way, and then imagine my surprise when I came upon the Sonneberg, a restaurant and pension all on its own on the side of the mountain. Of course I had to stop for lunch! I had a traditional Swiss dish called rösti, which is a patty of grated and fried potatoes (basically what we call hash browns) with a German sausage on the side. Just the thing to fuel me for the rest of my hike in the snow!

During lunch I was seated next to a Swiss family, a father and his three teenage sons. The youngest son, probably twelve or thirteen, engaged me in conversation (he spoke English quite well) and asked where I was from. When I told him, he said enthusiastically, “I like California!” I asked if he had ever been, and he said, “No.” I then asked what he liked about California, and he quickly replied, with a big smile on his face, “Surfing!” Imagine this kid, living in a landlocked country, being so enthralled with surfing. I was enchanted!

After lunch I continued my hike down to Mürren, where I then caught a funicular that took me down to Gimmelwald, where I boarded a cable car for Stechelberg. From Stechelberg a bus took me to Lauterbrunnen, passing through the "Valley of the Waterfalls" along the way, where I caught a train for Interlaken. Phew! Did I mention that it’s not easy to get around this part of Switzerland? But it sure is a lot of fun, and one can never get bored!

My last night in Switzerland had arrived, and I returned to the place where I began: Schue. In addition to making fine homemade chocolates, Schue also has a wonderful upscale restaurant called the Grand Restaurant Schue that serves, of all things, Asian food. I can’t tell you how I was craving something Asian after five weeks in Italy, so this seemed like the perfect end to my vacation. Did I ever make the right choice! Perhaps I had a Survivor moment, but that was some of the best Chinese food I had ever tasted. In addition to wonderful food and very friendly service, there was a man playing a grand piano – lots of old standards, including one of my favorites, “Moon River.” A perfect end to a vacation I had dreamed about almost my entire life!

The next morning I caught a morning train back to Florence (actually, it took five different trains to get there!). Although I loved my time in Switzerland, curiously, I found myself eager to return to my little apartment in Florence, my home away from home.