The Swiss Alps

The lake and the mountains have become my landscape, my real world.

— Georges Simenon

Unlike my other adventures, the Swiss Alps simply happened to me!

As a young boy, I used to fall in love, every year right before the onset of a new year, with the gorgeous looking Swiss calendars that my dad used to get from the Swiss firm he worked for! The lakes … the mountains … the valleys, had all become a part of my growing up years. I would often daydream of spending lazy afternoons lying amidst the vast swathes of lush green valleys, sprinkled with yellow wildflowers, playing the flute in tune with the tinkling cowbells. Though I was far from it, the Swiss countryside was very much a part of my growing up world!

Sun, May 04 2014

I landed up in Geneva for work. Enormous billboards of idyllic Swiss countryside and Swiss watches greeted me. My childhood memories of vast swathes of lush green valleys peeped through the hidden recesses of my mind. I may have smiled. A stranger, who passed by, smiled back at me.

Sun, May 10 2014

It was still dark. The sky was yet to be etched with that purplish elusive light that has guided me so often through some of the most breathtaking landscapes around the world. I was drifting in and out of sleep and seemingly in a dream where the pyramid-shaped Matterhorn, which looks over the town of Zermatt, was spreading his arms to embrace me.

In a few hours I was there on Bahnhofstrasse—the main street of Zermatt. An ominous cloud cover over the mountains made me anxious. But such is the nature of mountains, and especially Matterhorn, to be sneaky.

Nevertheless, I pressed on. I took the Gornergrat Bahn—the highest open-air railway in Europe—to get to Gornergrat, which supposedly at over 10000 feet offers the most breathtaking views of the Matterhorn.

In exactly 33 minutes, the train with cog wheels reached Gornergrat. At freezing temperatures, I was greeted with gusts of spine-chilling winds, Gornergrat Kulm Hotel (a hotel and observatory), Kapelle Gornergrat (a cute little chapel), and the mighty Matterhorn peeking from the clouds.

I waited for a few hours for the sky to clear. However, it wasn’t meant to be. It would have to be another day to get a clear view of the Matterhorn.

Sun, Jun 21 2014

I was back in Switzerland after a month. I wasted no time and headed towards Jungfraujoch—Europe’s highest train station and a notable glacier saddle in the Bernese Alps, connecting the two four-thousander peaks Jungfrau and Mönch. When I reached Kleine Scheidegg railway station—the lower terminus of the Jungfrau railway—clear blue skies greeted me. I felt excited.

The Jungfrau railway is a meter gauge rack railway (steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail). The trains are fitted with cog wheels that mesh with the rack rail. Seven out of nine kilometers of the total journey from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch runs within the Jungfrau Tunnel, built into the Eiger and Mönch mountains.

Once the train reached Jungfraujoch, I disembarked and came out of the tunnel. Icy air streams on my face, crunching snow under my feet, and majestic view of the mountains instantly transported me to a land where fairy tales are woven. The panoramic views of the Bernese Alps, the majestic sight of Mönch and Jungfrau, and the vastness of the Aletsch Glacier (the largest glacier in the Alps) engulfed my senses with beauty. My heart expanded and made space for all that the universe had to offer.

Sat, Jun 28 2014

After a busy week at work, I wanted to laze around on the weekend. To me there is no better place than Lausanne to do just that.

So early morning on a Saturday, I found myself in Lausanne—very likely one of the most beautiful places on the shores of Lake Geneva if not the earth. It’s no surprise that the International Olympic Committee chose Lausanne as its headquarters and officially recognizes the city as the Olympic Capital.

After lazing around on the shores of Lake Geneva in Lausanne for almost the entire morning, I decided to head over to Château de Chillon—probably one of the most visited castles in Europe.

On a narrow shore of Lake Geneva, between Montreux and Villeneuve, stands Château de Chillon—a medieval castle at the water’s edge—surrounded by the magnificent Swiss Alps. I stepped inside and took a tour. What I learnt about its checkered past fascinated me. It seemed to have seen it all from being a Roman outpost, a summer home of the Counts of Savoy, a state prison, a weapons depot, and finally to being a tourist spot in the modern times.

