May 2-8, 2015
This post will include the first week of our European
vacation in Interlaken (Part I), Luzern & the Bernina Express scenic train
to Lugano (Part II). I will continue in another post the second week spent in
northern Italy in Cinque Terre and Tuscany.
Saturday May 2, 2015
As I said in the last post, we
took the first train out of Eindhoven we could to get to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam
at 8:30 for our 9:35am KLM flight to Zurich.
Our girls are off to a great start
this trip: holding hands on the train ride
The moment we came up from the Schiphol
train station platform to the airport check-in area we knew we were in for
trouble. The crowds were extremely difficult to break through from the elevator
location. We finally made it over to the KLM Skypriority check-in line. Even
the priority lines were 6+ parties deep. Time kept ticking on the clock as we
waited and waited to check-in our bags for our 2 week vacation trip. Each of us
were getting more and more nervous each passing second. For how well traveled
the 4 of us are with our 2 little ones, we still could not believe we were in
this situation.
The boys finally get up to the
counter as the irritated desk clerk notifies us minutes later that we cannot
check in our bags because our gate had already been closed. We were not going
to make it on this flight! Ugh! They sent us over to the ticket counter to
figure out what to do now…
Jackie nursed Brooklyn while the
guys talked to the agent to get us on the next flight to Zurich. We got tickets
for a noon flight on another cityhopper. The reason the gate doors close so
early is because all passengers exit the gate and then board the plane from
outside on the loading tarmac for these smaller flights. It’s basically the
equivalent of flying one or 2 states over.
We boarded first with our little
ones. Unfortunately we could not get seats together. The only 2 together were
in an exit row, which babies are not allowed to sit in so they guys lucked out
there. Jackie took a window seat with Brooklyn because she would need to nurse
during takeoff and landing. Emily was in the same row as Jackie, but couldn’t
change seats to sit next to Jackie and Brooklyn because there was only one
infant oxygen mask per set of 2 seats. I felt bad for those poor ladies who had
to sit in the aisle and deal with our little ones.
We were so happy to finally be
boarding our KLM cityhopper flight from Amsterdam Schiphol airport to Zurich.
Ready for the plane to take off from Amsterdam to Zurich
#barfbagbabychewtoy #whateverkeepsherhappy #babies9thflight
One field patch of Dutch yellow tulips (I think) seen
during takeoff
Switzerland from the air
I love the fields of yellow wildflowers
Once we got all our checked luggage we used the ATM to
get out some Swiss Franks and began writing in our 4 day Swiss Rail passes
before boarding the train from Zurich to Interlaken via Bern. Prior to getting
to Switzerland, we order 4 Swiss Travel Pass Flex 4 days for 286 CHF (Swiss
Franks) a piece. We used our first day today to go from Zurich to Interlaken.
Happy Brooklyn in the backpack we wait for the train in
Zurich
Happy Brooklyn sitting in her own seat on the train ride from Zurich to Interlaken
Train ride from Zurich to Interlaken with my loves
We quickly passed through Bern. The town of Thun on the
end of Lake Thun looked nice. Interlaken is named literally for being between 2
lakes: Thunersee (Lake Thun) and Brienzersee (Lake Brienz).
We arrived at Interlaken Ost (east) train station just after 5pm.
Of course as we began our walk to our rental property, it
began to rain. Rain, HARD.
It felt like a much longer 20 minute walk in the rain as
we tried to sort through the directions with very few street signs. It was a 3
bedroom portion of a property. Harper slept in Jason and Emily’s walk-in closet
because it was the easiest to block out the light. We first set Brooklyn up in
the third bedroom but it was very cold in there because a window had been left
open. She woke up several times throughout the night. We ended up moving the
pack-n-play to our bedroom.
Sunday May 3, 2015
The weather was really crummy. Our plans to make our way
up the alpine rails were halted for the day due to the weather. We decided to
press our luck and hope for clearer weather the next two days to take journeys
up into the higher elevations.
After getting drenched walking in from the train station,
we made sure we’d be properly dressed for going out today. We used our big neon
tarp-like travel bag as a rain cover over Brooklyn’s backpack that would really
protect her from getting wet in the cold.
We walked to Interlaken Ost train station. We decided
today was the day we would not use one of our 4 days on the Swiss Travel Pass
since we were only going to take the train to Lauterbrunnen to go visit the
Trummelbach Falls. One ticket to Lauterbrunnen from Interlaken Ost was only
7.60 CHF. It was now that we realized just how efficient the Swiss trains are.
We weren’t sure on the exact next steps on how to get from the train platform
to the bus to Trummelbach Falls. After a little looking around, we stepped into
the ticket office to inquire about where to go. They have the busses timed
perfectly with the train arrival. We ended up just missing the bus and needed to
wait 30 minutes for the next one. We walked down the main street in
Lauterbrunnen.
Thankfully it had stopped raining at the train station.
Lauterbrunnen train station
Lauterbrunnen
There was heavy cloud cover in Lauterbrunnen
Jackie, Joe and Brooklyn in Lauterbrunnen
Harper, Jason and Emily in Lauterbrunnen
Selfie in Lauterbrunnen
Large waterfall in Lauterbrunnen
Snowcapped mountains in the distance from Lauterbrunnen
Cliffside falls in Lauterbrunnen
Nice view while breastfeeding Brooklyn in Lauterbrunnen
The clouds were starting to clear in Lauterbrunnen
After all our research before leaving the house, no
website mentioned how children under the age of 4 were not allowed in the
waterfalls. It cost 11CF a person. We took turns going into the falls. Jackie
and Emily went in first while Joe and Jason watched the girls.
We took the elevator up through the mountain and then
climbed several sets of wet stairs.
Lauterbrunnen Valley
The view back into Lauterbrunnen with more cliffside
waterfalls
The view back into Lauterbrunnen
The view of more cliffside waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen
Trümmelbachfälle is 10 cascades lit inside the mountain
accessible via a tunnel elevator. These rushing waterfalls flow from glaciers
on Eiger (3970m), Mӧnch (4099m) and Jungfrau (4158m). The water flows up to
20,000 liters (5,200 gallons) of water per second. It is a UNESCO world natural
heritage site.
Emily and Jackie selfie within Trümmelbachfälle
Emily at Trümmelbachfälle
Swiss town of Lauterbrunnen
Now the guys took a turn visiting the falls while the
girls watched the girls.
Harper eating a snack
Brooklyn and momma
Train ride back to Interlaken
Crazy babies on the train back to Interlaken
I’d say this girl likes riding the train
We decided to walk toward the main area of Interlaken for
dinner, preferably somewhere with some fondue, both cheese and chocolate.
Flowers in the roundabout in Interlaken
More flower beds in Interlaken; oh and FYI Europe is to
the right
Skydivers parachuting into Höhematte in Interlaken
Flowers in Höhematte Park in the center of Interlaken
Apparently a lot of Bollywood movies are filmed here. The
Asian tourist population is hoppin! It was crowded around the Caisno Kursaal
and the fancy shops surrounding it.
Fancy hotels in Interlaken
We had a fondue dinner of both cheese and chocolate in
Interlaken.
Selfie in Interlaken
Waterfall in Interlaken
Starting to make out mountain peaks from Interlaken
Open field for skydivers to land in Höhematte in
Interlaken with neighboring Catholic and Protestant church steeples
Jackie, Joe and Brooklyn in Interlaken as the clouds
clear the reveal the mountain peaks
Both Jackie and Joe stuck out their tongue at the same
time
Jackie, Joe and Brooklyn in Interlaken
Walking the streets of Interlaken
In every German-speaking country we are in the search for
the perfect Ausfahrt sign. It’s a little high, but I think you get the idea.
Monday May 4, 2015
30 weeks old (almost 7 months!)
Not the best photo as we travel but she is loving visiting her 6th country! Netherlands, Germany, US, France, Belgium & Switzerland!
Not the best photo as we travel but she is loving visiting her 6th country! Netherlands, Germany, US, France, Belgium & Switzerland!
This cutie now naps on her
tummy and today is snuggled with her night night using it as a pillow
A picture of our 3 bedroom
rental property Jungfrau views (on clear days) which included other properties
and not just ours
The view from our 3 bedroom
rental property in Interlaken of Jungfrau
Brooklyn leaning her head out
the side of the pack to see Interlaken as we walked to the train station
We used our second day of our
Swiss Travel Pass. The Swiss Pass only gave us a free ride up to Grindelwald.