However, what fascinated me most was the breathtaking views of the Swiss Alps from both outside and inside the castle.

Sun, Jun 29 2014

The Panoramic-Express, the elegant golden-colored trains that take passengers from Lake Geneva via the famous resort town of Gstaad to Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland, is an experience in itself. So, on an overcast Sunday morning, I hopped on to one of them. It was like hopping onto a dream … a dream that would probably last a lifetime.

The Panoramic-Express, named after the panoramic windows it’s fitted with, gave me a truly immersive experience of the lush green Swiss valleys. It was just like the lush green valleys from the Swiss calendars that were integral to the daydreams of my boyhood. Daydreams do come true … if you long for them hard enough!

It’s hard to imagine that I took the photo of Château-d’Œx from inside the train through the panoramic windows. The little boy inside me was searching for his flute as I absent-mindedly pressed the shutter.

Zweisimmen, a quaint little village in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland, forms the gateway to the world-famous Gstaad-Saanenland region. It’s an ideal starting point for extended skiing experiences in winter and for walks in summer. I was changing trains here, but such was the beauty of the place that I ended up spending more time than I needed to.

My next stop was Schönried. It’s situated on the sun terrace of the Gstaad region. It’s quite popular in the winters as it offers direct access to the region’s ski area. However, in the summers the lush green rolling meadows with the Swiss Alps in the backdrop looks gorgeous. A little hike in a light drizzle got me to this breathtaking view.

Thu, Jul 03 2014

It was time to fly out of Geneva. I was carrying back a bagful of wonderful memories. That young boy who loved Swiss calendars had come back to life. However, there was slight tinge of sadness in me. I wasn’t sure whether I would be coming back to this part of the world soon. There seemed to be so much left to explore, so many more lush green valleys to see, and I was yet to play the flute in tune with the tinkling cowbells.

As the plane took off and flew over the Alps, I peered through the window. Then, like a fleeting cloud, the sadness went away. The highest and the most extensive mountain range of Europe was right before my eyes.

Sun, Jun 21 2015

Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” So after spending almost a year imagining about the things I didn’t get to see in Switzerland in my earlier visits, I was back there—at the very heart of it.

I headed straight to Mount Titlis. I took the cable-car to the summit and went straight to the Titlis Cliff Walk—the highest elevation suspension bridge that was opened in December 2012. I’d heard so much about the panoramic views of the Alps that one could witness from the cliff walk that I did not bother to look around to see what else was going on. As luck would have it … when I reached the edge of the cliff walk a snowstorm had engulfed what supposedly would have been a mesmerizing view. I crossed the cliff walk a couple of times. I waited till my fingers felt numb. But the weather did not show any sign of budging. I threw my hands up in the air and turned around. Sometimes you just let go and make space for other beautiful things to happen in your life.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait too long for beautiful things to happen. On my way down I walked around Trübsee. The water was still and I saw my reflection … I saw myself … I found myself.

Sun, Jun 28 2015

Trübsee triggered something in me. To some a lake is just water. To me it is where I find myself. It is where I find that loneliness I like. It is where my heart opens up and I make space for the universe. I started looking for the prettiest lake in Switzerland. Somebody told me about Blue Gem. So I went looking for it.

On a sunny Sunday morning, I reached Grindelwald–First. It was all there—the lush green valleys, the yellow wildflowers, the cows, and the cowbells. The dream was real. The day dreaming young boy leapt in joy.

After hiking for an hour, first the Schreckhorn (northernmost summit in Europe rising above 4,000 meters) came into view. Then, I saw the blue gem. Once I saw it I could only think of the quote from Georges Simenon “The lake and the mountains have become my landscape, my real world.”

Bachalpsee (see means lake in German)—the blue gem—drew me closer like a magnet. And once I was on its shore it felt like I was in heaven.