Here is a good map showing the Jungfrau region and the areas we visited.
Yesterday we went to Lauterbrunnen and its valley. Today we will go to
Grindelwald. Tomorrow we will go to Mürren and onto Schilthorn.
A few photos from our train
ride to Grindelwald
Grindelwald train station
Selfie in Grindelwald
There was a lot of playground
equipment that would never be allowed in the US
You can’t beat this
Grindelwald scenery on our picnic lunch
Brooklyn on the swing
The swing was a little big, so
Harper joined Brooklyn!
I think Harper wishes Brooklyn
wasn’t in there with her
Brooklyn still seems happy
Brooklyn on the spider web
swing with daddy
The cable car from Grindelwald
to First was not open so we changed our plans.
We had to buy tickets from
Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg for 30 CHF a piece.
A few photos from the train
ride up the mountain from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg:
Brooklyn wants the camera
Donkeys
Train in the mountains
Homes in Grindelwald with a
beautiful mountain range backdrop
Happy girl on the train
Train wizzing through the
tunnel
We’ve now reached snow on the
ground in the higher elevations.
Blue skies behind the clouds
on the mountain peaks
We had a 10 minute window to
decide if we were going to buy additional tickets and continue up to Jungfrau.
There was still substantial cloud cover with not much better of a view showing
on the active cameras and it cost 50 CHF a piece to continue up. We decided to
stay put for a bit at Kleine Scheidegg and that it wasn’t worth the additional
cost to take the train through the tunnels up to the Jungfrau peak.
Jason and Emily helping make
the judgement call in the ticket office
Jungfraujoch from Kleine
Scheidegg taken with our longer telephoto lens
Here is a photo of the
Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe since we didn’t go
Ski lifts near Eiger
Kleine Scheidegg train station,
restaurant and souvenir shop
Mӧnch and Jungfraujoch
Train loading at Kleine
Scheidegg for the Top of Europe, the highest Alpine destination on the continent
Mӧnch
Brooklyn was really struggling
to sleep the whole time we were at Kleine Scheidegg thus far so Jackie
breastfed her and she was out like a fat kid in dodgeball.
Train coming down from
Jungfraujoch to Kleine Scheidegg
We sadly also couldn’t do the
highly recommended hike between Kleine Scheidegg and Männlichen. The rail lines
were not operational to Männlichen so we would have had to hike the entire way
back with our babies on our backs in lots of snow.
We still took a walk over to
an observation tower to get away from the train station a bit and enjoy the
scenery now that there was a great break from the cloudy weather.
Emily and Jason (and Harper
napping in the backpack) seem very happy at Kleine Scheidegg
Jackie and Joe (and Brooklyn
napping in the backpack) began to trek through the snow over toward Jason and
Emily who were already heading to the observation tower
Buildings along the hike from
the Kleine Scheidegg train station to the observation tower
Joe in the foreground; Jason,
Harper and Emily in the middle ground; and the observation tower in the
background
Emily and Jason on the hike at
Kleine Scheidegg
Harpers awake and ready to
check out the sights at Kleine Scheidegg
Other buildings at Kleine
Scheidegg at the base of the north face of Eiger
We continued on our hike
through the snow to the observation tower at Kleine Scheidegg
Observation tower by Kleine
Scheidegg
The clouds were starting to
move back in around Jungfraujoch
Train riding through the snowy
slopes
A man at peace in the
mountains
Taking in the view
Observation tower at Kleine
Scheidegg with Eiger and Mӧnch peaks beyond
Beautiful Alps from Kleine
Scheidegg
Bernese Alps panorama at
Kleine Scheidegg
Looking back at the Kleine
Scheidegg train station and the Mӧnch peak, Jungfraujoch & Jungfrau peak
from the observation tower
Swiss Alps. We miss the
mountains
Wright bear hug
Wright fist to the face
Wright beard bite
Wright family photo
Emily in the Bernese Alps at
Kleine Scheidegg
Jackie, Joe and Brooklyn in
the Bernese Alps at Kleine Scheidegg
Selfie in the Bernese Alps at
Kleine Scheidegg
Trekking back to the train
station skirting the edge of the snow
We bought tickets down from
Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen (the remainder of the trip from Wengen to Interlaken
West was free with our Swiss Pass) for 17.40 CHF.