Sat, Jul 04 2015

The Five Lakes Walk or Five Seenweg is likely the most scenic walk in Switzerland I’ve been to, with amazing views of the Matterhorn. The walk starts at about 3,500 ft above the town of Zermatt (about 8,500 ft above sea level) and is quite easy to get to. I took a funicular from Zermatt for Sunnegga and then a gondola from there to Blauherd. The magic happens when you get out of the gondola.

When I started the walk, I felt like I was instantly teleported to heaven, leaving behind the “immense pile of filth” as one fatherly figure would like to put it.

Stellisee is the first of the five lakes I got to. It was a beautiful day with a gentle breeze and the overhead sun shining brightly. And the best part … there was no cloud cover over the Matterhorn.

The great thing about Stellisee is that when it’s still, it reflects the Matterhorn like a mirror. However, due to the gentle breeze that kissed my face and the surface of the lake, the mirror had ripples on it. So I waited, a long time, for Stellisee to get still. But it didn’t happen. I think it’s OK to be disappointed once in a while—that way you have something to look forward to. ?

I moved on, this time downhill, to Grindjisee. When I got there it seemed like one of the prettiest place I’ve ever been to … like a place from a fairytale … a place where you’d love to get lost.

The lake was still like glass and for the first time I saw the reflection of Matterhorn—peeping between the reflections of a couple of larches with rare flowers adorning the shores of the lake. It is one of those sights that stay in your memory for a long time. It is one of those sights that you go back to on a lazy afternoon, when you might have read the last page of a good book and have no idea what you would want to do next.

Soon, a couple of boys and a girl jumped into the lake and the stillness was gone. However, they swam around quietly, seemingly mindful of not disturbing the peace and quiet of the heavenly place.

The next lake on the list was Grünsee. As I moved away from  Grindjisee and closer toward Grünsee I noticed the landscape turning more rugged. It was quite a long hike.

The Grünsee, literally meaning “Green Lake,” was all blue when I got there. I could see the Matterhorn peeping from my left. I could have moved to the right and to a higher ground to get more of the Matterhorn in the frame. But for the first time I felt it didn’t matter. The way Grünsee reflected the sky, the clouds, the trees, and mountains looked picture perfect … like a postcard from Switzerland.

After spending sometime going around the lake, I headed toward Moosjisee. It was quite a steep descent through the woods but I enjoyed that a lot as it brought back sweet memories of Arkansas—the beautiful place which inspired me to take long hikes and create art using hunks of metal and glass.

The Moosjisee (also known as the Mosjesee) is an artificial reservoir. The water is used to generate electricity and for snowmaking along the pistes. It’s fed by “glacial milk” (sediment-rich glacial meltwater) from the Findel Glacier and hence has a typical milky hue.

The last leg of the hike seemed comparatively tougher with a steep climb of about 500 ft (though not much difficult if you are used to hiking). However, as I ascended, the landscape opened up with breathtaking views of the Matterhorn.

Leisee, the last lake in the itinerary and close to Sunnegga, is Zermatt’s beach with children’s playground, barbecue areas, picnic spots, and a glorious view of the Matterhorn.

As the lake is not deep, the water temperature is suitable for a dip, despite the high altitude. Some of my fellow hikers took a dip. I settled with washing my face as I wasn’t carrying my swimwear. It was quite refreshing.

By all means do this hike if you are in Switzerland. It’ll leave a bright spot in the deep recesses of your memory.

Sat, Jul 05 2015

I went through prehistoric Wildkirchli caves—inhabited by Neanderthals around 40,000 years ago—to get to this cliff side restaurant.

Berggasthaus Aescher-Wildkirchli as it is called was in my bucket list for quite a long time. A ten minute hike from the cable car stop at Ebenalp (the northernmost summit of the Appenzell Alps) is all that it took to strike it off from the bucket list. ?

And the view from there was simply gorgeous.