Jungfraujoch train climbing up
the mountain
Brooklyn seems shocked she’s
sitting in her own seat on the train
Brooklyn and Jackie on the train
ride in the Bernese Alps
Brooklyn’s sticking out her
tongue
Brooklyn copying mommy
Brooklyn smiling for the
camera
Emily and Harper on the train
ride in the Bernese Alps
Train ride back down the
Bernese Alps from Kleine Scheidegg to Wengen
Train ride into Wengen
Brooklyn and Joe after riding
the Wengernalpbahn
Daddy kisses on the train to Interlaken
So funny story about where we
had to try to eat for dinner. In the Netherlands we went to get Indonesian but
Jason kept getting confused and calling it Lebanese. Same thing right? Anyways
Emily was reading the guest book at our Interlaken property and someone
mentioned a great Lebanese restaurant nearby. It was like it was destiny.
Lebanese for dinner it is.
We ate dinner at Layaly
Beirut, a Lebanese restaurant in Interlaken.
Beautiful hotel building in
Interlaken
Tuesday May 5, 2015
We used our third day on the
Swiss Travel Pass to travel up the Berner Oberland mountains and then later on
to Luzern for the night.
We left our rental property and
left our luggage in lockers at the Interlaken Ost train station.
We took the train up to
Lauterbrunnen again.
These cute girls ready for
another train ride
Joe hung Brooklyn out the
train window like a dog
I think she liked the wind
blowing through her hair
Mürrenbach waterfall 430m
We got on the bus to the
Gimmelwald cable car station that will take us further up to Schilthorn. The
cable car lift tickets from Mürren to Schilthorn cost 40.00 CHF a piece.
First cable car ride was from
Stechelberg (922m/3025ft) to Gimmelwald (1367m/4485ft).
Looking up at Mürren from the
Gimmelwald cable car
Next we took the cable car ride
up from Gimmelwald (1367m/4485ft) to Mürren (1634m/5361ft)
View from Mürren
Schilthornbahn station
Next we took the cable car
from Mürren (1634m/5361ft) to Birg (2677m/8783ft)
Riding up on the cable car to
Birg
The view down from our ride up
to Birg
Birg (2677m/8783ft)
We took one final cable car ride
from Birg (2677m/8783ft) to Schilthorn (2971m/9748ft).
Schilthorn is at 2971m/9748ft (3000ft
higher than yesterday’s Kleine Scheidegg).
We ate lunch at the solar-powered
revolving Piz Gloria restaurant on top of 9,748ft Schilthorn. Every 48 minutes
you return to the same place, similar to the restaurant in the Space Needle. We
were so preoccupied trying to figure out what to order, deal with our little
ones and then eat our own meals, that we didn’t take any good pictures in the
revolving restaurant.
Swiss Bernese Alps from
Schilthorn
This is where we came from up
the cable car to Schilthorn. You can see the intermediate shelter between Birg
and Schilthorn on the peak in the foreground in case there are weather
emergencies.
Joe at Schilthorn
The building on Schilthorn has
the rotating Piz Gloria restaurant.
Harper, Jason and Emily at
Schilthorn
Selfie at Schilthorn
The best part of this photo is
both babies passed out.
We took a peak in Bond World 007
exhibit and saw the paraphernalia, mostly pertaining to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service which used the Schilthorn as one of
its major locations.
Birg (2677m) cable car station
The Swiss Bernese Alps from
Birg
We walked out on the new Skyline
Walk at Birg, a transparent walkway jutting over the precipice that just opened
in 2014.
Jackie taking in the Bernese
Alps expanse of Eiger, Mӧnch, and Jungfrau at the Birg Skyline Walk
Jackie at Birg with Jungfrau
beyond
Yep that’s a glass floor that
Jackie is standing on at the Birg Skyline Walk
Jason standing on the glass
floor Birg Skyline Walk
Joe (and Brooklyn napping) at
the Birg Skyline Walk
Cable car coming into Birg
from Mürren
Crunched the snow beneath our
boots at the Birg station
Mountain view from cable car
platform at Birg
Getting ready to take the
cable car down from Birg
Mürren from Birg
Selfie before getting on the
cable car down from Birg
Crazy selfie
Jackie, Joe and the hidden
Brooklyn riding the cable car to Birg
Jason talking up some ladies
in Mürren since he is now an expert after reading Rick Steves. We’re on a first
name basis now: ol’ Dickie
We walked through the town of Mürren
which is perched on ledge 2,000 feet above the Lauterbrunnen Valley.
Emily in Mürren
True ALPine architecture
Emily taking a drink of fresh
alpine water
Jason taking a drink of fresh
alpine water
We continued and made the hike
down from Mürren to Gimmelwald.
Jason in Mürren with a cable
rail line behind
Shots of the cable car as we
walked down from Mürren to Gimmelwald
Selfie on our hike down from Mürren
to Gimmelwald
Joe, Jackie & hidden
napping Brooklyn hiking in the Bernese Alps
Rustic farmland sheds of the
Bernese Alps near Mürren
Joe continuing down the
walking path from Mürren to Gimmelwald
Jason and Jackie really like
these simple green roof canopies in Mürren
Swiss Bernese Alps
Mürrenbach water flow control
for the waterfall
Joe hiking the Bernese Alps
Emily hiking the Bernese Alps
Jackie hiking the Bernese Alps
It was around this time that
Jackie discussed her deep desire to find cows grazing along the hike through
the Alps.
The traditional Swiss cow
farmers are given government subsidies to break even making cheese. The cows
can graze from as high as 5,000 feet elevation throughout the year. In the
summer (usually mid-June), the farmer straps elaborate ceremonial bells on the cows
and takes them up to a hut at the high elevations. The bells weigh upward of 10
pounds. The cows must hate them. Where the cows are, the bells are hung under the
hut’s roof eaves. All of the cow’s milk in the summer months is made into Alp
cheese because it would be too hard to bring the liquid milk down the
mountains. When the cows make their journey back down the mountain, the farmers
may load the cows onto the cable cars to avoid the snow in the way. Every 2
months or so Gimmelwald farmers gather their cows that aren’t doing so well ,
herd them into the cable car, in order to meet the butcher in the valley below. Emily and Jason taking in the
view of the Bernese Alps
Jackie could swear she could
hear cowbells…
Emily hiking Bernese Alps
where the goats are grazing
Goats grazing around the cable
car post base
The three leg wooden tripod mountings
with a young tree planted are snow slide barriers to prevent avalanches and
shelter newly planted trees.
Cable car crossing through the
Bernese Alps
Donkeys at a Bernese Alps farm
Jackie saw her cows wearing
cowbells
As Jackie turned the corner of
the trail, she saw baby goats bounding forward toward their mama to drink some
milk. It was the cutest thing!
A beautiful Alpine farm
Tulips in the Bernese Alps
More flowers
I know how much Wes loves
flowers…how about dandelions?
Harper delicately touching the
dandelions
Harper hiked down the stairs
with Jason’s help
Brooklyn is now woke up from
her nap in the backpack
Family photo in the Bernese
Alps
Aww come on mom
Emily, Harper and Jason Wright
family photo in the Bernese Alps
Jackie and Brooklyn riding the
cable car down
There was a large Asian
tourist group on the cable car. They all wanted to touch Harper and take her
picture. It was pretty awkward.
Emily and Harper dealing with
all the attention
We retrieved all our luggage
and departed on a train from Interlaken Oost to Luzern.
Our train passed by Lake
Brienz (Brienzersee)
Our first sight of the beginnings of Lake Lucerne
Of course as soon as that happens, the rain comes. Go
figure. Fortunately our hotel was a short less than 10 minute walk from the
Lucerne train station.
We exited the station and began to walk along the Reuss
past the swimming swans and Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke).
We turned down Burgerstrasse to Hotel Stern Luzern.
It was incredibly hot inside. Because we got in after
6pm, we had to checkin with those at the hotel restaurant. There are only 15
rooms in this hotel. Once we finally got checked in and given our keys, we had
to take turns taking the 20”x20” elevator up to the third floor.
Jackie stayed upstairs in the room with Brooklyn
while the other adults went to have a drink downstairs at the restaurant. She
did some reading on Luzern and where to go the next day. It was a rough night
for little Brooklyn. She has been getting up at 5:30am almost every day and
waking up in the middle of the night with no way to soothe her back to sleep
without nursing. Jackie could not wait to get back home and get this little
girl back into shape when she didn’t have to worry about the babies cries
waking other guests in neighboring rooms. 
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